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thinkahol *

The Coming Insurrection « Support the Tarnac 10 - 0 views

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    From whatever angle you approach it, the present offers no way out. This is not the least of its virtues. From those who seek hope above all, it tears away every firm ground. Those who claim to have solutions are contradicted almost immediately. Everyone agrees that things can only get worse. "The future has no future" is the wisdom of an age that, for all its appearance of perfect normalcy, has reached the level of consciousness of the first punks. 
Bakari Chavanu

Capitalism's Self-inflicted Apocalypse - 0 views

  •  The present economic crisis, however, has convinced even some prominent free-marketeers that something is gravely amiss. Truth be told, capitalism has yet to come to terms with several historical forces that cause it endless trouble: democracy, prosperity, and capitalism itself, the very entities that capitalist rulers claim to be fostering.
  • Some eighty  years ago Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis commented, “We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.” Moneyed interests have been opponents not proponents of democracy.
  • In the early days of the Republic the rich and well-born imposed property qualifications for voting and officeholding. They opposed the direct election of candidates (note, their Electoral College is still with us). And for decades they resisted extending the franchise to less favored groups such as propertyless working men, immigrants, racial minorities, and women.
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  • The conservative plutocracy also seeks to rollback democracy’s social gains, such as public education, affordable housing, health care, collective bargaining, a living wage, safe work conditions, a non-toxic sustainable environment; the right to privacy, the separation of church and state, freedom from compulsory pregnancy, and the right to marry any consenting adult of one’s own choosing.
  • About a century ago, US labor leader Eugene Victor Debs was thrown into jail during a strike. Sitting in his cell he could not escape the conclusion that in disputes between two private interests, capital and labor, the state was not a neutral arbiter. The force of the state--with its police, militia, courts, and laws—was unequivocally on the side of the company bosses.
  • Any nation that is not “investor friendly,” that attempts to use its land, labor, capital, natural resources, and markets in a self-developing manner, outside  the dominion of transnational corporate hegemony, runs the risk of being demonized and targeted as “a threat to U.S. national security.”
  • Most of the world is capitalist, and most of the world is neither prosperous nor particularly democratic. One need only think of capitalist Nigeria, capitalist Indonesia, capitalist Thailand, capitalist Haiti, capitalist Colombia, capitalist Pakistan, capitalist South Africa, capitalist Latvia, and various other members of the Free World--more accurately, the Free Market World.
  • Corporate investors prefer poor populations. The poorer you are, the harder you will work—for less. The poorer you are, the less equipped you are to defend yourself against the abuses of wealth.
  • In the corporate world of “free-trade,” the number of billionaires is increasing faster than ever while the number of people living in poverty is growing at a faster rate than the world’s population. Poverty spreads as wealth accumulates.
  • To the extent that life is bearable under the present U.S. economic order, it is because millions of people have waged bitter class struggles to advance their living standards and their rights as citizens, bringing  some measure of humanity to an otherwise heartless politico-economic order.
  • There is a third function of the capitalist state seldom mentioned. It consists of preventing the capitalist system from devouring itself.  Consider the core contradiction Karl Marx pointed to: the tendency toward overproduction and market crisis. An economy dedicated to speedups and wage cuts, to making workers produce more and more for less and less, is always in danger of a crash. To maximize profits, wages must be kept down. But someone has to buy the goods and services being produced. For that, wages must be kept up. There is a chronic tendency—as we are seeing today—toward overproduction of private sector goods and services and underconsumption of necessities by the working populace. 
  • Instead of trying to make money by the arduous task of producing and marketing goods and services, the marauders tap directly into the money streams of the economy itself. During the 1990s we witnessed the collapse of an entire economy in Argentina when unchecked free marketeers stripped enterprises, pocketed vast sums, and left the country’s productive capacity in shambles. The Argentine state, gorged on a heavy diet of free-market ideology, faltered in its function of saving capitalism from the capitalists.
  • These thieves were caught and convicted. Does that not show capitalism’s self-correcting capacity? Not really. The prosecution of such malfeasance— in any case coming too late—was a product of democracy’s accountability and transparency, not capitalism’s. Of itself the free market is an amoral system, with no strictures save caveat emptor.
  • Perhaps the premiere brigand was Bernard Madoff. Described as “a longstanding leader in the financial services industry,” Madoff ran a fraudulent fund that raked in $50 billion from wealthy investors, paying them back “with money that wasn’t there,” as he himself put it. The plutocracy devours its own children.
  • The classic laissez-faire theory is even more preposterous than Greenspan made it.  In fact, the theory claims that everyone should pursue their own selfish interests without restraint.
  • Capitalism breeds the venal perpetrators, and rewards the most unscrupulous among them.  The crimes and crises are not irrational departures from a rational system, but the converse: they are the rational outcomes of a basically irrational and amoral system.
  • Worse still, the ensuing multi-billion dollar government bailouts are themselves being turned into an opportunity for pillage. Not only does the state fail to regulate, it becomes itself a source of plunder, pulling vast sums from the federal money machine, leaving the taxpayers to bleed.
  • But the 2008-09 “rescue operation” offered a record feed at the public trough. More than $350 billion was dished out by a right-wing lame-duck Secretary of the Treasury to the biggest banks and financial houses without oversight--not to mention the more than $4 trillion that has come from the Federal Reserve.  Most of the banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of New York Mellon, stated that they had no intention of letting anyone know where the money was going.
  • In sum, free-market corporate capitalism is by its nature a disaster waiting to happen.
  • If the paladins of Corporate America want to know what really threatens “our way of life,” it is their way of life, their boundless way of pilfering their own system, destroying the very foundation on which they stand, the very community on which they so lavishly feed.
thinkahol *

