Forum Post: 'Occupy Wall St - The Revolution Is LOVE' but Corporate Controlled 'Polytricks' just means more demoCRAZY deMOCKERYcy !!!
Posted 12 years ago on Nov. 2, 2012, 11:08 a.m. EST by shadz66
(19985)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
'Occupy Wall St - The Revolution Is LOVE' but Corporate Controlled 'Polytricks' just means more demoCRAZY deMOCKERYcy !!!
Please watch : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxHG3jUqdQ0 [4:51]
By the 6th of November, Obomber and Romoney will have raised in excess of $1 Billion each and it has been an utterly revolting spectacle as both POTUS candidates frantically engage in yet another ritualised demeaning scramble for money. Every election seems to cost more than the previous one & as a result The U$A is dragged ever deeper into Corrupt Crony Crapitalism because which ever candidate gets the most votes ; it is always The Money that wins !!!
Can anyone imagine that Romoney - whose top five donors are all Wall Street Banks will ever try to reign in the Financial Sector ? Similarly, Ohbummer has received $700,000 from both Google and Microsoft, so can we imagine that he'll question their monopolistic practices ?
The US shows how all the so called safeguards of a normal democracy can be in place while the system that they exist within metastasises into plutocracy as US campaign finance is now probably more corrupt than it has been for decades.
"Political Fraud" (Video) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koT2HxenZ5U [10:15m] &
"Democracy Is Coming to the USA": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JwmIBSMzSM .
As Chris Hedges says : "We live in a nation where the “corporate state has successfully waged a campaign of fear to disempower voters and citizens.”
WTFU America !!!
fiat lux ...
I love that video, "The Revolution is Love," because it is really so simple, isn't it, what direction we should be going in? Our democracy has been stolen from us by fear and greed and only love can get it back. Sounds corny, but it's true.
And, thanks for the great post, Shadz.
"The 1% Pathology And The Myth of Capitalism", by Dr. Michael Parenti :
"Modern capitalist societies avoid telling the truth about themselves". Further, as and when you have time and energy - also please consider : "The Antidote to Ayn Rand", by Jeffrey Mikkelson :
Democracy has indeed been usurped in the The USA (The 'Usurped States of America' or as Gore Vidal {RIP} had it - "The United States of Amnesia" !!) and yes, 'bw' - "'The Revolution is Love', because it is really so simple" - because for the 'heart centred', where there is a will there is a way. There is a Love and Democracy deficit wherever we are on this Good Earth and 'bw'. Only we The 99% can change this.
amor vincit omnia ...
In truth, Rand's philosophy does not burgeon from love, it burgeons from fear.
An excerpt from the Mikkelson article: "Rand's vision for society is an anarchic utopia founded on the myth that isolated and entirely self-sufficient individuals are the basic unit of a free society and the natural byproduct of laissez-faire capitalism. Dewey argues, to the contrary, that we live in a "corporate," that is, collective, society whether we like or not, in which our interests are bound up with those of others. Our choice is whether to allow the narrow pursuit of private profit to dominate our social interactions, or to organize them around some democratically determined concept of the public good."
A truly democratic society with an economic system that works for all people is based on love because it buoys all people without fearing a loss to the self.
I fear Rand's ideas which have already decimated The US, are again in serious danger of being 'express installed' in The White House and your excellent excerpt and final sentence really do sum up the the matter very well.
From the article : "Although Ryan is supposed to be the Randian on the GOP ticket, one couldn't ask for a better articulation of her paranoid worldview than Mitt Romney's speech [See Below] to a group of super-wealthy donors, in which he deplores the 47% of Americans (mostly retired, disabled or working poor families) who don't pay federal income taxes, for lacking personal responsibility and harbouring - irony of ironies - a victim complex."
Further ; "Rand also stresses private moral virtue - an egoistic virtue ethics apparently inspired by Aristotle. Many religions and philosophies embrace an ethic of self-cultivation and autonomy - Buddhism, Stoicism, Protestantism, Existentialism and Pragmatism, to name a few - but only for Rand does this focus on the individual specifically demand a disregard for the well-being of others. Whereas most forms of individualism treat the cultivation of personal virtue as a means of achieving harmony with one's surroundings, Rand considers private and public virtue at odds, as if the former were a kind of spiky armour against the corrupting influence of the latter." - In short, she was a egomaniacal nutter !!
Here's hoping that 'Love, Logic and Light' prevail after Tuesday 6th November !!!
dum spiro, spero ...
I'm with you on your last sentence. The excerpts you quote are important ones because people take Rand on face value and don't realize that when you dig deeper her ideas are not as virtuous as they appear.
So again, "Whereas most forms of individualism treat the cultivation of personal virtue as a means of achieving harmony with one's surroundings, Rand considers private and public virtue at odds, as if the former were a kind of spiky armour against the corrupting influence of the latter."
She entirely misses the point of what it means to live in a society.
Romney, is just another character lost in his, and Rand's, meaningless world of me, me, me.
"A truly democratic society with an economic system that works for all people is based on love because it buoys all people without fearing a loss to the self." Of course you'll these recognize the words - because they are your own but I thought that they fully deserved repeating.
