Maybe Hollywood awards shows shouldn’t be televised anymore. The audience keeps shrinking every year. The Golden Globes ratings show the ceremony lost another 7% of its viewers, on top of last year’s decline. At some point, you have to ask why these are still treated as national events. Most industries hand out their awards quietly in hotel ballrooms. Hollywood could do the same and spare the rest of us the spectacle.
The Grayzone reports that Western media is flipping the script on the protests in Iran, downplaying attacks on government buildings and national infrastructure while portraying the unrest as one-sided violence against peaceful demonstrators. Instead, audiences are told the Iranian government is targeting protesters for death. But is that an accurate picture of what’s happening on the ground?
Western media coverage has largely ignored footage showing violent attacks by rioters on public infrastructure and religious sites. Video from January 10 shows rioters in a central Iranian city attacking and setting fire to a public bus. In Tehran and other regions, mobs have vandalized and burned mosques, including damage to the historic Abazar Mosque, arson inside the Grand Mosque of Sarableh, and the burning of Qurans at religious shrines in Khuzestan. The Trump administration is supporting these events and they are largely absent from mainstream reporting, which focuses almost exclusively on claims of state violence against protesters.
Meanwhile, wildly inflated death tolls are being circulated in Western media, with claims that “thousands” of civilians have been killed by the Iranian government. Some figures go as high as 12,000 or even 200,000. None of these numbers can be independently corroborated. Many trace back to the National Endowment for Democracy, a U.S. government–funded organization that openly promotes regime change abroad. If you believe anything the NED says, God help you!
One video now circulating widely features a forensic expert suggesting that some protesters may not have been killed by Iranian security forces at all, but by third party snipers. If true, that raises an obvious question rarely explored in mainstream coverage: who would benefit from civilian deaths being attributed to the Iranian government?
This is a familiar playbook. Inflated casualty figures, downplayed violence by protestors armed by…who again? Could it be the U.S. and Israel? It is a tactic long associated with U.S. foreign policy advocacy circles, including figures like Victoria Nuland, who played a central role in Ukraine policy and now serves as an ambassador for the National Endowment for Democracy. One wonders whether the architects of these past campaigns would recognize the pattern unfolding once again.
And here is another under-reported development. Tens of thousands of Iranians did take to the streets this week, not to protest the government but to support it, not because they love the Ayatollah per se, but because they resist Israeli and U.S. intervention.
Clinton No-Show in Epstein Probe Tests Congressional Subpoena Power
Former President Bill Clinton was a no-show for a scheduled House Oversight Committee deposition on Tuesday related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. On Wednesday, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to face the same committee but is expected to be marked absent too.
Last summer, the House Oversight Committee issued subpoenas to the Clintons as well as former Attorneys General Merrick Garland, Jeff Sessions, William Barr, as well as former FBI Directors James Comey, Robert Mueller and others. Importantly, the subcommittee vote that led to the subpoenas did have bipartisan support. This was not a partisan exercise.
There is much the Clintons could shed light on if they would only be forthcoming. President Clinton was a frequent passenger on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane, and both Clintons would have insight into why Epstein avoided serious scrutiny for years while he was already on the radar of federal law enforcement during the Clinton-era Justice Department.
So what happens to normies when they ignore congressional subpoenas? They can be compelled to testify. They can face fines. They can face criminal contempt charges and even jail time.
What happens to former Presidents when they ignore congressional subpeonas? We are about to find out, but history suggests none of the above.
Cut Your Wireless Bill in Half This January
Now that the holidays are behind us, a lot of people are feeling the spending hangover — gifts, food, travel… it adds up fast. If you’re looking for an easy place to cut back, Mint Mobile is making it simple.
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Did you miss our last live show? No problem, you can catch the replay here! And don’t miss this interview with General Mike Flynn about why the U.S. is so focused on a war in the arctic!
Scott Adams is trending because the popular author, speaker and creator of the Dilbert cartoon succumbed to his cancer and died on Monday. He left behind this beautiful note.
Mike Tomlin is trending because the long-time coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers has stepped down after 19 years with the team. He had two years left on his contract but he’s hanging it up early.
BTS is trending because the K-pop band announced a new world tour starting in April.
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This newsletter is written and researched by Natali Morris. Please feel free to reach Natali at [email protected] for any editorial feedback.
