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Our Planet, Our People are not Expendable! We Refuse To Sacrifice Life for Corporate Profits
The Gulf of Mexico has been destroyed. Immeasurable, irreparable damage has been done to wildlife, the health of the ocean, and people's livelihoods. We have been cursed for years to come. It can not, as BP promises, be "made right." In fact, even after this utter catastrophe, crimes against the planet and its inhabitants continue without pause.
We are told that the government is supposed to guarantee the rights of the people. But when a big corporation decides our rights are not in their interests, then POOF! They vanish into thin air. In a clear violation of our rights to free speech and a free press, government agencies have assisted BP's lies and cover-up by restricting media access, threatening journalists with felony charges and $40,000 fines. Uniformed police officers in Louisiana have harassed photographers at public beaches. BP has threatened workers with firing if they talk to anyone about anything.
We are also told that the government's purpose is to protect the country and us. But instead the government helps big corporations plunder the country and trash our lives. The Minerals Management Service allowed BP to cut corners and violate safety regulations, leading finally to the fatal decision to save a few hundred thousand dollars by not installing a backup valve.
When BP ignored an order by the Environmental Protection Agency to stop using the dispersant Corexit 9500 (a poisonous compound banned in Europe), the EPA did absolutely nothing. Millions of gallons are still being dumped into the Gulf, even as it has been shown to evaporate and fall as toxic rain, and is damaging plants far inland.
BP and its employees have given more than $3.5 million to federal candidates during the past 20 years, with the biggest portion going to Obama. It also spent $15.9 million on lobbying last year alone, for the purpose of controlling energy policy.
What does all this tell us?
The government repeatedly sells us out to corporate interests. It sells out our rights, our health, our safety, our livelihoods, our lives, and the natural world. The government is merely a tool to facilitate the conversion of life into profit.
The BP spill is not an accident. It is an inevitable consequence of a global economic system that values profit over life. The BP spill is not unique. Oil companies have ruined large areas of the Niger Delta, Ecuador and other parts of the world, and they will continue to do so until they are stopped.
The ruthless pursuit of profit has caused 98% of old growth forests to be cut down. 99% of the prairies are gone. 80% of rivers worldwide no longer support life. 94% of the large fish in the oceans are gone. 120 species per day becomes extinct. Now the Gulf of Mexico has been ruined. Clearly, a global economic system based on perpetual growth is unsustainable. Yet those who run this system do not stop, will not stop.
At what point will we stop accepting this?
We can not stand by while big corporations like BP, with the assistance of the US government, destroy our lives and our planet. We should have stopped them a long time ago. Now we must stop them before they do even more damage, before they kill everything. We depend upon the natural world -- we must now urgently come to its defense.
57 Comments so far
Show AllThank you for your words, Stephanie. I will spread this essay far and wide.
Article is eactly correct.
This corporate monster needs to be destroyed beyond reconstruction.
I would stress unlimited greed above perpetual growth as the utmost culprit.
What McMillan points out is merely a symptom of the disease. The disease itself is the capitalist economic system. Until this disease is destroyed, nothing will change.
A recent article by a Gulf Coast resident bemoaned the fact that BP had brought a "Hell on earth" to the residents of the region. Said person went on to mention himself as a proud veteran of the Vietnam war wondering how it was he deserved such.
A rebuttal to the same was made by another. In it he pointed out how the USA had brought "Hell on earth" to millions of people the World over , from Vietnam to Iraq, from Latin America to Africa. He wondered if the "Hell on earth" of cities being carpet bombed in North Vietnam was some how less of a hell then that of the polluted waters in the Gulf.
Well worth the read.
>>Louisiana is only the latest stop for this train with its cargo of hell, driven by the corporatocracy, the military-industrial complex; call it what you will. Here are some of the other places where this hell-train has made prolonged, brutal, even genocidal stops, where the fires it lit are still extant, now ablaze, now smoldering, now leaping up afresh -- all of which fires could not have enjoyed such, long, healthy lives, nor their victims such long, tortuous, exquisite agonies of torment -- had it not been for this very country, the United States, that has for decades exploited, oppressed, tortured, killed, by every foul means possible and with the unhesitating deployment of the vilest of instruments and compradors, the wretched of country after country -- in fact, any group or community that displayed that strange notion so unpalatable to empires everywhere, that a people are entitled to dictate the terms of their own destinies.