One of the most devoted member of Rand's inner circle was Alan Greenspan, former head of the US Federal Reserve. Among the essays he wrote for Rand were those published in a book he co-edited with her called "Capitalism : the Unknown Ideal". Here, starkly explained - one can find the philosophy he brought into government. There is no need for the regulation of business he argued, as "the 'greed' of the businessman or more appropriately, his 'profit-seeking' - is the unexcelled protector of the consumer". As for bankers, their need to win the trust of their clients guarantees that they will act with honour and integrity. Unregulated capitalism, he maintains, is a "superlatively moral system".
Once in government, Greenspan applied his guru's philosophy to the letter, cutting taxes for the rich, repealing the laws constraining banks, refusing to regulate the predatory lending and the derivatives trading which eventually brought the system down and for which millions are paying with enforced austerity.
In short Rand was a sociopath and the fact that she is held in such high esteem by so many of The 1% at the behest of The 0.01% Elites (aka 'Parasites') really speaks volumes and Romoney and Ryan are just the latest of The Parasite Class to propound this psychopathy. Finally, as a 'Randian-antidote' and perhaps at a slight tangent, I append :
pax, amor et lux ...
I have always thought that Greenspan is much to blame for the state of affairs in our economy. I also would strongly disagree with him that the "greed" of the businessman is the unexcelled protector of the consumer. It is more like the consumer's rapist and exploiter if you ask me, as well as the workers'. And, Rand was a sorry excuse for a human being.
The Michael Robeson article is one of the most profound pieces I've read in a long time. We have a choice. We can live with empathy and love, feeling the suffering of others and have real meaning in our lives. Or, we can live with fear and avoidance in a cold, materialist world with little meaning in our lives as Rand did. Hell, I'm going for the former. LOL! Love over fear, any day!
Neo-feudaliasm is the name of the game and Greenspan's insidious influence exists to this day and through him, his ilk and their laissez-faire, libertarian, 'psychopathy masquerading as philosophy' - Ayn Rand's whispering entreaties to egomaniacal selfishness, still call out from beyond the grave. I'm very glad that you liked Robeson's article and I thoroughly agree with your comment - we DO all have to make a choice between 'love and fear'.
You are obviously a reader 'bw', so at a further tangent - tho' integral to OWS' raison d'etre I'd suggest, I append for your later consideration :
"It’s the Interest, Stupid! Why Bankers Rule the World", by Ellen Brown ; http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article32975.htm & ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foF5j4jMTI8 !!
multum in parvo ...
Love the song and the article! Brown is right "on the money."
The last paragraph provides a viable solution: "Public banking may be a radical solution, but it is also an obvious one. This is not rocket science. By developing a public banking system, governments can keep the interest and reinvest it locally. According to Kennedy and Creutz, that means public savings of 35% to 40%. Costs can be reduced across the board; taxes can be cut or services can be increased; and market stability can be created for governments, borrowers and consumers. Banking and credit can become public utilities, feeding the economy rather than feeding off it." !!!
We need big changes to the economic system to get it working for all people not just the wealthy and corporations. And, we need a society that has a community focus, not a Randian, selfish, egomaniacal one.
Ellen Brown "is right on the money" - very good, lol :-) Thanx for your very good excerpt and another pertinent tune : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04zwhjRiCbo re. the situation we're all in.
The "big changes" we need will only come by work 'from below'. As ever with all the rights we have, they are fought for from below by education, agitation and organisation and organisations like 'OccupySec' and 'StrikeDebt' are right at the forefront of our struggle.
per aspera ...
I remember that song, lolol. Nice. Thanks. I assume OccupySec is Occupy Security exchange commission?
Solidarity to you & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-l91O9VxN0 despite all provocations ;-)
You assume correctly and thus, http://www.occupythesec.org/ and also http://strikedebt.org/ .
Further, and in order to gain very important insights into the attitudes, behaviour and machinations of 'High Finance Crapitalism' and to see why we are in this mess we are in and how we may mend it :
a) http://retheauditors.com/ ;
b) http://www.teribuhl.com/ ;
c) http://www.nomiprins.com/ ;
d) http://rt.com/programs/keiser-report/ ;
e) http://rt.com/programs/capital-account/ ;
f.) http://publicbankinginstitute.org/home.htm ;
g) 'Money As Debt 1' : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqvKjsIxT_8 ;
h) 'Money As Debt 2' : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grrFkh0qCeg ;
i.) 'Money As Debt 3' : http://vimeo.com/35743293 &
j.)"MODERN MONEY MECHANICS" - A Workbook on Bank Reserves and Deposit Expansion ; from The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago {For Real Insights Into Fractional Reserve Banking} : http://www.rayservers.com/images/ModernMoneyMechanics.pdf .
Best wishes to you and yours and for working towards a more 'bw' ~*~
pax, amor et lux ...
"[1 of 2] Money a..." The YouTube account associated with this video has been terminated due to multiple third-party notifications of copyright infringement. Sorry about that.
Thanx Matt & corrected link re. 'MAD1' : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqvKjsIxT_8 ;-)
pax ...
So many great links! Thanks for keeping all the info so well organized. I will never give up, Shadz, don't worry. :)
Solidarity and thanx for your hard working '<3Centre' & I also append :
per ardua ad astra ...
