What we witnessed was not journalism but the choreography of propaganda.

CBS, in particular, offered thirty uninterrupted minutes of state-sanctioned fantasy,
anchored by a fawning interview with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth,
a man implicated in the killing of more than one hundred people at sea without evidence, accountability, or due process.

Rather than interrogating power, the networks shifted seamlessly into spectacle.

At no point did either network raise the most basic questions of legality, sovereignty, or international law.

Instead, both CBS and NBC trafficked in images of people dancing in the streets, staging public jubilation around what was, in fact,
a spectacularized violation of both international and domestic law.

Repressive imperial power has become visceral and ocular.

It now works through the eye as much as through the gun.

⚠️ State terrorism is no longer merely enforced by violence,
-- it is normalized and taught, rendered legitimate through a form of #pedagogical #terrorism produced and circulated by nearly the entire corporate media apparatus.

⭐️What is taking shape is a new apparatus of colonial terror,
where power, social media, and everyday life collapse into a single machinery of consent,
🔥training the public to see violence as spectacle and domination as normal.

There was no mention that the attack and abduction were #condemned by the presidents of Mexico and Brazil, by international legal scholars, and by a widening circle of global leaders alarmed by the precedent being set.

There was no scrutiny of the #fabricated #claims that Venezuela was plotting an invasion of the United States or serving as the epicenter of drug trafficking,
assertions long discredited but endlessly recycled to justify imperial violence.

Nor, crucially, was there any acknowledgment of Trump’s staggering #hypocrisy:
while declaring a war on drugs in the name of national security, he #pardoned one of the most notorious narcotics traffickers ever prosecuted in the United States, #Juan #Orlando #Hernández, described by prosecutors as a central figure in an eighteen-year operation that flooded the U.S. with more than 400 tons of cocaine

https://truthout.org/articles/as-trump-expands-imperial-aggression-in-venezuela-corporate-media-falls-in-line/

What we witnessed was not journalism but the choreography of propaganda.

CBS, in particular, offered thirty uninterrupted minutes of state-sanctioned fantasy,
anchored by a fawning interview with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth,
a man implicated in the killing of more than one hundred people at sea without evidence, accountability, or due process.

Rather than interrogating power, the networks shifted seamlessly into spectacle.

At no point did either network raise the most basic questions of legality, sovereignty, or international law.

Instead, both CBS and NBC trafficked in images of people dancing in the streets, staging public jubilation around what was, in fact,
a spectacularized violation of both international and domestic law.

Repressive imperial power has become visceral and ocular.

It now works through the eye as much as through the gun.

⚠️ State terrorism is no longer merely enforced by violence,
-- it is normalized and taught, rendered legitimate through a form of #pedagogical #terrorism produced and circulated by nearly the entire corporate media apparatus.

⭐️What is taking shape is a new apparatus of colonial terror,
where power, social media, and everyday life collapse into a single machinery of consent,
🔥training the public to see violence as spectacle and domination as normal.

There was no mention that the attack and abduction were #condemned by the presidents of Mexico and Brazil, by international legal scholars, and by a widening circle of global leaders alarmed by the precedent being set.

There was no scrutiny of the #fabricated #claims that Venezuela was plotting an invasion of the United States or serving as the epicenter of drug trafficking,
assertions long discredited but endlessly recycled to justify imperial violence.

Nor, crucially, was there any acknowledgment of Trump’s staggering #hypocrisy:
while declaring a war on drugs in the name of national security, he #pardoned one of the most notorious narcotics traffickers ever prosecuted in the United States, #Juan #Orlando #Hernández, described by prosecutors as a central figure in an eighteen-year operation that flooded the U.S. with more than 400 tons of cocaine

https://truthout.org/articles/as-trump-expands-imperial-aggression-in-venezuela-corporate-media-falls-in-line/

On the 27th of August, Florida's racist, fascist, homophobic governor Ron DeSantis staged a short-notice press conference inside a government building in Orlando. Protesters outside were furious with his 207(g) programs, his concentration camp building, and his witch-hunt against the LGBTQ community. The recent uproar over rainbow sidewalks at Pulse and elsewhere has cast the governor's Christian Nationalist hate for the GLBTQ community into stark relief.

