Chris Hedges on Moral Courage

Comment: In this and other speeches and writings, Chris Hedges seeks to dismiss the illusion that any form of band aide can repair what is essentially a corrupt capitalist/totalitarian world order. His vision is largely one of dystopia- a broken fragmented world order firmly on the path to self destruction. While he discourages violence, he firmly espouses resistance and adherence to the best aspects of the liberal democratic tradition. He embraces sustainability and community.

I want to caveat his statements- qualify them- offer a less pessimistic vision- but I can't. The dystopia he speaks of exists today- its roots go far back. His is an accurate depiction of reality.

This dystopia was not difficult to foresee. Yet at its root- the crisis is spiritual. And despite all- transformation is possible if the mind is freed from illusion- delusion- and is willing to understand the human condition and our relationship with each other- with nature- with the Universe. The answers are not found in religious institutions- but in our renewed understanding of the present and connection with the living universe. The vision of Chris Hedges outlines is tragic- mankind is as much victim, as willing participant in his own destruction. However, another way is truly possible. Love and compassion are real- they have meaning.


The Republican/Tea Party, 2010: Mass Stupidity

“Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or businessman from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid.”
--- President Dwight D. Eisenhower, November 8, 1954

Comment: There are many reports that Sarah Palin is a fundamentally angry person- self destructive- violent- uncaring to those closest to her- while at the same time having a public visage that is somewhat the opposite- the soccer mom- with a health dose of patriotism and common sense. I tend to think of her more in terms of the wolf in sheep's clothing. It is no coincidence that she taps into the public angst- anger- since she is an embodiment of this anger- and its destructive consequences.

When I listen to Glenn Beck- I hear threads of megalomania- a belief that his mission is from God. I hear the same from Sarah Palin. Yet I believe that if most Americans truly understood both these people for who they are- they would not see them as popular champions- but as dangerous manifestations of their own fears- insecurities and in some cases hate. Frightening individuals.

The Republican party- the Jan Brewers, the John McCain's and others- seem to also appeal to this mass fear- hatred- in the case of Brewer- willing to scapegoat against immigrants for personal benefit. In the case of McCain- there seems to be a predisposition to solve all international problems through the use of force. Listening to McConnell and Boehner- I hear two servile and detached politicians that have no empathy- are fundamentally self serving and seek to appeal to the worst elements in their party.

When I hear Obama I hear two things. A politician that espouses liberal democratic values- yet in his actions either embraces a kind of cowering realpolitik- or worse a cynicism that calls into question his sincerity. Yet, Obama and the Democratic party- have brought constructive change. There is probably no American that has not directly or indirectly benefited from a governmental program they have spearheaded. Yet the change has not been fundamental- it is not change that dramatically changes the course of democracy- of the environment- of the financial system, of the war machine,  etc. Obama skillfully tries to navigate between different constituencies- different metaphors- his notion of leadership is fluid- dynamic- but not substantial. Perhaps his campaign motto should have been "change" and not "real change you can believe in."


The Ending of the War in Iraq

Lies...not really over. Combat mission reduced. Sectarian violence reduced. Potential for re-intervention however.

Iraqi infrastructure in disarray. 500,000 Iraqi children died due to US backed sanctions before the War. By some estimates a million or more Iraqi's died during the War. US soldiers killed and maimed. For what?

Initial intervention a violation of international law. Gross mismanagement of almost all phases of the War. Do we learn from our mistakes? No...Instead we declare or pretend victory and refocus on another international foreign policy disaster- Afghanistan.

The American public as badly informed as ever- poised to vote into power fascist, right wing leaders who have no understanding of the issues facing this country and the world- further accelerating the nation's decline. Unimaginably these "leaders" take on the mantle of Martin Luther King- a man's whose greatness overshadows them in degrees unspeakable.

And Obama...this source of great change...believes he can do nothing and does nothing-does he even care?


Meteorologist: Record Heat Wave in Russia Could Kill Tens of Thousands Russia-fire

"Wildfires across Russia. Devastating floods in Pakistan. Deadly landslides and flash floods in India and China. Heat wave across the United States. Severe drought in Niger. Taken together, scientists warn the events match predictions for extreme climate events caused by global warming. This year is on track to be the warmest since reliable temperature records began over a century ago, mainly due to a buildup of greenhouse gases from fossil fuels. We speak to Jeff Masters, co-founder and director of meteorology for Weather Underground, a weather information website."- Democracy Now!, 8/10/2010; See also: Bolivian UN Ambassador: Despite Extreme Weather, US and Other Developed Countries Failing to Make Serious Pledges to Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Comment: See: A Prediction- a New Warning

Our Deceitful Government- The Gulf Crisis

Scientist Accuses Obama Administration and BP of Underestimating Amount of Oil Left in Gulf of Mexico

Fishing Industry in Gulf Still Worried About Levels of Toxins in the Water and the Impact on Marine Life

Comment: 4-6 million gallons of oil disappear in two weeks. Wow...just how dumb does the Obama administration think the American people are. Though I have a background in microbiology- I had no idea those little microbes could work that quickly. Idiots! The oil will take years...decades to cleanup- assuming even that the fragile ecosystems of Gulf- under threat before the BP spill- will ever recover.

Toxic dispersants are used to sink the oil to the ocean floor so that the old adage- out of sight-out of mind- can take hold on a supposedly gullible American public. In the meantime fisherman and shrimpers get sick, all forms of marine life die and....Haley Barbour, the corrupt governor of Mississippi, won't even use all of the federal money his state has been given for the cleanup.... Good ole boys indeed.

Lessons learned? A coherent energy policy- solid steps to address climate change? Anything? No- too politically risky. Well we will see just how politically risky inaction is come November.
 

Brief Comment on Proposed Muslim Community Center Near Ground Zero

There appears to be little disagreement that the land owners of the proposed Muslim community center have the right to build there. The question is whether they should voluntarily refrain from doing so out of respect for those who died during the 911 tragedy.

I strongly believe that the building of the community center is a demonstration of the desire for peace and a renunciation of the use of violence. As such, I strongly encourage the building of this center. I also believe it is the responsibility of political and community leaders to be unequivocal in the defense of constitutional and universal human rights for all peoples.

Finally, for those that have passed over- I believe that they understand that we are all one and that rather than perpetuating the very fears that caused their death, we, the living, have a responsibility to stand for compassion and peace. That is true courage.

Help Bradley Manning, 7/28/2010

Comment: Pfc. Bradley Manning is suspected of leaking confidential information of the type recently released by WikiLeaks concerning the Afghanistan War. This release of 71,000 documents reveals possible war crimes and irresponsible behavior by military and government officials. Predictably the Pentagon, instead of investigating its own misconduct, is pursuing a criminal investigation of the leaks. Bradley Manning has displayed great courage and deserves the support of Americans that value governmental transparency and accountability.

Comment, 8/4/2010: Once again, the Washington military and political establishment attempts to destroy the whistleblower and not face the issues they, the establishment, have wrought. Idiot surrogates such as Marc Thiessen, former Bush speech writer, call for the Wikileaks "criminal syndicate" to be pursued by civilian and military resources- including where such pursuit would violate international law. Criminal syndicate? A better case can be made that the criminal syndicate is the Obama administration, US Congress and military/industrial complex. Where exactly is that 9 billion dollars of development aid to Iraq? Just whose pockets did this line? Cutting food stamps and giving X billion dollars to the Taliban (who is fighting against us)?

Nothing new in the Wikileaks disclosures? US assassination squads OK? 20,000 previously unaccounted for civilian deaths OK? Hundreds of thousands of private military contractors- many of whom are engaged in covert activities and have access to sensitive intelligence. Intelligence they could conceivably sell to the highest bidder. I could go on and on. Perhaps what we need is an international war crimes investigation with the United States being the target of investigation.

The US Congress (particularly Republicans) showed its true colors by recently voting down a measure that would force corporations to disclose to whom they contribute vast sums to. Oh yes, the unlimited spending that corporations can now make to pursue their narrow, selfish, entirely profit driven interests. Brought to you by the Supreme Court. Criminal syndicate indeed. Just how will democracy- or some relic of it succeed if billions of dollars will flow from corporations to fund politicians- who are already subservient to their interests? Fascism by definition.

Citizens have a right to be angry- but turning to the Republicans in November is quite literally going out of the frying pan into the furnace. The Democrats? We need to do better.

A New Dream

Excerpt from a letter to a friend, 7/4/2010: In my view there are many cognitive approaches to the subject of climate change. Systems thinking is important. A purely scientific approach that is not cohesive will tend to confuse the general public. An intuitive- eco-spiritual approach- while frowned upon by some scientists, is in fact the key to understanding what is happening on a holistic level. Albert Einstein was a great theoretical physicist- but he did not shy away from trying to understand the world holistically- with a compassion that extended to all life. It is not coincidence that Oppenheimer would have quoted the Bhagavad Gita when witnessing the first nuclear explosion-“ I have become Death- the destroyer of worlds.”  He knew what he wrought.

The notion that we are separate from our environment is a relatively recent phenomena- perhaps starting with the Renaissance and the likes of Descartes and others. The industrial revolution with emphasis on homogeneity and regimentation accelerated this thinking- forming the intellectual underpinnings of a world that has become  a uniquely efficient machine world that is inherently unequal and uniquely exploitative. While you and I experience relative prosperity- most of the world does not.

The public needs- the science- but also an open discussion and forum to begin to envision a sustainable world- one not sustained by increasing military expenditures and control- but sustained by empowering people to dream a world that is just, beautiful and secure. Climate change is a very dangerous symptom of what is wrong with the world we have constructed- but it must be dealt with in the broader context of societal change.

The world we have dreamed- is just that a dream- it can be undreamed and a new better world put in its place….

To the same friend...in a later exchange:

There are many ways of knowing. Sadly- in this society- in global society in general- the only modality left (or certainly the most predominant)- is the scientific method. Of course, in the ways we treat each other- science often goes out the door- and we are left with habitual patterns of violence- fears and deep insecurities.

The scientific way of knowing never comes close to approaching the truth- the truth of being- the essence of who we are- the essence of what we call reality. It promotes little understanding of self and very little as to the true nature of the universe.

Unless we fundamentally address who we are- individually and in community- then the doomsayers are right- we will need to learn from crisis after crisis- and unless I understand the science incorrectly- there isn't much time to head of disaster after disaster- each disaster worse than the last. Believe it or not- some in power place their faith in geo- engineering. I am sure you know how Lovelock feels about this. Others see winners and losers and think up war game scenarios where the stakes are whether a population can feed itself-have enough water to survive... 

Yes- our reliance on oil and gas will diminish- it has to- there isn't enough in the ground. But at what point will we stop? How fundamentally must our world change for us to stop? How many degrees centigrade- 2, 4, 15, 20?

Bill McKibben raises awareness and does good- in a way not dissimilar from Al Gore and Jim Hansen. However, the strategy is clearly failing when people know the truth (as most do- despite the so-called Climategate), and none act with the needed sense of urgency? Try to answer this question without addressing my fundamental point. And don't blame it on governments- the capitalist system, etc- they are but manifestations of the same problem.


Maude Barlow: "The World Has Divided into Rich and Poor as at No Time in History"

Comments: Listen to her...We need a new dream...
 

Who Cooked The Planet, Paul Krugman, 7/25/2010

Obama Has Kept the Machine Set on Kill”–Journalist and Activist Allan Nairn Reviews Obama’s First Year in Office, 1/6/2010

Comment: There is nothing that Narin says here that is false. His interview is not so much a critique of Obama, but the military-industrial-governmental complex that Obama and others support and extend. Violence must be opposed and condemned- whatever the source. Right now Narin is in danger of being arrested by the Indonesian government for exposing its military's assassination of civilians. See also: Journalist Allan Nairn Facing Possible Arrest in Indonesia for Exposing US-Backed Forces Assassinated Civilians, Democracy Now!; See also: Obama supports battlefield executions- illegal- immoral- reprehensible-Change you can believe in... 5/12/2010
 

The American Fascists

The American fascists are most easily recognized by their deliberate perversion of truth and fact. Their newspapers and propaganda carefully cultivate every fissure of disunity, every crack in the common front against fascism. They use every opportunity to impugn democracy. They use isolationism as a slogan to conceal their own selfish imperialism. They cultivate hate and distrust of both Britain and Russia. They claim to be super-patriots, but they would destroy every liberty guaranteed by the Constitution. They demand free enterprise, but are the spokesmen for monopoly and vested interest. Their final objective toward which all their deceit is directed is to capture political power so that, using the power of the state and the power of the market simultaneously, they may keep the common man in eternal subjection.- from Henry A. Wallace, The Danger of American Fascism

Comment: Today, over 60 years later, former Vice-President Wallace's remarks ring true for most of the Republican party, Tea Party activists and many in the Democratic party- who espouse corporatism over the interests of the ordinary citizen. For these men, for example, global warming spells profits- even as most life suffers...

Scientist Working With Government Says BP Restricting Access to Study Gushing Oil Well, 7/6/2010

Comment: You have got to be kidding...not allowing press and science access to oil spill sites. Unconscionable.

Feingold: 'Standing Up to the Unholy Alliance Between Washington and Wall Street', 7/1/2010

Comment: I believe that Russ Feingold has taken a principled stand on this and other issues. I think it is important to praise a politician who has taken a firm and obviously correct stand in a nation where the truth is considered all to inconvenient.

The real question is- why aren't there more people like Russ Feingold in government? Why has common sense and principle been replaced by fear, corruption and subservience to corporate interests? What does this say about our culture? Our government?
 

A dolphin-killed by the oil spill-
We are all responsible for this.

Obama's 6/15/2010 Oval Office Speech

There is nothing that Obama said in his speech that is untrue. His intent to hold BP fully accountable and deal with the the Gulf's systemic environmental issues, at least on the surface, appears laudable.

However, the lack of specifics was based purely on political considerations. This notion of trying to build coalitions at all costs versus transformative leadership still holds. We are to wait on a Commission, hope that BP lives up to its corporate responsibilities, encourage a cornucopia of ideas from politicians and place our faith in Congress. Well- I have no faith in these entities. What is needed is bold leadership backed by the willingness to take political risks. Obama, at least tonight, displayed none of this. It is almost as if the words "climate change," and "biodiversity" are persona non grata. When is he going to have the courage to mention climate change, peak oil, water degradation, the destruction of the oceans, the melting of glaciers, food security? When? Perhaps when in the near future the spill disaster in the Gulf is seen as an early and mild harbinger of what is to come?

Energy Legislation, 6/30/2010

The President is about to come forth with a compromise energy bill, that like so many of his efforts- is best termed compromised- than a compromise. Your President (My President) lacks any sense of the fierce urgency of now as he tackles the global warming crisis. Further, the tepid response the Administration is seeking- will only delay the dramatic actions needed to stay disaster.

The American people are well ahead of Washington and the special interest groups. We need a carbon tax- not cap and trade. We need significant reduction in global warming emissions- over an 85% reduction by 2050- with aggressive measure to meet intermediate targets sooner. We need to stop the use of coal fired plants.  We do not need more nuclear plants. We need to price carbon fairly- to reflect its contribution to environmental damage. We need to more strongly promote renewable energy technology- even under the present state of advancement this technology can meet our energy needs.

The planet is rapidly losing its biodiversity. The climate is and will become increasingly unstable. Untold generations will suffer because an American President and US Senate lacks the vision and boldness to do what is right- and instead is intimidated by naysayers and pundits. Also: Where's the Outrage? EPA Betrays Coalfields (Again) With New Mountaintop Removal Permit, 6/30/2010
 

Wikileaks Manhunt

"I think he would not be safe even physically, entirely, wherever he is ... We have a president who has announced that he feels he has the right to use special operations operatives against anyone abroad that he thinks is associated with terrorism,." – Daniel Ellsberg on Dylan Ratigan Show, 5/12/2010

Daniel Ellsberg is referring to the founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange. Among other things he is known for the release of the Baghdad air strike video that showed the killing of 12, including Reuters news staff, Saeed Chmagh and Namir Noor-Eldeen. In addition innocent children were also injured.
 

Michael Hastings-Rolling Stone and the Mass Media Puppet Press, 6/29/2010

I applaud Michael Hastings article in Rolling Stone, "The Runaway General." The article is hard hitting- ironically not so much against General McChrystal or his staff- but the dismal state of our military and political effort in the region- for which they bear much of the responsibility. In essence, Hasting's exposes the truth in an unvarnished way that is rare for the mainstream American media. The best parts of the article are not the McCrystal staff one liners about Biden, Eikenberry, Obama, the French minister or Hollbrooke- but rather the facts he gives about Karzai, our allies and the situation on the ground. Should General McChrystal have been fired? I want to say-'Yes'-  however, not for his staff, eccentricity or off color remarks- but rather for his shamelessly self-promoted flawed policies. Policies that have been embraced by President Obama and Secretary Clinton. Should they be fired? Just were does the buck stop?

Naomi Klein: The Real Crime Scene Was Inside the G20 Summit, 6/28/2010

Comment: A convention of jokers- who actually believe that they can stem a world wide recession/depression with deep spending cuts. Who lack the will and integrity to create a financial tax/transaction fee on banks. Who require 1.2 billion dollars of enhanced security, fences, tear gas and riot police to protect themselves from the people in Toronto's streets. Banks- Yes!- the average citizen- No! The environment- No! The legitimacy of the G20- Not! Democratic- Not!

The Reprehensibles-Strike: Supreme Court Guts Gun Control Laws, 6/28/2010

Comment: Yes it is true- the second amendment says, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

However, it was probably assumed by many of the founding fathers that the spirit of this amendment was not intended to encourage violence or deny the reasonable control of handguns by local and federal authorities to protect the public safety. To construe the amendment in its literal meaning- is to do two things- consign law abiding citizens to their death and to once again force the reconvening of a new constitutional convention to amend the constitution (something highly unlikely). While it is true this was a 5-4 ruling, and the minority's views are significant- the Supreme Court once again earns its reputation as the Court of the Reprehensible. Beyond insular, the Court's recent rulings threaten the bedrock of the republic- a form of government they are supposed to protect.

Ironically, while citizen's appear to have a right to bear arms with only minimal restrictions- the government appears to have an almost unlimited right to deny due process to its own citizens and to use whatever violence necessary to quell any form of civil disobedience. Both views encourage violence and destroy freedom.

Actor Q’orianka Kilcher Arrested at White House Protest in Support of Peruvian Indigenous Rights, 6/3/2010

Israeli gunships head to sea to block flotilla, 5/28/2010

Comment: The cost of stopping the flotilla with violence may be the lives of activists who are bringing food and medicine to Gaza- but the cost to Israel will be future US economic and military aid, new trade embargos and the loss of whatever shred of international legitimacy the country has left. http://witnessgaza.com/

Comment, 5/31/2010: Israel attacked ships delivering humanitarian aid on the open seas. At least 10 were killed and many more wounded. The attack is a major breach of international law. It is a great tragedy for those who have lost their lives and for those who still suffer under Israeli occupation.

Obviously the facts will be disputed, but certain key areas need to be addressed: What should be the repercussions to Israel of what is a serious violation of international law? Who approved the boarding of the ships and the acts of violence that followed? Given the bellicose statements from the Israeli government leading up to the violence, it is likely it was approved at the highest levels of their government. What were the specific chain of events that led to injuries and deaths on both sides? What role, if any, did Turkey or other nations play in the convoy and any armed conflicted that in sued? It seems unlikely that activists would have risked armed resistance against a vastly superior military or that Turkey, an ally of Israel, would support arming the activists. Therefore it seems improbable that the activists were armed and violently resisted arrest and/or the seizure of their ships. However, If they did resist violently, it seems clear that the Israeli response was disproportionate and brutal.

Comment: In response to what has happened, anti-semitic posts are cropping up throughout the Internet. This is my response to one such post:

"Calling the extermination of 6 million Jews- simply treating Jews "badly"- is the grossest understatement in human history. Do you really think that this history just fades out of consciousness? That it is forgotten and simply forgiven. It is not. It takes time- understanding, great compassion and the building of trust. Also, I do not underestimate the suffering of the Palestinians- the taking of their homes, the deplorable living conditions, the lack of hope and freedom- the deaths of woman and children- this also is not easily forgotten.

However, only a coward suggests that the solution to this is more violence. Accountability- yes. A firm moral stance from the world- yes (if this is even possible).

There is an excuse for Israel's behavior- but there is no moral justification. Its leaders lack sufficient courage and wisdom to see this and the consequences will be tragic for all involved in the conflict. To genuinely seek peace is the most courageous of acts- few political leaders- few men are capable of it.

Many on the flotilla had this courage and they gave their lives for what they believed. Honoring them and working towards what they believed in is our best chance for the peace and justice they sought. "

Additional Comment regarding Israel's actions:

See also: ANALYSIS / Israel needs national inquiry into deadly Gaza flotilla clashes- Haaretz; The Electronic Intifada


Obama's Press Conference, 5/27/2010: Disingenuous

The President's press conference largely focused on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He was prepared, detailed and eloquent. Yet with all of his verbiage- it is clear- he is lacking in integrity.

He is- disingenuous. He knows that this type of high depth oil drilling is inherently risky. He knows, that no blue ribbon panel can conceal the fact that drilling this way is a last gasp- desperation effort to maintain an addiction to fossil fuels and an unsustainable world economy.

He claimed surprise at the disaster. Yet his administration, working with Congress, is now crafting energy legislation that will do little or nothing to prevent a global warming climate catastrophe. He doesn't need a blue ribbon panel to understand the consequences of this inaction. The science is clear- yet as in everything else for this President- the politics isn't. As long as the politics is unclear- his policies will be equivocating- never really solving or preventing a crisis- at best giving the appearance of accomplishment- without the substance.

A profile in cowardice couched in pretty worlds and an admittedly sound grasp of issues. His is not a lack of knowledge or awareness- his is a lack of vision and courage- and because of this- the lessons will be felt more harshly. He knows- but he doesn't KNOW.

What men have wrought...

A Prediction...A New Warning

To see the future is not really to see the future- but rather to see the present in the future- the future is all around us..

I have written a great deal about climate change. Yet I have tried to stay within the bounds of science- and there the implications are frightening enough. Yet I now feel compelled to go beyond the science and make predictions- based upon my intuitive sense, understanding of science and something that almost whispers in my ear....

The causes of environmental devastation go back even before the industrial revolution. They are rooted in man's inhumanity to man- to the endless trail of tears and war. To the abuse of the innocent- to irresponsibility to each other and the Earth that bore us- this endless chain of karma that institutionalizes and dulls our minds and inures us to the consequences of our cruelty. To harm the earth is to harm ourselves- to harm ourselves is to harm the earth. We are children of creation- and that we have the ability to destroy much of it is less because of an exalted position- but more because of a responsibility born of pain.

In the next decade the Earth will teach us that we can no longer abdicate responsibility- no longer rape her- no longer degrade ourselves- our children. She will- for want of better words- sacrifice herself. It will appear as punishment but it is not. The industrial system will collapse under the weight of its own inertia and stupidity. Rich and poor- strong and weak will be humbled and a terrible fear will arise in our hearts as the seeds of destruction sprout. The climate will become erratic- not more erratic- but erratic. We will see things that have never been recorded in human history. We will be helpless to change these things- there causes stretches back too far. They will teach us and give us the opportunity to save future generations. The next seven generations will bear the consequences of our actions- but the next seven after that? This is still an open question.

These are predictions- phrased as the prophets of old- they are warnings. In truth nothing I have predicted is not happening now- but now there are still some that can turn away- ignore- jade their minds for awhile. In the coming years this will no longer be the case.

Why 10 years? Why not 50? 100? The climate models do not preclude what I have written- nor do they confirm it. What I have just written- unlike everything else I have written- is not anchored in science. I repeat it is not anchored in science. It is however anchored in a deep understanding of the pain we have inflicted upon life- upon ourselves. Sadly- my track record for predictions is very good...