Cheney Was Right About One Thing: Deficits Don't Matter | Truthout - 0 views

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    "De­ficit ter­ror­ists" are gutt­ing govern­ments and forc­ing the privatiza­tion of pub­lic as­sets, all in the name of "de­ficit re­duc­tion." But de­ficits aren't ac­tual­ly a bad thing. In today's moneta­ry scheme, in which most money comes from debt, debt and de­ficits are ac­tual­ly neces­sa­ry to have a st­able money sup­p­ly. The pub­lic debt is the peo­ple's money.
Muslim Academy

Why Did God Create Evil - 0 views

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    From human evil in wars, drone attacks, and brutal mass killings, to natural disasters as in earthquakes, floods and tornadoes, many innocent people have died and many survivors spend their lives mourning the loss. Amidst all this misery, we cannot help but ask, why? Is it fair that my lovely child who still has not tasted the good things in life died while those malicious people who killed him ran away? Is it fair that a flood comes to drown a group of people while others remain untouched? However, there is a beam of hope that still manages to arise only if we think deeper within ourselves.
Joe La Fleur

Borelli: President Obama Keeps Promise to Bankrupt Coal Industry | TheBlaze.com - 0 views

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    COAL, RAILROAD, TRUCKING & ELECTRIC POWER GENERATING JOBS LOST. THE ECONOMYS OF WEST VIRGINIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ILLINOIS, INDIANA AND OHIO CRUSHED. 50% OF ELECTRICTY COMES FROM COAL FIRED POWER PLANTS. THESE ARE THE PLANTS THAT GENERATE ELECTRICYT TO CHARGE ELECTRIC CARS.
Joe La Fleur

Is the GSA Vegas Scandal Another Obama Administration Cover-Up Like Fast and Furious? - 0 views

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    When there is a problem with an employee it is the fault of that employee. When there is a problem with all employees it is the fault of management. It comes from a lack of leadership. This is true in all situations. Obama doesn't have the leadership skills to be president and it shows in his employees.
Joe La Fleur

Human Rights Court Rejects Soros' Insider-Trade Appeal | TheBlaze.com - 0 views

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    THIS IS WHERE THE MONEY FOR MEDIA MATTERS, OCCUPY WALL STREET, ADBUSTERS.ORG, MOVEON.ORG, AND THE DEMOCRAT PARTY COMES FROM.
Joe La Fleur

Call for May Day Offensive Reveals Communist Direction of Occupy Wall Street Movement - 0 views

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    HERE COMES COMMUNISM
Muslim Academy

Burmese Muslims Slaughter - 0 views

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    The total population of Burma is around 80 million of which almost 0.7 million people are Muslims. The old name of Burma is Myanmar. The greatest percentage of the Burmese Muslims live in Arakan province in Burma. Great difficulties are thereby faced by the Burmese Muslims. This has continued since the year 1962. This was the year when the army took over the governmental control of Burma. The current killing of the Burmese Muslims is also based on the same fact. Current slaughter of the Muslims in Burma is based on the fact of the killings started by the military in Burma. On the 9th of February, more than 20 Rohingya Muslims were killed. On the 3rd of June, more than 11 Muslims were brutally slaughtered by the Burmese military as well as the Buddhist mobs after these Muslims were asked to come down from a bus.
Muslim Academy

Salat the Second Pillar of Islam - 0 views

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    'Salat' means five daily prayers prayed regularly in Muslims religion. Its vital meaning is 'supplication'. The prayer indicates various relations with God. Salat is the second pillar of Islam among the five pillars in which Islam based on. It comes after the Kalama, the very first pillar of Islam. The Muslims do their prayer five times in a day. Salat has much religious importance and it saves one from indulgence and horrible work. Student life is the best time when one should learn to control over his evil wants. So, for Muslim students it is must learn the teaching of Salat, for his religious and social welfare. Salat can purify man's life.
Muslim Academy