>>Now the Empire has returned to its roots, Mr. Guidry; that is all. The pattern of its abominations is unchanged; the places and identities of the victims change, but the hell that they face remains similar, for the perpetrator -- the neoliberal system, with its military and economic headquarters in the United States -- is the same.
Siouxroses Karma?
Will the peoples of the Gulf bemoaning their loss of life and the destruction of the enviroment have more empathy for the Victims of US foreign policy and of Capitalism and Corporatism the world over?
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_6116.shtml
CD needs a rating/star system for lazy people like me. I then would not have to write out a five out of five rating for your terrific comment.
The rating system on Alternet had to be removed due to abuse. I wouldn't recommend it.
Abuse? I thought it was removed when they [alternet] started using disqus [spelling?]
I didn't care about how I was rated. I'd get 1s and 2s everytime I got slammed for being a perceived "misogynist". Some people wanted it removed because they complained about others distorting it.
I was only referring to the rating on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being poor and 5 being excellent that used to exist on Alternet until they changed the format. Nice symbols by the way.
Well put, GwNorth. Thanks for those words.
Thank you. Such an excellent post.
GW NORTH: I appreciate your post; however, Sioux rose's karma? Karma is a universally understood LAW. Is it attributable to me for pointing it out? Because I do my best to act as a spiritual light-shower in this forum and relate the obvious parallels between a foreign policy based on naked aggression in pursuit of oil, and where the return on that belligerent investment has gotten U.S.? There's an item known as poetic justice that writers sometimes take advantage of... our Gulf bleeding oil after our nation sent troops to bleed citizens of the Gulf FOR oil is poetic justice that only the blind can't see. If I get promoted to join the timeless beings who sit on the cosmic boards of karma, then I'll remember your words. Till then, give karma its own credits.
Sorry Sioux perhaps a poor choice of words. I hardly meant to suggest you "allocate" karma :) or have ownership over it, only that you reference it in many posts.
Although I completely agree with this article I think we all know the raping of the planet for profit will continue until the resource any given industry is exploiting for profit is completely exhausted .
Look at the Gulf of Mexico for example, most of the people who had their lives completely ruined directly by the oil gusher are still all for drilling off shore. As long as there is oil under the gulf, they will drill for it until its all gone, and as long as there are any fish left in the ocean, they will be fished for until they are all gone.
I wonder how long it will be before economists realize that perpetual growth in a finite planet is not possible, or even desirable for that matter? The worlds economy is just one giant Ponzi scheme that just hasn't run its course yet.
Or, how about "pyramid scheme"?
The corporations like BP and our Congress members are in the same club: make money at any cost!!! With that in common, why would we expect Congress members to turn against their own cohorts, the corporations??? They mutually enable each other.
I repeated this several times over the last few days but it's worth repeating again because it's the bottom line reason why we the people don't really have a chance to have our voices heard over the "jingle" of cash changing hands between our congress members and the corporations.
Of the 535 members of the Senate and House, 237 are millionaires - that's 44%.
Of the Justices on the Supreme Court, 5 out of the 9 are millionaires, that's 55%, and they recently declared that there's no limit to the money that corporations can pay to Congress members to get thair way BECAUSE CORPORATIONS HAVE SUDDENLY BECOME PEOPLE!
What does that tell us: the system is irreparably rigged against the average citizen in favor of Corporations and we need expect NO CHANGE without a DRASTIC CHANGE IN THE MAKEUP OF OUR CONGRESS!
It's become completely clear that our government is NO LONGER a government OF, BY, AND FOR THE PEOPLE!!! The people have lost and the government is now OF THE WEALTHY, BY THE WEALTHY, AND FOR THE WEALTHY!
The only thing permitted to the average citizen today is simply to watch the ongoing rape of our country by the wealthy!
WE MUST TAKE OUR GOVERNMENT BACK!!!!
We feed these monsters. We are all accomplices. If you buy cars, shop at Wal-Mart, invest in stocks, bonds, 401Ks, buy insurance for your vehicle, home, health, take out a mortgage or any other loan from a bank, watch TV, buy music, buy fuel, buy a bicycle, buy food that's not grown locally, etc, etc, etc, you are feeding the monsters.
