The Oligarch Chronicles Part 8

Journalism: A dangerous profession

Capitalism is back to attacking its critics, with the exact same language as their predecessor Robber Barons.

Capitalism and its oligarchs do not like the facts or the truth exposing their activities. This is why there are so many people with anti-science viewpoints. If you criticize or expose the facts or the truth on the excesses and abuses of capitalism, you are called the “radical left” and “enemies of the state” by the government servants of capitalism. Even the word “progressive” has become a derogatory word used by the right. Now, anyone who is successful in exposing capitalism, faces threats and violence from capitalism’s far-right infantry.

Unions and journalists, who traditionally acted as checks on concentrated power, are now targets. Union organizers face legal barriers, harassment, and public vilification. Journalists investigating corruption, foreign influence, or elite misconduct encounter lawsuits, disinformation campaigns, and political retaliation.

As these watchdogs disappear and are weakened, the space for dissent challenging the excesses and abuses of the powerful wealthy few and their political servants weakens. Journalists just doing their job of reporting the facts and the truth, face increasing danger. From 2020 to 2024 at least 340 reporters were murdered.

Two hundred and ten have now been killed in Gaza. During the invasion of Ukraine 150 journalists were killed. Journalists face character assassination from smear campaigns, death threats, kidnapping and murder.

Journalist Peter DeVries was a household name in Holland. His TV show that had run for 17 years exposed miscarriages of justice by working with victims’ families to solve crimes. After receiving death threats, he refused police protection. On July 5, 2021, walking to his car from a TV studio where he appeared as a talk show guest, Peter DeVries was shot several times and died nine days later.

Many are also affected by the growing use of criminal law to deter free speech and protests. A very troubling risk for journalists is that they are increasingly being arrested even in their own countries on trumped up charges for simply doing their jobs, even in Canada. In January 2024, Brandi Morin, an award-winning Cree/ Iroquois/ French journalist was arrested while covering an indigenous homeless encampment in Edmonton, AB.

In November 2021, journalists Amber Bracken and Michael Toledano were arrested by the RCMP while covering a pipeline protest in BC.

Around the world particularly in authoritarian regimes, journalists are being arrested, charged, convicted and sentenced to lengthy terms of imprisonment. In Belarus, journalist Danil Polanski was this year convicted of treason, revealing state secrets and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The risks and dangers faced by today’s journalists are much greater and much more serious that the risks and dangers faced by 19^th century journalists.

At this writing, Israeli IDF forces targeted and killed prominent Al Jazeera journalist, Anas al Sharif, along with four of his colleagues in a tent clearly marked “press”. Anas al Sharif had previously been subjected to false claims he was a Hamas operative.

He was murdered for doing his job, telling the facts and the truth.

On top of all of that, today’s journalists face being replaced by AI script and messaging controlled by the oligarchs. Journalists must find a way to get out the facts and the truth even if it means self-publishing again.

The last word

I must start by saying there are not enough superlatives to properly say THANK YOU to Nick Seebruch and rabble for publishing The Oligarch Chronicles, when no one else would. Objective and factual reporting is increasingly disappearing, edited out or dismissed as fake news. This underlines just how important Rabble news has become, in getting out the facts and the truth.

Having just nine billionaires control companies worth multiple trillions and the acceleration of more and more profit is simply not sustainable. No one and nothing are slowing it down.

At the same time governments worldwide continue cutting taxes on the wealthy and their corporations are bringing in cuts to public services and austerity for working people. Cuts to wages, benefits and pensions as well as making them work longer. Until they drop dead and are no longer useful to the profiteers.

For 46 years, showing repeatedly that the Liberals and Conservatives are just two feuding wings of the same political party, both have promised prosperity from the trickle-down theory of tax cuts, deregulation (cutting red tape) and the increased efficiencies of the private sector (privatization). Trickle-down continues to be presented as factual and indisputable.

Then there is the blocking of action on the climate crisis and the denials of the climate crisis and the accelerating oil, gas, and mineral extraction no matter what damage it does. Accelerating the death of the planet.

Of course, if you oppose this acceleration of wealth acquisition and insist on concrete action to fight the climate crisis, you are attacked as a “far left radical”, a socialist or a communist. The worst dismissal has become “Left leaning” “meaning you can ignore what is being said as not credible. In 2025 the richest 500 billionaires in the world added $2.2 trillion to their accumulated wealth. At the same time many used this wealth to devour media outlets. They are controlling more and more of the narrative and flow of information, like the Robber barons of the 19th century. They control the messaging, environmental reforms and consolidate regional power under the guise of defending “working class freedom”.

The alignment between Alberta’s Danielle Smith’s rhetoric and the far-right populist ecosystem antivax, anti-Ottawa, anti-World Economic Forum is not coincidental. It mirrors a global trend where extractive industries back hyper nationalist movements. It’s all about the oil and gas and who profits from it.

The authoritarian threat is rising rapidly around the world including here in Canada.

The question is: can Canadian democracy survive the authoritarian threat?

This is not a conspiracy theory. Scientists are very worried about runaway climate heating, where the temperature gets so high that the planet’s store of methane in the permafrost and in the oceans stored as methyl hydrate is uncontrollably released. Life on earth would be destroyed.

The motivation and purpose for this investigative report was to be a shout out to all the journalists of the world to become “Muckrakers” once again, despite the risks and dangers. They must factually expose tax cuts, deregulation and privatization as junk and fairytale economics.

Claims of “fake news also include claims dismissing science facts, because the facts are a threat to capitalism and their paid for politicians, particularly the authoritarian ones. The facts and the truth are still powerful exposing billionaire Oligarchs and their politician servants. We have better computers and better WI-FI internet that the Robber Barons did. Let us use them to oppose the oligarchs to the benefit of all.

The oligarchs have bought sovereignty over much of the world. We must take back democratic power and control over the Earth and its finite resources.

We must begin again the process of building a cage of international laws and regulations for capitalism, this time an enforced, escape proof one. Corporations are now making record profits. Stop telling the trickle down economics and tax cut lies. We need the return of a progressive taxation system and severe excess profits tax so the wealthy and their corporations pay their fair share. As was written in The Star in 1892, “we will have to struggle, resolutely and uncompromisingly.”

Greed is relentless and so we must be. A dead planet profits no one.

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