JOHNSTONE
569 episodes — Page 9 of 12

On AI And Consciousness
EAI isn't conscious. Saying AI should replace humanity is the same as saying fire should replace humanity, or white noise static from old televisions should replace humanity. Reading by Tim Foley.

Expect Them To Lie About China Just Like They Lied About Gaza
EAs Washington's cold war with China escalates, we can expect to see a massively reinvigorated anti-China propaganda campaign in the west. As this unfolds, please know that everything you learned about the mass media's dishonesty regarding Gaza is equally true of empire-targeted nations like China. Reading by Tim Foley.

The Backlash Against Israel's Western-Backed Crimes Will Fuel The Far Right
EUS public opinion is turning hard against Israel as both parties bend over backward to send it expensive weapons and silence its critics - and US public opinion is seldom good at making subtle distinctions. Reading by Tim Foley.

Israel's Innocent Oopsie-Poopsie Medical Massacre Mistake
ESure, who among us has not accidentally massacred 15 medical workers and buried them and their vehicles in a shallow grave from time to time? We’re only human, mistakes happen. Reading by Tim Foley.

Trump Shares Collateral Murder-Style Snuff Film On 15th Anniversary Of Collateral Murder
EReading by Tim Foley.

Hamas Succeeded In Exposing The True Face Of The Empire
EOne thing October 7 did accomplish was getting Israel and its allies to show the world their true face. Getting them to stand before all of humanity to say, "If you resist us, we'll kill your babies. We'll deliberately shoot your kids in the head. We'll massacre medical workers. We'll systematically destroy all your hospitals. We'll rape you and torture you as a matter of policy. We'll lay siege to the entire civilian population. We'll make your entire land uninhabitable and then we'll kick you all out and take it for ourselves. We'll assassinate all your journalists and block foreign journalists from entry so that nobody can see what we're doing to you. We'll lie about all of these things the entire time, and you'll know we're lying, and we'll know you know we're lying, and you'll know we know you know we're lying. And we'll get away with it anyway, because we hold all the cards." Reading by Tim Foley.

Truth Is Antisemitism. Protest Is Terrorism. Dissent Is Russian Propaganda
ETruth is antisemitism. Protest is terrorism. Dissent is Russian propaganda. Critical thinking is misinformation. War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. Reading by Tim Foley.

Opposing The Gaza Holocaust Is Just The Basic, Bare Minimum Requirement To Not Suck As A Person
EOpposing the Gaza holocaust doesn’t make you a good person. Failing to oppose the Gaza holocaust makes you a bad person. It’s not something you do so you can feel good about yourself, it’s something you do so you can live with yourself. Reading by Tim Foley.

They Tell You The Houthis Attack Ships, But They Never Tell You Why
ENone of the people applauding Trump's war on Yemen because "the Houthis are attacking ships" will tell you why the Houthis started attacking ships. Reading by Tim Foley.

Trump's State Department Would Support Literally Any Israeli Atrocity
ENetanyahu could live stream himself kicking a baby Palestinian off a cliff and telling the camera he did it because he wants to commit genocide, and the next day Tammy Bruce would respond to all questions about the incident by yelling the word "Hamas!" with her fingers in her ears. Reading by Tim Foley.

"Free Gaza From Hamas" Really Means "Free Gaza From All Palestinians"
EA Knesset member from Netanyahu's Likud party named Amit Halevi was just on Israeli radio saying that the plan is "to occupy the territory to cleanse it of the enemy," adding that Israel needs "to return to Gaza permanently and control this space, because it is part of our homeland." I mean, how much more explicit do they need to be? Reading by Tim Foley.

Liberals Believe In Nothing And Remember Even Less
EA Democrat president can be as tyrannical and murderous as he wants and liberals will just brunch away in cheerful obliviousness, content with their knowledge that their team is holding the trophy. Reading by Tim Foley.

The "President Of Peace" Just Bombed Yemen 65 Times In 24 Hours
EThe US launched 65 airstrikes in 24 hours in Yemen, and then Trump's intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard tweeted, "President Trump IS the President of Peace. He is ending bloodshed across the world and will deliver lasting peace in the Middle East." These freaks have no connection with reality. Reading by Tim Foley.

The Word "Bombing" Means Different Things Depending On Where It Happened
ESomeone exploding a building full of pale-skinned English speakers is an earth-shaking tragedy, while someone exploding a building full of darker-skinned Arabic speakers is just Tuesday. Reading by Tim Foley.

Trump Supporters Can No Longer Say Trump Never Started A War
EI'd like to point out that the tired MAGA talking point about how Trump "never started any new wars" has officially been invalidated because of Yemen. Reading by Tim Foley.

Thoughts On The Trump Team's Signal Chat About Bombing Yemen
EIt's always fascinated me how much empire managers focus on messaging. Their focus is never on whether or not they should do evil things, it's on what narrative they're going to sell to the public about the evil things they're going to do. Reading by Tim Foley.

I Envy The Palestinians
EI envy the Palestinians. Not for what they’re going through, obviously, but for what they have. Their supremely authentic culture, with its deep roots and ancient connection to the land. Reading by Tim Foley.

