Until last year, when I found myself in Siberia during our 4th of July parade, I  breathed a sigh of relief; for once I had skipped my own part in that strange local/national pageant,  walking in the local parade with a U.S. flag that features corporate logos in  place of stars. Hardly anyone noticed, of course; as the years went on, however, more and more did notice, and would give me a thumbs up — or clap, in surprise and delight.

So when I saw Charles Hugh Smith’s current post on washingtonsblog —

Russian Meddling: Gagging on the Irony

— the added irony of being myself in Russia during U.S. flag day added another ironic twist to our national habit of blaming others, especially Russia, for what the American Empire does, routinely. It’s an incisive post, filled with damning detail; do read it. Unless you prefer Naomi Klein’s Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, coupled with John Perkins, Confessions of an Economic Hitman. I devoured those two books in tandem; together, they shook me awake to the way predatory economics, geopolitics, and corporatism mesh to despoil Earth and the innocent peoples who love and depend upon Her.