It is not a message of hopelessness- in fact we learn from pain. Our jaded, self satisfied- narrow views of reality are enlarged by our suffering. But still greater risks are coming. There is no escape- no next island- no new frontier- no new lands to conquer. We are stuck here with the accumulated weight of centuries of hate, anger and irresponsible behavior. Our only remaining gift is the opportunity and potential to change- to create a new world- for now we have no choice. Evolve or perish. Evolve to what?


Noam Chomsky Warns of Risk of Fascism in America, 4/12/2010

"He said “the colossal toll of the institutional crimes of state capitalism” is what is fueling “the indignation and rage of those cast aside.”

“People want some answers,” Chomsky said. “They are hearing answers from only one place: Fox, talk radio, and Sarah Palin.”

Chomsky invoked Germany during the Weimar Republic, and drew a parallel between it and the United States. “The Weimar Republic was the peak of Western civilization and was regarded as a model of democracy,” he said.

And he stressed how quickly things deteriorated there.

“In 1928 the Nazis had less than 2 percent of the vote,” he said. “Two years later, millions supported them. The public got tired of the incessant wrangling, and the service to the powerful, and the failure of those in power to deal with their grievances.”

He said the German people were susceptible to appeals about “the greatness of the nation, and defending it against threats, and carrying out the will of eternal providence.”

When farmers, the petit bourgeoisie, and Christian organizations joined forces with the Nazis, “the center very quickly collapsed,” Chomsky said.

No analogy is perfect, he said, but the echoes of fascism are “reverberating” today, he said."

Comment: Um- let me see.

Unlimited corporate funding of elections (Yes!);

Political discourse led by unscrupulous, self serving manipulative "leaders" such as Sarah Palin, Mitch Mcconnell, Michal Steele and Glenn Beck- feeding off of the anger of a scared populace (Yes!) 

A well informed, compassionate, difficult to manipulate electorate provided information by a press largely independent of corporate control (Not!)

Financial leaders of major banks and investment firms who serve the public interest, are careful with their shareholder's and depositor's money and support the fair distribution of wealth. (Not!)

A peace loving nation that only goes to war out of necessity (Not!)

A perpetual, never ending "war on terrorism" (Yes!)

A growing respect for individual freedom and a deep respect for domestic and international law (Not!)

A legislative branch hardly touched by the influence of major corporate interests (Not!)

I can go on and on.

To say that democracy in America is not moving towards fascism is to be...unconscious. Noam Chomsky merely states the obvious- what already is- and could get a lot worse.

Quite frankly, I don't know how to stop it. How can I convince the people in Arizona who support their racist anti-immigration laws. How can I say- imagine if you were Hispanic. How can I say- when the rights of a minority are denied- the rights of all are sacrificed. How can I argue for compassion and fairness when the supporters of these laws seek to dehumanize. To understand these things requires judgment and compassion. I can't teach this- I can't convince people of this- at least with words. There is no alternative but to fight these injustices, expose them for what they are- and go on. Go ahead- try to repeal the Civil Rights laws- Go ahead- continue to destroy the environment- you want a fight- you will have one.

My personal response is this: My armor is the truth- yours is made of steel. It is clear who has the advantage. You think you live in the real world- and somehow I am a "pie in the sky" idealist- well I will tell you- you live in a world that is increasingly of your own making- and it is becoming a nightmare. While it is easy to accuse your neighbor- it seems far harder for you to see what you are - what you have become. You have exchanged your humanity for a nice home, a car and the illusion of security. Trust me- all illusions are shattered and your ruthless ways will be your undoing. This is not an issue of repentance or confession. The issue revolves around the very definition of what it means to be human. Every life that is needlessly lost is a loss of humanity. Every right that is taken- takes away all men's rights.  What you are doing to this planet is beyond words- the only thing worse is what you do to yourselves and the two are inextricably linked- one and the same.  A plea for the Earth is really a plea for humanity.


On Desmond Tutu's Plea for the Banning of Nuclear Weapons, 5/23/2010

Desmond Tutu is a greater man than I. But in a way he is fundamentally wrong. Wrong to ban nuclear weapons- of course not...But the real is question- why are there nuclear weapons- why does that world have enough stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction to destroy life many times over? In this age, we have no choice but to honestly and directly face this question. No longer can we say, "it is human nature." In fact, if this is the case, then it is clear that human nature must change. It will not change by taking away one weapon- exchanging it for another. It will change when we recognize our common humanity and work together to create a genuinely just world. We really have no other choice if we are to retain the very best of what it means to be human- the creativity, the capacity for compassion and the love of freedom. Otherwise we will live, as we do now, in a world that is moving to a nightmare state. A militaristic global nightmare where security is sought at all expense- where there is no freedom and no security. Where self destruction is the inevitable outcome.

We have to realize that the nightmare is us- and seek to change things at the root. If we can imagine a different world than the one I just described- a just world- then it is possible- and there is hope.


Arizona: "Leading the way on Facism & Racism,"- the new state motto, 4/29/2010; Also: Boycotting Arizona’s Racism

Obama's Answer to the Environmental Crisis: Gulf Coast Oil Spill: 'Exxon Valdez Is Going to Pale in Comparison to This', 4/29/2010; Also: Scientists accuse Obama over oil spill, 5/20/2010

Comment: Obama's unprincipled climate change political triangulation "strategy" faces reality. Also, I wonder why BP thought they could get away with felony crimes?

World's dumbest politician: Senator Vitter of Louisiana's response to the Gulf disaster, 4/30/2010

Letter to Bill McKibben- Leader of 350.org

"I want to comment on your approach to the issue of climate change. Perhaps- in a trivial way, I should point out that a rearrangement of the letters in the word Earth- can spell “heart.” And this is the thrust of my critique of your overall approach. It is ironic that by adding the “a” in the title of your new book, you have removed this juxtaposition of letters.

Climate change, while devastating in effects on all life is but one part of a larger problem. The problem is not just so obviously environmental- or even one related to the capitalist system and unbridled consumption per se. These are symptoms of a much deeper problem.

The problem, at its crux is that most in the developed and increasingly in the less developed countries have lost the ability to think and approach life holistically. Increasingly people have lost contact with nature- spirit- call it would you will. We have lost the emotional, spiritual and intellectual capacity to see how our actions are interrelated. As a result we have a human rights issue, a political issue, a social issue, an environmental issue- when in fact the real issue is that we can’t at an emotive and deep spiritual level understand and feel what it is like- what it means to see precious life die- animals born mutated from chemicals that poison ourselves- to understand at a deep, core level that as we poison the earth we are poisoning ourselves.

This inability is perpetuated in a mass delusion that has literally created a new beast. A beast whose only end is to consume- an unquenchable fire that ultimately must destroy itself. In fact, the greatest threat posed by our environmental problems may be less the potential for a Venus effect and more the advent of wars brought about by resource scarcity and starvation.

My key point- is that by only focusing on climate change- we perpetuate the very thinking that has resulted in the dilemma we face. We also abdicate responsibility- with this group or some part of the government responsible for this- and another group responsible for that- while the Earth and all life suffer the cumulative effect of all our actions.

The environmental movement has never adjusted to this realization- in some cases environmental groups have become co-opted by business. In other cases radicalized by the sense of hopelessness raised by your first audience question. Rarely do they unite in substantive ways with other environmental and human rights groups.

People need to be reminded of this interrelatedness. They also need to be offered solutions that do not exacerbate what ultimately drives their consumption and indifference- namely fear. It will not be possible to have fundamental environmental change- enough change to stem the tide- unless there is fundamental societal change. People will not support radically changing their life style- unless they feel confident that the live in a society that can take of care of they and their children’s basic needs. Try to convince a working family to reduce its income and consumption- when they are focused on the health and education of their children, the fear of losing their job, the loss of health care- the loss of dignity in old age. Forget it- they will cling to these fears until they have no choice- until the environmental devastation is so great- that the fear of it dwarfs their other fears.

The only way to address climate change successfully is to unite in our perception of the real problems and address them holistically- on a global scale. It is easier for the poor to see the dilemma and the coming tragedy- because they live it each day. Because they are not as “invested” in the system. Because, as in the case of indigenous people, they have in some cases not completely lost their connection to spirit- to the earth."

Runaway Climate Change

"...After the ice is gone, would Earth proceed to the Venus syndrome, a runaway greenhouse effect that would destroy all life on the planet, perhaps permanently? While that is difficult to say based on present information, I’ve come to conclude that if we burn all reserves of oil, gas, and coal, there is a substantial chance we will initiate the runaway greenhouse. If we also burn the tar sands and tar shale, I believe the Venus syndrome is a dead certainty."-Jim Hansen, 2/4/2010


Environmentalist, 350.org Founder Bill McKibben on “Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet"-4/15/2010

Alice Walker on “Overcoming Speechlessness: A Poet Encounters the Horror in Rwanda, Eastern Congo and Palestine/Israel," 4/13/2010

Comment: Alice Walker is a magnificent elder- human being.

US special forces 'tried to cover-up' botched Khataba raid in Afghanistan

"US special forces soldiers dug bullets out of their victims’ bodies in the bloody aftermath of a botched night raid, then washed the wounds with alcohol before lying to their superiors about what happened, Afghan investigators have told The Times."-4/5/2010

Wikileaks Reveals Video Showing US Air Crew Shooting Down Iraqi Civilians, Footage of July 2007 attack made public as Pentagon identifies website as threat to national security;

Comment: This video is not easy to watch. I will let it speak for itself. See also: Massacre Caught on Tape: US Military Confirms Authenticity of Their Own Chilling Video Showing Killing of Journalists; WikiLeaks

US Denies Climate Aid to Countries Opposing Copenhagen Accord:  Bolivia and Ecuador will be denied aid after both opposed the accord, 4/9/2010

Bolivia, Ecuador and others refused to join the climate deal because they knew it was a sham and is likely to make matters even worse than Kyoto by not setting firm mandates that actually can prevent regional/global catastrophe. Over 70% of global warming gases are emitted by the developed world- we have a climate debt to the developing world to help them both mitigate the effects of climate change and to assist them in leapfrogging to renewable energy technologies. Further we have a legal and moral obligation to prevent further global warming by firm emissions controls in the developed world- especially the United States.

It is not surprising that the Obama Administration would employ this bullying strategy to effectively help legitimize our irresponsible and dangerous climate policy. I find this policy to be despicable- and I do not say this lightly. Obama, Clinton and the rest deliberately refuse to acknowledge and take responsibility for climate debt.

As I have said over and over again- while the short term effects of climate change will/is disproportionately burdening the poorer nations, in the mid to long term- next 25-30 years and beyond the developed nations will see their economies and standard of living crumble. Which given their irresponsible behavior may be just desert- except that the tragedy will be so great- almost nothing will seem to make it just.

Sell Massey Energy Company Stocks

Complicit: The article below concerning Massey was written in late 2009- before the tragedy at the Upper Big Branch non-union coal mine- the worst underground disaster in the U.S. in more than a quarter of a century. See also: No response heard from mine: Crews drill vent to remove gas after W.Va. blast, MSNBC, 4/7/2010

"Massey Energy company is responsible for mass destruction of mountains for short term gain. Its President, Don Blakenship vehemently denies the reality of climate change and his coal plants have been repeatedly fined for a pattern of numerous violations. The blasting at Coal River Mountain directly puts nearby residents at serious risk- not only from breaks in the coal slurry, but contamination of land and water. Further, the destruction is unnecessary as the site could instead become a sustainable producer of clean wind energy.

With a failed federal administration and corrupt local regulatory agencies, the best way to stop Massey is for individual and institutional investors to sell their stock in the company and instead invest in companies on the forefront of clean, renewable energy. In addition there will be another protest on 12/7/2009 at Coal River Mountain. I would encourage major environmental groups to participate and stand in unity with the protestors. http://savecoalrivermountain.org/. A list of other companies and plants can be found here.

As Chris Hedges wrote in his article, Refuse Allegiance to Coal:

The projected rise of sea levels, as much as six feet this century and 23 feet if the Greenland ice sheet disappears, will submerge coastal nations such as Bangladesh, a country of 160 million people, as well as places such as the Mekong Delta, the Maldives and the Marshall Islands. The disappearance of glaciers in the Himalayas and on the Tibetan plateau-glaciers that feed the Indus, Ganges, Yangtze and Yellow rivers-will create catastrophic water shortages and devastate the rice and wheat harvests in China and India, where about four of every 10 people live. World food prices will rise dramatically. If we can't save countries such as the Maldives and Bangladesh we will also be unable to save Venice, Hawaii, the Netherlands, New Zealand, London, Hong Kong and Manhattan. But don't expect much from Barack Obama and other leaders in the industrialized world. Their loyalty is not to the planet, or to us, but to the oil and gas industry, the coal industry and the huge corporate polluters who own them.""

The "Forgotten Issue"- Criminal Neglect

"Today we are faced with the need to achieve rapid reductions in global fossil fuel emissions and to nearly phase out fossil fuel emissions by the middle of the century. Most governments are saying that they recognize these imperatives. And they say that they will meet these objectives with a Kyoto- like approach. Ladies and gentlemen, your governments are lying through their teeth. You may wish to use softer language, but the truth is that they know that their planned approach will not come anywhere near achieving the intended global objectives. Moreover, they are now taking actions that, if we do not stop them, will lock in guaranteed failure to achieve the targets that they have nominally accepted."- Dr. Jim Hansen, head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and adjunct professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University.

Truth to Power- Martin Luther King

Read Martin King's speech, A Time to Break Silence, delivered on April 4, 1967- exactly one year before his assassination. Read it. In it you find unvarnished truth- great spiritual awareness- a profound love- a deep understanding of the truth- and the bold courage to speak it. While the conflict he addresses is Vietnam- just substitute Afghanistan or Iraq. Every conclusion- every insight- true, wise and powerful.

Now listen to today's political leaders. Look at the soul of this nation- look at what it has truly come to represent. Look at its foreign policy- its treatment of its own citizens. Then ask yourself- what needs to take place- the choice each one of us must make.

As for extremism- I ally myself with the spirit of Martin Luther King- if this makes me an extremist, then what does this say about the state of the nation?

Dr King's Economic Dream Deferred

"...This is a perilous moment. The individualist, greed-driven free-market ideology that both our major parties have pursued is at odds with what most Americans really care about. Popular support for either party has struck bottom, as more and more agree that growing inequality is bad for the country, that corporations have too much power, that money in politics has corrupted our system, and that working families and poor communities need and deserve help because the free market has failed to generate shared prosperity -- its famous unseen hand has become a closed fist.

It is hard to overstate the consequences of choosing more of the same -- the very policies that have sundered our social contract. But hear the judgment of Nobel Laureate Kenneth Arrow, echoing Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life and martyrdom. "The vast inequalities of income weaken a society's sense of mutual concern," Arrow said. "...The sense that we are all members of the social order is vital to the meaning of civilization." "- from "Dr King's Economic Dream Deferred by Bill Moyers and Michael Winship, 4/3/2010


Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance & Climate Change

Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance- the five stages of grief, discussed by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book, On Death and Dying.

Human society- actually all life on this planet- is going through these different stages of grief as life on earth goes through a process of death and destruction. Many in the developed world who believe they are shielded from the effects of climate change are in denial. In the developing countries- those who experience it first hand- day by day- are angry and in effect bargaining for more time- a fairer distribution of wealth-historical debt- help in dealing with the devastating consequences of climate change.

Then, there are some. like me- who are somewhat depressed and grieve the great loss that is taking place now and will accelerate rapidly, soon. Yet, we are beginning to accept that some of the consequences are inevitable.

The question is simply whether governments, individuals, institutions can move rapidly enough- past denial- past anger- into a state that brings action- perhaps enough to stave off the very worst consequences of climate change.

James Hansen's studies at one point focused on the Venusian atmosphere and development of climate models. He knows what the worst consequences are. There is no life on Venus- none.

So, in summary, mankind is now experiencing and will much more so in the future experience the devastating effects of climate change- not just on the environment- but on institutions- including the onslaught of wars, hunger and disease. The only way to move through the grieving process is to accept it and take responsibility in one’s own life for both the causes and the consequences. The question is not whether, but when. And at the risk of being trite- the sooner the better.

The video that will put Geithner behind bars; Also: How Lehman, With The Fed's Complicity, Created Another Illegal Precedent In Abusing The Primary Dealer Credit Facility


 “Looting Main Street”–Matt Taibbi on How the Nation’s Biggest Banks Are Ripping Off American Cities with Predatory Deals"- 4/12/2010

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's Homestate Paper Thrashes Him For 'Unabashedly Courting Wall Street Bankers For Political Money' 4/15/2010

"McConnell's statements are perfectly calibrated to inflame the public. He insists the bill would "allow endless taxpayer-funded bailouts for big Wall Street banks."
Their resemblance to the truth is another matter.

McConnell, it should be remembered, voted for the bailout of the big investment banks in the fall of 2008, when it was the only alternative to global economic meltdown.

We have read that the Republicans have a plan for financial reform, but McConnell isn't talking up any solutions, just trashing the other side's ideas with no respect for the truth.
While the intricacies of financial regulation are complicated, McConnell's calculus is pretty obvious."
 

Fox News Smear Reporting Destroys Acorn- Congress Complicit, 4/7/2010

Hannity, Beck, Limbaugh and the rest are shown to be liars on tape- right wing apparatchiks that are servants of the corrupt Republican and Tea Parties. If there was an anti-Pulitzer prize- Fox is on track to win what for them would be a coveted prize. See also: Jerry Brown: ACORN Didn't Break Any Criminal Laws, 4/2/2010

Congressman Boehner: Resign Now!

Boehner called Ohio Congressman Steve Driehas a dead man for voting for health care. A day or two later the Congressman and his family's  life was threatened. Boehner needs to be censured and forced to resign. His vituperative, cowardly and intimidating behavior encourages violence and should not be tolerated.

Congressman Boehner is reminded that If someone yells 'Fire' in a crowd to start a stampede and people are harmed- it is called reckless endangerment and can be treated as a felony crime.

See also: Paul Krugman's editorial: "Going to Extreme." ; Rachel Maddow: Right Wing Threats of Violence Intensify, 4/7/2010
 

Health Insurance reform, 3/8/2010

Insurance companies are dramatically increasing rates on the eve of health care passage. Yet their stocks rise as the chances for passage go up. The two are not contradictory if you assume that at least some of the rate increases are timed to encourage the passage of a plan that brings compulsory coverage and the ability to charge whatever they like. A plan that will be much more costly to the consumer, even as it decreases the federal outlay by reducing Medicare costs.

The Democrats are getting ready to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The President's leadership should be repudiated and instead his party needs to pass a bill with a robust public option that can cover the majority of Americans.

And the Bill passes....

A Comment about Michael Moore...and the World...

In Moore’s world view the people are victims of a merciless elite. Yet in reality people are not victims- they are the root cause- the masses have abdicated their power, their choice- for a small piece of real estate, a big screen TV, an SUV and food on the table. And while many do not have this- they want nothing to rock the boat- to make them feel less secure. Few Americans lose sleep over the tragedy in Iraq and Afghanistan and the untold suffering and loss of civilian life. Few think about the destruction of nature and climate change. Few care about the developing world- the privatization and scarcity of water- the gross inequality in this country and elsewhere between the rich and poor. Hence- the majority is easily and willingly manipulated. We want to be told that we’re a great moral force in the world- yet we do not hesitate to inflict death and destruction. Cognitive dissonance indeed.

For many there is faith that ultimately things will work out- sometimes it is a faith in science- a faith in humanity- a misplaced belief that we have progressed as a species, morally and ethically. But unless I am mistaken, more have died in the 20th century in war than in any previous century. There may be few plantation slaves now- but there are many economic slaves- here and in the third world- the make our cloths, clean our houses, even perform sex- all for just the chance to survive.

The truth is that all we really can control is ourselves- and most cannot accomplish even this. Yet if we change- if we act as we preach-if we walk with beauty and integrity- then perhaps there is hope. All the words in this forum, pale in insignificance to just one act of genuine selflessness and compassion. That is all there is- everything else is folly and delusion.
 

Naomi Klein on Climate Debt with an Introduction by Avi Lewis

Comment: Naomi Klein is right in all of what she says. All are vulnerable- and there are no words to describe what will take place and yes- what IS taking place. No words.

In the Shadow of Power- the Disgrace of the Nation's Capitol

Thomas Geoghegan on the Case for Busting the Filibuster

Cornel West Questions Obama's Commitment to Black America, Says a Prayer for Rahm Emmanuel

Obama: Nuclear Energy & Offshore Drilling...Take that Energy and Shove It, 2/24/2010; 3/31/2010

Obama must be out of his mind- providing loan guarantees to build nuclear power plants that are not needed and are not economically viable. Earth to Obama...Solar and other renewable technologies have arrived- the technologies are there NOW to meet our energy needs. It is only the lack of sound economic and environmental policy and the continued subsidies to the oil and gas industries that make fossil fuel prices competitive. If the environmental destruction they caused were factored into their price- no one could afford them. No one!

Is this move a payback to a major campaign contributor? A bribe to the Right so that they will support cap and trade? Are you daft? Nuclear power is not secure. Nuclear waste is an issue that has not been resolved. Have you had a conversation with Al Gore recently? What about Steve Chu- your Energy Secretary? Neither one would agree with your position. Does it not strike you as ironic that the total of loan guarantees sought will exceed the Senate's recently passed jobs bill by 300%!

As for bribing Republicans- there isn't enough money in the US Treasury to satisfy their insatiable graft and blatant hypocrisy. Does it appear coincidental to you that it was Bush's Supreme Court appointees that helped bring us unlimited corporate funding of elections? Unless the American people wake-up and insist on public financing of campaigns (which is a doubtful proposition), there will be so much money in politics that what's left of democracy in the US will only be a faint- believe it or not- nostalgic memory.

Comment: In keeping with Obama's irresponsible corporatism and reckless environmentalism, on 3/31/2010, he approved offshore drilling on Atlantic coast, northern coast of Alaska and eastern Gulf of Mexico. This move has as much logic and demonstrates as much leadership as the aforementioned nuclear policy. Both policies work against the national self interest and defeat the very aims Obama purports to pursue.

Also, recent moves by the EPA to enforce tougher water quality standards for pending or future mountaintop removal projects in Appalachia- while constructive- are just band aids, failing to adequately address this issue or the broader issue of a lack of comprehensive energy and climate policy to meet the coming global disaster.

Coal

"Then the coal company came with the world's largest shovel/And they tortured the timber and stripped all the land/Well they dug for their coal till the land was forsaken/Then they wrote it all down as the progress of man."-John Prine. See also: As Obama Pushes “Clean Coal,” Jeff Biggers Tracks History of Destructive Mining in “Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland”

What is Wrong...

Two headlines juxtaposed..."Unlimited funding for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," and "Even parties that signed the Copenhagen agreement recognize it is inadequate." A government- a leader that would offer half a trillion in funding to an institution that through avarice and incompetence helped cause a financial collapse and the very same government and leader- a pawn for global economic interests- could barely get his nation to commit a small amount to head off the worst disaster in human history.

Ironies and contradictions like this expose the corruption and evil of  world governments- not just the US. Trillions for war-little for the preservation of life.

People must take control. Ordinary people- unchained from misinformation- free to reach their full potential- a world free from the horrific assumption that war is peace. Democracy is less a right than a responsibility.

Civil disobedience is preferable to hopelessness- yet the price is great. To chose life with or without hope. To chose passivity or peaceful revolution.

Many Things to Write About...