Censorship Violates The Rights Of The Speaker And Of The Hearer
EWhat people are missing about Trump's new policy of deporting pro-Palestine protesters on the grounds that their activism is contrary to US "foreign policy interests" is that it's not just an attack on the activists' political speech, it's also an attack on US citizens' right to hear criticism of their government's foreign policy. Reading by Tim Foley.

It's An Awkward Time To Be A Liberal Israel Supporter
EBeing a liberal Israel supporter these days probably feels like being a defense attorney for an accused murderer who won't shut up about how much he loves murdering. Reading by Tim Foley.

Palestinians Didn't Choose The Religion Of Their Oppressors
EOne of the dumbest narratives we're asked to swallow about Palestinians is that they are guilty of anti-Jewish prejudice which makes them comparable to Nazis. Reading by Tim Foley.

In Movies We Understand That The Genocidal Child Murderers Who Blow Up Hospitals Are The Villains
ENobody seems to have trouble figuring out who the real villains are when it’s happening in the movies. The narrative managers and spinmeisters make it a lot harder to sort out the villains from the victims in real life. Reading by Tim Foley.

Israel Exists Simultaneously As The Perpetual Aggressor And The Perpetual Victim
EOne major challenge is that Zionists benefit from abusing Palestinians and exerting influence in western governments, and they also benefit from people opposing these things - because it can be used to feed their victim-LARPing "antisemitism" narrative. Reading by Tim Foley.

You Cannot Separate Yourself From What's Happening In Gaza
EThis is a broken civilization. A warped and twisted dystopia. The waking nightmare we are witnessing in Gaza is the result of everything that we have become as a society. Those dead and mutilated children on your social media feed are the fruit on the tree of the western world. Reading by Tim Foley.

Israel Makes Its Most Explicit Statement Of Genocidal Intent Yet
EIsraeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has published an explicit statement of genocidal intent toward the people of Gaza, threatening civilians in the enclave with collective punishment in the form of "total devastation" if they do not find a way to overthrow Hamas and free all Israeli hostages. Reading by Tim Foley.

This Is Trump's Genocide Now
ETrump signed off on the reignition of the Gaza holocaust. He spent weeks sabotaging the ceasefire and then gave the thumbs up to the resumption of the genocide. He did this while bombing Yemen and threatening war with Iran for Israel. Reading by Tim Foley.

Israel Lied About Murdered Children To Justify Murdering Children
EIsrael resumed its genocidal campaign of annihilation in Gaza early Tuesday morning, killing hundreds in a matter of hours, including many children. Reading by Tim Foley.

Trump Is Bombing Yemen For Israel
ETrump is bombing Yemen for Israel, rushing weapons to Israel despite its flagrant ceasefire violations, and rolling out authoritarian measure after authoritarian measure to stop Americans from criticizing Israel. Because that’s what you get when you vote for America First. Reading by Tim Foley.

We Are Duped Into Blaming Our Problems On Everyone Except Our Rulers
EReading by Tim Foley.

People Who Defend Trump's Assault On Free Speech Are Mindless Sheep
EWords can't express how disgusted I am with Trump supporters who defend their president stomping out speech rights for Israel after spending years wailing about the loss of free speech in America. It's beyond mere political differences. I don't respect them as people. Reading by Tim Foley.

Even More Assaults On Free Speech To Silence Criticism Of Israel
EI have said it before and I will say it again: there is no greater threat to free speech in our society than Israel and the western governments who support it. Civil rights are being stomped out throughout the western world to shut down all criticism of Israel. Reading by Tim Foley.

Zionism Is Strangling Free Speech In Australia
EA Palestinian-Australian man has been criminally charged for voicing criticisms of Zionism during a protest against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. He could spend months in prison. Reading by Tim Foley.

If You Want To Fight The Machine, Don't Move To The Right
EAnti-establishment figures in politics and punditry aren't drifting rightward because the right has better arguments or is more solidly grounded in truth and morality, they're drifting rightward because the so-called "populist right" has been allowed to flourish while its mirror on the left has not. Right wing "populism" has been allowed to flourish by the very power structures its proponents purport to oppose, while the authentic left has been systematically dismantled by generations of aggressive imperial operations (look up COINTELPRO for example). That's why you see Trump backed by oligarchs, empire managers and DC swamp monsters and see Trumpism uplifted by the Murdoch press, while anti-imperialist socialism can barely even be said to exist anywhere in the US-aligned world. Reading by Tim Foley.

Trump's Demented Gaza Threats, And Other Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix
EUS presidents kill civilians all the time, but it's highly unusual for them to explicitly threaten a civilian population with extermination in a statement addressed directly to them. Reading by Tim Foley.

The West's Support For Israel Is The #1 Threat To Free Speech
EIf you support freedom of speech you now have an ethical obligation to oppose Israel, even if you didn't before. Reading by Tim Foley.

Some Thoughts On Ukraine
EThe Russian invasion of Ukraine was indisputably provoked by western aggressions. That's why so many western experts and analysts spent years warning ahead of time that western aggressions were going to provoke an invasion of Ukraine. Reading by Tim Foley.

