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John Pilger: ‘The truth is… there was no one to vote for’ (Going Underground US election special)

Afshin Rattansi goes underground on the US election results. Author and documentary filmmaker John Pilger tells us what has been revealed by Trump winning the US election, plus what does a Donald Trump presidency mean for the Middle East.


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jacques
jacques
Dec 1, 2016 5:08 AM

Pilger is a legend- I first found out about him when I read his excellent book about Australia- called ‘The Secret Country’. As he explained how the CIA was behind the dismissal of the Whitlam government back in the 1970’s- and the reasons why they did it- I thought: this is it- the truth- finally.
Pilger was actually in the room when they murdered RFK- he heard more shots fired than Sirhan’s gun held.
Whilst he has never done much work for 9/11 truth- I have heard him publicly question the official narrative: which is actually more than I can say for Snowden, Poitras, Greenwald or Assange:
Audience Question: “I would like to ask your views or theory that the US government was complicit in or even perpetrated the attacks on 9/11 to gain support for criminal [inaudible] Afghanistan and Iraq?”
John Pilger: “I think there is a lot of evidence that certain elements in the Bush administration, whether by intent or by or by their own arrogant incompetence, I don’t know, let things happen. I think there is enough evidence to…
We know the senior FBI people who gave warnings right throughout 2001. We know about the extraordinary inactivity by the NORAD aircraft on the day of September 11th. We know that Cheney was in charge of the White House on that day.
I think the most plausible is the “let it happen”, now at what stage it was let happen, I don’t know, I don’t know. But certainly that seems to me, the most plausible.
There is no doubt that 9/11 became the opportunity for a new “Cold War” basically, only called the “War on Terror”. But beyond that I wouldn’t want to…”
http://911truthnews.com/journalist-and-filmmaker-john-pilger-on-911/

Brian Harry
Brian Harry
Dec 1, 2016 5:36 AM
Reply to  jacques

The “Official” story of 9/11 has more holes in it than the entire production of cheese in Switzerland. It is totally implausible with just about everything in the NIST Report having been ‘shot down’ by Architects, Engineers and the NYC Fire Dept.
But the USA Administration is completely “dead batting” every legitimate query questioning it in fine detail. The fact that everyone from the President down doesn’t want to engage in any discussion(other than the “official narrative”) tends to suggest a ‘cover up’.
You would think that the question of “who did 9/11” would be America’s No 1 priority, but NO. No one will engage in the debate, other than to accuse dissidents of being ‘Conspiracy theorists’ and subsequently treated with contempt.
The whole things ‘Stinks to high Heaven”………….

Anonymous
Anonymous
Oct 12, 2017 8:45 PM
Reply to  jacques

John Pilger is a prime example of “a gatekeeper or disinfo agent on the Left”: His equivocating remarks regarding “9/11” are only one example of how those supposedly dispensing the “real” truth are useful in maintaining false perceptions among those who have not yet realized how successful half-truths are, as opposed to outright lies.
Pilger and his peers keep writing about how Trump is “just a symptom” which seems reasonable enough, except that surely they are intelligent enough to know that Trump is not some idiot that misguided people voted into office. Trump is actually a “player”; he is very consciously playing the role of a president who is accelerating the cultural divide in America, which is part of the carefully constructed road to more and more chaos: A chaos that some know will be needed to bring about more “order”.
Even Pilger’s film on the coming war with China is an example of the role he is playing which actually helps further the misleading impression that China’s highest ranking leaders are somehow innocent victims of what seems to be American/British aggression. This appearance of a natural opposition is yet another layer of the illusion that a major war between the two superpowers is inevitable.
These gatekeepers on the Left realize that such a war is not going to happen out of a one-sided aggression from Western powers, particularly America. It is going on happen because it is one more huge way to create massive chaos, that will leave most people screaming for “order” of any kind!
I wish Pilger and others like him were genuine, but sadly they are sophisticated and very intelligent tools for those who plan on wielding ever more power over truly innocent victims.

Arrby
Arrby
Nov 14, 2016 5:09 PM

I was surprised when I woke up the morning after the election to a Trump win. That’s because everyone, Right and Left and in between, said Hillary ‘had’ won. But being surprised here doesn’t mean not understanding how the Trump win happened.
I am finding it interesting, following some of the narrative (on the Left mostly), how much of a zig zag the narrative is taking. Trump isn’t part of the establishment. He is. I am collecting some commentary reflecting that. I don’t see anything nefarious in it. It’s just interesting.