A few excerpts from the article:
"What is curious is that voters don’t understand how politics really works. They get carried away with the political rhetoric and do not see the hypocrisy that is staring them in the face. Proud patriotic macho American men voted for Romney who went to Israel and, swearing allegiance to his liege lord, groveled at the feet of Netanyahu. Obama plays on the heart strings of his supporters by relating a story of a child with leukemia now protected by Obamacare, while he continues to murder thousands of children and their parents with drones and other military actions in seven countries. Obama was able to elicit cheers from supporters as he described the onward and upward path of America toward greater moral accomplishments, while his actual record is that of a tyrant who codified into law the destruction of the US Constitution and the civil liberties of the American people."
"The election was about nothing except who gets to serve the interest groups."
"The inability to acknowledge and to debate real issues is a threat not only to the United States but also to the entire world."
"How is it possible that “the world’s only superpower” can hold a presidential election without any discussion of these very real and serious problems being part of it? How can anyone be excited or made hopeful about such an outcome?"
'4 4 U' below & many thanx for your excellent extraction of exceptional excerpts, above.
"Music And Politics" ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCFZPT2skTY
"Lifting the Veil : Obama and the Failure of Capitalist Democracy" (Video) : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27665.htm and ...
"US Elections : The Empty Politics of Duopoly", by Nile Bowie : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article32989.htm .
"What's going On" : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-kA3UtBj4M ?
fiat lux, fiat pax et fiat justitia ...
"If ever I would stop thinking about music and politics I would tell you that the personal revolution is far more difficult than the first step in any revolution." This is so true, Shadz. We are all on our own journey here. We are either humans on a spiritual journey or spirits on a human journey, but it's a journey nonetheless, it's not easy, but fortunately we don't go it alone.
Re: "Lifting the Veil" "... this film explores the historical role of the Democratic Party as the “graveyard of social movements.” Ain't that the truth.
Finally, I actually laughed out loud when Nile Bowie says that America doesn't need a third party, it needs a second party! Yes.
Thanks, Shadz, for everything. <3
It's great more people are thinking similar ideas.
http://occupywallst.org/forum/if-enough-people-said-wtf-change-the-aura-of-ows/
What do you think of this idea^
I think that is a great idea. Getting people together to focus on the issues is a good thing. And, doing it in a positive way might be more effective in the long term.
"Our democracy has been stolen from us by fear and greed and only love can get it back.", yes - very much so and therefore :
Here in India, even in the midst of all the violence and greed, there is still hope. If anyone can do it, we can. We still have a population that has not yet been completely colonized by that consumerist dream.
We have a living tradition of those who have struggled for Gandhi's vision of sustainability and self-reliance, for socialist ideas of egalitarianism and social justice. We have Ambedkar's vision, which challenges the Gandhians as well as the socialists in serious ways. We have the most spectacular coalition of resistance movements, with their experience, understanding and vision.
Most important of all, India has a surviving adivasi (aboriginal) population of almost 100 million. They are the ones who still know the secrets of sustainable living. If they disappear, they will take those secrets with them. Wars like Operation Green Hunt will make them disappear. So victory for the prosecutors of these wars will contain within itself the seeds of destruction, not just for adivasis but, eventually, for the human race. That's why we need a real and urgent conversation between all those political formations that are resisting this war.
The day capitalism is forced to tolerate non-capitalist societies in its midst and to acknowledge limits in its quest for domination, the day it is forced to recognize that its supply of raw material will not be endless, is the day when change will come.
If there is any hope for the world at all, it does not live in climate-change conference rooms or in cities with tall buildings. It lives low down on the ground, with its arms around the people who go to battle every day to protect their forests, their mountains and their rivers because they know that the forests, the mountains and the rivers protect them.
The first step toward re-imagining a world gone terribly wrong would be to stop the annihilation of those who have a different imagination – an imagination that is outside of capitalism as well as communism. An imagination which has an altogether different understanding of what constitutes happiness and fulfillment.
To gain this philosophical space, it is necessary to concede some physical space for the survival of those who may look like the keepers of our past but who may really be the guides to our future. To do this, we have to ask our rulers: Can you leave the waters in the rivers, the trees in the forest? Can you leave the bauxite in the mountain? If they say they cannot, then perhaps they should stop preaching morality to the victims of their wars.
~
e tenebris, lux et respice, adspice, prospice ...
~
Arundhati Roy is a celebrated novelist. This article is excerpted from her recent book, "Walking with the Comrades" in which Arundhati reflects on her time spent with Maoist guerrilla insurgents in India.
This article was originally posted at Adbusters [ https://www.adbusters.org/magazine/101/decolonize-consumerist-wasteland.html or see alt.link : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34009.htm ]
Awesome piece by Arundhati Roy. It really says it all right there. If we can't see that we need a way out of the legacy of the Industrial Revolution and the economic system of capitalism that spurned from it, where will we end up? We must respect all different ways of organizing society and find a way for them to exist harmoniously. This may mean allowing new economic and political systems to develop that we haven't even imagined yet. And, protecting Mother Earth is paramount to the survival of the human race.
"Capitalism as Disease : Spreading Governmental Tyranny and Gun Violence", by John Kozy ;
"Commercial competition does not foster concern for others. Individualism fosters antagonism. Looking out for number one always ends up denying what is needed to number two. Charity is not a commercial virtue. Capitalism is institutionalized meanness. It is the primeval miasma manifested in greed. It is the disease that makes human beings inhumane, and it is fatal."
Thanx for your insightful comment and I append the above with a word of caution but still recommend it.
amor vincit omnia ...
"But nobody had guns for protection. If guns are needed for protection, the society has already failed."
What a great article. Thanks.