The Silsilah Dialogue Movement Muslim Coordinator - Prof. Alzad Sattar - 0 views

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    The Silsilah Dialogue Movement is a Filipino movement in Mindanao that aims to unite Christians and Muslims, as well as other people of different religion and faith. Prof. Alzad Sattar is proud to be a member and Muslim coordinator of the Inter-faith Council of Leaders in Basilan. He took up Political Science in Basilan State College and had his Masters Degree in the University of the Philippines. He became a professor in Basilan State College since 1996. Presently, he is the Assistant Dean of Academic Support and Services and Dean of the College of Islamic Studies. He is also an active participant and member of non-government organizations that promote peace and harmony like the Silsilah Dialogue Movement. As a child born in the city of Basilan, he believes that this place is very beautiful. Despite of this harmonious scenery with its natural white beach and sea resources, for him, Basilan has a large diversity when it comes to cultures and religions between the people living in this paradise. He hopes that someday this diversity would surpass through the help of the Dialogue. The following are some excerpts and inspiring keys mentioned by Prof. Alzad Sattar in an interview in the Silsilah Dialogue Movement: What was the impact of Silsilah Dialogue Movement to you as person? Prof Sattar: Silsilah actually transformed a lot in me as a person. I remember in the past, I had biases and prejudices against Christians because of a lot of factors. Number one factor is the orientations that I had, that Christians are like this and that and the second factor was the situation that I had experienced. I was born during the Martial law and at that time, many of my relatives died. The people who killed them are the Philippine soldiers who happened to be Christians. This contributed to my perception about the Christians. One factor that also contributed in my biases is the books I read. Like what I said, I was a PolSci graduate and because of that I rea
thinkahol *

Global rebellion: The coming chaos? - Opinion - Al Jazeera English - 0 views

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    Global elites are confused, reactive, and sinking into a quagmire of their own making, says author.
thinkahol *

Bradley Manning Support Network » Deception sustains unjust wars - honesty en... - 0 views

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    Troops are coming home from Iraq despite the best efforts of the Obama administration to keep them there. "We're relieved to know all the troops will be home at the end of the year. This would not have been possible without the courageous actions of Wikileaks and the alleged participation of Bradley Manning" says Executive Director of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Jose Vasquez. Until their abrupt reversal a few weeks ago, the Obama administration had been working hard to maintain between 8000 and 20,000 troops in Iraq after the current Status of Forces agreement was set to expire at the end of this year. Fortunately, the Iraqi government refused to renew the judicial immunity, under which the U.S. Armed Forces had been operating. Establishment news outlets have largely ignored the reason for this sudden change of plans. A few weeks before the negotiations between Washington and Baghdad reached an impasse, WikiLeaks released a cable providing clear evidence that U.S. forces had been engaged in a cover up of the heinous execution of civilian non-combatants following a raid of a suspected insurgent stronghold. "A U.S. diplomatic cable made public by WikiLeaks provides evidence that U.S. troops executed at least 10 Iraqi civilians, including a woman in her 70s and a 5-month-old infant, then called in an airstrike to destroy the evidence, during a controversial 2006 incident in the central Iraqi town of Ishaqi." (link)
thinkahol *

The Moment When the Police Lost the Occupy Portland Narrative | Blogtown, PDX - 0 views

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    Well, it turned. The police bureau is starting to crack after six weeks of Occupy Portland. And one picture, right here, crystallizes the precise moment when it happened. During a choreographed effort to pull a few dozen protesters out of the Chase bank branch outside Pioneer Square, part of today's hundreds-strong N17 day of action, Portland police officers resorted to a decidedly more muscular show of force in a clash watched by TV cameras and rush-hour commuters earlier this evening. Suddenly all the fun-the dance parties, the union songs, the peaceful arrests earlier on the Steel Bridge and at Wells Fargo-was for naught. Tromping in with mounted officers, they pushed marchers who had gathered on the sidewalks along SW Yamhill into the street-forcing them to block MAX trains, something no one was doing until the heavily armored riot squad showed up-and then poked and, for the first time, pepper-sprayed the marchers. Significantly, some of the spraying came after protesters had clearly retreated to the opposite sidewalk. (In another odd shift, there also was no federal-court-required verbal PA warning that chemical munitions would be deployed-a hallmark of every other mass police action to date.) Meanwhile, at almost the very same moment, Police Chief Mike Reese was on TV blaming Occupy Portland for his officers' inability to respond to a rape victim for three hours today. Consider that tantamount to a declaration of war. Reese's point? Officers are tired and have been too distracted to do their main jobs: responding to actual crimes. It was an attempt to spin sentiment against the movement, which seems to be attracting adherents. Even the O today said the movement is "building momentum" and said the average age of some 34 arrestees earlier today was 50-not a bunch of young, anarchists/punks/hoodlums/hippies/road warriors etc. But that might come back to haunt him, judging by a wave of outrage on Twitter and elsewhere among those who noted that it
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