News from Alan MacLeod

New article from me: While it may have been able to take out Ayatollah Khamenei, the U.S.’ plans for regime change in Iran are not going as smoothly as they expected. With the Strait of Hormuz closed, the global economy is facing meltdown, and Washington’s allies are rapidly distancing themselves from the U.S. Meanwhile, facing an energy crisis, European leaders, openly refusing to participate in President Trump’s war, are already discussing normalizing relations with Russia and ending their participation in the Ukraine War. Read it here free: https://www.mintpressnews.com/straight-of-hormuz-closure-pushes-europe-toward-russia-undermining-trumps-iran-war/290737/

Sometimes, boycotting is easy.

Stories like this are not "cute". They are signs of a failing society.

New article from me: Corporate media of all stripes have rushed to support the U.S./Israeli attack on Iran, throwing objectivity and accuracy by the wayside in order to manufacture consent for regime change. In this article I explain how and why the media are beating the drums of war. https://www.mintpressnews.com/corporate-media-go-all-out-to-support-the-us-israeli-war-on-iran/290713/

New article from me: Ten Epstein Revelations You Might Have Missed If you haven't had time to dig through the Epstein Files (or even if you have) here are ten revelations you should definitely know about, in listicle form: https://www.mintpressnews.com/ten-epstein-revelations-you-might-have-missed/290698/

Here's another way how media manufacture consent for war. Using the word "regime" immediately delegitimizes governments and subtly cues readers to oppose any entity it is used against. That's why Cuba, North Korea, Russia, Venezuela, etc. are all called "regimes" but our friends, such as Israel, are never referred to as such.

New article from me: A wide range of anonymous X (Twitter) users have reported that their real names are suddenly being Googled in Israel shortly after they began criticizing the country for its actions in Palestine. Some connected the phenomenon to Au10tix, the software X requires users (even anonymous ones) to use in order to verify their real identities. Au10tix is an Israeli company founded and staffed by former Israeli spies from the elite Israeli military intelligence group Unit 8200. Let me fill you in on this disturbing phenomenon. https://www.mintpressnews.com/x-users-find-their-real-names-are-being-googled-in-israel-after-using-x-verification-software-au10tix/290703/

New article from me: European nations are joining the United States and Israel in their war on Iran. From providing economic and diplomatic support, to supplying military assistance to Washington, Europe is moving from a passive supporter to an active participant in the campaign to overthrow the Iranian government. Read it here: https://www.mintpressnews.com/how-european-countries-are-aiding-the-us-israel-in-their-war-on-iran/290691/

Only 23% of American Voters Can Find Iran on a Map A 2020 Morning Consult survey asked Americans to locate Iran on a world map. Only 23% could. Even more shockingly, only 28% could find Iran on a map of the Middle East. Many guessed in bizarre locations, such as Greenland, Australia and Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. The results are even more relevant today than they were when they were first published.

This is just one trick media use to manufacture consent for war. This doesn't happen by accident. As journalists, we carefully consider the implications of every word we use. We also know that editors and CEOs enforce top-down censorship on journalists, telling them exactly how to frame stories about war, and banning certain words from being used. The New York Times, for example, told reporters not to use words such as "refugee camp", "genocide" or even "Palestine" when covering Israel's assault on Gaza. Pay attention to the words media use; they're powerful.

This is an incredible chart from Al Jazeera. It shows just how barbaric US foreign policy has been, bombing ten countries this century. The United States is a nation addicted to war.

Pay attention here: this kind of uber-passive language to describe a major war crime is not an accident. It's carefully constructed language aimed at manufacturing consent for Israeli atrocities. Journalists are masters of the subtleties of the English language. They know exactly what they are doing. As a journalist, I know that we all think about the implications of every word we use. They are doing this — obfuscating the truth — because they are committed to supporting the Israeli project.