With 'societal failure' in mind, I append herewith :
'Infographics' on the distribution of wealth in America, highlighting both the inequality and the difference between our perception of inequality and the actual numbers. The reality is often not what we think it is.
e tenebris, lux ...
I highly recommend that link to every American. It is eye opening and necessary information that needs to be understood before meaningful and permanent change can be implemented.
Again, "Wealth Inequality In America" :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM [6:24]
Further to "Wealth Inequality In America", I also highly recommend this little over 20 minutes of important audio :
multum in parvo ...
'The Revolution is LOVE'! Bang! There it is - right there! Thank you for the very good post and video as I needed a bolster!
We all need a "bolster" now and again 'A4C'. Thanx for the encouragement mate and if you enjoyed "The Revolution is LOVE", then you'll trip off this :
Deeply moving, occasionally very emotional and ultimately - ^uplifting^ ~:-)
SOLIDARITY @ The 99% !!
per ardua ad astra ...
This is one of THE best videos about OWS that I have seen! Thank you once again.
Sweet & http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article32973.htm , ad iudicium ...
Thank you for the excellent article, 'The Special Interests Won Again' by Paul Craig Roberts. I have been reading PCR for several years and his truth telling is the reason he doesn't appear on MSM despite being so close to government for so long.
"The Special Interests Won Again" - true that & it warrants repetition & a tune for you, me and all ...
fiat lux ...
Sly and The Family Stone, very cool 99% anthem! Great song and great article so thank you for sharing.
"Venezuela’s Chavez : Obama Should Govern His Own Country and not 'Invade' Others" by Ewan Robertson : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article32986.htm and
ad iudicium ...
Excellent article and song. Happy holiday and 'to wit' - Never Give Up! Go Occupy!
A Happy 2013 @ Occupiers Everywhere & 2U 'A4C' & irrespective of the contents of this link ...
ONWARDS, UPWARDS & GO OCCUPY !!!
per ardua ad astra ...
FBI or Not ; Repression or Not ; Surveillance or Not - We Have To Go On!! Thank you for the very good article and here's a very interesting 21 minute video about OWS anniversary. Never Give Up! Go Occupy!
Fuck The F.B.I. & you forgot to append your link M8 :-) & :
Once-secret documents reveal the FBI monitored Occupy Wall Street from its earliest days and treated the nonviolent movement as a potential terrorist threat. Internal government records show Occupy was treated as a potential threat when organizing first began in August of 2011. Counterterrorism agents were used to track Occupy activities, despite the internal acknowledgment that the movement opposed violent tactics. The monitoring expanded across the country as Occupy grew into a national movement, with FBI agents sharing information with businesses, local police agencies and universities. We’re joined by Mara Verheyden-Hilliard of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, which obtained the FBI documents through the Freedom of Information Act. "We can see decade after decade with each social justice movement that the FBI conducts itself in the same role over and over again, which is to act really as the secret police of the establishment against the people," Verheyden-Hilliard says.
Make no bones about it ... the F.B.I is NOT an arm of any 'democratic state', as it is now clearly an arm of 'The Bankster Corporations'. Resistance Is Fertile and quiescence is slavery. Onwards and upwards !!
veritas vos liberabit ...
'Newly revealed documents that show the FBI monitored the Occupy Wall Street movement from its earliest days last year. Internal government records show Occupy was treated as a potential terrorism threat when organizing first began in August of 2011. Counterterrorism agents were used to track Occupy activities despite the internal acknowledgment that the movement opposed violent tactics. The monitoring expanded across the country as Occupy grew into a national movement, with FBI agents sharing information with businesses, local police agencies and universities. One FBI memo warned that Occupy could prove to be an "outlet" through which activists could exploit "general government dissatisfaction." Although the documents provide no clear evidence of government infiltration, they do suggest the FBI used information from local law enforcement agencies gathered by someone observing Occupy activists on the ground.' - taken from your link & also see - http://www.nationofchange.org/occupy-wall-street-special-1348239044 .
Thank-you for your excellent link to a half hour video. Though all occupiers will be interested in this, we can Never Give Up On The Truth! Occupy Freedom! Solidarity.
Irrespective of the F.B.I and what they are up to and who they really work for, the underlying facts of the reality facing Americans and the rest of the global population are clear for all with eyes to see.
"Picture a country at the height of its international power and prestige. It has military forces stationed around the globe. It is an intellectual leader. Its citizens are pleased to insist that the national idea, their country's way of life, is a beacon of enlightenment and human rights for the rest of the world. Indeed, they are wont to harp on the notion that the country embodies the very concept of Western Civilization.
"But beneath the façade of greatness there is creeping rot. The rich (who are accustomed to getting their way in all things) corrupt the system and buy the people's representatives in this venerable democracy. The country lurches towards political polarization and, predictably, the machinery of orderly governance becomes gridlocked. The politicians of the right, who take every opportunity to bellow for increased spending on the military, refuse to raise the revenues to pay for it. Why?
"Because the wealthy citizens who happen to own these representatives refuse to pay a single cent in additional income taxes. Their class solidarity as alleged "'job creators"' who are owed unconditional deference outweighs their loyalty to the nation at large. They successfully demand that even the crushing expense of a long war should be paid for by loans from abroad (the interest payments on which merely add to the expense) rather than by direct taxes from those citizens best able to afford them. Naturally, a growing share of the population develops a visceral sense that the system is rigged." taken from :
Never give up A4C ! Occupy 2013 & a future fit for all !! Solidarity @ The 99% - worldwide !!!
per ardua ad astra ...