As tragedy and pain take place in Haiti, men like Pat Robertson talk about divine retribution. They do not understand. I have little knowledge about Vodou. However I know this. Spirits fill this world- this world and other worlds. Death is merely a passing over- not an end. Communication among among all spirits- living and "dead" occur- the web is complex and at the same time simple and beautiful. There is much that can be learned from ancestors- much that can be healed now and in the past. No man can judge- most human beings are lost in a reality that blinds them to the truth. Yet there is truth- and mere words cannot undo the truth.

Please send your prayers, your thoughts, your good will to the people- to the spirits of Haiti and other parts of the world- to all men- who suffer. Enlarge your compassion and free yourself from the guilt and emptiness of those who teach retribution- they create their own hells- hells from which they may not escape. And it is for them, ironically perhaps, where the greatest compassion is needed.

Wisdom at 100: Defend Democracy Against the Corporate State, 1/21/2010

Comment:

And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

– Matthew 21:12-13

While the halls of Congress are not a place of worship- nor should they be a den of thieves. No other "democracy" permits this kind of brazen influence of corporations on public policy- effectively institutionalizing corporate fascism. See also: Democracy in America Is a Useful Fiction- Chris Hedges.

Israel's Assassination Policy

Comment: Murder.

Obama and Health Care, 1/20/2010

Pass the Senate bill AND then use reconciliation to bring it closer to the House version or MUCH better- use reconciliation to produce a universal single payer alternative to both the Senate and House bills.

However, I would not support the Senate bill being rammed through the House IF reconciliation wasn't part of the bargain. Given Obama's leadership to date on this and other issues- this outcome is very open to question.

I am totally baffled. Obama is now perceived as a weak leader in Washington. His leadership has been given virtually no respect from the Republican side of the aisle. They will not vote with him even if they agree with him- so as not to break party solidarity. Their political strategy is clear- it has only one objective: Defeat the President and restore a Republican majority. They do not have the best interests of Americans in mind. They are not voting with conviction- they are voting on purely partisan lines. If the situation was reversed- they would without hesitation break the filibuster rule and/or use reconciliation.

The Presidency should not be a popularity contest. If The President believes in universal coverage and only 40% of Americans agree with him- then that is what he should strive for. It is beyond imagination that a supposedly great nation does not see health care as a basic human right- after 50+ years of rankling and partisan divide. For once Obama needs to do what is right and not politically expedient.

Update: In early February 2010, Anthem Blue Cross increased their health insurance premiums by 39% in California. The Obama administration did essentially nothing. Death panels are not needed- when no one can afford coverage- rather death by indifference.

The Massachusetts Senate Race- A Race from the Truth, 1/20/2010

Pundits will debate why Scott Brown won the Massachusetts US senate seat. They will point to factors such as Coakley's poor campaigning and debating skills (true); Brown's charisma and looks (would Sarah Palin, for example, be where she is today if she was not pretty? I think not); voter frustration and rooting for the underdog; and finally a rejection of the Obama agenda (to the extent they understand it). However, I believe that none of these get to the heart of the matter.

I listened to the debate between Brown and Coakley. Brown's main theme was that cutting taxes and freeing business from government regulation would solve the nation's ills. Ironically, these very policies have contributed to today's financial debacle. What Brown and the citizens of Massachusetts's can't face- what they run away from- is that there is no quick fix and that America is in decline. A majority of Americans are in denial about the strength of the financial system. They seem to believe that a Reagan style economic recovery is around the corner if only government would reduce taxes and spending. In fact, the economy has been severely and irrevocably weakened by ruinous economic policies and excessive levels of military spending that span many administrations. They are in denial about climate change. In denial about the strength of their educational and health care system. Their leadership either panders to their prejudices or sugar coats the truth.

In short, they are deceived and their faulty perception of reality will only hasten their country's decline.
 

David Brooks on Haiti: Common Wisdom from a Conventional Fool, 1/15/2010

Comment:  On the other hand- the truth: Naomi Klein: Stop Them Before They Shock Again...

ICE Officials Accused of Covering Up Immigrant Deaths in Detention, 1/13/2010

Comment: Documenting the wrongful death of Boubacar Bah. Showing the government cover-up. Over one hundred immigrants have died in ICE custody since 2003. Appalling treatment at the hands of the US government. No oversight- a consistent pattern of human rights abuses.

Money Well Spent: Obama received $20 million from healthcare industry in 2008 campaign, 1/12/2010

Money Well Spent: Bill Moyers - Wall Street & The Financial Reform, 1/10/2010

Why Is the Whistleblower Who Exposed the Massive UBS Tax Evasion Scheme the Only One Heading to Prison? 1/7/2010

Comment: Astounding precedent that persecutes the whistleblower and protects the guilty....

Sharlet: US Government At the Beck and Call of the Family, Jim Burroway, January 7th, 2010

"Jeff Sharlet, author of The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, appeared on Rachel Maddow’s show tonight to counter some of the claims made by “The Family” member Bob Hunter on Tuesday’s show. Hunter had claimed that Sharlet disavowed much of his own book, that The Family was not involved in politics, and that Uganda’s Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo, one of the prime supporters of Uganda’s draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill, was not a member of the Family.

Sharlet revealed that just this week he had obtained a budget for The Family’s work in Africa “identifying (Sen.) Jim Inhofe (R-OK) as the designated point man selected to work with eleven African leaders, most of them Presidents including the President of Uganda Museveni, President of Rwanda Kagame and to work with them to help set their nations on a sort of a Jesus footing. … There’s a budget, there’s money, there is a support staff, it’s a very formal effort that he’s undertaking.”

Sharlet also said that the Senators use their status as U.S. Senators to open doors for the Family in Africa. Sharlet said of Hunter:

He explained to me that those senators who were traveling with The Family… I had made the mistake of saying that Mr. Hunter travels at the behest of the U.S. government. He corrected me. He said ‘No, Senators travel at the behest of me. I use them as bait; I use them as tools to reach those in power, and then we can go about trying to get them on this Jesus footing.

Rachel clarified that it is not the Family that is at the beck and call of the U.S. government, but that the U.S. government is at the beck and call of the Family.

Hunter had denied knowing Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo, implying that Buturo was not a member of The Family. Sharlet said he was puzzled by that, saying that Hunter had told him that establishing the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity had been created for The Family, and that Buturo “inherited” that position, along with his position in the Family. Buturo has since traveled overseas representing Uganda at Family events."

Comment: Um...let's see- US Senators at the beck and call of a secret religious group that prostitutes itself to the powerful...A movement that coops other political leaders in vulnerable countries- a movement that spreads and fans hate in the form of anti-gay teachings- a movement that creates ethics minister positions in Third world countries that in turn promote legislation for murdering homosexuals and/or imprisoning them for life. An finally, a Christian right evangelical movement that hides their complicity by denying their involvement and only reluctantly defending the human rights of gays- to live and be free from illegal imprisonment.

Mountain Murder: US Scientists Demand Government Ban on Mountaintop Mining: Analysis of damage done leaves Obama no choice but to ban the highly destructive practice, say the authors of a new study, by Suzanne Goldenberg, 1/8/2010

The Hope

"...It was curious," wrote Orwell in Nineteen Eighty-Four, "to think that the sky was the same for everybody, in Eurasia or Eastasia as well as here. And the people under the sky were also very much the same - everywhere, all over the world . . . people ignorant of one another's existence, held apart by walls of hatred and lies, and yet almost exactly the same - people who . . . were storing up in their hearts and bellies and muscles the power that would one day overturn the world." From, "Welcome to Orwell's World-Obama's lies over the Afghanistan war remind us of the lessons of Nineteen Eighty-Four," by John Pilger, 1/5/2010

Western troops accused of executing 10 Afghan civilians, including children, 12/31/2009

Comment: As requested by Karzai, an official investigation needs to be launched immediately to determine whether war crimes took place. See also: US-Led Forces Accused of Executing Schoolchildren in Afghanistan
 

Judge Dismisses All Charges Against Blackwater Guards in Nisoor Square Massacre, 1/4/2010

Comment: An important interview that implies there was a fix- with the US government sabotaging its own case in the face of overwhelming evidence against the accused. Is this related to Erik Prince, former CEO (and still owner) of Blackwater, grey mailing the US government? Will Iraq be allowed to try the accused now that the US case was dismissed on a technicality?


Anti-Mining Activists Killed in El Salvador
See also: http://www.cispes.org/;

The El Salvador, United States and Canadian governments need to thoroughly investigate the recent killings of Dora “Alicia” Sorto Recinos, Ramiro Rivera Gómez and Marcelo Rivera.
El Salvador, because it is failing to protect its own citizens. The United States because it still has enormous influence in the country and is a principal signatory of CAFTA (see below). Canada, because it is a Canadian mining company that may have direct or indirect involvement in the dispute surrounding the killings.

The Vancouver, BC based company, Pacific Rim- who owns the disputed El Dorado gold mine- has perpetuated this violence by its CAFTA law suit against San Salvador. The local people have a right to organize to protect their communities against land exploitation and the damage to health caused by gold mining. Further CAFTA should not be used as a tool to violate a nation's sovereignty and right to decide how its resources are used. Finally, Pacific Rim, as a public traded company should have its stocks liquidated by pension funds and others, since it is acting irresponsibly and against basic tenets of human rights.
 

Senator Judd Gregg's Guide- How to obstruct Legislation in the Senate- aka How to take a sclerotic Legislative Body and Kill It, 12/1/2009

Comment: I hesitated to include the last two articles/comments on this web site. On the one hand, they help to expose the blatant attempt to politically capitalize on terrorism in the case of Dick Cheney, Congressman Peter Hoekstra, Senator DeMint and others. Or, as is the case with Gregg, they show how a political party attempts to undermine serious health care reform- also for political purposes- appearing at the same time pitifully weak and dangerously obstructionist. Yet helping to expose this behavior is important- it shows how craven and partisan Republican politicians in Washington have become- far more interested in political gain and serving corporate/military interests, then serving the ordinary American. All this while 1 in 4 children are on food stamps; record foreclosures; high unemployment; no net job creation in a decade; and escalating, endless and needless wars. 

Fighting Injustice without Violence

The injustices of this world are many. Working together- as all nations and peoples- we can solve our common problems and stop these injustices. This is not an easy task and no nation or group enjoys a monopoly on virtue. But while we may experience anger and passion- we must not turn to violence and hatred. Hatred is the ancient elixir that thrown upon a world on the brink of destruction will move us only closer to that destruction. We have the right and responsibility to oppose violence and to name injustice wherever and whenever it takes place. But if we resort to the very violence we oppose than all is lost- nothing good will come-nothing. The reverse is also true- if we oppose violence without resorting to violence- than great good will come- far greater than we could have imagined.

None of these words should console the unjust. What it means is that we will fight harder, our sacrifices will be greater- we will leave no stone unturned- all will be brought to light.....We will not assume the mantle of violence- but they shall fall nonetheless. See: Gandhi's Views on Nonviolence.

Holocaust Survivor Stages Hunger Strike for Gaza, 12/28/2009

Comment: Please sign the petition in support of the Gaza Freedom March at: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/424/t/9750/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=2055

Change & Courage You Could Believe In

"These economic royalists complain that we seek to overthrow the institutions of America. What they really complain of is that we seek to take away their power. Our allegiance to American institutions requires the overthrow of this kind of power. In vain they seek to hide behind the Flag and the Constitution. In their blindness they forget what the Flag and the Constitution stand for. Now, as always, they stand for democracy, not tyranny; for freedom, not subjection; and against a dictatorship by mob rule and the over-privileged alike."-Franklin Delano Roosevelt- 1936 Democratic National Convention

Quick Note: Those liberal Democrats who see the Senate health care "reform" package as the "best we can get"- or "better than nothing"- smack of Pollyannaism. Their inability to stick to their principles is the exact reason why we have a stimulus for the health care industry masquerading as health care reform. Regardless- the health care system will collapse- with or without this mock reform bill. See also: Beware the Progressive Democrat; Also to understand how Congress really operates, read the article, The Cash Committee: How Wall Street Wins On The Hill, 12/29/2009. The clear message is that corruption, money and reelection are what dominates Washington- not the best interests of the American people. While this is not new- it must change if the nation is to survive and prosper. See also: Christmas presents for bankers.
 

Jim Hansen- Ending the fossil fuel addiction...A moral issue. Intergenerational Injustice.

Copenhagen Negotiators Bicker and Filibuster While the Biosphere Burns, 12/18/2009

While this outcome could be predicted before the conference, it will not be tolerated. The leadership of the United States during and leading up to the conference has been despicable. Clinton's offer of climate mitigation funding to the developing world was weak and a transparent attempt to buy off their interests- without making any real commitment to emissions reduction. Even our support of REDD had the markings of corporate influence- using it as the easiest way to appear to address climate change- without actually making hard emissions cuts. Preserving forests and their diversity is very important- just not in the context of a treaty that supports monoculture, forest destruction and letting the developed world off the hook for reducing emissions.

There is now a growing realization throughout the world that climate change and system change are intertwined. It is apparent that the current system- an undemocratic form of global capitalism- is the root cause of the problem and our collective inability to act.

The assumption that technology in and of itself will address climate change issues, ignores the reality that climate change is happening now and has been building for a long time. The incentives in the current global economic system are perverse- witness Canada's shameless policies on tar sand development. Our current policies do not sufficiently restrict the use of dangerous fossil burning technologies and promote the use of safe renewable ones. Further, there is a gross lack of understanding of the interrelationships between climate change and environmental toxicity, industrial agriculture, food security, indigenous rights, poverty, social justice, drought, etc.

However, there is one ray of hope.100,000 people marched, organized, shared and forged connections in Copenhagen. Young and old together made clear statements of truth about the crisis. While climate criminals such as Obama, Harper and Jiabao escape accountability for now- their citizens will not. Know this- know it so well that it hurts- climate change will not spare the developed world- no amount of money will mitigate the crisis. China and India will not be able to feed their people. The United States economy will be wrecked. Millions more will die.

The speaking of truth by so many activists in Copenhagen is a powerful thing. The truth- more than armies- destroys corrupt regimes.

As George Monbiot wrote:

"Goodbye Africa, goodbye south Asia; goodbye glaciers and sea ice, coral reefs and rainforest. It was nice knowing you. Not that we really cared. The governments which moved so swiftly to save the banks have bickered and filibustered while the biosphere burns."

"So how do we break this system? How do we pursue happiness and wellbeing rather than growth? I came back from the Copenhagen climate talks depressed for several reasons, but above all because, listening to the discussions at the citizens' summit, it struck me that we no longer have movements; we have thousands of people each clamouring to have their own visions adopted. We might come together for occasional rallies and marches, but as soon as we start discussing alternatives, solidarity is shattered by possessive individualism. Consumerism has changed all of us. Our challenge is now to fight a system we have internalised."

As Bill McKibbern founder of 350.org wrote:

"This (agreement brokered by the US, Brazil, South Africa, India and China) is a declaration that small and poor countries don't matter, that international civil society doesn't matter, and that serious limits on carbon don't matter. The president has wrecked the UN and he's wrecked the possibility of a tough plan to control global warming. It may get Obama a reputation as a tough American leader, but it's at the expense of everything progressives have held dear. 189 countries have been left powerless, and the foxes now guard the carbon henhouse without any oversight."

As Johann Hari wrote:

Copenhagen had one value, and one value alone. It has shown us that if we don't act in our own self-defense now, nobody else will.

Interview with Johann Hari

Results from Copenhagen as reported by the Network Climate Justice Action (CJA),12/17/2009

"The cop 15 comes to an end - and it has not coped with what politicians promised. There is no treaty that might preserve us from the catastrophic consequences of runaway climate change. The summit's agenda didn't even include real solutions to the climate crisis - such as tackling economic growth, leaving fossil fuels in the ground and implementing food sovereignty. Neither has it addressed the ecological debt the global north has with the south or measures for a just transition towards a low carbon economy and society.

Furthermore, critics and adversaries of the climate politics carried
forward by the industrialized nations, market-based false solutions as carbon offsetting and emissions trading have suffered from a whole array of repression: Delegates from the civil society have been excluded from the process, some of them beaten up by the police when trying to join the peoples assembly for climate justice outside the Bella Center.

Demonstrations have been cattled, attacked with tear-gas, pepper-spray and batons, more than 1.500 climate activists have been arrested over the past two weeks. Some of them are still in jail - those and others, including spokespeople for climate justice action are now facing trials for taking a role in our common struggle for climate justice.

We neither accept the results of this summit nor the repression our friends and comrades are facing - and that is why we will be on the streets again on Friday (18th dec):
peaceful solidarity march from Israels Place near Norreport station (15:00) to Slodsplads (Christiansborg)

Copenhagen: Only the Numbers Count – and They Add up to Hell on Earth, 12/15/2009

Clinton's Copenhagen Announcement 'Was Naked Blackmail', 12/17/2009

ACTIVISTS TEARGASSED AFTER CLIMATE DEBATE, 12/15/2009

SIGN THIS PETITION

To: Hans Gammeltoft-Hansen (Ombudsman), Per Larsen (Detective Commander of the Danish National Police) and Ritt Bjerregaard (Lord Mayor of Copenhagen)

Started by: Adrian Wilson

Over the past two weeks, citizens of countries all over the world have come to Copenhagen for the UN COP-15 climate negotiations. Many have engaged in peaceful, nonviolent protest, trying to push world leaders to sign a meaningful deal that will save our planet for future generations.

Rather that giving them the space, the Danish police have used extremely heavy-handed and cruel mass arrest tactics, potentially violating European human rights laws. The Danish police are out of control, and they need to be held accountable.

Please join us and take action! Sign this petition calling on the Danish government to immediately investigate the police actions of the past two weeks, and demand that they allow future peaceful protests to go forward without similar abuses.

Danish Police: Going Too Far

On Saturday, Dec. 12, 100,000 people in Copenhagen participated in an overwhelmingly peaceful protest - but this protest was marred by the overzealous Danish police, who blocked off streets surrounding large groups of protestors, and arrested almost 1,000 people, the vast majority of which were clearly doing nothing illegal. Arrestees were handcuffed and forced to sit in rows for hours, as the temperatures dipped below freezing; numerous people urinated on themselves after being denied use of toilets. According to Maria Ludwig from Germany, "They kept me for two hours with plastic cuffs around our wrists and our hands behind our back, and then they put us on the bus. We had nothing to eat or drink, and one man asked the police to go to the toilet and they said: 'No way are you going to put your trousers down, you'll just have to piss into your trousers.'"

And this is only one example of the harassment of environmental protestors by the Danish police in recent weeks. On Dec. 11, police arrested 68 people at a nonviolent protest in downtown Copenhagen, refusing to give reasons for making arrests. (You can see examples of police violence at the Dec. 11 protest on this video.) On the night of Dec. 14, police raided the district of Christiania, where a protest group was holding a fundraiser party, arresting 200 people and using tear gas, police dogs, and water cannons on people that they claimed were protestors. Lily Kember, 22, from London, said: "There was no warning. We were dancing, having a great night and then suddenly the tent was full of tear gas. I saw an old man near me doubled up and coughing."

Possible Violations of EU Human Rights Laws?

Throughout these protests, police have cited a controversial law, passed on Nov. 26, that gave them sweeping powers to make "pre-emptive arrests" and hold people for up to 12 hours without any actual wrongdoing having taken place. The new law was publicly denounced as "draconian" by numerous environmental groups, trade unions, and other organizations.

In a press release from Aug. 10, the Danish police stated that "all people are, without previous permission, at liberty to assemble unarmed" and that "the police arenít allowed to take action, unless attacked, until after the crowd has three times been called upon to disperse." However, in these protests, these commitments have been blatantly disregarded. According to Claus Bonnez, a lawyer working with Krim, a human rights organization, "according to the European Court of Human Rights process, the police will have to prove that it is necessary for democratic society to make such arrests. And I don't think that the Danish police will be able to prove that."

On Dec. 13, Amnesty International called for an investigation into potential human rights abuses, stating that "when nearly 1,000 people are arrested and then all but 13 are released it means that many of those people were just innocent people in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Take action now! Please sign this petition, and help make Denmark a safe place for peaceful protest.
 

"Wake Up, Freak Out - then Get a Grip," an excellent video on global warming from Leo Murray on Vimeo.
See also: Wake Up, Freak Out – then Get a Grip Web Site- It's much, much later than you think

"We are members of the most destructive culture ever to exist. Our assault on the natural world, on indigenous and other cultures, on women, on children, on all of us through the possibility of nuclear suicide and other means--all these are unprecedented in their magnitude and ferocity." -Derrick Jensen; See also: A Reality Check From the Brink of Extinction by Chris Hedges

The Story of Cap & Trade from Story of Stuff Project on Vimeo.

http://www.klimaforum09.org/

Vandana Shiva Speaks at Climate Summit Protest
Indian Activist: "The Earth Must Call The Shots. The Earth Will Make The Rules."

She speaks so much of the truth- it breaks my heart to see the developed and developing world do everything it can to blunt, redirect or destroy the simple truth she speaks. She understands the relationship between social and environmental justice. She understands the dangers of industrial agriculture. She speaks of building a new world- the end of corporate rule. She peaks of the unstoppable force of change...

Copenhagen police accused of violating human rights at UN climate summit, 12/12/2009

Cowardice asks the question - is it safe?
Expediency asks the question - is it politic?
Vanity asks the question - is it popular?
But conscience asks the question - is it right?
And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular; but one must take it because it is right.- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I believe that there is a truth- a right and wrong. I believe that in seeking it one must start from humility and the absence of ego. One must free oneself from one's own traps- past- predilections. One must carefully examine an issue in as detached a way as possible. In silence.

However, after this examination, one must with passion defend what one believes to be right. It is not easy balancing passion with detachment. In the end, it is compassion that must emerge if there is to be an expression of truth and good. And inevitably there will be pain.

The truth can in some sense never be expressed with words. It is not experienced solely through the rational intellect. It is felt and experienced in a way that is profoundly spiritual and alive.

I know, for example, that what is being done to the poor, to the children, to youth, to the animals, to the plants, to the mountains, to the land, to the water is fundamentally wrong. I know that men reason with words and forget true meaning. Their propensity for violence is virtually limitless. Yet I know what I must protect and what is important.

True Courage: Climate Justice Activists Enter Day 34 of Hunger Strike; Environmental Activist Jeff “Free” Luers Speaks Out in First Interview After 9.5 Years Behind Bars

The Shameful Role of the United States in Addressing Climate Change, 12/9/2009

"Now, the reverse is happening, as we have seen in the Danish text, that those developed countries in the Kyoto Protocol with high commitments are on the verge of jumping ship to join the United States, where the US is not willing to commit to an international treaty at the moment and is giving a very low commitment figure of reducing its emissions by about four percent between 1990 and 2020, when the science says we have to do it by at least 25 to 40 percent, preferably 40 percent, and Europe is willing to do 30 percent. So it looks as if the other countries are watching the United States and saying that if the US is going to do so little and is not going to be internationally legally bound, then we are all going to follow the United States in a race, if not to the bottom, to very near the bottom. And this is what is at the heart of the crisis in the negotiation. "- Martin Khor, executive director of the South Centre.
 

The Film Avatar

Avatar is first and foremost a commercial film- full of the requisite amount of action and violence. Yet good science fiction helps us see the "real" world a little more clearly by reflecting back an alternate world- different enough to jog our minds- but similar enough to move our hearts. At some level Avatar does this...

The film Avatar is an amazing and supremely costly technological spectacle. And while at times it sinks to a morality tale with evil villains, beings of great beauty and perfection, and a Moses and God to destroy the villains- a nonetheless powerful theme emerges. For you see this world- faces a choice. The choice between a dead world of machines and war- of dehumanization and nightmare- or a world of natural beauty and peace. A world of separateness or of interrelationship. A world where every action is a manifestation of beauty and connection or one where there is no end to cruelty and pain. I have seen these worlds.