You know what has to be done. Is anyone willing to pay the real price? I don't think so. We've all become so fat and lazy and entertained and pre-occupied with computers and blogs and movies and on and on and on that all we can do is bitch.
And we that are bitching make up a small fraction of the total that just don't get it, or don't care, or have contempt for anyone that says anything against the "American way of life". And the rest of the world is following right along.
The only way to survival is to stop the population growth and reverse it to a fraction of what it is. Or give up all technology. But no, most people think we can improve technology and cram a few billion more onto the planet. It aint gonna happen. It just isn't. So those of you who want a better world should start thinking about the next one. If there are survivors. Perhaps a few generations from now things will get better if we can convince our kids and grandkids to teach their kids and grandkids that the only way for us continue as a species is to NOT consume. To take only what the earth gives us and NOT kill plants and animals for profit. To give back more than we take. And not just talk about these things but to really understand what that means. I challenge every one of you to sit and think hard about the entire process of manufacturing of everything in your home. Think about the energy it takes to move those veggies from CA to MN and how much energy does it take to build a car. How much energy and plant life is destroyed and poison put into the ground and air just to build the computer table that's under the machine that you're reading from right now.
So few of us really, REALLY think about the details.
Teach your children. Stop talking to other bitchers and talk to your children. Talk to your neighbors. Talk to your friends. Do something. DO something. Part of our problem is that so many people spend all their energy talking and trying to convince others that their opion is the right one. And it leaves no energy for actually doing something.
Do something. Look someone in the eye and have a rational conversation about why they should stop feeding these monsters. We're killing ourselves!
glb,
Great comments. However, the idea of overpopulation seems to be playing into the hands of the elite. We know that education and eradication of poverty reduces fertility rates. Maybe that's what we should be pushing for. I believe that at present, there is "enough for everyone's need, not for everyone's greed." However, more important is how to adequately share the resources available to us now. I don't think it is just a question of, as you say,"...stop the population growth and reverse it to a fraction of what it is. Or give up all technology." I can easily envision how most all of the technology developed in human history could be used to benefit both the earth, and mankind alike. That we have not chosen to do so is not an indictment of technology. I share your anger, however, we are a sick people. We've been brainwashed and abused, fleeced and told to like it. Yes, quit feeding the monster.
Your last sentence is correct. "We're killing ourselves." However, I believe we should all have that right. I just do not happen to believe we should be allowed to take others down with us. That's what capitalism does. I agree with your overall premise, and appreciate the effort it takes to continue speaking out.
Wayout-
Even greater comments. I've been arguing that "the idea of overpopulation seems to be playing into the hands of the elite" for years. In fact, I would get rid of "seems". The idea of overpopulation as a root cause is very beneficial to the Corporatocracy. It supports the old paradigm of "the Other," which makes war possible (and perhaps, inevitable). More importantly, it takes us further away from the basic truth of interconnectivity, of cause-and-effect, of the need for a sense of balance (not just between humans, but all of life on Spaceship Earth).
Because of our present-day drive for "profit" above all else, technology is not used correctly. If we put the same amount of time and energy that we do developing weapons-systems, into R&D for renewable energy, conservation and recycling, it is not hard to envision an entirely different world.
Finally, the way you put forth your comments to glb, with such respect, is very admirable.
Old Peculiar,
One good turn....
Your statement, "More importantly, it takes us further away from the basic truth of interconnectivity, of cause and effect, of the need for a sense of balance (not just between humans, but all of life on Spaceship Earth.)", seems to sum it up best. I think the idea behind that word interconnectivity is the highest, most inevitable truth. Thanks for your kindness.
As Old Peculiar pointed out your response was very respectful and I greatly appreciate that. Thank you.
I do however have to disagree with your comments about population.
The corporate idea of growth depends upon increasing population. And with global warming in mind, I have to think that the earth can only sustain the population of pre-industrial times. Perhaps technology can find a way to produce energy in such a way as to be more efficient than the very renewable wood system. But that system worked for tens of thousands of years. And yes, metals can be refined using charcoal made from wood, but how many trees does it take to melt a pound of iron? I'm not sure but being a former corporate polluter I can tell you that it takes about a pound of coke (at about 96% carbon) to melt about 10 pounds of low strength iron. I'm not sure how much carbon is in a pound of wood but I'd guess it is a low percentage. The point being, lots of trees to make iron. And without petroleum (not renewable) we have no plastic.