To follow your excellent link - http://www.nationofchange.org/cut-corporate-welfare-not-safety-net-1357655126 - Never Give Up Exposing The Greed, Hypocrisy & Selfishness! Occupy The Real Issues!
"We are in a Revolutionary Moment" says Chris Hedges
http://www.salon.com/2015/06/04/we_are_in_a_revolutionary_moment_chris_hedges_explains_why_an_uprising_is_coming_%E2%80%94_and_soon/
Which is making LOVE grow faster and empowering our STRONG stand in this FREE land
Democracy? A puppet show every four years?
I thought the idea of democracy was so that in the chain of command, the boss must answer to the people, whenever need be. Because if the boss has no boss, they'll have no responsibility either.
We really seem to have more than one government, including these corporations who have ended up with the control our planets vital resources.
'Goldman Sucks' epitomises your final sentence and thanx for your comment, with which I concur. In keeping with this thread and for your consideration, I append ...
pax et lux ...
Good article, thanks. Pax et lux, beautiful.
"Lifting the Veil : Obama and the Failure of Capitalist Democracy", (Video) : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27665.htm & thanx :-)
fiat lux ...
I saw this film and it is very hard hitting. Thank you for posting it here.
"Dead Enough : The Reality of the "Lesser Evil", by Chris Floyd : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article32993.htm .
Be warned though, it is hard hitting !!
caveat ...
It is hard hitting - as it should be. We need to put a face on the lives being destroyed.
That's so true that it made my eyes water, literally !!! It's all in your moniker, I suppose !! Thanx !
minima maxima sunt ...
I'm thinking that your warning needed to be stronger so consider it done with this comment. Very 'hard hitting' I'd say and VERY necessary! Thank you for your great links and here's one from someone else - http://occupywallst.org/forum/i-do-not-believe-you-can-build-a-movement-on-a-lie/#comment-874847 & Never Give Up! Go Occupy!
Thanx 'A4C' for the very good link to that excellent comment by Buttercup. With the OP in mind and possibly at a tangent but nevertheless still on the expansive theme of 'Revolution Is Love' , a very recent self-explanatory article by Noam Chomsky :
fiat lux ; fiat pax ; fiat justitia ...
Yes, Buttercup's link was exemplary but that excellent Noam Chomsky article is second to none, especially when bearing in mind what happened in Gaza today and what is likely to happen in the aftermath. Thank you for posting it & I really encourage all here to take a look and reflect on events.
Given today's events in Gaza, Chomsky's article now seems timely but somewhat at a tangent from that but more in keeping with the 'forum-post', please see :
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/nyregion/occupy-offshoot-aims-to-erase-peoples-debts.html?ref=todayspaper
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/jeff-mangum-plans-occupy-wall-street-fundraiser-20121024 ,
http://www.scribd.com/doc/105887484/Occupy-Wall-Street-Strike-Debt-The-Debt-Resistors-Operations-Manual ,
http://rollingjubilee.org/ &
http://strikedebt.org/ .
e tenebris, lux ...
Excellent links! I looked at these last night before I went to bed. Thank you once again. Never Give Up! Go Occupy!
Re. Gaza, where is the <3 'A4C' ?! Therefore further to the Noam Chomsky article above and with apologies and a WARNING for the strong content, I append :
'Netanyahu Speaks On Israeli Morality' (Video) : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33044.htm ;
'Israel Would Have Us Believe That These People Are Terrorists' : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33036.htm ;
"The Story Behind the Photo - Journalist’s 11-month-old Son Killed in Gaza Strikes", by Max Fisher : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33037.htm ;
'Norman Finkelstein Says Netanyahu Is "A Maniac"' (Video By RT) : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33046.htm &
"How Israel Shattered Gaza Truce - A Timeline", by Ali Abunimah : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33038.htm .
fiat lux, fiat pax, fiat justitia ruat caelum ...
Oh Israel! Oh Palestine! Oh The Horror! However, No Justice - No Peace! Thank you for these links and everyone should read the Chomsky article - http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/12635-noam-chomsky-my-visit-to-gaza-the-worlds-largest-open-air-prison - which you had linked to before this latest outbreak of violence. Peace.
Alas "No Justice - No Peace" is the simple truth and ever was it thus - everywhere !! Further :
"The relegation of Palestinians to a less-than-human status by Israel and the United States – especially the inhabitants of Gaza who are perpetually locked into an open-air prison and subject to an Israeli blockade – was noted by MIT professor Noam Chomsky after a visit to Gaza to attend an academic conference. In comments broadcast by “Democracy Now” on Nov. 14 [see below], Chomsky remarked :
“It’s kind of amazing … and inspiring to see people managing somehow to survive … as essentially caged animals subject to constant, random, sadistic punishment – only to humiliate them – no pretext. They [the Palestinians] would like to have dignified lives, but the standard Israeli position is that they shouldn’t raise their heads.”
fiat pax ...
In view of the situation in Gaza at the moment, thank you for these important links. From the truth-out piece: "After the latest attacks, the State Department’s statement justified Israel’s bombardment of Gaza as Israel’s “right to defend itself.... nowhere was there mention of the Palestinians’ right to defend themselves from various attacks by Israel. Apparently only one side is granted that privilege, according to the U.S. statement."