Some of the protesters blew horns to ensure the protest could not be hidden fronm reporters inside. Cops responded with threats of arrest, at which point protesters began chanting louder than the horns. DeSantis knew better than to attempt an outdoor protest in Orlando, a city that despises him and everything he stands for! In the end, he had to come out sometime. Protesters staked out all possible exits. When he pulled out in his black SUV, protesters managed to approach, one yelling "Ron DeSantis you fascist piece of shit!"

On the 27th of August, Florida's racist, fascist, homophobic governor Ron DeSantis staged a short-notice press conference inside a government building in Orlando. Protesters outside were furious with his 207(g) programs, his concentration camp building, and his witch-hunt against the LGBTQ community. The recent uproar over rainbow sidewalks at Pulse and elsewhere has cast the governor's Christian Nationalist hate for the GLBTQ community into stark relief.

Some of the protesters blew horns to ensure the protest could not be hidden fronm reporters inside. Cops responded with threats of arrest, at which point protesters began chanting louder than the horns. DeSantis knew better than to attempt an outdoor protest in Orlando, a city that despises him and everything he stands for! In the end, he had to come out sometime. Protesters staked out all possible exits. When he pulled out in his black SUV, protesters managed to approach, one yelling "Ron DeSantis you fascist piece of shit!"

On the 22nd of August, LGBTQ activists chalked back the colors erased by DeSantis from the Pulse rainbow crosswalk for the second day in a row. This time however, the chalk was a warmup-and effective concealment for what came next.

Next came paint over and soaking into the chalk, in colors matching the chalk. In a few minutes, activists chanting "our history will not be erased" succeeded in restoring the rainbow crosswalk for real. Two local cop cars and one FL Highway Patrol car drove by without stopping. It is unknown if they were deterred by their short numbers vs the crowd,didn't realize the chalk had now turned to paint, or their masters knewthe political consequences of attacking LGBTQ activists at Pulse would be exceptionally unpleasant. As of the night after there are no known arrests from this direct action.

It was at Pulse that a homegrown terrorist representing DAESH/ISIS killed 49 members of our community and wounded 53 more. This was the worst mass shooting in US history at that time. DAESH differs only in branding from what DeSantis and his minions as well as much of Trump's administration are pushing. Much of their programs are the same. Daesh attacked Pulse, now DeSantis is attacking the memorial to those we lost.

The night after the crosswalk was repainted, the State of Florida reportedly sent yet another road crew to again paint over the community's work.

On the 22nd of August, LGBTQ activists chalked back the colors erased by DeSantis from the Pulse rainbow crosswalk for the second day in a row. This time however, the chalk was a warmup-and effective concealment for what came next.

Next came paint over and soaking into the chalk, in colors matching the chalk. In a few minutes, activists chanting "our history will not be erased" succeeded in restoring the rainbow crosswalk for real. Two local cop cars and one FL Highway Patrol car drove by without stopping. It is unknown if they were deterred by their short numbers vs the crowd,didn't realize the chalk had now turned to paint, or their masters knewthe political consequences of attacking LGBTQ activists at Pulse would be exceptionally unpleasant. As of the night after there are no known arrests from this direct action.

It was at Pulse that a homegrown terrorist representing DAESH/ISIS killed 49 members of our community and wounded 53 more. This was the worst mass shooting in US history at that time. DAESH differs only in branding from what DeSantis and his minions as well as much of Trump's administration are pushing. Much of their programs are the same. Daesh attacked Pulse, now DeSantis is attacking the memorial to those we lost.

The night after the crosswalk was repainted, the State of Florida reportedly sent yet another road crew to again paint over the community's work.