The global consciousness is a reflection of the individual consciousness. The violence and split in our own natures manifests on the planet. The hatred, the inner doubt, the fear- the longing- it as if the world is an outer manifestation of our collective inner worlds. Perhaps we will grow- evolve into a peaceful state. If so that peace will manifest throughout the world- the universe. Perhaps then we will all become Avatars- incarnations of God.


Obama's Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech: War Is Peace

As if the World Needs a Reminder on the "Legitimate" Use of Force, 12/10/2009

Former US Senator Mike Gravel. Listening to Senator Gravel, I feel as if I am hearing truth. No pathetic warmongering editorials by what remains of the establishment press; no double speak; no health care for corporations; no environmental compromises that sell out the planet....It is as if there are two worlds. The world of Desmond Tutu, Vandana Shiva, Martin Luther King, Gandhi and so many others- unheard of by the masses-but passionate and strong advocates for truth- and then there is Barack Obama, George Bush, the establishment press, the Republican party- empty- devoid of truth- embracing an empty, self destructive militarism. This is a struggle for the truth-for life. 

The Great Betrayal

"...When Barack Obama goes to Copenhagen, he will treat global warming as another political problem, offering a promise of something like a 17% cut in our greenhouse gas emissions from their 2005 levels by 2020. This works out to a 4% cut from 1990 levels, the standard baseline for measurement, and yet scientists have calculated that the major industrialized nations need to cut their emissions by 40% to have any hope of getting us on a path back towards safety."

"They'll sign some kind of paper in Denmark -- that became all but certain on Friday night when Obama announced he'd jet in for the meeting's close. European leaders and some environmental groups may then call it a "qualified success," and on we will go through more years of negotiation. In the meantime, physics will continue to operate, permafrost will continue to thaw, sea ice to melt, drought to spread.

It's like nothing we've ever faced before -- and we're facing it as if it's just like everything else. That's the problem." - "Why Copenhagen May Be A Disaster,"- Bill McKibben

Comment: As the Copenhagen talks begin, Danish police have intensified efforts to intimidate protesters- 100+ million dollars- 9,000 police-beefed up prisons- preemptive arrests-set to criminalize peaceful unarmed citizens. Who in fact are the real criminals? See also:  Danish Police Raid Copenhagen Climate Campaigners' Rooms Police detain 200 activists at their Copenhagen accommodation and seize items they claim could be used for acts of civil disobedience, 12/9/2009

Politicians are set to declare victory when there is not one. The developing nations are set to be abandoned as ever- with the developed world refusing to pay its climate debt.

A corrupt system set to collapse without mercy for the innocent. Bear witness.

Did you know a Greenland's Inuit woman's breast milk is considered toxic because of the concentration of toxins in that region? Bear Witness.

Do you know who the fifth hardest nation hit by the consequences of climate change is? The United States. The first: Bangladesh. Global warming is the great equalizer.

Globalization, Climate Change, Environmental Destruction, Developing Nation Exploitation, Wall Street Collapse, Fascism, Unlimited War- Are all Related.

Globalization, Climate Change, Environmental Destruction, Developing Nation Exploitation, Wall Street Collapse, Fascism, Unlimited War. Listening to the news, it is all too easy to think of these things in isolation. Well meaning leaders such as Al Gore speak convincingly about the dangers of climate change and available solutions. Obama waxes eloquently and at times passionately about health care inequities, climate change and the need for financial regulatory reform. Sadly, his most significant mark may be to inflame the War of Terror in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is as if each one of these crises exists in isolation and require a separate set of solutions.

But the truth is otherwise. The problems are systemic and so are the solutions.

For many years developing nations in Africa and Latin America have been exploited by the rich nations of the world. They have been chained to debt, while having their lands raped, their environment destroyed, their governments corrupted, their leaders assassinated and their men, woman and children left destitute or to die from disease or civil war. It is true that countries such as India and China have turned the tables- bringing their own people out of poverty by controlling globalization. Yet at the same time they have become increasingly like the developed world- crushing internal dissent and supporting reprehensible regimes that serve their commercial interests. In Latin America, leaders from countries like Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador are trying to address the needs of the poor and indigenous communities, in part by gaining greater control over the multinationals that extract and export their oil and mineral wealth.

In this country, we used to think we were exempt- we could plunder Latin America and Africa, and our coffers would remain well stocked and our people prosperous. Yet quite the reverse is true. The distribution of wealth in both the United States and the developing world has grown more unequal- in favor of a very small elite class. This elite class provides nothing of value except the development of new speculative financial instruments and loans intended to control, restrict and crush the countries that are trapped by their "largess."

Wall Street, the WTO, IMF, the World Bank and others- together they seek to control and manipulate- effectively dictating the terms of existence to a populace that has no clue about the role they play. It is as if we have become marionettes, controlled by hidden forces that are often malignant and of which we have no awareness.

The financial collapse triggered by Wall Street is no fluke. It is not merely due to greed, a housing bubble or credit derivative instruments. Wall Street is now consumed by nothing but profit and the accumulation of phantom (as opposed to real) wealth. It was able to dictate the terms of its rescue to a weak US government. What the US government in fact did was to rescue corporations that care nothing about the American people, care nothing about the air we breathe and the water we drink, the land we live on-  companies who seek to do nothing more than amass wealth in a growing sea of poverty and inequality.

It is this system that is causing a collapse of the environment, a breakdown of the world's food and water supply, a rising tide of inequality in developing and rich nations alike and perpetual war.

Even in war, the transnational corporations prosper. However corrupt and underhanded their dealings- money is funneled into ever more costly, dangerous weapons systems. In turn the elites of the client countries wage war against their own people or other countries- typically poorer and weaker. Men, woman and children die on both sides- but the elites prosper.  

Ultimately corrupt power structures like the ones I described collapse. The problem is we don't have that much time left. Unless globalization is curtailed- restrained by global democracy- the challenges we face will grow exponentially. The economic bubble will become a tsunami and life on this planet unsustainable. It won't matter- the best solutions to our problems, the best technology- none of it will make a difference if we do not wrest control from the corporations and governments that control us and have their own agenda of exploitation, death and destruction. Economic globalization without global democracy is a recipe for disaster.

The Climate Change Emails...

Remembering the Words of Paul Wellstone

The late Senator Paul Wellstone, wrote this in a 1981 speech to the group Citizens Organized Acting Together. His words are as relevant and timely today as they were when he spoke them.

"...This is not democratic. The corporate planners, multinational interests, and government bureaucrats who decide policies are not accountable to the many. Too few people have too much wealth, power, and say. This is what corrupts our political process - arrogances at the top and a sense of impotence on the bottom.

This [Reagan] Administration tells us we must sacrifice so we can once again have a strong economy. So we see $48.6 billion in social spending cuts - cuts in legal services, health care, food assistance, energy assistance, job training, education, medical, social security. This scorched-earth budget cutting deserves to be called exactly what it is - a class war against the poor and oppressed, in the streets, out in the work places, in the schools, in the hospitals, in the schools, in the hospitals, in the hearts of the old, the sick, the disabled, the powerless. It is a program of meanness - one that we will not accept.

This Administration is getting the government off our back so the corporations and the military defense establishment can jump on. Meanwhile, schools, health care, jobs, assistance to poor people and local services to citizens are cut severely as part of the attack on government. Yet the biggest part of the government by far is the Pentagon, and its budget grows by leaps and bounds.

What is our vision, and what is the task for tomorrow? The vision is economic democracy. We're losing this battle, and if we don't fight they are going to take it all way. They are going to give the country away to big business. This is the biggest fight yet. It has as to be a big and noble effort. It is a great task, but you are up for it. We will play an historical role, because no one else will. This is nothing less than an effort to make our country more democratic, and renew our vow of equal opportunity and justice for all citizens."
 

President Obama- Down the Rabbit Hole

President Obama used many clichés in his December 1st speech to West Point- especially concerning the greatness of America, our exceptionalism- how we seek to help rather than dominate. These words are empty- but so part of the standard vernacular, as to be safely ignored by anyone that knows even recent history.

However, the Presidency- as a position of great leadership- is often a test of moral courage. Moral courage is hard to define- but it boils downs to the ability to do what is right regardless of perceived cost to one's personal well being. It implies a willingness to accept risk and uncertainty, but also the confidence that by actively seeking the truth- good will emerge. Courage and idealism often go hand in hand.

President Obama has fallen into the trap of his predecessor. He has allowed the fear of something to cause him to take actions that are most likely to bring about what he fears most. At its root this is a lack of moral courage- a fear of being perceived weak and a fear that if things "go wrong," he will be blamed for the loss of lives.

His greatest fear is probably the fear of a chemical, biological or nuclear terrorist act. While this fear maybe justified, the question is whether his actions are driven by this fear or merely informed by it. Fear can trap us into old ways of thinking or it can help open up creative pathways that move beyond fear- to a pursuit of the truth.

To counter the fear of terrorism- there is in fact a need to bolster our security- and to do so in a way that is consistent with the law and the basic rights of individuals and groups. It is important not to bog down our police and intelligence operatives with excessive bureaucracy and indecision. It is important to work cooperatively with multiple organizations- domestically and abroad. It is important to stop the spread of lethal conventional and non-conventional weapons throughout the world.

However, even more importantly, we must recognize the causes of terrorism- to understand them, to acknowledge our own short comings and to take concrete actions to achieve a more humane, fair and just world. For example, insisting on the use of land mines, using cluster bombs and white phosphorus- are acts of cowardice that make us less, not more secure. Condemning human rights reports that show a consistent pattern of abuse from a traditional ally- hurt rather than promote the cause of human justice and encourage the spread of terrorism. Supporting corrupt and oppressive regimes throughout the world - again fans the flames of terrorism and hatred.

It is true that no nation or individual is perfect. This lack of perfection is not an excuse for violence-there is in fact no excuse for violence. However, if the world is to prosper, there needs to be a collective responsibility among nations. Sometimes bold acts of courage can start with our leaders. In the case of President Obama, he has consistently shown a lack of such courage, despite what appears to be good intentions. Still- there is always hope- always the ability to learn and grow.

In Direct Response

Tonight, December 1, 2009, President Obama made his case for an escalation of the Afghanistan War. Overall, since taking office Obama has tripled our troop commitment to 100,000. In addition, NATO will add another 7,000 troops to the existing 40,000.There is a further contingent of over 100,000 contractors, engaged in support and paramilitary operations. This brings the overall number of military/non-military forces in Afghanistan to approximately 240,000. This is in addition to the 124,000 combat troops and 130,000 contractors in Iraq.

His decision was not unexpected. All that was uncertain were the arguments he would use to justify escalation. In response to those arguments:

-The so-called "unity" behind our initial military incursion into Afghanistan may have occurred because our policies could have been construed as legitimate self defense. However to compare that initial response with an ongoing military presence, support of corrupt war lords and escalation into Pakistan is disingenuous. Further, there was no UN authority or clear indication of world-wide unity for the initial military attack on Afghanistan in 2001.

-The dismissal of comparisons to Vietnam is weak. What is happening in Afghanistan is a populist insurgency.

-President Obama failed to acknowledge that the policies of his administration have fanned the fires of conflict and civil war in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. He failed to mention the growing unpopularity of our presence in Afghanistan and the rise of popular support for the Taliban in the Afghan country side and Pakistan- growing in part because of our occupation.

-He spoke of a phased withdrawal starting in 2011. However, there is no rational reason to believe our stated military and political objectives can be achieved by then.

-He failed to mention that there are one hundred or less Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and perhaps 300 in Pakistan. They no longer have bases in Afghanistan and pose no threat to the United States from their operations in Afghanistan. This is the inconvenient truth he left out when making his justification for expanding the war to fight Al-Qaeda.

-He failed to mention the colliding regional interests of India, Iran, Turkey, China, Pakistan and Afghanistan and how our foreign policy attempts to triangulate their competing interests.

-He failed to mention our interests in protecting the flow of oil in the region and how, to this day, it shapes our foreign policy and military operations in the region.

-He failed to detail the corruption and the extent of the drug trade in the country. Two thirds of the country's GDP consists of the drug trade and production is up ten fold. Afghanistan produces 92% of the world's heroine.

-He failed to make the argument on why the Afghan people should support the Karzai govenment- a government dominated by barbaric warlords. He alluded to the elections as being tainted- but did not go far enough in describing them as a farce.

-He alluded to building the Afghan military as a cornerstone of his strategy- but he failed to mention the 25% desertion rate and that the primary motivation of Karzai's soldiers may simply be meager wages- in a country with 40% unemployment and a 10% literacy rate. He also failed to mention corruption and nepotism at the more senior levels in the Afghan military- making the notion that they can be trained to defend themselves in a year- let alone four years- absurd. He also did not speak to the brutality, incompetence and corruption of the Afghan police.

-There was no mention of reconstruction- of building schools, roads, agriculture, etc. as the essential cornerstone of our policies.

So many things he left out- so few real solutions and so little clarity and creativity. He wished to paint himself as being in the middle between those who want complete withdrawal (which include large numbers of Afghans!) and those who want an open ended commitment to nation building. However, if a stable, democratic Afghanistan and Pakistan are prerequisites for preventing the region from becoming a terrorist haven- how will anything short of nation building achieve this objective? Or, as the President implied, is this objective only worth so much in dollars and lives? If this is his argument he may have further emboldened our enemies- while placing what are probably impossible objectives for the military. At best buying time- and for what? What can be achieved in two years that has not been achieved during the last eight- even with fifty thousand additional troops this year? During the Vietnam War, President Johnson also believed he was buying time as he approved escalation of the War- and we all know where that led.

Finally, given their nuclear arsenal, the unstable, corrupt and unpopular Pakistani government is a serious foreign policy challenge in the region. However, it is likely our drone attacks and the widening of the covert CIA war on their border is making the situation worse, not better. We are fighting a covert war in a country where we there is no formal declaration of war. This covert war is producing civilian casualties and building even more hatred towards the US and coalition forces. This in turn will make it even easier for the Taliban and Al-Qaeda to enlist new recruits. It is clear that whatever "benefits" may drive from killing terrorist leaders will overshadowed by the widening of the war and the weakening of our strategic position in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Therefore it is hard to make a strong case that our occupation reduces the threat of Al-Qaeda obtaining and using nuclear weapons when our policies are in fact destabilizing the region.

One thing is clear- the war will further bankrupt the US. No doubt about this. We are well along the path of becoming the new emerging third world nation.

Happy Thanksgiving

As some Americans give thanks for the blessings they have in a nation of comparative abundance, perhaps it would be better if they stopped. If they stopped the illegal and immoral war in Afghanistan.

Today the plight of the average Afghan woman is worse than before the American invasion. Today less than half of the Afghan population wants the American military in their country. Afghan's homes are invaded and every day innocent civilians are killed or maimed for life. Poverty is so great it makes life unbearable for many- they would rather die. Hunger and starvation causes untold deaths of men, woman and children every day- every hour. There are gun fighters it seems on every street. The politicians are corrupt beyond imagining. Yet we perpetuate this conflict- all for lies.

Afghanistan is not part of a war on terrorism. The only Afghan terrorists that exist today, exist because of our invasion. We shower the country with bombs- killing the innocent- destroying their schools, mosques and homes- destroying families. These people want an end to war- an end to the war lords -an end to the Taliban- an end to their civil war and most of all an end to foreign occupation.

Brave, young Americans die or are seriously maimed every day. Almost none of the money we spend goes to building schools, constructing roads- making the life of the people better. We are fighting a war of our own concoction that we can't win- for no good reason. I find myself ashamed of our country and ashamed of its leaders. Happy Thanksgiving. 

Jim Hansen- Scientific brilliance and common sense. Not an alarmist- perhaps even too conservative in his projections...

Tim DeChristopher Speaks at 350 SLC Event, Oct 24 2009

Comment: His defense is valid and his cause just. A necessity defense should be allowed by the Court. Quoting from the proffer:

"“Climate change” is defined as “changes in regional climate characteristics, including temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind, and severe weather events.”  While both occur as natural phenomena, human-caused greenhouse gasses resulting primarily from the use of fossil fuels are increasing both global warming and climate change at greatly accelerated rates. This is causing several catastrophic environmental effects, which include: Destruction of irreplaceable natural and cultural resources. The Court is requested to rule that a reasonable juror could find that the governmental actors’ violations of federal law and administrative regulations prior to and during the auction were greater evils than the completely nonviolent offenses."

Sell Massey Energy Company Stocks

Massey Energy company is responsible for mass destruction of mountains for short term gain. Its President, Don Blakenship denies the reality of climate change and his coal plants have been repeatedly fined for numerous violations. The blasting at Coal River Mountain directly puts nearby residents at risk- not only from breaks in the coal slurry, but contamination of land and water. Further, the destruction is unnecessary as the site could instead become a sustainable producer of clean wind energy.

With a failed federal administration and corrupt local regulatory agencies, the best way to stop Massey is for individual and institutional investors to sell their stock in the company and instead invest in companies on the forefront of clean, renewable energy. In addition there will be another protest on 12/7/2009 at Coal River Mountain. I would encourage major environmental groups to participate and stand in unity with the protestors. http://savecoalrivermountain.org/. A list of other companies and plants can be found here.

As Chris Hedges wrote in his article, Refuse Allegiance to Coal:

The projected rise of sea levels, as much as six feet this century and 23 feet if the Greenland ice sheet disappears, will submerge coastal nations such as Bangladesh, a country of 160 million people, as well as places such as the Mekong Delta, the Maldives and the Marshall Islands. The disappearance of glaciers in the Himalayas and on the Tibetan plateau-glaciers that feed the Indus, Ganges, Yangtze and Yellow rivers-will create catastrophic water shortages and devastate the rice and wheat harvests in China and India, where about four of every 10 people live. World food prices will rise dramatically. If we can't save countries such as the Maldives and Bangladesh we will also be unable to save Venice, Hawaii, the Netherlands, New Zealand, London, Hong Kong and Manhattan. But don't expect much from Barack Obama and other leaders in the industrialized world. Their loyalty is not to the planet, or to us, but to the oil and gas industry, the coal industry and the huge corporate polluters who own them."


Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses,
And all the king's men,
Couldn't put Humpty together again.

No longer a riddle- because Humpty Dumpty is not an egg- it is this planet- the life that is upon it- that includes humanity and every living thing. The Earth will not crack- but what is upon it is fragile and dying- not even slowly. A genocide of untold proportions is taking place- and we sit, we pray and we conjure and we debate and we do everything but try to prevent the final fall- making it seem so inevitable. We blame our leaders because they are corrupt- and many are- not merely corrupt but lacking wisdom and an awareness beyond their greediness for power. But most of all we need to blame ourselves.

This however is not theology- this is not original sin or guilt- actions can be taken, our words have an effect and we can fulfill our responsibility to life on this planet- to ourselves- and every sentient being- to all life. Nor is this idle intellectualism. This is a struggle for our humanity, because the more we destroy- the less of ourselves remain.

This is not rich versus poor- the poor care the most about nature and the environment. It is the rich, who addicted, care most about losing what they think they love- the dead material things that fill the emotional vacuums in their life.

This is not about truth versus lies- because the former will always prevail over the latter.

This is not about action versus inaction. Inaction is a form of action.

This is not about transformation. Either we become more human or we become the machines we create.

This not about jobs and economies. This is about the future- future generations. It is about what truly makes us wealthy.

This is about compassion- compassion for all life. If we forget the children, we forget ourselves. If we forget the poor, we forgot ourselves. And if we forget ourselves, we cannot remember our connection to nature- for this forms the basis of who we are.

When President Obama accepts his Nobel Peace prize- he has only one choice if he is to be redeemed by history. If and when he goes to Copenhagen- he has only one choice.

This is not the Left versus Right. This is not a media blitz. This is the lives of your children and your children's children. This is the next seven generations. Listen to your children- they know the truth you have forgotten. They have a right to live.
 

Carbon Tax- not Cap and Trade

Comment: The world is on the threshold of a renewable energy revolution. Solar and wind energy are rapidly becoming technologies that can replace the need for building another coal fired plant. Yet, instead of a system of cap and trade with carbon offsets- that will allow companies to circumvent true carbon emission reductions- we need a carbon tax that will be fair to consumers and incentivize the development of renewable energy sources. With the Greenland and Antarctic glaciers rapidly melting and with multiple threats to national security and global food and water supplies, the United States must fully mobilize and incentivize industry to produce renewable and non-carbon emitting sources of energy. Already good progress is being made in states such as Texas and countries such as Germany and China. The potential is almost limitless.

According to a 2007 LA Times editorial:

"...A 2005 study by researchers at Stanford University found that there is enough wind worldwide to satisfy global electricity demand seven times over, even if only 20% of the power could be captured. Enough solar energy hits the Earth in an hour to supply all the world's electricity needs for a year. " "...A 100-square-mile area of Nevada, if equipped with solar devices, could supply the U.S. with all the power it needs, according to the Energy Department. Again, such pronouncements don't address the real-world practicalities. But given that neither coal nor nuclear power is a practical solution to global warming, U.S. research priorities are badly skewed."
 

What I meant....

I was at a conference a few weeks ago on the social, political and economic implications of dams and dam removal. One of the panelists suggested that in making decisions regarding dams it is important to include all interested parties- including the people most affected by the dislocation and destruction caused by the dam. I then asked- what about the rights of the environment- and nature- how are these these rights represented? One of the very clever and well meaning members of the panel then quickly turned this around and said- well another way of asking this is how can man become more attuned to nature. Later in the ensuing discussion another panelist suggested that the Earth is destroying herself- that he couldn't go back to a life without electricity and that we must save the Earth from herself.

This last panelist who spoke to my question- even more than the one that initially responded- clearly showed the problem. I am sorry to say that Western society and religion is mostly dead- dead that is to the connection between nature and the consciousness, compassion and sentience that permeates every atom of the universe. There is, for example, wisdom in trees- wisdom in every sense of the word that we refer to as a man or woman as wise- yet collectively society is dead to these meanings. Rather those who speak of these things are labeled as delusional, "tree huggers," or worse. Yet being deaf to something does not mean it is not spoken. In fact, their wisdom is sacred- as is the mountains, the animals, the plants. The problem is not one of interpretation- for the messages are clear- the problem is one of understanding and acceptance and then acting and in the process redefining what it means to be human again.

The last panelist- out of fear of losing what he "has" materially- could not imagine a world that is sustainable. Instead, he saw science as some kind of savior- but a savoir for what I ask? Are men any happier? Are there lives more at peace?  Are there fewer wars? Less violence?

If mankind thinks that he can find his redemption in a toxic chemical trash dump, in the militarization and exploitation of other planets, in underground cities- he is mistaken. And these unlikely scenarios are the optimistic ones- if that is- survival is prized at any cost.

Canada- One of the Worst Environmental Polluters on the Planet and a Global Warming Time Bomb

Canada's environmental record is one of the worst in the industrialized world. See: Canada an environmental slouch, study says, 11/2008.

Not unrelated, Canada's treatment of First Nations people is also deplorable. Yet with so much catching up to do both environmentally and with respect to indigenous rights- the country still plans to continue to fully exploit the Alberta's tar sands. The tar sands represent what may be be the world's second largest oil reserve.

Yet, as former Vice-President Al Gore writes, "Gas from the tar sands gives a Prius the same carbon footprint as a Hummer." America's largest source of oil is fast becoming the Alberta tar sands.

Quoting from the article, H2Oil – The Story of the Alberta Tar Sands:

"If the exploitation and extraction of the Alberta tar sands continues, the environmental, social, and human impacts on Alberta will soon reach a crisis point. North America will be covered with pipelines criss-crossing the land from the Arctic to the southern United States, leaving in their wake toxic water basins the size of Lake Ontario and surface mines equal to the land area of Florida."

The world renown environmentalist David Suzuki writes: "We (Canada) are creating an environmental catastrophe that will take centuries to recover from."