And, "Instead of a serious effort to reach a peace acceptable to both sides, Israel seems to prefer a state of endless conflict with the Palestinians. After all, the prospect of peace might require the Israeli government to treat their neighbors as equals and withdraw from territory occupied since 1967."
Peace.
It is indeed. Anyone not moved by the article and especially the photo, has no soul. It should be in a post of its own, imo.
Thanx 'gno' & some of the links re. Gaza immediately above are in a very similar vein, and again I must advise you exercise a degree of caution as you open them. Sometimes the dull ache at the base of my heart feels like a sharp pain and only a rare groove will do :
There's preparations for a Gaza Invasion / ground attack 'g' as I type this and no one will convince me that Nutty-yahoo isn't doing this with an eye to January's Israeli elections and to force Obama's hand.
spero meliora ...
I actually encourage people to view the graphic photos and clips to get a real, un-MSM-sanitized picture of the realities of all this madness. Admittedly, I can't watch the videos if kids are involved, tho, especially if the volume is on. I tried it once recently, but could only take about 10 or 15 seconds of it.
It's madness, my friend. It truly is. I'm on my way up the thread as we speak for more.
Oh, and you can never have too much CM. I'm on my sister's old laptop right now, so this tasty nugget I could actually watch!
I hear you and re. Curtis Mayfield : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-l91O9VxN0 from the same BBC 'Old Grey Whistle Test' music programme from 40 years ago but still fresh. Sad, bad and mad things are happening as we speak and you're right, MSM won't give us anything but sanitized propaganda.
per ardua ad astra ...
So much of the music from back then is timeless, especially a lot of the R & B. Others, not so much. (Yes, I'm looking at YOU, Debbie Boone! lol) Thx.
Steep, yes. But not impossible!
"What's going On" : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-kA3UtBj4M & more prosaically :
Finally, you mean 'Doobie Boon', surely ? ;-)
pax et lux ...
Talk about two links from the opposite sides of the spectrum, but paradoxically linked. Right now my brain is so filled with thoughts and images, personal, global and everything in between, that I literally can't think straight. An active mind is often as much a curse as a blessing.
"What's going on" in the Middle East is very disturbing. More so considering what I heard on a documentary recently. In a nutshell, it's estimated that almost 75% of Americans are Christians. Would it be safe to assume that number accurately reflects the percentage of government officials as well? Many die-hard Christians believe the word of the Bible trumps the US Constitution. Many Christians eagerly await the End Times, some so much that it wouldn't be a stretch to assume some fundamentalists would hasten it if they could. Religious fundamentalism and nuclear launch codes are a very bad mix. I think escalation is inevitable.
But on a lighter note, . . . . . hmmm, right now I'm drawing a blank.
I hear and fear that there is much in what you say here 'g' and I also append :
On that lighter note, I didn't recognize your reference to "Debbie Boone" but thought that you may catch my allusion to 'Doobie (as a ) Boon' ;-) and with a world weary sigh mate :
multum in parvo ...
I was going to comment about Doobie Boon but had so many thoughts swimming in my head at the time (I had just signed on after breaking up a dogfight) that I just kinda skipped over it. Sorry. Although I still enjoy partaking occasionally (read: often) a 'doobie' isn't the 'boon' it used to be, unfortunately. It's a serotonin thing, no biggie.
Debbie Boone was a 'one-hit wonder' that was responsible for that truly horrible mid-70's song, "You Light Up My Life." I guess she came to mind because she's now on a TV commercial shilling for some product.
Will check your ICH link and thanks always for the soothing tunes. I'm on my sister's old laptop, a boon of another kind, albeit temporary. Peace, my friend.
the executive office is one branch of our govt, but obama routinely circumvents the congress to make law. he is not empowered to do so.
Good post shadz.
"US Elections: From the “Lesser to the Greater Evil” and the Demise of Critical Liberalism", by James Petras : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article32931.htm and thanx again 'Nev1' ~{:-)
fiat lux ...
Good article. Voted D for president for 40 years----Not this time---Alternative Party.
"Broken US System Needs Watching: International Election Observers Could Face Arrest", by Dave Lindorff : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article32939.htm .
From the article : "The truth is that the whole election process in the US is badly broken. Not only has the country moved backwards over the past 12 years in terms of making it easier for people to vote. It has also put the whole process in jeopardy by pushing for electronic voting, substituting computers, which leave no paper trail to audit them for accuracy or for recounts, for mechanical voting machines or paper ballots."
Further, "The computer voting machines are produced, maintained, run and even tallied up by the private companies that make them, not by elected or civil servant officials of municipal or county or state elections departments as in years past. Some of the companies that make the machines and do this counting are directly linked to Republican candidates. For example, Hart InterCivic, one company that has supplied computer voting machines to the state of Ohio -- seen as the crucial “swing” state in the current presidential election -- is run by executives who have made $195,000 in financial contributions to the campaign of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. That this kind of thing can be allowed to happen makes a joke out of the whole election process." Thanx 'Nev1' and are you in a swing state ?!
ad iudicium ...
Yes, swing.
Swing was a fun era in music - just kinda irritating(?) or unsettling in politics. Your call.
A healthy sign? that people are looking for something altogether better?
The Revolution is LOVE! Love is the answer!