Israel Begins Choking Gaza Again, Backed By Adelson Stooge Trump
EIsrael has once laid siege to Gaza, this time in full coordination with the Trump administration. All goods are being blocked from entering the enclave, including humanitarian aid. This comes after a 15-month US-backed Israeli bombing campaign deliberately made it impossible for people to survive in Gaza without extensive amounts of aid. Reading by Tim Foley.

Trump Sends Netanyahu Weapons While Talking Tough To Zelensky
EWhat we witnessed on Friday was Trump speaking to Zelensky in public the way Adelson probably speaks to Trump in private. Reading by Tim Foley.

Palestinian Hostage Released With Obvious Torture Scars; Western Press Ignores Him
EA Palestinian man who was held captive by Israel for over a year has been released with horrific scarring all over his body. The man, Mohammed Abu Tawila, told local media that the marks came from his captors pouring acid and other chemicals onto his skin in order to torture him. One of his eyes was also destroyed, reportedly in a savage beating. You think you've seen the worst thing you can possibly see in this ever-unfolding nightmare, and then you see something like this. And of course the western press has nothing to say about it. If an Israeli hostage were returned with these signs of torture the entire western political-media class would demand that everyone in Gaza be exterminated with poison gas. But he's Palestinian, so they ignore him. Reading by Tim Foley.

They're Fetishizing The Bibas Kids' Red Hair To Sell Genocide To White Westerners
EThey’re Fetishizing The Bibas Kids’ Red Hair To Sell Genocide To White Westerners The aggressive fetishization of the red hair of Ariel and Kfir Bibas is part of an absolutely disgusting war propaganda campaign aimed at white westerners, and we need to talk about it. Reading by Tim Foley.

All These Israeli Agendas Were Planned Long In Advance
EReading by Tim Foley.

When There's No Money In The Pursuit Of The Good And No Goodness In The Pursuit Of Money
EReading by Tim Foley.

The Empire At Its Most Honest
EPresident Donald Trump has shared a shockingly awful AI-generated music video envisioning a future Gaza that has been turned into an ostentatious resort town where everyone parties amid showers of cash while Trump and Netanyahu sip drinks by the pool. The video is intended to reflect Trump’s plans for a Gaza Strip that has been permanently ethnically cleansed of Palestinians. Reading by Tim Foley.

Israel And Its Apologists Weaponize Sympathy In Order To Facilitate Genocide
EActivist and author Yves Engler has been jailed by Montreal police for criticizing media figure Dahlia Kurtz and her support for Israeli atrocities in Gaza, after Kurtz said Engler’s comments made her feel “afraid for my safety”. After Engler wrote about the charges against him, he reported that he was subsequently charged for “harassing the police” by drawing public attention to his case. It’s fascinating how everyone who supports Israel always collapses into playing the victim at the earliest opportunity—even western police forces tasked with persecuting Israel’s critics. Israel models this victim-LARPing behavior, and its entire goon squad follows its example. Reading by Tim Foley.

Israel Pushes New Atrocity Narrative Just As Ceasefire Deadline Approaches
EA new narrative is being aggressively pushed by Israel and its apologists to justify resuming the Gaza genocide, conveniently just as an important deadline for ceasefire negotiations draws near. The IDF is now claiming that the Israeli children Kfir and Ariel Bibas “were both brutally murdered by terrorists while being held hostage in Gaza, no later than November 2023.” Reading by Tim Foley.

Liberals Hate Socialists Because Socialists Are The Real Thing
EMost liberals secretly hate socialists more than they hate rightists, because while rightists attack their political agendas, socialists attack their egos. Reading by Tim Foley.

You Don't Actually Need To Pick A Team
EThere’s this weird assumption that Americans are under some kind of moral obligation to take a side side either with Trump or with his pretend opposition in the Democratic Party, and it’s just silly nonsense. You don’t have to, and you should not. Reading by Tim Foley.

Meditations On The Notion That Obama "Never Had Any Scandals"
EObama committed all kinds of atrocities while president that would be considered scandalous if we lived in a world that is even remotely sane. Reading by Tim Foley.

Anyone Who Wants The Ukraine War To Continue Is A Monster
EIf you want Ukrainians to keep dying in this war against the will of the Ukrainians themselves while you sit safe at home eating snacks and posting on the internet, you're a monster. Reading by Tim Foley.

I Write About Israel All The Time Because I Have To, Not Because I Want To
ESomeone accused me of being "obsessed with Israel" yesterday and it just blew my mind. Civil rights are being destroyed throughout the west to defend a state that's committing genocide and ethnic cleansing with western backing, and we're not meant to talk about that state and the things it's doing? Reading by Tim Foley.

There Is No Antisemitism Crisis In Australia It's A Carefully Constructed Lie
EThere is no antisemitism crisis in Australia. There is an anti-Palestinian crisis in Australia. An anti-Arab crisis in Australia. A pro-genocide crisis in Australia. Reading by Caitlin Johnstone.