I think what I'm trying to say is that it seems to me that population volume is at an inverse proportion to the level of technology that a population can live with if it wishes to be sustainable. The higher the level of technology, the lower the population must be for the earth to provide the renewable materials necessary for indefinite sustainability.
I think that most people think that CO2 and pollution are things that have only recently started affecting the planet. I believe the negative effects began with coal burning for heat hundreds of years ago and got worse when petroleum products hit the market. There were less than 1 billion back then.
"...it seems to me that population volume is at an inverse proportion to the level of technology that a population can live with if it wishes to be sustainable."
I have to ask you, what is the "level of technology" used for? Screens (as Ralph Nader has pointed out) which distract us from the truth? GMOs and subsidized corporate farming that despoil the earth of nutrition, but make the $5 burger possible? "Smart" bombs and drones, so that "killers" can be further removed from the true cost of war?
The "elephant in the room" of course, is Capitalism. Perhaps it is difficult to accept, being a "former corporate polluter" (and I don't mean that disparagingly). I have compassion for you, and all of the corporate polluters. They are merely a part of a system. One that is part of an old paradigm that is taking down the entire human population. The creed of this system is another big lie: "Life is a game. The one with the most toys wins. So everyone operates, ultimately, and hence JUSTIFIABLY, out of their own self-interest."
In this system, 25% of the world's population is deemed "useless". They are a "drag" on the system. They are the ones born in abject poverty, with no opportunity for a better life. They are the Haitians, the Nigerians, the Bangladeshis, as well as Americans living in an inner-city not far from you. Capitalism has no use for them. I find this sad and tragic. Have you ever stopped to think how different your life would be if you were born into a world without opportunity? Do you know what malnutrition does to the developing brain?
There is a straw that is available now, that has a series of filters so that one can drink water safely from a sewer. If deployed in a sensible way, it could save many lives from needless suffering. RIGHT NOW. But in this capitalist system, there is no incentive for mass distribution. "Where is the profit?" the corporateers will ask.
Ditto renewable technology. Take mining, which you seem to know quite a bit about. Bucky Fuller pointed out 30 years ago that there was no need to mine for any more ore. Simply develop technology to recycle all of the metals already in use (and especially in DIS-use). If we modeled our way-of-life on nature (and in particular, its way of producing indefinite sustainability), and not some obscene God (the worship of money), there are enough resources on this planet to support 10 billion people. Easily.
Also, read the comment by "Space Cadet July 17th, 2010 1:37 pm"
Another valid point vis-a-vis overpopulation...
I think most people are pointing their fingers at the symptoms of what causes our problems only. Capitalism (The free market kind) is just one of those symptoms. Human greed for money and never ending success has always existed and at the rate we are going presumably always will.
Each generation is born and makes so many of its ancestors mistakes all over. Alot of people need their whole life in order to finally realise what is important about it, but sadly these insights can not simply be passed on, so everybody is doomed to make mistakes millions have made already, before we ourselves learn those lessons as well.
Fixing these ills that plague our civilisation can only be done in the longterm. And that is through rebuilding society in a conscious way with a clear goal in sight. For instance, the education of children is the most important part. Influence the youth so that they will influence the youth when they are older.
There needs to be a redefiniton of what success is. It should not be based on merely performance (good marks, high salary, alot of expensive belongings), but should involve various factors. That we may retain individuals who strive for results while thinking more holistically and for the benefit of all. What this comes down to is that we need to stop thinking about competing against other humans in the way we do.
We have reached the point, where we are just about overcrowding our planet. Our problem is that we are squabbling over crumbs. Up above all of our heads is the infinite universe with virtually unlimited resources. We have a chance to use our limited and ending resources now to develop the necessary technology to make the jump off our planet. If we squander them uselessly or decide to go back to living in forests we will let this chance slip. Humanity will go extinct relatively quickly (climate change, nuclear war, asteroids) What we need is the realisation that individual success doesn't matter, success of individual nations doesn't matter. Not even the success of the human race matters. What should be of importance to us is the survival and proliferation of Earth, its life and all that belongs to it. For all its flaws, us humans should be the tool to spread it across the stars.