However,  there may be no recovery, as the extraction of oil from the tar sands makes a catastrophic contribution to global warming.

Canada is a wealthy country, and as such, there should be no compensation if it chooses not not extract its tar sands. Further, there are no carbon offsets sufficient to address the damage that is being done by the extraction of tar sands.

What utter hypocrisy that we ask developing nations to forbear development of their forests and coal reserves- as one of the world's leading industrialized nations proceeds to engage in the worst pollution project of all times. Canada needs to be condemned for its environmental policies throughout the world. As for its greedy and oil needy neighbor to the South- no words can begin to describe its utter lack of environmental responsibility.
 

Pastor Rick Warren Responds to Proposed Antigay Ugandan Legislation, 11/29/2009

Comment: Rick Warren refuses to condemn the proposed Ugandan anti-gay law that would make homosexuality a capital offense. There are no words to describe how morally reprehensible and devoid of humanity that I find his position.

Of course, this is the same Rick Warren who proclaimed Uganda to be a purpose driven nation. Who sided with a Ugandan boycott of the Anglican Church because the Anglican Church was too pro gay!

Then there is The Family- C Street- composed of a cabal of congressman and senator. Apparently the man who introduced the legislation in Uganda is a member of The Family. Is this their vision for America as well- is this fundamentalist extremism to be the future of this country?

Where does our state department stand? Other than condemnation are they taking any concrete action? How much is our aid to Uganda? Sweden will cut aid if this bill passes, what about the United States?

See also: Rachel Maddow's reporting on the subject.

Obama's Christmas Gift to the Health Care Lobbyists- Compromised Health Care Reform...

-Howard Dean says kill the Senate health bill,12/15/2009
-Olbermann: Ruined Senate Bill Unsupportable
-Several prosecutors probing health care deal: They question the constitutionality of ‘Nebraska compromise’

Without support from the White House- Senator Reid and others fought for inclusion of choice in the Senate version of the health care reform package. Choice refers to offering a public insurance option to the mandated private insurance now under consideration. The later is effectively a give-away to the health insurance industry. Without a countervailing public option- the public is at the mercy of the private health insurance industry. Already enjoying an effective monopoly- the industry will be able to dictate rates, curtail plans by exploiting loopholes and achieve excessive profits (at the expense of the insured). Further there will be no effective control over the growth of health care spending as a percentage of GDP- resulting in spiraling rates that could further bankrupt individuals and the federal government.

The Democrats must take a stand. They must oppose health care reform without either a strong public option and/or the significant expansion of existing programs such as Medicare and Medicaid to cover those most at risk. To accomplish this in the face of a subservient White House and the abuse of the filibuster, the Democratic Senate leadership must use reconciliation- splitting the bill's spending and and non-spending elements.

There are some who believe progressives should support the Senate bill. To do otherwise, they argue- would destroy the Obama Presidency. They point out that the bill has many good features- such as increased funding for community health care clinics, the option to purchase insurance regardless of pre-existing conditions, significant cost reductions and the potential to insure 30 million more Americans.

The problem is that the American people are still being short changed- essentially sold out by their corrupt representatives who are in turn beholden to special interests. The bill does little to control the spiraling cost of health care- it mandates coverage that for many- is now or will become unaffordable (up to 8% of income- with up to a 2% penalty for refusal to buy insurance). It solidifies the insurance industry monopoly, placates big pharma (no re-importation of prescription drugs, limits generics) and exposes many Americans to the prospect of unaffordable or extremely high out of pocket insurance due to pre-existing conditions and/or advanced age (400% or higher higher premiums for older citizens not covered by Medicare and 200% or higher for people with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or other medical conditions). Insurers will also be allowed to rescind policies for "fraud or intentional misrepresentation," the main pretext insurance companies now use to cancel coverage. The bill also permits insurers to sell policies across state lines, exempting them from patient protections passed in other states. Insurers will thus set up in the least regulated states in a race to the bottom, threatening public protections won by consumers in various states. Further it offers the American people no option other than private insurance. There is no government safe haven where individuals and families that are abused by private insurance companies can still obtain affordable insurance and reasonable coverage. Rather, it lines the pockets of the health insurers and pharmaceutical companies at the expense of the average American.

Regarding the Obama Presidency- the public interest far outweighs his presidency. If citizens and their representatives fail to vote based on their conscience and their understanding of what is right- then they deserve the fruits thereof. Obama, by bowing to the military-industrial-governmental machinery- has already set a dangerous precedent in this and other areas that may destroy his Presidency and cost the lives and/or harm the well being of many Americans. Standing up to his abuses of power may motivate him to change his course- acquiescing will have the opposite effect.

The position on health care should in fact be an expansion of Medicare to Americans of all ages- effectively embracing a single payer plan. Short of this, we need legislation that provides an effective future transition to single payer coverage. Single payer insurance is the future of the American health care system- otherwise excessive growth of health expenditures as a percentage of GDP will destroy the American economy- plain and simple. Perhaps there is a enough support for single payer if the Senate leadership wields reconciliation. George W. Bush and the Republicans managed to ram tax cuts, oil drilling, trade authority, and much else through reconciliation.

As for the Republicans- to ignore the growing cost of coverage, while contributing nothing to health care reform efforts- is reprehensible beyond measure. They are fully deserving of their status as a small (hopefully in the future smaller) minority party. The American people will be very sorely served if they look to that party for their future. Ronald Reagan was accused at times of wearing rose colored glasses- but these guys have blinders on!

Finally, for Democrats and Republicans to use health care reform as a Trojan horse to undo abortion rights and gun control; and provide special (unconstitutional) favors to states where senators hold the legislative process captive- further reinforces the need to use reconciliation to produce a bill that is credible health care reform- and nothing else.


Obama- Real Change...

If I am a corporate lobbyist- I see real change. Whatever I do seems to work. Even as Obama berates me- I win where it counts- in the pocket book.

If I am a major corporation- automobile, banking, military, health care...whatever- I see real change. I have in fact never seen a government as supportive of my bottom-line.

If I am part of the military revolving door- alternating between working for defense contractors and the Pentagon- I see real change. Never before have I had an administration which gives me more of what I wanted with such little to work with.

If I am China or Saudi Arabia, I see real change- the ability to control the United States like a puppet with my ever increasing debt leverage.

If I am an average American small business owner or worker (union or non-union)- I see real change- increased health care costs, bankruptcy, unemployment and the loss of my home.

If I am a child- I see real change- hunger and homelessness.

If I am the environment, I see real change- runaway global warming, increased extraction of coal and much more.

If I am a human rights activist- I see real change- my pleas are ignored and I am left to stand on my own.

If I am a teacher- I see real change- more accountability to government "standards" and loss of income.

If I am in the military fighting- I see real change- even longer extended commitments, injury and death in conflicts where we don't belong.

Real people- real needs- real change- Obama.

A Lesson for Obama: Vietnam

I wrote the analysis below after viewing Bill Moyer's excellent analysis comparing Obama's choices in Afghanistan with Johnson's choices leading up to the escalation of the war in Vietnam.

Yet, one can't help but be struck by the amazingly pathetic nature of what is taking place. First we invade a nation to root out terrorist bases. Then we enlist the help of corrupt war lords and others to form a corrupt, unpopular government to root out the Taliban. We do little to stop and in some cases actually encourage the drug trade- further adding to the culture of corruption in the country. Then we decide after the Afghans "surprisingly" begin to hate their US sponsored government that the government is too corrupt! Then instead of correcting our past mistakes- we attempt to band aid the situation by starting a half assed counter insurgency/corruption cleanup effort- with strong Afghan opposition! Even more amazingly our military and political leaders appear to think this will work. Or perhaps, they are just protecting their political futures. In which case their crimes are treasonous.

Comment: Bill Moyer- with an intimate knowledge of the events that led to the Vietnam War, makes an impressive and clear case that the War in Afghanistan has similarities and many of the same risks as Vietnam. So does Daniel Ellsberg. So does Mikhail Gorbachev and others. It is clear that Johnson, McNamara and Bundy knew that the war was unwinnable- yet they felt compelled to commit American combat troops anyway. There reasons ranged from a desire to hold a position- to a fear of the domino effect- to fear of political repercussions. Yet what was most visibly absent was an understanding of the Vietnamese. They saw the war in geopolitical and military terms, but failed to appreciate the "enemy." The enemy was fighting for their country and freedom from colonial domination. The United States was an arrogant conqueror who know little of their culture, their determination or their struggle. In Afghanistan, it appears the United States, like the Russians in 1979, are perceived in the same way. The Soviet's War in Afghanistan contributed to the downfall of their empire. Likewise the Iraq and Afghanistan War has contributed to the economic ruin of the United States. Like the Russians we underestimate the enemy- we talk of training troops, corruption, etc., but we fail to understand the aspirations and needs of the Afghan people. Johnson, like Obama, was keenly aware of the political implications of leaving Vietnam- the abrogation of treaties, the appearance of being weak, etc. Yet, in the end the United States was forced to leave Vietnam. It will be the same in Afghanistan. The domino effect has been replaced with the War on Terror. Both are bogus constructs put forward by weak minds who need simple epithets to justify aggression.
 

Blackwater's Secret War in Pakistan, 11/23/2009

"At a covert forward operating base run by the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, members of an elite division of Blackwater are at the center of a secret program in which they plan targeted assassinations of suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, "snatch and grabs" of high-value targets and other sensitive action inside and outside Pakistan, an investigation by The Nation has found. The Blackwater operatives also assist in gathering intelligence and help run a secret US military drone bombing campaign that runs parallel to the well-documented CIA predator strikes, according to a well-placed source within the US military intelligence apparatus."

Comment: If these claims are true, then current and past government officials that are/were connected with these programs need to be held thoroughly accountable. Not only do they show a total lack of respect for domestic and international law, they are immoral, evil and operate outside of the military/civilian chain of command and control. As such, they are dangerous to the security of the United States. See: Blackwater’s Secret War in Pakistan: Jeremy Scahill Reveals Private Military Firm Operating in Pakistan Under Covert Assassination and Kidnapping Program, 11/24/2009

Close the School of Americas

"Father Roy Bourgeois, MM, and School of the Americas Watch (SOA Watch) have been nominated for one of the most prestigious awards in the world - the Nobel Peace Prize - for their sustained faithful nonviolent witness against the disappearances, torture, and murder of hundreds of thousands of civilians (peasants, community and union organizers, clerics, missionaries, educators, and health workers) by foreign military personnel trained by the US military at US taxpayer expense at the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia."- Thousands Demand Closure of Fort Benning's School of the Americas, 11/22/2009

Comments: Perhaps the reason why the United States continues the SOA, is because the US government condones these activities. Read what Seymour Hersh, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist revealed in a Great Conversations Event at the University of Minnesota on 3/11/2009; Also: Blackwater's Secret War in Pakistan, 11/23/2009

Anti-Islamic Fear mongering, 11/20/2009

The Republican Right Muslim Witch hunt continues: Pat Robertson, Don Manzullo, Sarah Palin, Pete Hoekstra & Congressman Jon Kyl. Whatever their motivation- ignorance, hatred, paranoia, political gain or some combination thereof- their words are still dangerous. The President needs to speak out against anti-Muslim prejudice that not only challenges the integrity of his Justice department- but also the well being of Islamic Americans. Prejudice and hatred against the few is a threat to the many. We all belong to some minority that can easily be ostracized and made to be scapegoats.

Dodd wants a single bank regulator, 11/10/2009

Comment: Democratic Senator Dodd proposes stripping the Federal Reserve of the power to regulate the banking industry. No wonder-literally trillions have been transferred to banks and/or used to back toxic assets- with almost no accountability and transparency. Predictably the Obama administration opposes the strongest part of the bill and there appears to be no Republican support. See also the article/video, Naomi Klein on 'Vampire Banks': Turn The Lights On and They'll Turn to Dust, that discusses the House effort by Ron Paul and Alan Grayson to take on the Fed's secrecy. All of these challenges to the Fed come on the heels of the Obama Administration's weak response to Wall Street greed, arrogance and corruption and the sense that there is collusion between the Federal Reserve, White House, Congress and companies like Goldman Sachs. Along with this is an enormous public frustration with the sharp contrast between record Wall Street profits and bonuses, and record unemployment and home foreclosures. Reminding us that that the economic collapse started under Bush is growing increasingly thin as people realize that people like Summers and Rubin-Clinton appointees- help start the deregulation binge that brought about this crisis. The Glass-Steagall Act was repealed under Clinton as well.

Perhaps Obama ought to rethink his plan for the up coming job summit. If he thinks that talk and no action is going to be acceptable to the American people- he is in for quite a shock. If I were President Obama I would think seriously about ways to join the need for renewable energy with the need for job recovery. Remember Sputnik? Except today as he has been so poignantly reminded on his China visit- it is the Chinese who pose he biggest challenge to US technological and economic hegemony. Holding over 800 billion dollars of Treasury debt- I am also sure the Chinese have a keen interest in the management or I should say, mismanagement of the US economy. "It's the economy stupid."  

Obama Nominates Pesticide Executive to Be Chief Agricultural Negotiator in the Office of the US Trade Representative, 11/17/2009

Shining Light on Roots of Terrorism, 11/16/2009

Comment: Predictably those on the conservative (and also moderate) spectrum, see the Federal trials as a mistake and believe that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others should be tried as war criminals- presumably by US military war tribunals. But of course, this is the point- are these men international criminals or war criminals? Is there a War on Terror requiring a coordinated global military response or rather a series of international, occasionally interconnected, criminal acts requiring vigorous and coordinated police and judicial action? I believe the later. And while the two types of responses are not necessarily mutually exclusive- other than helping to recruit potential terrorists- I am unsure what our military actions, particularly the invasion of Iraq and the continuing occupation of Afghanistan have done to protect us from terrorism. Further, quoting John Perkins, in his excellent article, "Poverty, Global Trade Justice, and the Roots of Terrorism,"

"Father Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, a Nicaraguan priest who ministered to Sandinista guerrillas and is now president of the U.N. General Assembly, has a firsthand appreciation for such euphemisms and the power of words used to sway public perceptions. "Terrorism is not really an ‘ism,' " he told me. "There's no connection between the Sandinistas who fought the Contras and Al Qaeda, or between Colombia's FARC and fishermen turned pirates in Africa and Asia. Yet they are all called ‘terrorists.' That's just a convenient way for your government to convince the world that there is another enemy ‘ism' out there, like communism used to be. It diverts attention from the very real problems.""

"...The current economic collapse has awakened us to the importance of regulating and reigning in the people who control the businesses that benefit from the misuse of words like terrorism and who perpetrate other scams. We recognize today that white-collared executives are not a special, incorruptible breed. Like the rest of us, they require rules. Yet it is not enough for us to reestablish regulations that separate investment banks from commercial banks and insurance companies, reinstate anti-usury laws, and impose guidelines to ensure that consumers are not burdened by credit they cannot afford. We cannot simply return to solutions that worked before. Only by adopting new strategies that promote global environmental and social responsibility will we safeguard the future."

I agree that as a nation we must look into our soul and come to understand and discuss the negative moral, ethical and human rights implications of our oppressive military, economic and environmental policies throughout the world. This is not intended to justify terrorism, but rather to understand its causes and perhaps gain a better understanding of ourselves, how we are perceived in the world and ways we and our allies can substantively change. By doing so, we will further our own self interest, while at the same time helping build a more just world.

The World's Original "Banana Republic" Strong-Arms the World's "Last Remaining Superpower?"

Comment:  President Manuel Zelaya should be returned to power and allowed to server out the remainder of his term. World leaders have uniformly declared the coup in June as illegal. The recent actions by Senator DeMint to undermine efforts to restore Zelaya are despicable. In the past, the United States has backed bloody right wing military coupes and/or assassinations to further its own short term interests and/or the interests of US corporations. This behavior is also despicable. While this does not appear to have occurred in this case, it is in our best interest and the interest of the hemisphere, that Latin America continue on the path of building stable democracies- regardless of whether these democracies are left or right leaning. The voice of the people are paramount- and while Zelaya came from the elite class in Honduras- he had the support of labor unions and the poor. Finally those that deride Honduras as just a "Banana republic," and therefore of no interest to a great superpower- seem to forget that  in the United States, 95% of the wealth is concentrated in 1% of the population- begging the question of which country is the true "banana" republic. More importantly, they forget that removing the liberties of one people, is  a blow to all peoples- and a threat to all.

Update: In return for the US abandoning (selling out) Zelaya, it looks like DeMint agreed to not oppose the nomination of Tom Shannon as US ambassador to Brazil. In return, a different Senator- George LeMieux, put another hold on the Shannon nomination!

"Both Shannon and Valenzuela had been in limbo for a couple of months based on Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., hold on their appointments. But DeMint lifted the holds this week after he was satisfied that a Shannon-brokered deal meant that the U.S. would not insist on the restoration of ousted Honduran President Mel Zelaya, who illegally tired to extend his term. DeMint also said he was confident the U.S. would recognize the results of the Nov. 29 election, which would truly end this Honduran crisis." -Thomas Shannon’s Nomination Held Up, 11/9/2009;

Update: Honduran elections exposed, 12/7/2009; Apparently the US, Canada, Costa Rica and others knowingly bought into the coupe government's lies. What a surprise!

Politicians speak of war... but do they understand?

"War's cost is exacting. It destroys families. It leaves behind a wasteland, irreconcilable grief. It is a disease, and in the night air I smell its contagion. Justice is not at issue here: war consumes the good along with the wicked. There will be no stopping it. Pity will be banished. Fear will rule. It is the old lie again, told to children desperate for glory: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori (It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country)."- "A Gaza Diary- Scenes from the Palestinian Uprising," by Chris Hedges. See also, "War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning," by Chris Hedges.

Comment: One should never doubt the bravery of those who serve- as well as the bravery of those who oppose injustice in its many forms- including those that oppose war. The war in Afghanistan is Obama's war and he and the Congress bare responsibility for the lives that are lost. Is this war worth the price?

As its Empire Crumbles is America Ready for a Third Party?

It is obvious that the United States in in a kind of governmental gridlock and that the Congress and Executive Branch are unable to respond to world threats- whether climate change, peak oil, health care, financial regulation, water scarcity, rampant militarism social justice, etc. The Republican party is now in the hands of extremists who are bankrupt both morally and in the realm of ideas. Corporate America dominates the Republican party. The Democratic party consists of a progressive wing that is ready for bold change and a moderate/conservative wing that enforces corporate interests not unlike the Republican party, but does so under the guise of a helping hand.

Perhaps we are looking at the beginning of a third party. A progressive party that would truly represent the interest of workers, minorities, woman, etc. One that would never accept a Barack Obama as its leader- a man who equivocates on almost every issue and has no understanding of how to effect his campaign slogan- real change.

Some would argue that splitting the Democratic party would result in a right wing majority- with the coalescing of Republicans and right leaning Democrats into one party. However, the truth is that we already in effect have this. What a separate party would do is become a rallying point to those that believe in meaningful change. Right now- there is nothing.

There may be no way to avoid an even deeper crisis than exists now. Perhaps this is the only way that the American people would fully turn over the reins to genuine progressives. Sadly, by the time that crisis is reached- the damage to the environment and the economy may be too much to recover from. The United States is not the United States of post World War II. Its domination of the world's economic system and ultimately its military domination will end in the coming decades. Responsible and bold action now could lessen and soften the fall- unfortunately this is unlikely to take place. The United States is in very deep trouble. The concept of American exceptionalism is a joke- it is now and it always has been. 

Health Care Reform American Style

Yesterday the House passed a health care bill, that while containing valuable reforms, can be legitimately be called a give-away to the insurance industry. However, you will have this argument rarely raised by its opponents, because they, by and large, are bought off by the insurance lobby.

Yet what is seemingly new and most striking is the inclusion in the bill of a provision that denies abortion coverage for those woman who are least able to afford it. What is equally striking is the support given to this provision by "moderate" Democrats- the Democratic party being a party whose platform is pro-choice. Even more Orwellian is the fact, that without this punitive, potentially unconstitutional provision, the bill would not have passed in the first place.

And now we have this bill advancing to the more "conservative" Senate. I can almost imagine the new discriminatory amendments that will be offered. Unfortunately, coverage will still be offered to white men over 50- the group probably the most responsible for provisions that discriminate against woman, immigrants and anyone else they can think of that offers red meat to their equally bigoted constituents.

In any case, I almost want to take my hat off (if I wore one), to Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama. If this is the best they can do with this group- it may speak less to their inadequacies and more to the uncompassionate, bought and sold who walk the halls of the Capitol.

So here it is: health care reform minus woman's rights. Congratulations.

And there's even more: Drug Makers Raise Prices in Face of Health Care Reform & Study: Injured Uninsured More Likely (2X as likely) to Die in ER, NY Times, 11/16/2009.

Perhaps members of Congress and the Executive branch should be forced to go without health care coverage. Perhaps then they would develop enough empathy to pass a bill that insures all Americans- instead of leaving thirteen to seventeen million people out in the cold. Again, maybe they should be forced to pay back to the Treasury the millions they receive in lobbyist's bribes. Then perhaps, instead of a 70 billion dollar windfall for the health insurance and pharmaceutical industry, we would have a 70 billion dollar windfall for the average American.

Abortion

The Right attempts to monopolize the issue of abortion. They have taken a difficult and complex issue and have reduced it to slogans and in the process have done nothing or little to protect the rights of the unborn and mothers. Woman will have abortions whether they are legal or not. What woman need is support- basic political, legal and economic rights. They need to live in communities that care about them and their families. They need to be empowered to make the right decisions regarding their body. Instead of working towards the empowerment of woman- the Right has worked to restrict their legal right to an abortion. By so doing, they cause more not fewer deaths and have abandoned their moral obligation to society- replacing it with violence against woman, doctors, clinics and government workers.


The Laughable and Dangerous Republican Right

Michelle Bachmann touted that her health care rally last week had 20K-40K people, when it had at best 4,000. Newt Gingrich and extremist Governor Rick Perry proclaimed Texas the model for health care reform- when the state has the highest percentage of uninsured in the country. Senator James Inhofe proclaimed that global warming is a hoax and plans on sending "truth" squad emissaries to Copenhagen. Joe Liebermann (an independent) proclaimed the recent Fort Hood killings as an Islamic terrorist attack- further inflaming hatreds and prejudice against Muslims. Congressman Buyer takes large sums from big Pharma and tobacco, starts a foundation that appears to be nothing more than a front for receiving under the table contributions from the very same and then votes in their favor- all the time. All of these "fringe" figures would be laughable except for three reasons: (1) A large percentage of citizens believe the big lie and are gullible enough to vote and act on corporate manipulated half truths; (2) During tougher economic times extremists become more powerful and influential and (3) The Republican party does not appear to have any moderates left- with people like Cantor and Pawlenty sounding almost as extreme as the Palin's and Bachmann's of the world. Finally this fringe element while appearing populist is really heavily backed by large corporate interests such as oil and gas, pharma, Wall Street and health care. These corporate interests use the Right as a populist front for promoting their own interests. As such, the political system smacks more and more of fascism- a corporate controlled political system. 

The Adherence to International Law

In a world threatened by nuclear, chemical and biological threats-  a world faced with hunger; contaminated, dwindling water supplies; resource scarcity; toxic environments and climate change- nothing is more important than the adherence to international law. The United States, Israel, Russia and other great nations have forgotten this. Instead they have practiced gross violations of international law in the pursuit of what they consider self defense and the projection of power.

What is required is not just the abstention from the use of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, but also a respect for other nations and the planet. The unbridled use of conventional force has, for example, the potential to create situations that encourage the use of weapons of mass destruction. When nations see their economies wrecked by over consumption and environmental collapse- their recourse must not be to invade other countries or regions of the world. The response to terrorism must not be disproportionate. Nor can nations conveniently violate laws- for example, through the use of killing drones that are nothing more than assassination machines.