Andrew
Andrew
Nov 14, 2016 4:38 PM

Wikileaks is seriously persona non grata at the moment. The pseudo liberal class have really turned on it, much to their shame. Type ‘Wikileaks is’ into google and notice how google have manipulated their search results, slandering Wikileaks. Even the Guardian are trying to link Assange with David Duke! But I notice that John Pilger is one of the only ones out there defending Wikileaks at the moment, doing all the dirty work. God bless Pilger. Like where is Chomsky for example. He’s gone quiet at a time when Wikileaks needs his support now more than ever – Chomsky is basically seen as ‘God’ among many (and in fairness, he is excellent) and his words of support would be a gilt edged security.

J Garbo
J Garbo
Nov 17, 2016 3:12 AM
Reply to  Andrew

Chomsky as God? Only to those out of date, out of touch. He still hasn’t worked out 9/11. He’s the Establishment “gatekeeper” these days, which is probably why he’s silent on real disturbers such as Assange, who is risking his freedom and life to expose the truth, while Chomsky sits in his office.

jacques
jacques
Dec 1, 2016 5:01 AM
Reply to  J Garbo

exactly Chomsky is safe with his tenure and his position- and he has the gall to say that 9/11 truth is ‘lazy activism’ that ‘costs nothing’ (demonstrably untrue by the way- just ask Sibel Edmonds, Kevin Ryan, Niels Harrit, Steven Jones, etc), unlike his type of activism which is worthwhile (presumably harking back to his anti Vietnam activities decades ago).
Chomsky is not merely silent on 9/11: he actively endorses the lies of Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Wofowitz, Zakheim, Meyers, Scooter, Guiliani, Goldstein, Lowey, Rice, Powell, Zelikow and all the other 9/11 war criminals. Given his status on the left this endorsement carries a great deal of weight.
here is is lazily and sloppily – defending the lies of the mass murderers of innocents in NYC, Washington and Pennsylvania (not to mention the resultant 1,000,000 dead Iraqis, the rubble that was Libya and the slaughterhouse that is Syria) – supposedly with ‘sheer logic’ not facts- just logical suppositions that are easily disproved- if he wasn’t so goddamned lazy:

I would say his position is tantamount to aiding and abetting the mass murderers- whether he knows it or not.

mohandeer
mohandeer
Nov 14, 2016 3:30 PM

Reblogged this on Worldtruth.

Schlüter
Schlüter
Nov 14, 2016 1:44 PM

Great interview with a great Analyst! See also:
„US Elections are Over, Trump Won: Will He be President in Face of Neocon Power?“: https://wipokuli.wordpress.com/2016/11/12/us-elections-are-over-trump-won-will-he-be-president-in-face-of-neocon-power/
& in face of this:
„Geo-Politics: The Core of Crisis and Chaos and the Nightmares of the US Power Elite“ https://wipokuli.wordpress.com/2016/08/01/geo-politics-the-core-of-crisis-and-chaos-the-nightmares-of-the-us-power-elite/
Regards
Andreas Schlüter

BigB
BigB
Nov 14, 2016 12:42 PM

Pilger – excellent as ever.
Of course he is right that Trump is an antithetical liberal creation – but the great irony is that he is also a targeted and specific liberal (Democrat) creation.
Through Wikileaks we know that the DNC identified Trump (among three) from an early stage and got their venal press to promote him. They called it their “Pied Piper” strategy.
Well the Pied Piper played his racist, mysogonist, xenophobic tune – and won.
That was a billion illegal and treasonous dollars well spent!

Greg Bacon
Greg Bacon
Nov 14, 2016 11:32 AM

This is nothing new, but many might find it shocking. Back in 2004, we had a ‘choice’ between two multi-millionaires, both went to Yale and both were members of the secretive “Skull and Bones.”
Back in 1988, we could choose between a life-long politician, former head of the CIA, Bush the Elder and an unknown gov from Massachusetts who had the on-air charisma of an ash tray, making the choice rather easy.
By the time the candidates get to us peons, the sausage was already made and in the freezer.
The one candidate, Ron Paul, who brought some intellect and much needed truth to the campaign, that the Federal Reserve is phony, as it wasn’t federal and had no reserve, and we didn’t need them to print money out of thin air, he got savagely attacked by the MSM and the usual talking head suspects, then he was gone.
Until the FED is smashed into a 1,000 pieces and our government starts printing debt-free currency, don’t expect any US president to rock the boat.

BigB
BigB
Nov 14, 2016 1:11 PM
Reply to  Greg Bacon

My sentiment exactly – until we change the way money is created – or at least have “solid money” (100% reserve banking) as Paul calls it – politics is a sideshow and charade – and voting is pacification.
It all goes back to the Mayer Rothschild dictum – “Give me control of a Nation’s money supply, and I care not who makes its laws.”
Since 2010 – I believe the Fed has pumped some $3 trillion “funny money” into the economy – in the form of QE.
Where has it gone? To the poor and needy? To the Rust Belt?
Lets just say the millionaire overclass is now the billionaire overclass.

