This is the first in a series of commentaries from Big Apple Coffee Party members on subjects of interest.
OPINION BY ALAN BAILY
You have been hearing Pompeo, and other members of the Trump administration, use the word “imminent” to describe actions by Iran to the US but their use of the word has a very specific meaning that may be at odds with most people’s use of the word. As Craig Murray writes in the attached article, the Bethlehem Doctrine has been used by the Trump administration to justify actions such as the assassination of General Soleimani. Craig Murray was British ambassador to Uzbekistan from August 2002 to October 2004.
• Keep Allen Psych Open • Expand Mental Health Services City-Wide • Stop Sending NYPD to Mental Health Crisis Calls
Monday, January 20, 2020 2pm – 5pm St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church 146 W. 228th Street, Bronx, NY (#1 Train to 225th Street) For more information: northbronxracialjustice@gmail.com
Our next Big Apple Coffee Party meeting will be Tuesday, January 14, 2020 at a member’s home.
Big Apple Coffee Party along with NYC Free Assange is moving the Vigil to Free Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning Thursday, January 2, 2020 from the New York Times Building to Grand Central Terminal, located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue from 4:30-5:30PM. We will meet in the Main Concourse of the Terminal at the Information Booth Clock. We will be distributing flyers and holding our signs calling for the freedom of Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning. Be there!
Although Amazon seems to be the prime offender, (no pun intended) lack of antitrust enforcement goes back to the 1970s with the implementation of the Consumer Welfare Standard put forth by Robert Bork. Simply, the Consumer Welfare Standard states that regulators and courts should pursue consumer welfare and economic efficiency as the main criterion to look to when evaluating a merger or alleged anticompetitive behavior. The consequence is that other entities such as local businesses and the communities that they reside in are of little concern. Also, with the recent creation of tech platforms such as Amazon, businesses, mostly small, have no protection from the creator of the platform also acting as a business competitor on the platform. This is an incredible asymmetry of power that regulation has not rectified. More enforcement of existing antitrust regulation needs to be implemented and, if necessary, new regulations and legislation need to be created to level the playing field on the new tech platforms. To these ends, Big Apple Coffee Party has adopted the following resolution at the December 17, 2019 general meeting:
23. In Support of Greater Antitrust Enforcement Against Monopoly Power
WHEREAS, the basis for antitrust enforcement is more than just the adherence to the outmoded “Consumer Welfare Standard” (if the consumer benefits, there can’t be any antitrust issues), so that the community benefits of small business can be better recognized and protected, and
WHEREAS, there should be a review of the tech platforms and their effect on competition, barriers to entry, privacy, and market concentration, and
WHEREAS, because of the lack of antitrust enforcement, the number of new (small) business formations has been seriously reduced that leads to lack of competition, reduction in product quality, variety and innovation, and
WHEREAS, there should be a clearer and more expansive approach and guidelines to the review of mergers and acquisitions that includes the effect on consumer prices, promotion of greater competition, and concentration of economic power, and stronger enforcement of existing antitrust regulations, therefore be it
Resolved, Big Apple Coffee Party will work, along with allies, to support the greater use of existing antitrust laws and regulations and, if necessary, the creation of news laws and regulations to maintain a proper balance within the market structure of commercial enterprises.
We are still getting great responses to PROPAGANDA: How Propaganda Manufactures Consent presented
at Community Church on November 19, by people who either attended in
person or watched the video. Over 350 people had the opportunity to see
panelists Max Blumenthal, Margaret Kimberley, and Aaron Maté with
moderator Lee Camp deliver exciting and provocative presentations on
various aspects of how propaganda is pervasive in our society today.
Over 1800 people have watched the video online. You can watch the entire
forum here.
Some
people decided to come to their first general meeting of BACP based on
their positive response to the December 19 event. We were happy to see
them, and we hope that trend continues.
Join us Tuesday, December 17, at 6:00 pm for our next Big Apple Coffee Party general meeting. Please RSVP to this notice, and we will send the location of the meeting at a member’s home on the Upper West Side.
We
will discuss developments in the efforts to free Julian Assange and
Chelsea Manning. We will continue to follow up on the issues of U.S. sanctions, climate crisis, NYCHA housing,the privatization of the Postal Service, and the growing threat of war.
The next Vigil to Free Julian Assange & Chelsea Manning will be Thursday, Dec. 19, at The New York Times Building, 8th Avenue @ 40 Street, 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm. (Please support NYC Free Assange by “liking” our FB page here.)
We look forward to seeing you at our meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 17. This will be the last BACP meeting of 2019. Please RSVP to let us know if you can or cannot attend.
Our next meeting will be Tuesday, January 14, 2020 at a member’s home.