Paramount in the adherence to international law is the respect for the lives of civilians. Policies that target civilian populations because they may contain "terrorists," are illegal and immoral.

It may difficult for global superpowers such as the United States or regional superpowers such as Israel to understand that whatever short term gain may appear to take place through breaking international law, is negated a thousand fold by the response of other nations and groups to their actions. 

The Afghanistan War is another test for the Obama administration on whether it can demonstrate a true respect for international law and the rights of a country's citizens or whether it is committed to destructive empire building and projection of power as the Bush administration was in Iraq. If the later, the results will be not only destructive for the people in the region, but also for the United States.

It is not too simple to say that what goes around- comes around. Those nations and groups who violate international law, do so at their own peril. It is naive to think otherwise.

Binding Treaty No Longer a Realistic Goal for Climate Summit, UN Chief Concedes, 11/4/2009

Egregious & criminal- the triumph of the stupid and cowardly...Labor? Students? Minorities? Socialists? Environmentalists? Human rights advocates? Consumer Advocates? Are you there? Do you care?

Wait... Climate change- mass extinction, drought, death...Is that motivating enough? Wall Street billion dollar bonuses while tax payer money is still in their coffers? Corporate health care- no public option- no cost control- major loop holes? Congressional resolutions that are outright lies? Gross militarism? Deliberate catering to the fascist right (who don't even know their fascists) to justify watered down policies that cater to corporations.

What exactly is the left waiting for? Give Obama a chance? Nader is right on. Fire in the belly.

Push Congress? Lobby harder than the opposition? Civil disobedience? Yes- but more the ability to face the truth, speak the truth and pay the price for doing so...


The Crass, Stupid and Vain

Glenn Beck, Russ Limbaugh, Michelle Bachman, Sarah Palin and other pundits and/or political lightweights have been promoting verbal and/or political violence. By doing so, they not only discredit their political party, but more importantly demonstrate their true humanity and what they truly serve. And what do they truly serve? No one else but themselves.

I adhere to the belief that there is a truth and that people can be called what I have called those men and woman if it corresponds with reality. Political correctness is much over rated. Calling these people well meaning is possibly true, but a meaningless statement. Does the word "misguided" sound better? Does that word convey the effect these people have on our lives and well being? Perhaps my use of these words is itself an act of violence- then so be it.
 

Bigotry in Maine, November 2009

In a close vote, Maine voters repealed a state law Tuesday that allowed same-sex couples to wed.

In my opinion this is a triumph- however brief- for bigotry. Brief, because the demographics of this country are changing and in a couple of decades or less, LGBT citizens shall have the right to marry and/or have nationally recognized domestic partnerships that effectively confer upon them all human, legal and property rights of straight couples.

Never should the majority have the right to revoke a minority's constitutional right for equal protection under the law. For those who have (or have not) read the US Constitution, the 14th Amendment says:

"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

What this anti-LGBT victory points to is the failure of our courts to protect LGBT citizens- relegating them to a second class status. It also underscores the weakness of our President, who refused to actively oppose the repeal effort. It further reinforces the need for the LGBT political movement to mobilize and end the illusion that they can obtain equal rights by melding into the "system." The movement needs to fight along side movements that support worker's rights, environmental rights, human rights, racial equality, woman's equality, etc. The denial of rights to one minority group is in fact a denial of rights to all minorities.

Virginia's New Governor Bob McDonnell, 11/2009

"In 1989, McDonnell wrote a 1989 93-page thesis for Regent, titled The Republican Party's Vision for the Family: The Compelling Issue of The Decade. The document explored the rise in the numbers of divorces and illegitimate births, and examined public policies that may have contributed to that increase and proposed solutions.

The document gained attention in the campaign because of the 15-point agenda it outlined, including 10 points McDonnell pursued during his years in the General Assembly, according to press analysis.[27] This agenda includes opposition to abortion and support for school vouchers, and tax policies that favor heterosexual families. In the work, McDonnell argues for covenant marriage, a "legally distinct type of marriage intended to make it more difficult to obtain a divorce".[28]

In his thesis, McDonnell said "government policy should favor married couples over 'cohabitators, homosexuals or fornicators.'"[29] McDonnell also "described working women and feminists as 'detrimental' to the family."[30] McDonnell also "criticized a landmark 1965 Supreme Court decision" which legalized the use of contraceptives by married couples. In the thesis, McDonnell argued for the use of government intervention on societal issues, writing that "man’s basic nature is inclined towards evil, and when the exercise of liberty takes the shape of pornography, drug abuse, or homosexuality, the government must restrain, punish, and deter."- Bob McDonnell Wikipedia article

Comment: McDonnell wrote this thesis at the age of 35. There is little evidence that he has disavowed any of the views he expressed. An uninformed and indifferent American electorate strikes again. Nor did the New Jersey electorate do much better.

Geo-engineering, Nuclear Energy, Gaia & Solving Problems

When I solve problems, I uncover solutions that address current needs, but more importantly I am informed by a vision that anticipates future needs. I work with what is known, what is possible and what is necessary.

The Gaia Hypothesis speaks of the earth as a living organism- one with its own needs, defenses and adaptations to survive. Beyond the Gaia Hypothesis is the notion of the Earth as a spiritual being- a conscious entity- merged and separate from our own. The two views are in fact complementary. Human beings are not simply biological beings- but also spiritual- the Earth is the same.

Never before in recorded history has man been faced with the responsibility for the survival of his own species and all others on this planet. This is the most critical juncture in human history since the dawn of civilization. Those alive today, bare a responsibility for shaping the direction of humanity and all life.

The Earth as spirit- is crying out. You do not have to believe me- I experience it in as real a way as most of you experience ordinary reality. She is crying not for her own life- but for the life of what is upon her- for the mountains, trees, plants, animals, oceans and human beings. She is crying because she knows that a great destruction is upon us. There is no limit to her love or her compassion- yet she knows that that the changes that are now being forced upon her may destroy what she loves the most.

The Earth as a biological being will react strongly to what is taking place. Ultimately she will do what is necessary to restore balance and insure her survival. She will behave as she has in the past- in past epochs of great geological and climate change- of planetary disaster.

I am receiving two messages from the Earth. One is that in our role as problem solvers we must stop the production of global warming gases and stop the poisoning of nature.. To do this we may need to consider nuclear energy or even geo-engineering- altering the world's climate through artificial means- though no less artificial than the ways we have already altered it. We must do this very, very quickly using any acceptable and reasonable means at our disposal. Geo-engineering is quite frankly frightening- the science seems primitive, the outcomes dangerous and even less predictable than climate change itself. However, we must be prepared for what is needed to allow for the survival of life as we know it.

Yet the spiritual side says that this period of suffering is an opportunity for growth. That industrialization is a form of violence that is destroying not only the environment, but our humanity. That this crisis is a warning and a plea to come back to a balanced, sustainable way of living. Of one that is in direct spiritual connection with the universe. As our sky clears from pollution, so will our reconnection with who we are as spiritual beings.

So, we must face this crisis with practical responses (which may include nuclear energy and geo-engineering), spiritual underpinnings and a fundamental commitment to non-violence. If we take the path of violence- then we will destroy ourselves well before climate change threatens our destruction. Violence is not inherent in what it means to be human. It is not part of the ebb and flow of creation and destruction. Destruction in the universe leads to birth and creation. Violence leads to nothing- to an abyss.

The power elites are betting on the abyss. This is how they obtained their power and the have difficulty seeing another blueprint- another way. They must be wrong or there will not be a way.

Coal River Mountain Emergency: Sit-Ins-Funeral March Erupt at EPA/JP Morgan Chase Offices Across Nation

Just the Beginning...

Canadian Climate Protesters Disrupt House of Commons Question Period, 10/26/2009

We live in a word that conservative estimates now say must have a 97% reduction in C02 emissions to 1990 levels by 2050 to avert global disaster. Where action must take place today- not a decade from today.

Yet- the global disaster is taking place NOW!  Australia and parts of Africa are in drought. Large parts of Bangladesh and the South Pacific islands will soon be under water. Hurricanes and tropical storms are growing in severity. A distinct species of animal or plant becomes extinct every 20 minutes- resulting in this being one of the six great periods of mass extinction. The ice caps are melting, sea levels are on the rise, the oceans are growing in acidity, coral reefs will soon be completely dead and the permafrost is melting- releasing methane- a global warming gas 21X more powerful than C02. The rainforests- whether in Indonesia, the Amazon or Papua New Guinea- may become deserts- all for a few days of oil, a few acres of soy or palm oil production or a few ounces of red meat.

No sane individual, with a grasp of reality, disputes that these changes are man-made. The developed nations contribute to over 70% of CO2 emissions. Industrial agriculture contributes more to global warming than cars. Global water and food supplies are under severe threat- in part due to climate change. Even after decades of warning, treaties like Kyoto, with carbon trading- have had little impact on solving the problem. European nations have not met their carbon reduction goals, and the United States has increased its per capita carbon emissions. China and India refuse to set emissions caps and intend to exploit their vast coal reserves- burning the planet along with themselves.

Finally, there is no optimistic scenario- no leapfrog-no technology that can quickly reverse global warming and its consequences. Yet our leaders sit almost idly by as these changes take place. Individual nations are left to pursue their own policies. Legislators water down proposed legislation, even going so far as to create a new class of climate change/third world debt derivatives.

Well, do not think young people or elders will sit idly buy. Do not think the protests will not grow. Never has there been a time that does not cry out more for civil resistance, civil disobedience, more protests, more disruptions. If the citizens of the planet do not take a stand, then there may be nothing left to stand on except a planet machine that is lifeless and that has consumed everything in it path- including us.

One last thing. There are solutions. Some like to go into their shells and speak of hopelessness. Some on the Christian side speak of the Apocalypse. Some visionless leaders speak of political reality- not being able to see beyond their campaign coffers or army of sycophants. This is all dross. It is nothing more than an evasion of responsibility and a denial of reality. The words of an addict that would rather die and doom others than give up his addiction. What right do we have to shirk our responsibilities- locking future generations in a dismal future that was not of their own choosing.

Letter to a Friend...

There is a fundamental dichotomy in the way we think. You seem to subscribe to the view that if people just did….. then problems would be solved. That the bulk of people are well meaning and if they were informed they would do…..

Really all of the issues I have shared with you, including climate change and vegetarianism (which I agree with you on), are a result of the human propensity for violence, whether towards each other, towards animals, towards nature, etc.. Violence that is perpetuated from generation to generation, from family to family and within families.

The great destruction that I have written about earlier, has been occurring for a long time. The destruction of cultures, eradication of species, the killing of men, woman and children by greedy, irresponsible global corporations, genocide, war, etc. -has and will continue. Yet until the machine grinds to a halt, the level of pain and destruction will continue to grow in magnitude, as the planet loses its ability to sustain life.

While in the last article, I alluded to solutions- the truth is the solution is within ourselves. Civil disobedience informed by compassion is intended to change consciousness and weaken the propensity for violence by causing people to face the consequences of their actions. Changing personal habits- while contributing to the change in consciousness (or perhaps a byproduct of it), is not sufficient by itself to create transformative change.

The Coming World Economic Meltdown

"...So the combined effect of the Fed policy of a zero Fed funds rate, quantitative easing and massive purchase of long-term debt instruments is seemingly making the world safe – for now – for the mother of all carry trades and mother of all highly leveraged global asset bubbles."

"...This unraveling may not occur for a while, as easy money and excessive global liquidity can push asset prices higher for a while. But the longer and bigger the carry trades and the larger the asset bubble, the bigger will be the ensuing asset bubble crash. The Fed and other policymakers seem unaware of the monster bubble they are creating. The longer they remain blind, the harder the markets will fall."- Economist Nouriel Roubini

Comment: What does Nouriel know that Obama and Geithner do not- plenty. While Geithner contributed to creating the world's current economic crisis- Roubini predicted it.

US Congress Murdering the Truth- What else is new?

In a fascist state the truth has no particular merit. All that matters is the accumulation and use of political power by the military-industrial-governmental complex to influence, control and corrupt. On Tuesday the US Congress will pass a resolution condemning the UN Report on War Crimes in Gaza. It will assert, falsely, that Judge Goldstone's mandate for the report was biased (Judge Goldstone wrote his own mandate- he was not pressured by the UN Human Rights Commission). It will deny the irrefutable evidence of the murdering of Gaza civilians and systematic destruction of life sustaining infrastructure. It will condemn Hamas while ignoring Israel's disproportionate use of force to punish the people of Gaza for electing Hamas leaders. It will perpetuate lies in an effort to appease a powerful lobby that does not have Israel's best interests in mind or the true interests of peace. See: Democratic House To Pass Resolution Defending Israel's Actions in Gaza War on Tuesday, 10/31/20098.

Interview with Malalai Joya, 10/16/2009

Comment: There is nothing that Malalai Joya writes or speaks about Afghanistan that is not the truth. Her perspective is as one among the people. Yet it is unlikely her voice will be heard by Presidents and War Lords. But her voice is one of truth and over time the Afghan people will fulfill her vision- their vision- as a land free of foreign occupiers and corrupt war lords- as a democracy and a place of individual freedom for all. See also, Scott Ritter's piece: McChrystal Doesn’t Get It—Does Obama?. As for Obama- he better get it- for the sake of his Presidency and more importantly the country.
 

Obama signs Hate Crimes Prevention Act, 10/28/2009

"President Barack Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law this afternoon. It is the first pro-gay legislation to pass Congress since Stonewall and passed after 14 separate Congressional floor votes."

“...We appreciate everyone who worked so hard on this bill. My son was taken at such an early age and we hope this law will help prevent other families from going through what we experienced,” said Stella Byrd, mother of James Byrd. “Even though we’re different colors and different sexual orientations or gender identities, God made us all and he loves us all.”

Comment: The passage of this bill is a victory for the LGBT community and the nation as a whole.

Betrayal Joe, 10/28/2009

I really don't understand this. Senator Lieberman owes his chairmanship of the Home Land & Governmental Security Committee to the Senate leadership. Wasn't Lieberman required to be loyal to the democratic leadership as a condition of his chairmanship? All Senator Reid is asking is that he help block a Republican filibuster and allow the full Senate to vote on health care. Why isn't the President and the Senate leadership demanding loyalty as a condition of his chairmanship?

Where in the constitution does it say, a bill must pass with a 60 vote majority? If the later is the case- then why not an 80 vote majority- further paralyzing an already dangerously ineffective government.

The public option that Lieberman opposes is supported by 70% of his constituents. Is he so tied to the insurance lobby that he would sell the country out?

Is this going to be the fate of climate change legislation? Why is our leadership so spineless? What do they have to fear? Are their own political futures so precious, they would sacrifice doing what they know is right for the sake of expediency?

Leaderless: Senate Pushes For Public Option Without Obama's Support, 10/25/2009

If in fact, Obama is undermining the growing support for a public health insurance option, this will confirm what Robert Reich wrote a few weeks ago:

"...But last January, the White House made a Faustian bargain with Big Pharma and Big Insurance, essentially scuttling both of these profit-squeezing mechanisms in return for these industries' agreement not to oppose healthcare legislation with platoons of lobbyists and millions of dollars of TV ads, and Pharma's willingness to cut drug prices by some $80 billion over the next ten years. The White House promised these industries they'd come out way ahead -- getting tens of millions of new customers who'd be buying private health insurance policies and thereby paying for an almost endless supply of new drugs. Healthcare reform would be, in short, a bonanza..." -Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor, 9/29/2009.

Brother of Afghan Leader Said to Be Paid by C.I.A, 10/27/2009

“...If we are going to conduct a population-centric strategy in Afghanistan, and we are perceived as backing thugs, then we are just undermining ourselves,” said Maj. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, the senior American military intelligence official in Afghanistan."



Ellsberg: From Vietnam to Afghanistan,10/25/2009

Comment: Ellsberg's cogent analysis is that McCrystal''s proposed military/civilian strategy will fail. The only viable option is withdrawal of Coalition troops. I agree with him. If Obama pursues a troop build-up of 40K-80K troops, Afghanistan will become a greater quagmire with much greater loss of American lives. 600-700K combined Afghan/Coalition troops might, according to Ellsberg, wage a successful counterinsurgency- however the chances of this taking place are slim to none. The corrupt Kabul government will never be able to garner the level of support in the country to make this possible.
 

The Egregious Remarks of Vice-President Cheney

Recently former Vice-President Cheney made the comment that Obama is "dithering" with Afghanistan- probably referring to the President's delay in announcing any force or strategy changes until there was a thorough policy review.

Yet, Mr. Cheney's track record bares repeating. General McCrystal has stated that our Afghanistan strategy has failed over the last nine years. The unpopular Taliban have grown greatly in power and influence in the region. The Afghan government is among the most corrupt in the world. Who was dithering when this took place?

We shifted focus from the war in Afghanistan to Iraq. We justified the invasion of Iraq knowingly under false pretenses, which is a violation of international law. We have lost over 4,000 troops in Iraq and millions of Iraqi's have died.  We declared victory a few weeks after the Iraq invasion and by so doing emboldened our enemies. Our take over/administration of Iraq after the initial military invasion was among the most incompetent, corrupt and costly in the history of military occupation. Our practice of torture has helped recruit more terrorists than Al Qaeda ever could. We have squandered our treasury and over extended our military- fighting an enemy (terrorism) that has no national borders and cannot be fought by invading countries- which however, is exactly what we did.

We have pursued an illegal, immoral strategy that has caused countless deaths- and the Vice-President talks about... dithering.
 

The Chamber of Commerce (Fools)

The recent Yes Man hoax regarding the Chamber of Commerce's position on climate change exposes the true nature of the organization. According to the Chairman of PG&E, Peter Darbee:

"We find it dismaying that the Chamber neglects the indisputable fact that a decisive majority of experts have said the data on global warming are compelling and point to a threat that cannot be ignored,” Darbee wrote. “In our opinion, an intellectually honest argument over the best policy response to the challenges of climate change is one thing; disingenuous attempts to diminish or distort the reality of these challenges are quite another.”

Also joining PG&E is Exxon (that's right Exxon), Apple, Nike and others.

This is in addition to the Chamber's apparent grossly exaggerated statements about its direct membership numbers. Apparently the chamber states that its membership includes 3,000,000 businesses when in fact it is closer to 300,000- a difference of 10X. The 3 million represent "federated members." These federated members apparently cannot elect the board or leadership, set policies, etc.

Despite what appears to be a recent shift in position as a result of these major defections- is it so surprising that an organization whose leadership is in denial about something as basic as its membership numbers, would also be in denial about something as important and fundamental to the survival of life as climate change? The Chamber of Commerce is not the only organization permeated by lies.


Dominion over the Earth

Some Christians believe that according to the Bible, man has dominion over the Earth. If you accept that man has dominion, you must also accept that man has responsibility to every living thing. That a kingdom that is divided, that fails to protect the weak, that fails to care for all of its citizens is a kingdom that has abdicated its right to exist.

Obama and Science

President Obama makes a big deal of the importance of not letting political ideology affect the application of science in governmental policy. In fact, his administration has made strides in this area compared to the abject record of the Bush administration.

Yet, if Mr. Obama sticks to his words, then he must recognize what the science is saying about climate change. But if this is the case, why is his administration now in the process of dismantling Kyoto and replacing it with a voluntary system that has a snowballs chance in hell of working, or perhaps I should say, the hell that will be created if he continues in this direction.

Tense

In some discussions of global warming, environmental destruction and human rights violations there is the use of the future tense, i.e., if we do this, we will cause this. Well, forget the exclusive use of the future tense. Rather, say we are doing this, it is causing this and if we continue like this we will...
 

Banning the Automobile

If I make the statement that we should ban all automobiles- perhaps with a five year phase in period, I am not making a radical statement. Americans identify their personal freedom with the automobile. Many Americans are aggressive, impatient and irresponsible behind the wheel. They buy expensive and gas guzzling SUVs to transport themselves. Some even drive Hummers to make a social statement. They believe that cheap gasoline is an entitlement. Every day American cities are choked with automobiles containing one driver- dutifully and aggressively trying to get to work by 8:00 AM. Americans zip onto air planes without thought to the environment. They tow enormous campers to national parks in order to "enjoy" nature and in the process go about destroying it. They have designed their communities around the automobile. They have forgotten how to share things in community or when possible grow food locally.

Yes, banning the automobile would be very difficult for some. Seniors may have to travel in small community buses to do shopping or visit the doctor. Special care must be given to the sick and disabled. More and more things would have to be done at home. Family members would have to learn to communicate with each other. Public transportation will need to be significantly improved and expanded. The list goes on. But do you want to know the truth? Despite the fact that Americans would fight a ban on automobiles like the prohibition on alcohol in the 1920's (both being destructive addictions)- the truth is that the automobile is already dead- it contributes and perpetuates an unsustainable life style. If we kill it now rather than later, we have a chance of making an orderly transition to more sustainable communities. If we wait, we will be forced do so when global warming is out of control and we may literally have no place to travel to while living in communities that cannot function.

Make no mistake- our machines control us- not the other way around. We have created this Earth machine organism that only knows how to consume and destroy anything that gets in its way. And when it is done- we will be its victims. And, given how we have behaved as a species- perhaps this will be an odd kind of justice. Yet, I pray we can avoid this fate.

What's good for Goldman Sachs is bad for America (Good for Wall Street): Socialized Risk, Privatized Gain; Heads they win, tails the rest of us lose

Another Goldman Executive Named to Key Government Post as Its Profits Skyrocket, 10/17,2009

Comments: Apparently the Obama administration is so shameless, they would allow their top campaign contributor (Goldman Sachs) to :

Oversee the financial rescue by TARP and the US Treasury- managing the movement of trillions of tax payer dollars to the financial services sector.

Appoint a former Goldman Sachs executive as chief operating officer of the SEC's enforcement division.

Fully implement the policies of their former CEO, Henry Paulson- appointed Secretary of the Treasury under George Bush.

Appoint Tim Geithner as Obama's Secretary of the Treasury- a protégé of Larry Summers and Robert Rubin (27 year veteran of Goldman Sachs, including co-chairman).

Appoint Gary Gensler  from Goldman Sachs, to head the Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Have unfettered and frequent access to the Secretary of the Treasury.

Record record profits during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Provide record bonuses to their employees. Perpetuating the "fair" distribution of income, where the top 1% own as much as the "bottom" 95%- all the while producing (in the case of Goldman and others) nothing of any real economic value.

Of course Goldman cannot directly appoint federal officials- they do this through their lobbying efforts and domination of Congress and the executive branch. Since they play such a pivotal role in the world economy, perhaps they should be nationalized- with the argument being that they are too big to fail. Others have suggested (jokingly?) that Goldman do a leveraged buyout of the US Treasury Department.

See also: Obama's Big Sellout The president has packed his economic team with Wall Street insiders intent on turning the bailout into an all-out giveaway, 12/13/2009- This article makes a very compelling case that Bill Rubin and his web of influence is what dictates US economic policy. However, I don't remember electing Bill Rubin President. Do you? But who did we really elect to be President?

When a consummate insider like Paul Volcker expresses warnings about lack of regulation, too Big to Fail, repeal of Glass-Steagall, structural unemployment and future economic bubbles- you know you are exposing just the tip of the iceberg.

Some have commented that criticizing Obama, or expressing disillusionment is a waste of time- an exercise in folly. However, while I agree it is no excuse for inaction- it is still very important. Exposing the truth, as this article does, is a very powerful elixir for motivating people to act with conviction. In the case of this article- it confirms the rottenness of the Administration and explains why jobs and keeping people in their homes will never be a priority- NEVER....

