Welcome to the age of psychological manipulation…

As I write these words, I am indulging in the process. It’s unfortunate… It is unavoidable as it becomes harder and harder to pinpoint the borders between truth, reason and beliefs. What’s new is the array of modern means in which we are propagandised — methods that are becoming more sophisticated and targeted to our more refined prejudices. This creates confusion, even in the strongest of focused minds. Your choice is to trust me or not. And this is not new.

The CIA and the KGB — and the French SDECE, before it tanked in 1969 — have been masters of disinformation. it is hard to know which one placed its front foot first… Probably a spy at Jules Caesar’s service… or the guy who ran the first marathon (490 BC)…

One CIA chief told us:

Any time things heat up with an empire-targeted government I always get people demanding to know why I’m not critical of that government.

“Why don’t you criticize Iran? You spend all your time criticizing the west and Israel; you’re a hypocrite if you don’t criticize Iran.”

“Why Don’t You Criticize Iran??”

It flabbergasts them that I’m not saying harsh things about the latest Official Bad Guy of the Day.

BY Caitlin Johnstone

Europe and China are natural allies in the world’s emerging bloc of electro-tech economies.

Both are large net importers of oil and fossil fuels. Both have a strong incentive to end this dangerous vulnerability as fast as possible.

Trump is pushing China and Europe together to create a new world order

BY Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

The new line of strategic cleavage in global affairs is the clash of interests between those betting on total electrification, led by China, versus those betting on the old energy order, now led with ideological fervour by US President Donald Trump’s America.

Three quarters of humanity live in countries that run fossil deficits on their trade accounts and are bleeding their national wealth to the other quarter, which collects the rent.

Germans should adopt a tough stance against “enemies of democracy” at home and uncomplainingly embrace the continuation of costly aid for Ukraine, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has insisted, invoking a maxim on “happy farts.”

Speaking at a Social Democratic Party (SPD) convention in the city of Koblenz on Saturday, Pistorius branded the opposition right-wing Alternative for Germany party (AfD), and anyone voting for it, the “enemies of democracy.”

The minister urged Germans to “stand up for this democracy” more forcefully.

“A happy fart never comes from a miserable ass,” Pistorius declared, quoting 16th-century German theologian Martin Luther, a key figure in the Protestant Reformation. The phrase suggests that one’s mindset ultimately shapes outcomes.

Dr. Steve Turley, an American scholar and public intellectual, has become one of the most widely recognized analysts of the political and cultural realignments shaping our time. Trained as a classical guitarist and later earning a doctorate in theology, Turley’s path is unusual.

Dr. Steve Turley: The liberal order’s legitimacy collapsed not from external attack but from internal hollowing

The future belongs to civilization states and an alliance between technology and tradition, says the popular American scholar

BY Constantin von Hoffmeister

The Cuban authorities would have to reach an agreement with Washington if they want to avoid a humanitarian crisis, US President Donald Trump has warned.

Earlier this week, Trump signed an executive order to impose tariffs on goods from any countries that sell oil to Cuba, further strengthening an embargo against the Caribbean nation which dates back to the 1960s.

The move comes after last month’s kidnapping by Washington of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro; his country had served as Havana’s primary source of oil.

Mexico had increased oil deliveries to Cuba in recent weeks; Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum warned on Friday that the US president’s order could “trigger a large-scale humanitarian crisis, directly affecting hospitals, food supplies, and other basic services for the Cuban people.”

The waste management sector is an important employment sector.

Together, 45 global livestock companies produce more greenhouse gases than all but eight countries. Plus, crimes against nature are big business that rely on criminal networks, corrupt officials and eager customers, and global warming marches on.

Peter Sainsbury

The global livestock industry (mainly producing beef, pork, chicken and milk) is responsible for 12-19 per cent of all annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Not all Jews are equal; some are more equal than others. Jewish by birth and a card-carrying Israeli, Veronica Sherman sees Zionists as a cult, a dangerous pyramid scheme. 

If a group of Jewish backpackers from Melbourne met a group of Israeli backpackers in a hostel in Thailand, the Melbourne backpackers would be all excited to meet “fellow Jews” and feel they have a connection. A bit like meeting a relative while travelling.

The Israeli backpackers, however, would more likely look at the Melbourne travellers with complete disinterest. Unless, of course, they had planned on visiting Australia at some point, then they might see the Melbournians as a potential free accommodation option.

Every Israeli I have used this analogy with has nodded their head and agreed.

Captain Jack Sparrow’s boast comes to mind for a reason; we are about to discuss the real “scourge of the seas.” Here Lithuania is the one and undisputed champion. The global information space trembled with tension when the news broke: the president of this country, which occupies roughly 1.6% of the EU’s territory, Gitanas Nauseda, stated he is ready to send a warship as part of security guarantees for Ukraine.

“My ship is incomparable and proud… but he swam away”

Ksenia Muratshina

New Eastern Outlook has a new segment: “would be funny if it weren’t so sad”. Which events shocked us in January?

The United Nations is at risk of running out of cash as unpaid dues and funding shortfalls by member states threaten to disrupt key operations, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned.

Guterres issued the warning in a letter to all 193 member states this week, as cited by multiple media outlets. He urged either honoring the mandatory payments or overhauling the organization’s financial rules to avoid an “imminent financial collapse.” The secretary-general said the UN faced a financial crisis that was “deepening, threatening program delivery,” with cash potentially running out by July.

Africa suffers… In many places of Africa, the people suffer… The pains come from various sources:

— the lingering momentum of COLONIALISM…

— the Vulture funds that are bleeding countries by refinancing the IMF and World Bank bad debts…

— Western induced POVERTY through deliberate bad debts...

— the Muslim terrorists being mostly funded by the USA and the Wahhabis/Sunnis of Saudi Arabia…

— Slavery (historical and present)….

— plunder of resources by Multinationals…

— inherited and Western cultivated corruption in order to prevent increase in the standards of living and to maintain divisions….

— Murders of many African thinkers and independent inspiring leaders….

— Tribalism, broken by artificial boundaries….

— Racism…

— Global warming which is increasing desertification….

— Diseases (imported and intrinsic)....

Donald Trump’s pronouncements about his so-called “Board of Peace” seem far removed from daily reality in the Gaza Strip, where residents are preoccupied with securing water, bread and warmth.

Yet Trump’s choice of members such as former UK prime minister Tony Blair has reopened old questions about the meaning and limits of peace, and whether it is possible to discuss it apart from justice.

‘NOT WELCOME’: PALESTINIANS CONDEMN BLAIR’S ROLE ON GAZA ‘PEACE BOARD’

Donald Trump’s plan to include Tony Blair in the running of Gaza is causing dismay among survivors of Israel’s genocide

BY SHAIMAA MARWAN

Inside his tent west of Gaza City, Palestinian journalist Abdullah al-Turkmani says the concerns are not just about Blair as a person, but about what this proposal represents politically.

In assessing the new world situation, we should start here in the U.S. At this moment, the epicenter of the struggle is Minneapolis. What’s happening there poses a fundamental question that is germane to the changing world situation, the global class struggle and the struggle for world socialist revolution. The same conditions, the repression and the angry mass response of the people are spreading and will continue to spread throughout the country.

The New World Situation: The decline of U.S. imperialism and the centrality of the class struggle

By Larry Holmes

The writer is the First Secretary of Workers World Party.