Trump plans to deny Social Security disability payments to hundreds of thousands of workers
Read More »Tag: social safety nets
Tyranny & Tantrums: A Rant on America’s Collapse
America is to going to hell in a hand basket, and the cracks in its foundation are glaring. As Linkin Park’s Burn It Down echoes, “We’re building it up to break it back down,” the cycle of destruction and collapse feels all too familiar. Institutions meant to uphold democracy are being dismantled, only to be rebuilt on even shakier ground. Power is concentrated in the hands of a few, while the vulnerable are left to fend for themselves. Like the song’s imagery of betrayal and downfall, the current political landscape mirrors a system that prioritizes control and greed over people. The flames of collapse are fanned, and the question remains—what will rise from the ashes?
“Dark Indonesia” and Astroturfed Subversion + More
21-04-2025: Since February, Indonesia has been beset by protests largely led by students, so-called civil society organisations, some labour unions and K-pop fans. Protests emerged in many cities throughout the Indonesian archipelago including Jakarta, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Bandung, Solo, Semarang, Bali, Samarinda, Banjarmasin and South Sumatra. The protestors were reportedly delivering a “red report card” on the first 100 days of President Prabowo Subianto’s administration. They also condemned Prabowo’s “Ndasmu!” remark towards critics of the Free Nutritious Meal program.[1] “Ndasmu” is an impolite Javanese word meaning “your head”, which perhaps implies that the protestors’ actions were the result of something that existed in their heads only. The slogan “Dark Indonesia” under which the protests took place, is a stab at Prabowo’s election slogan of “Golden Indonesia” (Indonesia Emas), which aims to advance the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) to a sovereign, prosperous nation by 2045, the centennial of its independence won in 1945.[2]
Related:
Read More »5/11/23 Joziah Thayer on AQAP’s Standing in Yemen
Joziah Thayer joins to show to discuss some of the work he’s done digging into the many factions and groups within Yemen and the foreign powers working to pull their strings. Scott and Thayer drill in on Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, and explore how the group’s standing in Yemen has changed and how the country is likely to evolve going forward.
Discussed on the show:
The CIA, AQAP, and the Never-Ending Excuse to Bomb Yemen
How the IMF & World Bank Destroyed Yemen
5/11/23 Joziah Thayer on AQAP’s Standing in Yemen
Worthy and Unworthy Protest
Protesters in some nations are celebrated. Others are ignored. Protest is a human right to be respected but instead can be used as a pretext for nefarious motives such as regime change.
Worthy and Unworthy Protest
Republicans Plan Debt Crisis to Force Cuts to Medicare, Social Security
The November elections will likely give Republicans control of the House of Representatives as a platform from which to oppose the Democratic-controlled White House. And one thing Republicans will do with this power, in all probability, will be to try to provoke a crisis in order to extort Democrats into accepting spending cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
Republicans Plan Debt Crisis to Force Cuts to Medicare, Social Security
How family friendly!? Just throw Granny to the street! /s
Bill Gates Failed Effort to Feed Africa:Was he even trying to help in the first place?
Healthcare administration students in the United States have no choice but to learn about private vs public interests, and the power that private interests have in crafting the Nation’s healthcare policy. Essentials of Health Policy and Law is a fairly standard healthcare administration textbook that budding health policy experts are given to study in American universities. The text uses health policy decisions made in recent years by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as an example of the way private interests control public health policy. According to the book, the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation “provides grants to develop crops that are high in essential vitamins and minerals to improve the nutrition of people in developing countries” (Wilensky, 2023). A very uncritical examination of the way investors like Gates use their wealth to make important decisions that affect millions.
Bill Gates Failed Effort to Feed Africa:Was he even trying to help in the first place?
Resources:
Gates-funded ‘green revolution’ in Africa has failed, critics say
Bill Gates: ‘We’re in a Worse Place Than I Expected’
Irish Potato Famine: How Belief In Overpopulation Leads To Human Evil
Serve the people: The eradication of extreme poverty in China.