Fritz Hollings, former Senator from South Carolina wrote:

What Irks the Right about Rachel Maddow

Former President George H. Bush recently made a reasoned plea for civility towards President Obama. At the same time he saw fit to attack Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann as "sick puppies." The contradiction of calling for civility and then demonstrating incivility was apparently lost on the former President- who at one time helped bring men, such as the later repentant, Lee Atwater into the political mainstream. The reason why Rachel Maddow irks the right is simple- she reports the truth and the truth threatens entrenched power whose strength rests on deception.

Glenn Beck preaches hatred and violence. Rachel Maddow is angered and saddened by words and actions that preach violence and that poison the political debate. She fears what the implication of this violence is for political discourse in America.

In this context, the words of Lee Atwater bare repeating:

"My illness helped me to see that what was missing in society is what was missing in me: a little heart, a lot of brotherhood. The '80s were about acquiring — acquiring wealth, power, prestige. I know. I acquired more wealth, power, and prestige than most. But you can acquire all you want and still feel empty. What power wouldn't I trade for a little more time with my family? What price wouldn't I pay for an evening with friends? It took a deadly illness to put me eye to eye with that truth, but it is a truth that the country, caught up in its ruthless ambitions and moral decay, can learn on my dime. I don't know who will lead us through the '90s, but they must be made to speak to this spiritual vacuum at the heart of American society, this tumor of the soul."


ADL hails House passage of hate-crimes bill, 10/9/2009

Is this enough to get the Senate to pass a hate crimes bill that protects LGBT and disabled Americans? How many more senseless beatings and deaths will it take?

Comment: Great news! Congress extends hate crime protections to the LGBT community, 10/24/2009

Afghanistan and US Foreign Policy

If President Obama is to do the nation service in his review of US Afghanistan policy, he must advocate less a change of tactics but rather, make clear what our strategic objectives are in the region. Put succinctly, is our mission one of nation building and/or preventing the reemergence of Al Qaeda, the former which may be unachievable and the later achievable by other means, with our continued military presence even encouraging the spread of terrorism. Also, it is unclear if the American people would support a nation building effort given its duration and cost in lives and money. 

Al Qaeda no longer has a presence in Afghanistan. Popular support for the Taliban appears to have grown since the Coalition counter insurgency. The Kabul government is extremely corrupt and controls less than one-third of the country. Support within the Coalition is eroding. Civilian and military causalities continue to mount and there is growing animosity towards Coalition forces- who are increasingly perceived as occupiers and murderers of civilians. Pakistan, a country possessing nuclear arms, is increasing unstable- in part because of resistance triggered by the Coalition presence in Afghanistan. The human rights track record in Afghanistan since the end of Taliban rule has been mixed.

Most indicators of Afghan support for Coalition policies are in decline. Obama is justified in reevaluating current policies. Continuation of the current policies appear to be doomed to failure and may further destabilize the country and the region.

General McCrystal, a major proponent of more US troops and strategic changes in policy, sometimes couches US policy in vague and equivocal terms, for example: a 'War of information," or "Right tactics and strategy are never clear in a country dominated by subtle tradition and tribal interests," or "Our principal goal should be to protect the Afghan people." While all of these things may be true, can they translate into effective policy or are they implicitly making the case that a foreign presence can not succeed in nation building in a country as diverse, tribal, spread out, primitive (from an infrastructure standpoint) and complex as Afghanistan?

Nation building is generally a failing enterprise and the chances of success in Afghanistan are unclear. Further, is the role of nation building even appropriate? While we clearly have an interest in controlling Al Qaeda's presence in the region- is this not better achieved with monitoring and surgical military strikes versus nation building? Isn't nation building really up to the Afghan people? Are we helping build a true democracy or a repressive regime? Finally, are our apparent assumptions correct? Will a US withdrawal result in the Taliban taking control of the country? If the later occurs, will it result in a resurgence of Al Qaeda? Is our presence in Afghanistan strengthening or weakening the Pakistani government and destabilizing the region?  Are we effectively recruiting more terrorists by being increasingly perceived as the aggressor?

On the Current State of Affairs...

The solutions to our problems are not simple. The US spends more on military spending that the rest of the world combined. We have, by far, the highest incarceration rate in the world. Our foreign policy, often in violation of international law, has been responsible for the unnecessary deaths of many millions of men, woman and children- whether it is Vietnam, Cambodia, Iraq or Afghanistan. The United States is almost alone among developed nations in not ratifying Kyoto and is by far the largest emitter of carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels.

The American people bare a large part of the responsibility for this state of affairs. If these things are to change- than there needs to mass civil resistance and disobedience in the US. Of course, this presumes enough people actually care and are willing to risk imprisonment. One should also not underestimate the high level of reactionary politics- people who have something will often defend a system that is oppressive to them for fear of losing what little they have and/or for the slight chance they can rise to the top of the pyramid. Perhaps it will take a complete economic, environmental and political collapse to cause people to wake up- and by then the situation may be unsalvageable.

While the hope is that this protest movement is non-violent- given the oppressive nature of this government- violence is likely and some may need to sacrifice their lives. The various environmental and social justice groups across the globe need to put aside their difference and combine forces. The pursuit of environmental justice is not different from the pursuit of social justice and human rights. All of these groups need to be far more strategic and coordinated than they have been in the past. What is needed is a full pronged “attack.”

In short, we need a peaceful revolution. What is most striking about today’s situation is the gross disparity between the deterioration of the planet’s environment and the world’s food and water systems- and the level of response from government. We need a general state of unease and a sense of urgency among those who are awake. We need less to intellectualize than to feel empathetically what is taking place. We need less despair and more concerted actions in groups and communities across the globe. There is no doubt that we can accomplish far more in groups than as individuals. We need to unleash our creativity in forming a better world.

Finally, some of the strongest agents for change exist outside the United States. We all must join forces to bring about fundamental change.

Arctic seas turn to acid, putting vital food chain at risk, 10/4/2009

Carbon-dioxide emissions are turning the waters of the Arctic Ocean into acid at an unprecedented rate, scientists have discovered. Research carried out in the archipelago of Svalbard has shown in many regions around the north pole seawater is likely to reach corrosive levels within 10 years. The water will then start to dissolve the shells of mussels and other shellfish and cause major disruption to the food chain. By the end of the century, the entire Arctic Ocean will be corrosively acidic.

Strategies to Address Global Warming & Is Sundance Kid a Criminal, Jim Hansen, 7/2009?

Hansen heads the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City. He is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University.

Obama at the Crossroads

The President is at a cross roads with the American people. He is now faced with two basic choices. When will lead to greater initial challenge and eventual strong public support, the other will lead to a precipitous drop in public support- with very little hope for recovery.

Yet the road he chooses depends in part on what he really stands for. In this regard there are two schools of thought. One says that the President is really a progressive. He wants strong banking reform, strong climate change & health care legislation, etc. However, because of fear, the desire for bipartisanship, lack of vocal public support or the evils of Washington, he is unable to deliver this kind of change- so he settles on incremental steps- arguing that something is better than nothing. This school of though challenges him on his notion of governance and believes that the President should be bold and strong. They have a faith that the American people- when given the truth will act responsibly and support policies that are in their own best interest.

Another school of thought is that Obama really isn't a progressive. They argue that his supporters pre and post election have been large financial and health care companies. They took notice that his Secretary of Treasury and Chief economic advisors came from the ranks of those who helped bring about the financial crisis we are in. That he is essentially a prop for these companies and his lofty rhetoric is meant more to deceive the average American and protect the oligarchy than bring about right action. They point out that the record foreclosure rate is proof that he supports corporations over the average American.

If the President is really a progressive then he must act boldly-now. Whatever initial opposition he encounters will wither if his polices prove to be sound. If he fails to act boldly, he will perceived as weak and his popularity and effectiveness will continue to decline.

If the President is not a progressive, and for example, in the words of Howard Dean, is crafting a health plan that Bush would like, i.e., that heavily favors corporate interests, he should continue on his current path. However, eventually his true intentions will be known and his popularity will precipitously decline and will not recover.

I want to believe that the President is a principled, progressive leader. I understand he and his administration has been confronted with much in a very brief span of time. I also recognize that strategy takes time to formulate and that his predecessor left him little to work with. However, I am concerned that their is such a disparity between his actions and words that either with or without justification the American people will perceive him as hypocritical and dishonest. Sometimes I feel this way, however it is difficult for me to walk in his shoes. However I am confident that the choice he faces is real. Concessionary President or leader?
 

Alan Grayson- Right On and Why...

Congressman Alan Grayson said yesterday that the Republican health care plan consists of two parts: (1) People not getting sick and (2) If they do get sick-they should die soon. The truth is he was essentially correct. Health care costs are spiraling at a rate that if continued, will make health care unaffordable for the majority of Americans. The only way this can be effectively curbed under the current system is to reduce the number of people that get sick (reduce claims) or for those who get sick- pay out less. I am not even certain reducing claims will drive down costs.

Republicans, by not playing an active role in health care reform have failed the American people. Democrats- by proposing reforms that do not effectively control costs in the long run, have also failed average Americans. The President, by not firmly supporting a public health insurance option, has continued policies of corporate socialism begun in the Bush administration-lining the pockets of Aetna, Cigna and Humana versus protecting the public against corporate irresponsibility and abuse. Increasingly his rhetoric on this issue seems empty and cynical.

Look at it this way. How many Americans would like to privatize police protection? Fire fighting? Education? Food and drug protection? How many Americans would think it is fair that the level of police protection is dependent on one's income? Imagine what it would be like if private companies performed these functions. Imagine the level of abuse, lack of public oversight, unfairness and the untold deaths that would result. Yet our politicians feel this is acceptable with regards to health care.

Death panels- the death panels in this country are the corporate Boards of Directors who determine the percentage of claims that will be paid, executive compensation and their company's overall gross profit. Profit and death are two sides of the same coin in America.
 

Climate Change- Times Up

Sorry those on the right that can't see a truth if it strikes them with lightening- no time for your learning to take place- direct your poisons and apocalyptic vision elsewhere. Sorry, moderates who believe in gradualism- no time for incremental change- the tea party is over. Sorry, Americans- I would love to gradually convince more of you of the reality of climate change- a few more newscasts- a few more documentaries- times up- you will either participate in change or join the fate of those on the Titanic- sink. No time for glib political pronouncements from talking heads that can't think- go back to school and take a Logic 101 class. Sorry global capitalists - you will externalize your costs at the price of destruction of your systems. Start lobbying for more change, quicker. Scare your weak partners in the military industrial complex- offer them even better revolving door deals- do whatever you need to do.

No -times up. Reduce global warming gases by 90+% very, very quickly- protect the Earth's water- end the destruction of species.

Cassandra- really. What Nobel laureate disagrees with me? What percentage of climate scientists challenge what I have said. Cassandra- WAKE UP!

You may actually find upon waking up that community is possible. You may actually become happier and wealthier. You may actually begin a spiritual renaissance. You may actually realize how much you are a part of life on this Earth- how unimaginably loved you are.

Again, your time is up. Your luck has run out. I can assure you their is no inevitability in the perpetuation of a corrupt and unsustainable system. I can assure you that the materialistic definition of greatness is dead. The militaristic definition is dead. It is already dead. The margin of error isn't working on your side. It's going the other way- things keep getting worse, the primitive climate model's predictions get worse. Primitive, because climate is a chaotic system- it can't be totally predicted- but it can be predicted enough. There are no degrees of holocaust.

If you have Darwinian bent then know this- species that do not adapt- perish. This is the way it is. Your children may not have a future... that you would want.

Men that do not speak the truth

"...But last January, the White House made a Faustian bargain with Big Pharma and Big Insurance, essentially scuttling both of these profit-squeezing mechanisms in return for these industries' agreement not to oppose healthcare legislation with platoons of lobbyists and millions of dollars of TV ads, and Pharma's willingness to cut drug prices by some $80 billion over the next ten years. The White House promised these industries they'd come out way ahead -- getting tens of millions of new customers who'd be buying private health insurance policies and thereby paying for an almost endless supply of new drugs. Healthcare reform would be, in short, a bonanza..." -Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor, 9/29/2009.

Comment: When looking at the health care insurance company giveaway program- you don't need to stop at Max Baucus, Harry Reid- or any US Senator. Rather look at the White House. Look at Barack Obama. Then strip yourself of the illusion that our leader is genuine in his promises. See behind the speeches and realize whose interests he really represents. Finally, no one would be more thrilled if I am wrong. No one... 

So Many Words

So many words that people use. Most of the time, words just confuse meanings. They become the basis of wars. They are confused utterances from deluded minds that are fearful and infinitely distracted. Sometimes, at rare moments, there is lucidity- usually this occurs in a period of crisis where finally- compassion is the only option left. Anything short of this fails.

The world is approaching a holocaust. The United States, China, India and Europe will suffer the most because, not unlike the dinosaurs of old, they have become the most dependent on a finite resource that is evaporating- oil. Mankind's propensity for war has increased, not decreased in the last two centuries. This war will be brought about by the scarcity of oil. The industrialized world is like an addict or junkie. Once the oil goes away, the industrial structure will collapse. The food and water supplies will collapse. Out of desperation, powerful nations will war against each other. Once the level of conflict reaches a certain point, the logic of mutually assured destruction will become the inevitable conclusion. You cannot kill people, children, mothers, fathers, families- you cannot destroy beauty on the planet- plants, animals, mountains, air, water- you cannot do this without destroying the desire to live, the reason to live. Then destruction becomes the only option.

Climate change is a blessing to the planet. The earth is sacrificing herself. In her love for us, she is allowing innocent life to gradually die so that we may realize that the greatest risk to this oil dependency is that through war we will destroy ourselves. The Great Destruction. The Great Holocaust.

You probably think- more words. Just words- intellectualization. Just an issue- like abortion, gay rights, labor equality, the war in whatever country... Just words. Got to sleep. Close the light. Play the music and wait.

Or perhaps- wake up. Protest in the streets. End the dead slumber of your leaders. Pray to the earth. Show compassion to others. Form a community of like minds committed to ending the madness. It is true- I cannot lie- if there is only one being- one human being on this planet that cares- that understands- that acts- there is hope. But that hope may be for a world after this one- for this one is slipping through our hands.

What Obama Should Say to the UN

When Obama speaks to the UN on September 22nd, he should commit the United States to an 90%+ reduction in global warming gases from 1990 levels by 2050 (or much sooner). He should end subsidies to oil companies for oil exploration. He should tell the world that the United States will now lead the world's effort on halting climate change. He should talk about the loss of life- human, animal and plant that will take place without concerted world action. He should talk about the need for a global currency that ends the externalization of costs by corporations and that holds corporations and their shareholders directly accountable for irresponsible acts against the environment. He should address the world's water shortage crisis and the perils of the privatization of water. He should condemn the cruelty and damage caused by industrial farming. 

He should pledge that the changes needed to address the above problems will not result in the loss of one American job- and that his administration will transform the American economy in such a way that there will be a much fairer distribution of wealth and that the new energy economy will result in the creation of more jobs and more prosperity.

In summary- he should lead. Instead of meekly going before the G20 and proclaiming he is a died in the wool capitalist- he should clearly and plainly talk about the mess that capitalism has caused and recommend strong corrective actions. He should address the creation of a new economic order- not based on consumption, but based on creating human happiness and balance with the earth.

The world needs transformational figures now- not apologists and anachronistic thinking that tries to preserve the best of the worst. We need to build the foundation of a new world order that is based on equality and equity- not scarcity, and that values all life. He should say that the life of a Russian, of a Palestinian, of an Afghan, of a Sudanese is not more or less valuable that the life of on an American or a European. He should say that we must value the beauty of this earth and treat as precious and sacred the mountains, the trees, the rivers, the animals, the plants, the water, the air, the Earth.

I dare Mr. Obama to give this speech....

Comment: Mr. Obama did of course not say this to the UN. He spoke of urgency- the needs for action- but there were no specifics. It was a more a sermon that a call to action from the nation that is most responsible for environmental devastation. Who are we to sermonize?


UN mission finds evidence of war crimes by both sides in Gaza conflict

"...“We came to the conclusion, on the basis of the facts we found, that there was strong evidence to establish that numerous serious violations of international law, both humanitarian law and human rights law, were committed by Israel during the military operations in Gaza,” the head of the mission, Justice Richard Goldstone, told a press briefing today.

“The mission concluded that actions amounting to war crimes and possibly, in some respects, crimes against humanity, were committed by the Israel Defense Force (IDF).”

“There’s no question that the firing of rockets and mortars [by armed groups from Gaza] was deliberate and calculated to cause loss of life and injury to civilians and damage to civilian structures. The mission found that these actions also amount to serious war crimes and also possibly crimes against humanity,” he said."

"...“The mission finds that the conduct of the Israeli armed forces constitute grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention in respect of willful killings and willfully causing great suffering to protected persons and as such give rise to individual criminal responsibility,” the report’s executive summary said. “It also finds that the direct targeting and arbitrary killing of Palestinian civilians is a violation of the right to life.”

It went on to criticize the “deliberate and systematic policy on the part of the Israeli armed forces to target industrial sites and water installations,” and the use of Palestinian civilians as human shields. - UN mission finds evidence of war crimes by both sides in Gaza conflict, 9/15/2009

Comment: The first step in ending this barbarous behavior is to acknowledge that it is real and takes place. Israeli denials will only prolong the agony of war.

The Jewish people have been victimized throughout the centuries. However the answer is not to become the victimizer. If this dehumanization process continues in Gaza than every civilian will come under suspicion and then the only way for Israel to solve this "problem" will be to to openly and randomly kill civilians. Yet if that takes place, Israel become less secure - more cruel and less human- becoming what it most abhors. Israel needs to rise above its fears. It needs to end the occupation of Gaza, end the resettlement process and extend from the depths of its soul an olive branch to the Palestinians and its neighbors. The survival of the Jewish state depends on this.

President Obama: Mismanagement of Health Care Reform

According to Wendell Potter, former CIGNA executive, turned industry whistleblower:

 “The Baucus framework is just an absolute joke,” said Potter, Cigna’s former head of corporate communications who has been speaking out against insurance industry practices. “It is an absolute gift to the industry. And if that is what we see in the legislation, (America’s Health Insurance Plans chief) Karen Ignagni will surely get a huge bonus.”

Potter said the proposal would not provide affordable coverage. It gives the industry too much latitude to charge higher premiums based on age and geographic location, fails to mandate employer coverage, and pushes consumers into plans with limited benefits, Potter said.

Private insurers “want to have ‘benefit design flexibility.’ Those are three very worrisome words,” Potter said at a briefing arranged by the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. “By being able to have benefit design flexibility, they will be able to design plans that are so limited that more and more people will be in the ranks of the uninsured.”-Health Care for America Now!

Comment:

Obama, by sanctioning the process leading to this "bipartisan" proposal, has again undermined his own leadership, and effectively supported a process that has led to the crafting of a bill (granted that is still in committee) that is a disgusting giveaway to the insurance industry- in effect giving new legitimacy to Republicans who argue for no reform at all.

The insurance industry will gladly cover people with pre-existing conditions. They will gladly agree not to rescind coverage. In part, they will agree to this because it is easy to get around these requirements. But in large part they will agree to this because as long as the law is applied to the entire industry, no individual company can claim advantage. Yes- they will find other ways of squeezing policyholders- but at least in theory they have no qualm with Obama's "reforms."

However, mention any form of meaningful competition and they go to pieces. They whine, they complain- they wine and dine- they'll do anything to prevent this. A public option- perish the thought- the very idea goes against the fundamental principles of corporate socialism that Obama and they seem to espouse.

Single payer coverage is the only approach that makes any fiscal sense. Yet- this was rejected out of hand by Obama and the senate/house. Why? because of the fear that by doing so, they would scare the American people. It was in effect an abdication of leadership that has given the opposition their best argument against reform.

I want to be very clear. I know the insurance industry all to well from personal experience. Efforts at reforms will not occur with the tacit or implicit consent of the insurance industry or its backers in Congress.

Mr. Obama- if you are incapable of offending or fighting any group that opposes the public interest and truly believe that leadership is appeasing all factions- then you are unfit to be President of the United States. The process of change begins with conflict- and from the resolution of conflict and the pursuit of truth- of right action- may come constructive change. Failure to engage- failure to fight for what you believe in - will bring nothing that is good. Change does not occur from the perspective that all things are relative- reconciliation occurs after the battle- not before.

Cowards

Cowards are those who take measure that a health care bill does not include illegal aliens. People who can work in our factories, work in our fields- but are apparently not good enough to receive our medical care.

Cowards are people who believe in something- like the public option in the health care debate- but are unwilling to fight for it- leaving millions with the option of unaffordable coverage- which is essentially no option.

Cowards are those who are not willing to hold others accountable for unlawful actions, thereby making their reoccurrence inevitable.

Cowards are people who use violence (verbal and physical) against the unsuspecting, against the innocent, against those entrusted with our well being- as a way to further their ideology- their hatred- passed as it is from one generation to the next.

Cowards are those who allow their votes to be bought by the special interests group with the most money- the most to gain.

Ultimately a government is a reflection of its people and it is the people that are ultimately responsible for the actions of its leaders and pay the consequences for their cowardice..

"WE, THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF THIRTEEN INDIGENOUS GRANDMOTHERS, represent a global alliance of prayer, education and healing for our Mother Earth, all Her inhabitants, all the children, and for the next seven generations to come. We are deeply concerned with the unprecedented destruction of our Mother Earth and the destruction of indigenous ways of life. We believe the teachings of our ancestors will light our way through an uncertain future. We look to further our vision through the realization of projects that protect our diverse cultures: lands, medicines, language and ceremonial ways of prayer and through projects that educate and nurture our children."- Mission statement of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers. These woman understand the significance of spirit, hearth, ancestral understanding, community, diversity, silence and the complete interconnectedness of life and spirit. Their teachings and the teachings of the cultures they represent are a path of light and beauty to a world that is increasingly dead to what is. Yet they teach with gentleness, joy, praise, humility and pure compassion.

Senator Kennedy's May,12 2009 Letter to President Obama

"...When I thought of all the years, all the battles, and all the memories of my long public life, I felt confident in these closing days that while I will not be there when it happens, you will be the president who at long last signs into law the health care reform that is the great unfinished business of our society. For me, this cause stretched across decades; it has been disappointed, but never finally defeated. It was the cause of my life. And in the past year, the prospect of victory sustained me — and the work of achieving it summoned my energy and determination.

There will be struggles — there always have been — and they are already under way again. But as we moved forward in these months, I learned that you will not yield to calls to retreat — that you will stay with the cause until it is won. I saw your conviction that the time is now and witnessed your unwavering commitment and understanding that health care is a decisive issue for our future prosperity. But you have also reminded all of us that it concerns more than material things; that what we face is above all a moral issue; that at stake are not just the details of policy, but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country..."

The Late Senator Edward Kennedy on Health Care reform....

"...Kennedy, a longtime chair of the Senate's Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, called for extending Medicare coverage to all Americans, medical coverage for the uninsured and modernizing health care systems by using new technologies to cut costs. He also proposed to implement a rule that would require every American to have some form of health insurance..."

""...We'll negotiate with insurance companies to keep premiums and co-pays low and help you with your premiums if you can't afford them," Kennedy wrote in a column published in the Boston Globe in June to push support for his plan. "We're also hearing that some Americans want the choice of enrolling in a health insurance program backed by the government for the public good, not private profit -- so that option will be available, too...""- Huma Khan and Caitlin Taylor / ABC News, 8/26/2009

Death in the era of modern medicine

"Health care is not a political issue or a campaign promise. It is a human right. They had no health insurance. This is a true story."