Right on
Get message out to 1000 time more people,
http://occupywallst.org/forum/if-enough-people-said-wtf-change-the-aura-of-ows/
Amen 'aoa' & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5I7apl4s-0 ~*~
And 'alt' version : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjT86g9gTKk !
amor vincit omnia ...
Percy Bysshe Shelley would have loved OWS! He had much to say about non-violent, passive resistant protest.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Bysshe_Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley ( /ˈpɜrsi ˈbɪʃ ˈʃɛli/;[2] 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822)
Shelley's early profession of atheism (in the tract "The Necessity of Atheism") led to his expulsion from Oxford and branded him as a radical agitator and thinker, setting an early pattern of marginalisation and ostracism from the intellectual and political circles of his time. His close circle of admirers, however, included the most progressive thinkers of the day, including his future father-in-law, philosopher William Godwin. Though Shelley's poetry and prose output remained steady throughout his life, most publishers and journals declined to publish his work for fear of being arrested themselves for blasphemy or sedition. Shelley never lived to see the extent of his success and influence, which would reach down to the present day not only in the literary canon, but in major movements in social and political thought.
.
~ Hymn to Intellectual Beauty ~
The awful shadow of some unseen Power
Floats through unseen among us, -- visiting
This various world with as inconstant wing
As summer winds that creep from flower to flower, --
Like moonbeams that behind some piny mountain shower,
It visits with inconstant glance
Each human heart and countenance;
Like hues and harmonies of evening, --
Like clouds in starlight widely spread, --
Like memory of music fled, --
Like aught that for its grace may be
Dear, and yet dearer for its mystery.
.
Spirit of Beauty, that dost consecrate
Full poem...
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/hymn-to-intellectual-beauty/
'Rise like Lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number,
Shake your chains to earth like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you -
Ye are many - they are few."
~
From "The Mask of Anarchy", by P.B. Shelley, written on the occasion of the massacre of workers who were protesting for their basic rights and carried out by the British Government at Peterloo, Manchester 1819 : http://www.artofeurope.com/shelley/she5.htm & thanx for you interesting comment and links.
Also, re. 'The Occupy Movement' :
http://vimeo.com/47690515 &
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxHG3jUqdQ0 .
The first is a feature length documentary on the Occupy movement, this film not only offers answers for those who continue to ask: “What does the occupy movement stand for ? What are our demands ?” - it offers a challenge and an invitation to engage with the movement. The second link is self explanatory.
per ardua ad astra ...
Shelley's "The Mask of Anarchy", is one of my two favourite's of his 'political' works. Excellent stanza quoted...very timely for this historic epoch.
'American Autumn - an Occudoc' ; Well, I have to say...that was pretty special. Richard Muhammad had me hooked...and Dr. Margaret Flowers is some special lady.
The woman with Dr. Flowers whose father passed away, should be the poster child for what is wrong with the unconscionable healthcare in the US.
The second link, "The Revolution Is Love", was on the forum yesterday...and is what inspired me to look back on one of my favourite poets, 'Percy Bysshe Shelley' in the first place : )
Thank you.
"Two Party Dictatorship" - Ralph Nader (Video) :
"Both Parties, Two Heads of Same Corporate Beast". Thanx for your comment and particular focus on Dr. Margaret Flowers - regarding whom, I append the following :
http://october2011.org/blogs/margaretflowers ;
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/02052010/profile3.html ;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physicians_for_a_National_Health_Program ;
http://www.thenation.com/blog/168605/judgment-day-dr-margaret-flowers-what-follows-supreme-court-ruling-healthcare .
minima maxima sunt ..
Ralph Nader is like a national protective 'dad' who, with a fatherly embrace wants to shield us from harm ...while whispering in our ears about economics and finance so we'll have the life lessons we need, so we won't get hurt out there. He's a sweety...it just exudes from him.
Thanks for all your links Shadz...I spent much time enjoying them. Dr. Margaret Flowers is a little firecracker, that one!
Here's today's Max Keiser Report if you haven't already seen it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=d5vowdygIPU
A short poem I found that is suitable on this most 'Revolutionary Love' thread...
.
Many times a Human Being will “follow” because they do not want to be a Problem.
A Problem will draw attention.
More often than not, that attention is detrimental to the Problem
A Problem is a Free Thinker.
A Free Thinker is a Human Being who has expressed thoughts which are outside the realm of the narrow band of accepted normal.
.
Think Far, Human Being.
Think Beyond, Human Being.
Think for your Self, Human Being.
Ah, Humanity. You are so very Brilliant, so very Exceptional in Capacity. How I love you.
~ unknown
Nader has been speaking for The 99% for half a century. Thanx for the the MK link and somewhat more prosaically :
Be warned though, it is very hard hitting !!
caveat ...
Bam!!
So true. He's been pushing real issues the entire time.
Yet so many people, including propaganda pushers on this forum, want to blame him for all the worlds problems.
Thanks for the warning...but it would never stop me from reading. Very poignant article. If we can't look honestly at what we as humans are a part of...how will we know what to stand up against? How will we know what we have to try to fix?
My heart bleeds for Naeemullah, yes...'a beloved soul of infinite worth'. As soon as I saw him, my mind careened to the hundreds of thousands of children who were killed in Iraq and other countries. Such utter, utter sorrow. What has become of humanity? I don't understand.
