Frankie99 wrote: Tue Jan 06, 2026 10:13 am Every single "American" should be screaming for the release of that woman; few will.

Some have been screaming for decades. Alas, our devolution to fascism is happening in plain view, and we're worried about an alleged "criminal" in another country and whether imperialism is justified.

I fear we're fucked, friends.

That’s exactly the context that propaganda like Narcos, Traffic, etc exist in: Criminalize sovereign leaders, countries that resist colonial rule, impose sanctions that are as murderous as militarized fascist opposition and cause economic meltdowns that trigger migrant caravans, round ups, police intimidation, etc. And this is all the big picture stuff and can never encompass all the agony inflicted in thousands of decisions that follow in a country that ensures obedience by permeating its media with lies, saddling its workers with debt and withholding employment protections tied to their very healthcare.

Even if someone is out of jail in a day - their employer going to let that go? Maybe they don’t want the heat. There are already bot armies being deployed anywhere they want, but with the way my local news goons work, you don’t even need them.

It’s still worth noting that every single US president is building on the playbook of the one before if only to carry on the worst shit you’ve ever heard of. They all belong in the hague. Trash fucking system.

Of interest:
Drug Cartels Do Not Exist
Narcotrafficking in US and Mexican Culture
by Oswaldo Zavala

There are podcast interviews you can find with Zavala where he elaborates on his thesis.

This is also great:
Cocaine Politics
Drugs, Armies, and the CIA in Central America, Updated edition
by Peter Dale Scott and Jonathan Marshall

Wood Goblin wrote:

Isaac wrote: Tue Jan 06, 2026 10:15 am

Frankie99 wrote: Tue Jan 06, 2026 10:13 am Every single "American" should be screaming for the release of that woman; few will.

Some have been screaming for decades. Alas, our devolution to fascism is happening in plain view, and we're worried about an alleged "criminal" in another country and whether imperialism is justified.

I fear we're fucked, friends.

They've been released. I think in for a little over 24 hours if my rudimentary math is correct. Absolute police-state shit to the hilt.

The NPR types aren't gravitating towards this one as I thought they would around here, too. Don't think it made local news even?

Steve Bannon’s loathsome “flood the zone with shit” strategy means that incidents that would’ve ended other administrations or caused widespread protest can’t even stay in the news for more than a few minutes.

Right.

That, plus the up-to-the-minute nature of the news itself and its need to compete w/the screaming half-truths of the social media-era internet, guarantees that such stories are no longer essential or relevant. People will not click on them or be "engaged" enough (ie looking at the ads, which keep the lights on), in the parlance of the tech companies that dictate the news format these days. Never mind the fact that local news has been more or less dying or being consolidated for 15 years. The very concept of it is becoming archaic. But this is what happens when you have tech bros and business school grads instead of anyone w/the vaguest journalism background running the parent companies.

Years ago, this woman might have inspired a long think piece, as a specific story illustrating a general truth. These days, she barely registers b/c of the rush to keep up w/all the sensationalistic, fast-flowing bullshit.

On a side note from the current shitshow.

Any other Gen Xers here noticed the shift in the culture around conspiracy theories since we were 18-25ish? Back in mid to late 90s in my circle all the conspiracy minded ideas seemed to come from the left or apolitical hippie types (the most likely to become red pilled fascists later)… I remember lots of Alternative Tentacles/Dead Kennedys stuff, Chomsky, McLibel and illuminati pamphlets etc.

Looking back I can see how this culture morphed into far right lunacy. I’m interested if this was other folks’ experience of this time and how things moved since social media fucked the world.

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Tue Jan 06, 2026 11:47 am Of interest:

I read that, it's not convincing that cartels do not exist, they just exist differently than most people are told to think, as presented in popular culture, that is.

enframed wrote: Tue Jan 06, 2026 12:34 pm

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Tue Jan 06, 2026 11:47 am Of interest:

I read that, it's not convincing that cartels do not exist, they just exist differently than most people are told to think, as presented in popular culture, that is.

physical clickbait.

enframed wrote: Tue Jan 06, 2026 12:34 pm

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Tue Jan 06, 2026 11:47 am Of interest:

I read that, it's not convincing that cartels do not exist, they just exist differently than most people are told to think, as presented in popular culture, that is.

Right, you know where the title comes from, but for the others, its meant to look into links between drug violence and the military and to topple the implied associations that are evoked when the word ‘cartel’ is used, which is largely the product of Ronald Reagan and Hollywood. That’s why it’s not called Organized Crime Does Not Exist, or The Drug War Does Not Exist. Because of course it fucking does.

Its especially apt now given the ‘Cartel of the Suns’ that Maduro is accused of leading also doesn’t exist.

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Tue Jan 06, 2026 11:47 am Of interest:

Drug Cartels Do Not Exist
Narcotrafficking in US and Mexican Culture
by Oswaldo Zavala

There are podcast interviews you can find with Zavala where he elaborates on his thesis.

This is also great:

Cocaine Politics
Drugs, Armies, and the CIA in Central America, Updated edition
by Peter Dale Scott and Jonathan Marshall

Nice. Thanks for these.

Gramsci wrote: Tue Jan 06, 2026 12:16 pm On a side note from the current shitshow.

Any other Gen Xers here noticed the shift in the culture around conspiracy theories since we were 18-25ish? Back in mid to late 90s in my circle all the conspiracy minded ideas seemed to come from the left or apolitical hippie types (the most likely to become red pilled fascists later)… I remember lots of Alternative Tentacles/Dead Kennedys stuff, Chomsky, McLibel and illuminati pamphlets etc.

Looking back I can see how this culture morphed into far right lunacy. I’m interested if this was other folks’ experience of this time and how things moved since social media fucked the world.

Sure, but this is the "Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac" circle of life. However, please let the record show we were always dubious and nihilistic slackers.

Gramsci wrote: Tue Jan 06, 2026 12:16 pm On a side note from the current shitshow.

Any other Gen Xers here noticed the shift in the culture around conspiracy theories since we were 18-25ish? Back in mid to late 90s in my circle all the conspiracy minded ideas seemed to come from the left or apolitical hippie types (the most likely to become red pilled fascists later)… I remember lots of Alternative Tentacles/Dead Kennedys stuff, Chomsky, McLibel and illuminati pamphlets etc.

Looking back I can see how this culture morphed into far right lunacy. I’m interested if this was other folks’ experience of this time and how things moved since social media fucked the world.

Jello's spoken word and "featured" records were in heavy rotation, yeah. Illuminati books, yep, read a few.

New World Order was the subject of some songs, most notably:



Not that Ministry was political at all, of course they weren't.