"...They made a pact. When they could no longer bear the pain or the disability they would leave together. They started collecting the pain medications.
She fell again and shattered her shoulder. They had no health insurance. She delayed going to the clinic. Finally, somehow, someone X-rayed the shoulder. They told her they could pin it back together through surgery, but it might not work. It would remain very painful.
She had no health insurance.
They owned their home and had enough money to live on, but not to buy health insurance with their pre-existing conditions; they didn’t think they could go to a doctor and to the hospital.
They were sick. Their minds were clouded with drugs to mask the pain. They didn’t think anyone could help them. There were no answers, only pain.
In pain, they gathered all of the pills they had saved, went to the store and bought a cake and rented a video, and went home to travel together into eternity. They watched the movie, ate their treats, and munched on the pills like popcorn.
He wasn’t supposed to wake up, but he did..."- From "Death in the era of modern medicine," by Bonnie Tinker, The Portland Alliance, 4/2009. See also: Obama's Health Reform Waterloo by Dave Lindorff, 6/21/2009 & Physicians for National Health Program

In the United States,185 former congressmen and senators are corporate lobbyists, therefore it is not surprising that single payer universal health care is dead in the water. Is what works in France, Canada and Britain not suitable for the United States? Why? Are American's less entitled to health care? Is the demise of the American economy inevitable given the spiraling of health care costs coupled with the demographics of an aging of the population and rising inequality?

The Courage of the People of Iran

As I write this, on Saturday morning, June 20, 2009, the people of Iran -in Tehran and probably elsewhere in Iran- are defying their leaders and seeking justice and even martyrdom in the pursuit of justice. Boiling water or acid is falling from helicopters, protesters are being tear gassed and beaten- hundreds are being rushed to hospitals. Mousavi is saying that the election was null and void. He is saying that the leadership is corrupt and that the election was rigged many months ago.

Please pray for peace and the end of bloodshed.- Lowell Greenberg

TEHRAN Students Shot In Front Of A Camera, 6/20/2009: http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-276292

Iran police disperse protests, BBC, 6/20/2009

Iran’s Children of Tomorrow, 6/22/2009


Why are we Fighting in Afghanistan?

Why are we (The United States) fighting in Afghanistan? Al Qaeda can reconstitute anywhere in the world. We can never entirely prevent terrorism. We can never with 100% certainty keep WMDs from small splinter groups inside and outside this country. Collectively we don't even have control over the actions of our own government- our own terrorism. Our blind support of the Israeli occupation of Gaza- the senseless use of killing drones and iron fragmentation bombs- the millions of lives lost in Iraq due to our killing machines. We imagine and exaggerate threats- projecting our own aggressive intentions on others.

Our leaders are not strategic thinkers- our use of force around the world appears heavy handed- we embolden our enemies- disrupt alliances and lose public support. We cannot win in Afghanistan without the support of the Afghan people anymore than we can wage a war without the support of our own people.

We say we do not negotiate with terrorists- then why should they negotiate with us? How is the crisis to end? We can't kill every terrorist. What is a terrorist? A 12 year old boy who carries a bomb? A university student who sees his country being exploited by foreigners? A citizen who sees his government's repressive, violent regime propped up by corrupt leaders and foreign powers? We don't even understand the people and groups we seek to destroy- instead we assume the mantle of terrorism in an effort to destroy it- rather than understanding the cause and working towards real peace. We become in effect a United States of Terror. See also: "Villagers in Afghanistan Describe Chaos of U.S. Strikes," Carlotta Gall & Taimoor Shah, NY Times, 5/14/2009; Time to Get Out of Afghanistan, George Will, 9/1/2009.

Made in America – War

WASHINGTON - June 16 - Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today made the following statement against the war supplemental on the House floor:

"We are destroying our nation's moral and fiscal integrity with this war supplemental. Instead of ending wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan now by appropriating only enough money to bring our troops home, Congress abdicates its constitutional authority, defers to the president, and asks for a report. That's right, all we are asking for is a report on when the president will end the war.

"There is also money for the IMF, presumably to bail out private European banks. Billions for the IMF so they can force low and middle income nations to cut jobs, wages, health care and retirement security, just like corporate America does to our constituents.

"And there's money to incentivize the purchase of more cars, not necessarily from U.S. manufacturers because a ‘Buy America' mandate was not allowed.

"Another $106 billion dollars and all we get is a lousy war. Pretty soon that is going to be about the only thing made in America - war.

A Wartime Mobilization

"There are many things we do not know about the future. But one thing we do know is that business as usual will not continue for much longer. Massive change is inevitable. Will the change come because we move quickly to restructure the economy or because we fail to act and civilization begins to unravel?

Saving civilization will take a massive mobilization, and at wartime speed. The closest analogy is the belated U.S. mobilization during World War II. But unlike that chapter in history, in which one country totally restructured its economy, the Plan B mobilization requires decisive action on a global scale."- Lester Brown- A War Time Mobilization, 12/3/2008

Beyond the Green Economy:
The End of Capitalism As We Know It

The latest world economic crisis is not just caused by: Greed and corruption at all levels of society; Irresponsible sub-prime lending; Lack of regulation of credit derivatives; Domination of governments by corporate interests; Excessive energy consumption; Unfair taxation policies; Excessive debt; Unfair global corporate competitive practices; Uninformed electorates; Destruction of local economies; and Social and economic inequality. Most of these are not so much causes as symptoms.

At the root of capitalism is the notion is that the world has infinite resources. That no human actions can fundamentally alter the environment and affect the planet’s health. That natural resources- air water, oceans, land, animals and plants are unlimited and are only negligibly affected by human actions.

This notion of infinite resources is fundamentally flawed. All of our collective and individual actions are interrelated. The crises we face now and in the future are global in scope. Air, water, earth and sky are not owned by individual countries- they are global interconnected resources with universal rights of ownership.

Fundamentally, global corporations, governments and individuals must be held responsible and accountable for the costs required to address and correct the damage they cause to the world’s ecosystems. Conversely, actions that renew and sustain the environment and have ancillary public health benefits, should be rewarded and incentivized. New policies must be shaped that renew the environment rather than destroy it.

Whether through taxation, a new form of global environmental currency, etc., every action that adversely affects plant and animal diversity- affects the drinkable water supply and quality of air; affects the ability of the earth to sustain long term agriculture; destroys old growth forests, etc. must come at a price proportionate to the damage caused. I will repeat- the full price of environmental destruction must be factored into the economic decisions of corporations, governments and individuals. When this takes place, actions that today are considered profitable will become extremely unprofitable and impossible to undertake.

Corporations, governments and individuals must be forced to think strategically about the best use of limited, finite resources and begin to act responsibly, factoring in human and environmental rights into their decision making and planning. Environmental costs can be determined by looking at the nature of the damage, its permanence, its effect on human health, climate change, etc.  Human  costs- lost lives, destroyed communities and cultures, economic and political dislocation, illegal imprisonment- these are only a few of the human costs of irresponsible corporate, military and governmental power.

New international bodies must be formed that can create the currency and regulating mechanisms to enforce full recognition of these costs and basic rights throughout the world economy. Fundamental to this recognition must be a respect for life and the interrelatedness of all life.

Inherent in this almost exclusive pursuit of profit is a fundamental disrespect for life. The notion of nature as the survival of the fittest is fundamentally false. While this belief may be at the root of capitalism- in nature there are cooperative systems that have evolved over thousands and millions of years to preserve and perpetuate diversity. Each form of life, from the smallest to the largest- serves a key niche in preserving the balance of the whole.

If collective global action does not take place, then environmental disasters will grow exponentially over the next 100 years- year by year- decade by decade. Once great economies will collapse and/or become even more militaristic in an effort to control remaining global resources. Economic inequalities will become more glaring and potentially world population will decline due to disaster and war- not self-regulation.

There is nothing more costly to life on Earth than war. Yet war could very well be the consequence of a failure to address global environmental issues. Restoration of environmental and human justice requires the abolition of war and a genuine respect for human life.

This is not a rich versus poor, developed versus less developed country issue. For example, if the United States decides to engage in more offshore drilling it should pay a steep economic price for the environmental impact. If Brazil or Ecuador chooses to preserve its rain forests for the preservation of world climate and indigenous life and wisdom, it should be rewarded. In fact, some of the world's poorest communities engage in some of the most sustainable environmental practices- and should be rewarded accordingly- not forced to adopt Western inspired exploitative practices that undermine local communities and deplete natural resources.

Also, an equitable and universal system will not result in one country or corporation paying a disproportionate share of the cost. Rather it will share the burden equally and shift the incentive from short term profits to environmental (aka human) sustainability throughout the world's economic system. Currently we have a system that rewards the almost exclusive pursuit of profit, power and exploitation. Regulation, at best, is inadequate and routinely circumvented over time. We need to restructure the system, so that rewards shift to the protection of human and environmental rights. With this change in incentives there will be a need for less, not more regulation. There will be less, not more economic dislocation. 

Some may feel that these ideas are unrealistic- however the necessity of our times dictates solutions on a global scale. The alternative is global disaster. Some may feel that these ideas would erode national sovereignty. However, this has already occurred. Global corporations care very little about individual nations and their workers- they will exploit wherever they have the opportunity and can gain temporary advantage. They already effectively control the world's governments and militaries. Still others may believe these recommendations require full nationalization of industry or would otherwise be unenforceable. However, there are benefits to retaining competitiveness and innovation in the system- two potential benefits of non-state ownership. Smaller companies in particular represent great potential sources of innovation. Again, some may feel that imposing environmental sustainability requirements will restrict economic growth. This may occur in the short run, however in the long term there would be more sustainable growth. Also, nothing precludes a phase in, where it is responsible.

No economic system is perfect and completely fair- however the current one is not merely less than perfect- it is unsustainable and self destructive. - Lowell Greenberg, 12/7/2008; See also: Calif. adopts sweeping global warming plan, 12/11/2008


Accountability

What is the common thread between the government's coddling to the banks mentioned below and the failure to hold Cheney, former President Bush and other government officials responsible for acts of corruption and possible treason? Is it really the desire to avoid distraction and go forward with "solving" the nation's problems. Or is it complicit corruption, i.e., the federal government will not pursue justice because to do so would implicate current officials in both parties. Yet, without accountability the rule of law breaks down and past mistakes will inevitability repeat as the old players resurface in a new venue. With a servile press and the manipulation of the media by elites, the American people never understand the truth and each year freedom erodes and is replaced by an Orwellian fascism.
 

Obama's Problem

There are at least two key areas where Obama and his administration are demonstrating weakness- catering to special interests, entrenched military leaders and other "powers that be."

Over the last year banks and other financial institutions have been given trillions of dollars to help remedy a financial crisis of their own doing. Yet instead of using the powers of the FDIC and other governmental agencies to remove ineffective management, remove bad debt and change business practices, we have emboldened these very financial institutions. Emboldened- they have given their top executives hundred of millions of dollars of bonuses- signaling that it is business as usual and that if nothing else they seek to profit from the misfortunes of others, i.e., the misfortunes of the majority of Americans whose standard of living has declined over the last few decades.

In Afghanistan, we seem committed to listening to generals who are unable strategize and have no understanding of history. Providing more troops while perpetuating corruption and the unnecessary loss of civilian life-  is a recipe for disaster. Committing billions to a conflict that is militarily unwinnable at a time when the federal government is essentially bankrupt flies in the face of reality.

One would have thought Obama would have learned from his experience with the economic recovery package- he could barely muster a few Republican votes. Those few Republicans who voted with him, did so not because they liked him- but because they believed that his policies were correct and would be supported by their constituents.

Governing is not about popularity- eventually sound decisions will be rewarded by public support. However, while Obama uses his triangulation and political skills to build a consensus he already has- key decisions are being made that maintain a very dangerous status quo. See also: The Crisis That Could Bring Down Obama, 4/15/2009 by Ruth Conniff & Geithner's Stress Test "A Complete Sham," Former Federal Bank Regulator Says, 4/6/2009
 

Close the SOA

"The US Army School of Americas (SOA), based in Fort Benning, Georgia, trains Latin American security personnel in combat, counter-insurgency, and counter-narcotics. SOA graduates are responsible for some of the worst human rights abuses in Latin America." See also: Operation Condor.

Comments: Perhaps the reason why the United States continues the SOA, is because the US government condones these activities. Read what Seymour Hersh, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist revealed in a Great Conversations Event at the University of Minnesota on 3/11/2009:

"...Seymour Hersh then went on to describe a second area of extra-legal operations: the Joint Special Operations Command. "It is a special wing of our special operations community that is set up independently," he explained. "They do not report to anybody, except in the Bush-Cheney days, they reported directly to the Cheney office. ... Congress has no oversight of it."

"It’s an executive assassination ring essentially, and it’s been going on and on and on," Hersh stated. "Under President Bush’s authority, they’ve been going into countries, not talking to the ambassador or the CIA station chief, and finding people on a list and executing them and leaving. That’s been going on, in the name of all of us."

Atrocities Against Children in Gaza

"Out of all the devastation I have seen so far, there is one story in particular that I think the world needs to hear. I met a mother who was at home with her ten children when Israeli soldiers entered the house. The soldiers told her she had to choose five of her children to "give as a gift to Israel." As she screamed in horror they repeated the demand and told her she could choose or they would choose for her. Then these soldiers murdered five of her children in front of her. The concept of "Jewish morality" is truly dead. We can be fascists, terrorists, and Nazis just like everybody else."-Barbara Lubin, founder and executive director of the Middle East Children's Alliance. 1/25/2009; See also: Dr. Mads Gilbert: A Physician in Gaza, 4/28/2009

Comment: I want to believe that this incident is untrue. Yet these kinds of atrocities do occur in wartime. It and others like it must be thoroughly investigated by an international tribunal- and if they are found true, then those responsible must be removed from power and punished.

Yet, I have yet to hear these charges addressed- even as US senators and congressmen visit the worn torn areas and comment on the devastation and tragic loss if human life. A right wing conservative government is poised to take control in Israel-yet the US congress and executive branch do nothing more than offer unmitigated support to the Israeli apartheid state. In fact, we seem to have modeled our response to terrorism on how Israel  treats the Palestinians- brute force, total domination, and little respect for human rights, international law and the lives of woman and children. 2/23/2009

10 things you should know about Obama's plan (but probably don't)

Last week, President Obama unveiled his budget—his blueprint for America—and it's ambitious, amazing, and unapologetically progressive. As Paul Krugman said, it will set America on a "fundamentally new course."

President Obama called his budget "a threat to the status quo," and trust me, the status quo noticed. Oil companies, big banks and insurance companies are already mobilizing to stop it.

The plan:

- Makes a $634 billion down payment on fixing health care that will go a long way toward paying for a more efficient, more affordable health care system that covers every single American.
- Reduces taxes for 95% of working Americans. And if your family makes less than $250,000, your taxes won't go up one dime.
- Invests more than $100 billion in clean energy technology, creating millions of green jobs that can never be outsourced.
- Brings our troops home from Iraq on a firm timetable, finally bringing the war to a close—and freeing up almost ten billion dollars a month for domestic priorities.
- Reverses growing income inequality. The plan lets the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire and focuses on strengthening the middle class.
- Closes multi-billion-dollar tax loopholes for big oil companies.
- Increases grants to help families pay for college—the largest increase ever.
- Halves the deficit by 2013. President Obama inherited a legacy of huge deficits and an economy in shambles, but his plan brings the deficit under control as soon as the economy begins to recover.
- Dramatically increases funding for the SEC and the CFTC—the agencies that police Wall Street.
- Tells it straight. For years, budgets have used accounting tricks to hide the real costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush tax cuts, and too many other programs. Obama's budget gets rid of the smokescreens and lays out what America's priorities are, what they cost, and how we're going to pay for them.-From Moveon.org, 3/1/2009

Comment: In the United States,185 former congressmen and senators are corporate lobbyists. It is now common practice to pass legislation that earmarks hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses requesting favored treatment/special help. Last year, over 40 million dollars was given to legislators by the financial companies that benefited from TARP- the financial system bailout. While the real wages of the majority working Americans have remained stagnant over the last 30 years, the wages of the very top earners have risen astronomically. Frequently we here the argument that certain companies are too big to fail- implying that irresponsible and/or illegal actions by these companies will be funded by tax payers- in effect creating what is unmistakably corporate socialism- yet a socialism that instead of defending the rights of ordinary citizens- defends the rights of the oligarchy- the corporate elites. See also: The Cash Committee: How Wall Street Wins On The Hill, 12/29/2009

If the current economic crisis is to be solved then the stranglehold of the oligarchy must be broken and the government must be truly become- of the people, by the people and for the people- yet is this even possible when the said government is controlled by the oligarchy that has caused the current crisis and only seeks to benefit from it? 2/23/2009

A Time to Work Together & A Time to Fight

It is now time- and it has always been time- for groups and individuals committed to fundamental progressive change to band together. We must recognize that our challenges- environmental sustainability; human rights violations; minority, gay, indigenous, immigration and labor rights; children and woman's rights; unjust wars; animal welfare rights; consumer protections, etc. - are all interrelated. Fundamentally, our problems stem from a lack of spiritual awareness of our interconnectedness and a lack of respect for all life. As we elevate our spiritual awareness of our connection, we must also take the fight to the global corporate/governmental elites who support repression and the destruction of the individual and community. There is nothing radical in this notion. Rather it is fundamental to our survival as a species.- Lowell Greenberg 

The Global Economy

"...The idea of an economy based upon several kinds of ruin may seem a contradiction in terms, but in fact such an economy is possible, as we see. It is possible however, on one implacable condition: the only future good that it assuredly leads to is that it will destroy itself. And how does it disguise this outcome from its subjects, its short-term beneficiaries, and its victims? It does so by false accounting. It substitutes for the real economy, by which we build and maintain (or do not maintain) our household, a symbolic economy of money, which in the long run, because of the self-interested manipulations of the "controlling interests," cannot symbolize or account for anything but itself. And so we have before us the spectacle of unprecedented "prosperity" and "economic growth" in a land of degraded farms, forests, ecosystems, and watersheds, polluted air, failing families, and perishing communities."

"...In default of government protections against the total economy of the supranational corporations, people are where they have been many times before: in danger of losing their economic security and their freedom, both at once. But at the same time the means of defending themselves belongs to them in the form of a venerable principle: powers not exercised by government return to the people. If the government does not propose to protect the lives, livelihoods, and freedoms of its people, then the people must think about protecting themselves.- From, "The Idea of a Local Economy," by Wendell Berry, Orion Magazine, 2002

Beautiful Earth

Love is eternal.
Love is silence.
Always act from the heart.
Gentleness, Peace, Holiness and Light.
All creation is part of the tree of life.
Become dead to the world to be truly alive.
When free of all attachment, there will be compassion.
Knowledge and truth remain forever.
All is spirit. All is beautiful. Love all.

A Prayer for Peace & Awakening

May we awaken to the sea of love that immerses us- that engulfs us- removing fear from our lives and seeking peace- peace within ourselves, peace in our families, peace in our communities, peace within nations, peace in the world- in the universe. May we understand and experience our true selves and manifest in the world as beings of light and joy- learning how to end suffering, heal the wounds we inflict on ourselves and others and rediscovering our connection to all spirit and love.

"In a time when the survival of the human race is in question, to continue with the status quo is to cooperate with insanity, to contribute to chaos."- Vimala Thakar, Awakening to Total Revolution: Enlightenment and the World Crisis

"The people who are aware of the domestic and foreign crimes of state, and the incredible exploitive base supporting the U.S. lifestyle, or the American Way Of Life (AWOL), have special obligations, both under international and U.S. domestic law, as well as conscience, to stimulate local, regional, national and global debates about these life threatening, unprecedented threats to justice and genuine democracy. This would include articulating and experimenting with alternative economic and political theories and practices."- Brian Willson, 2000

Pray for peace, calm and wisdom in the Middle East- the averting war with Iran. The US and Israeli plans for a tactical nuclear or non-nuclear air strike against Iran would be an unmitigated disaster for the United States, the Middle East and the world. It will destroy the possibility of peace in the Middle East for a quarter of a century or more It will lead to a chain of events that will cause an untold loss of life in and outside of the region. It will significantly increase the likelihood of wars and attacks using WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) in the region and throughout the world. It will embolden the forces of fear and repression in the Middle East and the Western democracies.

Pray and work in solidarity for the people of Oaxaca, Mexico who are standing up to government oppression and seeking the ouster of Governor Ulises Ruiz. Work for the release of prisoners that are unjustly held. Pray for the work of organizations such as the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO), the Women's Commission (COMO) and CIPO (Council of Indigenous People of Oaxaca). Pray that they remain non-violent and that the cause of justice for the poor and indigenous people become a rallying cry through out Mexico and the world.

Pray and work to end the fear and exploitation of  immigrants that sometimes is tantamount to slave labor. Pray and work for immediate and unconditional amnesty for immigrants and open borders for people of all races and nations.

Pray and work for peace in Tibet and the end of Chinese oppression and corruption.

Pray and work for the end of the Israeli occupation of Gaza

Pray and work for the end of genocide in Darfur where more than 450,000 people have died and 2.5 million made refugees. Divest for Darfur; Save Darfur; Sudan Disinvestment Taskforce

Pray for the ending of civil war in Iraq. Pray for the Iraqi people, who over the last thirty years have experienced the loss of millions of lives, enduring a barbarous regime, three bloody wars, a long period of inhumane sanctions and a humiliating, deadly occupation. At least 655,000 Iraq civilians and almost 4,000 Americans have died as a consequence of the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. Pray for tranquility in Lebanon and peace between Palestinians and Israel and an ending of the atrocities in Gaza.

Pray that U.S. leaders be brought to justice for crimes against humanity, the erosion of civil liberties and other illegal acts that contravene international and U.S. law. Pray that the innocents imprisoned and tortured in Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere are freed. See: For His Treatment of Children in the 'War on Terror,' Bush is a War Criminal; 35 Articles of Impeachment against George Bush, 6/9/2008 & General who probed Abu Ghraib says Bush officials committed war crimes, 6/18/2008.

Free the San Francisco 8 and others the U.S. government is holding illegally and unjustly.

Pray that Troy Anthony Davis, who may have been wrongly accused of murder, receives a new and fair trial.

Pray that all peoples wake up to the threat of global capitalism whose goal is to maximize the wealth and power of its elites and destroy man's connection with spirit and life. Pray that the environmental devastation and suffering they wreak will end. Pray that together we end the global food crisis.

Referring to the Niger Delta in Nigeria, Sandy Cioffi, film director of Sweet Crude writes:

"Here, citizens of an oil-rich nation struggle to eat in a land that can no longer support them. The Delta’s water and soil have been fouled by the same oil production that accounts for more than 80 percent of the country’s revenue. Traditional fishing and farming livelihoods are all but gone. Potable drinking water is rare. So is electricity. With pitifully few clinics and schools, curable conditions go untreated and illiteracy is high. Families are broken up, as men die young or take off for the cities to find jobs." See also: Crude Times in the Niger Delta.

 "...People, who lost their love and forgot the respect for our mother earth. People, who love the money, they murder our mother earth..."- Don Casimiro Mamallacta, medicine-man/shaman from the comunidad Mariposa (community of butterflies) located in the upper Amazon basin. See also: Mariposa-Community of Butterfies

"...I would hope that the destructive results of the civilized world would result in some relinquishment of dominion and that those who destroy this way of life and continue to forbid it could find reason to begin to allow those of us who can to engage in a socio-environmental experiment to show once again how I and others can be effective in enlivening the natural world."- A letter from Finisia Medrano in jail...to the Lemhi County Court.

Pray and work for a 70%-80% reduction in global warming gas emission to avert worldwide climate catastrophe. Pray that this generation and future generations are spared the pain and suffering. May they forgive us for what we have done.

Pray that mankind awakens to the interconnectedness of all life and halts human- caused extinctions that could result in the loss of half of the Earth's species by the end of the century.

O Great Spirit
grant me a vision. Let it be good. Let it bless all people.