I have read other things that Obama, the 'Lesser Evil' did within just hours of winning the election...and the mind truly boggles how anyone could vote for either of the two evils. In my younger years, I was persuaded to vote strategically, but for the last 15 years I have voted my heart...and I hope that more people do as they become aware of third party candidates.
The more I see of the atrocities of the callous and evil monstrosity that is the ruling elite, the more I realize that humanity is being left to languish...and I fear that nothing will stop more Naeemullahs all over the world from having their lives snuffed out by barbarians...until we have a society led by "The People".
We know better than anyone else what we need, and we are the only ones who truly want peace, and know how to go about doing it...because for hundreds of years now, 'they' have been abject failures at it.
"A People's Society!"
Thanks kindly, for the article.
Thanx for your comment & I further append :
fiat pax et fiat justitia ...
Sorry for the rather 'down' tone of the above post, but your linked article was just one...albeit the saddest one, of several very sad articles I had read that day.
I am convinced that the people at the top, 'they', must not have received parental love while developing as children. What else would account for the utter lack of compassion towards other human beings? They are madmen.
Gilad Sharon, Son Of Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Writes Op-Ed: 'We Need To Flatten Entire Neighborhoods In Gaza'
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/11/18-2
.
Where is the international outcry against Israel's actions? Iran Condemns International Silence over Israel’s attacks on Gaza
http://www.globalresearch.ca/iran-condemns-international-silence-over-israels-attacks-on-gaza/5312237
.
And finally...lets remember that most of the Israeli people hate what their government is doing. They want world peace, just like anyone else. The Israeli government is betraying its own people as well. Some are speaking out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL4D7NSFN5M
Thanx for these three strong links, further to which I append :
From the article : "As Israeli peace activist Uri Avnery says, “The real remedy is peace. Peace with the Palestinian people.” Avnery recognizes that the rocket attacks from Hamas had become intolerable. But he notes that Hamas has already agreed to peace if there’s a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders that is approved in a Palestinian referendum. But Israel and the U.S. Congress don’t seem to want to give peace a chance. They vote time after time for war."
veritas vos liberabit ...
Shameful. Yes. And the sheer degree of support...not just of congress, but indeed most of the International community is absurd in the face of the facts. When it is this obvious to just about anyone...yet the leaders pretend righteous indignation...one can't help but realize that there is something bigger going on...much much bigger.
Matthew Rothschild is new to me, so thanks for the introduction. I found this article on his thoughts of political poetry. It is long, but beautiful, so it may need to be broken down in smaller readings.
http://www.progressive.org/poetry-of-protest
There is a massive disconnect between the "degree of support" proffered by The Governments and the populations of the countries they purport to 'govern', in this matter. People can clearly see the massive disequilibrium and attempts at 'perception management' and are not fooled. This matter is alluded to in my latest forum-post of Glenn Greenwald's article in today's The Guardian newspaper.
Re. Matthew Rothschild's poetry, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to take a rain-check because 'poetry' is just not where my head is at at the moment, but I may return to browse that link at a later date.
fiat pax ...
Yes, I thought as much. For later perusal perhaps.
Your new thread looks great, with a much needed discussion on a perspective that hasn't been addressed here yet. I'll read and comment a little later over on that thread. Thanks.
Thanx and also appended here for later perusal :
"Born in Berlin in 1917, he arrived in France as a child and was naturalized in 1937. Resistance fighter, deportee and Ambassador, Stéphane Hessel was most well known for his stances on human rights, the right to asylum, immigrant rights and the Middle East. Former student of the Ecole Normale Supérieure, and a friend of Pierre Mendes-France and Michel Rocard, Hessel took up a career in the diplomatic service and the United Nations. More recently, he was a member of the 'College of Mediators' for undocumented migrants in 1996. His pamphlet 'Indignez-vous!' ('Cry Out!' / 'Time for Outrage!' 2010), which defends the spirit of resistance, had a global impact, was translated into numerous languages and sold in the millions." : http://therearenosunglasses.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/cry-out_.pdf .
fiat justitia ruat caelum ...
Thanks for the links. I'll have a look in a while. I'm kind of on sad information overload right now. But thanks.
He gets it. Love is expressed in GIVING not DEMANDING and blaming. It is time to stop obesising about the 1% and begin giving of ourselves and BEING the change we want to see in the world.
"The Spiritual Is Political - Sorrow, Sufferance and New York City", by Michael Robeson : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article32944.htm - and I concur with the gist of what you say, though The 0.01% Global Oligarchy is worthy of close attention !!
ad iudicium, nunc et semper ...
"Global Oligarchy" so you would rather have 1 person rule all the world or the" tyranny of the majority" for the world? It's already been done and tried in history and it failed b/c people were CRUSHED, like African salves!! People differ and like to differ! There has to be BALANCE...
Here's where "Global Oligarchy" is getting us lisa :
Be advised though, it is hard hitting. Also do stop being so frightened of democracy and yes to diversity - all day and every day on this 'Big Blue Marble' :-)
pax et lux ...
Ever heard of "tyranny of the majority"? It's where the majority crush all the minorities... do you really think people could have spoken up against slavery and the slave trade if there was "tyranny of the majority"? People speaking up were already persecuted for their beliefs even with the protections against it and attacked. How's that idea of a so-called "new" democracy (we already HAVE one, BTW) working out for ya ?
Re "slavery", I'm not sure I'm getting you because your comment is rather ambiguous and flatters to deceive I think, so I just refer you to my comment and link above.
fiat lux ...