Max Blumenthal, one of the featured
presenters at Big Apple Party’s PROPAGANDA: How Propaganda Manufactures Consent
on November 19, 2019, had false charges of “simple assault” against him dropped
by the US Government. Journalist Max Blumenthal, who had been arrested
on a 5-month-old warrant and jailed for nearly two days on trumped up charges,
was exonerated when the U.S. Government dropped the bogus charges against him.
“The Grayzone has learned that Secret Service call logs recorded during the
alleged incident were either not kept or destroyed. The mysteriously missing
evidence included print documents and radio recordings that may have exposed
collusion between Secret Service officers operating under the auspices of the
US State Department and violent right-wing hooligans in an operation to besiege
peace activists stationed inside Venezuela’s embassy in Washington, DC.”
As reported in “US Government drops case against Max Blumenthal after
jailing journalist on false charges” by Ben Norton, The Grazyzone, December 7,
2019, “Blumenthal, who is the editor of The Grayzone, was arrested at his home
on October 25 by a team of DC cops who had threatened to break down his door.
He later learned that he was listed in his arrest warrant as “armed and
dangerous.” a rare and completely unfounded designation that placed Blumenthal
at risk of severe harm by the police.”
Norton continues, “The government’s case rested entirely on a false accusation by a right-wing Venezuelan opposition activist, Naylet Pacheco, that Blumenthal and Benjamin Rubinstein had assaulted her while they were delivering food to Venezuela’s embassy in Washington, DC in the early morning on May 8. (Rubinstein is the brother of journalist and Grayzone contributor Alexander Rubinstein who was reporting from inside the embassy at the time.)”
The Grayzone has reported extensively on the corruption of coup leader Juan Guaido, whom Washington recognizes as “interim president” of Venezuela, as well as the scandals plaguing Guaidó’s “ambassador” to the United States, Carolo Vecchio.
We had a great turnout for PROPAGANDA: How Propaganda Manufactures Consent at Community Church on November 19. Over 350 people had the opportunity to see panelists Max Blumenthal, Margaret Kimberley, and Aaron Maté with moderator Lee Camp deliver exciting and provocative presentations on various aspects of how propaganda is pervasive in our society today. If you weren’t lucky enough to be there, you can watch the entire forum by clicking the logo on the right.
Join us Tuesday, December 3, at 6:00 pm for our next Big Apple Coffee Party general meeting. Please RSVP to this notice, and we will send the location of the meeting at a member’s home on the Upper West Side.
We will do an analysis of the impact of the November 19th event and discuss developments in the efforts to free Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning. We continue to follow up on the issues of U.S. sanctions, climate crisis, NYCHA housing, privatization of the Postal Service, and the growing threat of war.
The Thursday Vigils to Free Julian Assange & Chelsea Manning continue after our Thanksgiving break. The next vigil will be Thursday, Dec. 5, at The New York Times Building, 8th Avenue @ 40 Street, 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm. are growing as is the visibility and support of NYC Free Assange. (Please support NYC Free Assange by “liking” our FB page here.)
We look forward to seeing you at our meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 3. Please RSVP to let us know if you can or cannot attend.
Our next meeting will be Tuesday, December 17, at a member’s home.
It was an electrifying evening at Community Church of NYC as Max Blumenthal, Margaret Kimberley, and Aaron Maté with moderator Lee Camp delivered an unforgettable forum on how propaganda is pervasive in our society today. A video of the event is available now. Click Propaganda logo on right
Thank you all, panelist, moderator, and enthusiastic audience for making this evening a huge success.
Join us Tuesday at 6:00 pm for our next Big Apple Coffee Party meeting. Please RSVP to this notice, and we will send the location of the meeting at a member’s home on the Upper West Side.
The Thursday Vigils to Free Julian Assange & Chelsea Manning are growing as is the visibility and support of NYC Free Assange. (Please “like” our FB page here.)
The next vigil will be Thursday, Nov. 7th, at The New York Times Building, 8th Avenue @ 40 Street, 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm. Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning are languising in prison. They need our help.
We will share more news (and volunteer opportunities) for PROPAGANDA: How Propaganda Manufactures Consent. See flyer below! There is no reserved seating, but do let us know if you plan to attend at bigapplecoffeeparty@gmail.com and on our FB event page. The venue is large, and there should be no problem getting in. Doors open at 6:30 pm. Invite your friends. Don’t miss this important and amazing forum.
We continue to follow up on the issues of U.S. sanctions, climate crisis, NYCHA housing, and the growing threat of war.
We look forward to seeing you at our meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Please RSVP to let us know if you can or cannot attend.
Our next meeting will be Tuesday, November 12, at a member’s home.