Brian Harry, Australia
Brian Harry, Australia
Nov 14, 2016 7:15 PM
Reply to  BigB

“Since 2010 – I believe the Fed has pumped some $3 trillion “funny money” into the economy – in the form of QE”.
My understanding is, that the QE money was ‘issued’ by the FED to buy “Mortgage Backed Securities”(code for ‘Bad Debts’) from the big NYC Banks. The QE funds however remained in the NYC Banks “Reserve Accounts’ at the FED ie the funds didn’t make it into the USA economy and therefore didn’t affect the US inflation rate.
During this period 100’s of regional Banks in the rest of the USA were allowed to go ‘Bust’. The QE money issued by the FED was used, to save the NYC Banks that are some of the owners of, the FED. The MSM seem to have remained very quiet about the detail surrounding QE.
This could be a matter for Pilger to investigate.

BigB
BigB
Nov 15, 2016 8:35 AM

You are absolutely right Brian.
It is easier if we don’t think of QE as printed or minted money at all – instead, imagine a digitally created credit line. The debt swap you talk of is a smoke and mirrors accounts trick – that exchanges something (bad debt) for nothing (digital credit.) This clears the banks books to an extent and allows them to continue their speculation and financialisation – read fraud. It’s similar to an unlimited overdraft – to be paid back… sometime.
By way of a crude analogy – imagine a crooked croupier in an NYC casino (on Wall St – where else?) It is a high odds game and the highrollers (NYC banks) play recklessly – but each time the chips run short – the croupier extends a new line of credit – essentially for free (clue – nothing’s for free – but it’s the poor that pick up the bill)
The profits are privatized (by way of a massive over-inflation of the asset bubble – and who owns those assets?) – the risk and debt socialized – think of $3 trillion as America’s infrastructure program for the last 10 years.
It is a closed system – the ‘money’ is never available externally – in the real economy – to pay for welfare or infrastructure – it could be – but why spoil a good thing?
It is essentially theft – free money for the already rich asset owning class – debt and austerity for the rest.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-biggest-heist-in-human-history-three-trillion-dollars-injected-by-the-fed-into-the-financial-system/5548910?utm_campaign=magnet&utm_source=article_page&utm_medium=related_articles

Brian Harry, Australia
Brian Harry, Australia
Nov 15, 2016 11:05 AM
Reply to  BigB

I urge everyone to read the “Global Research” link referred to above……and pass it around to everyone who is struggling to understand how the “QE” system works. If you’ve been experiencing pain between you buttocks since 2008…..congratulations……..you’ve been “QE’d”……..

BigB
BigB
Nov 15, 2016 3:14 PM

All of the basic information of how money is created as debt is at positivemoney.org – their excellent short and simple videos are on their YouTube channel.
Using their data – for us in the UK – £375 bn of QE has resulted in £25-28 bn ‘stimulus’ to the economy. Before you get under-excited – that is largely why your kids can’t afford to move out – it has artificially boosted the price of most peoples only real asset – their house. It’s not money in peoples pockets.
Where has the rest gone? The top 5% of the asset rich are now £128 k per household better off – de nada.
Pissed off? I like to think of the windfall to the already rich as our inheritance in the form of flood defences, new schools, NHS or money to seed a Green New Deal.
Before I get too indignant though – it was the last Labour PM that gave it away!

susannapanevin
susannapanevin
Nov 14, 2016 6:32 AM

Reblogged this on Susanna Panevin.

Brian Harry, Australia
Brian Harry, Australia
Nov 14, 2016 4:22 AM

Pilger is probably right. This Presidential election was between the “Devil”(Hillary) and the “deep blue sea”(Trump). It now remains to be seen what Trump’s real intentions are, because whatever he said during the election campaign(and there was scant detail), can be dismissed as electoral ‘verbal diarrhoea’. One disturbing outcome of Trump’s win was Beni Netanyahu welcoming his win, and the early signs are that Trumps advisor on Israel is an Ashkanazi Jew, who sees no problem with Israel’s taking Palestinian land on the West Bank and building new Israeli homes there. Good to see Pilger “bucketing” the Guardian(and of course, the NY Times) a couple of times(and he’s right, they are just propaganda spreaders for the status quo.

Yonatan
Yonatan
Nov 14, 2016 12:00 PM

Trump is also reported to favor John Bolton as Secretary of State, possibly the only person that could make Nuland seem moderate.