Unshakeable peace
[The strength of the humand mind lies in the ability to think of OUR future]
http://principlesofbeing.blogspot.com/
"The government repeatedly sells us out to corporate interests."
This rhetoric is self-defeating. The government has never sold out to corporate interests, for the specific reason that the government IS corporate interests.
The repeated talk about the government selling us out, or that democrats lack the backbone to end the war (suggesting that this is their goal,) etc. or the most blatant example, almost the progressives' official slogan, "We need to take America back!" ignores the very probable case that the government was never ours, or even on our side, to begin with.
Why is there so much resistance to the idea that the entire purpose of the US government is to take from the poor and give to the rich, using whatever means are profitable, most notably mass deception, murder and environmental destruction?
Nobody asked, "Why is there so much resistance to the idea that the entire purpose of the US government is to take from the poor and give to the rich, using whatever means are profitable, most notably mass deception, murder and environmental destruction?"
I think it is because, for a while, and during the lifetimes of many people still alive, there was a real and sizable middle class. Aspiring to the "American Dream" was a reality for many working people as was a university education. There is this lingering notion that things were different and better once and that that is the way it should be now. Folks might find it hard to let go of the idea that the current governmental policies are not the way is has to be, because they think it was different then.
" In a clear violation of our rights to free speech and a free press, government agencies have assisted BP’s lies and cover-up by restricting media access, threatening journalists with felony charges and $40,000 fines. Uniformed police officers in Louisiana have harassed photographers at public beaches. BP has threatened workers with firing if they talk to anyone about anything." (from the article)
I like to see the best in everything and everyone. Not to long ago I was talking to a friend who is Progressive and we were talking about BP and I said that I hoped that BP would be made to do the right thing. She didn't think that they would be, though she hoped they would be made to do what was needed.
Reading this article, makes me think that maybe our government won't make BP do the right thing. Maybe our federal government is so corrupted that it CAN'T make BP or any large muli national corporation do the morally right thing for the people and the environment?
As a Daughter I truly believe that at one time the government of the United States was founded as a government for the people and was governed by the people. We truly were a great nation because we were a moral nation. Our principles of truth, justice, freedom, and hope that our nation would be a beacon of hope and light. It isn't like that anymore, and the question is what are we the people alive in 2010 going to do about this situation? Does the American public have the courage and will to fight those who have allowed our government and political process to be corrupted and used as a force of evil in the world instead of a source of good? Has America become a nation of zombies who are so brainwashed that they don't see our true condition or even care enough about future generations to stand up to the BP's of the world and those governments who for the sake of large sums of money throw the people under the bus?
We are loosing the first ammendment everyday when our press who is supposed to be a free press is denied the tools to do their very important job of being a check and balance by educating people to the truth and making those in power have to give an accounting for their actions rather good or evil. We are loosing our free press and hardly any American speaks out when the press is denied access to those in power. This Administration who said they were going to open up the process and let the press in has not been very open with the press. There is still to much being done behind closed doors and pushed through without the light being shown. Alot of Americans are deceived into thinking that the press is so far to the left that it is destroying America, or that our press has become controled by the state. The truth is corporate America has control of most of the media.
I listen to Coast to Coast Am and they were talking about the pressure readings on the test and what it means that the pressure is not where they like it to be. The man that was interviewd said he felt like he was watching BP tv, as the press wasn't able to do their job because BP is not being totally open about what is going on there.
I came to love LA and the Gulf South and it breaks my heart to see what is going on there and the lies and deception that is going on. Local governments are coming up with plans and BP has agreed to pay for them yet the federal government won't let them carry out their plan and doesn't have a plan to try themselves so nothing is being done. That is a disgrace. Either the federal government come up with a plan or let the local governments do the plan that they want to try. Doing something is better than doing NOTHING. The people who live there are strong people who love their land and they will fight to save it. Untie their hands and let them do what has to be done.
Chrisy58,
I really like what you wrote. But, I've come to believe that principles like truth, justice, freedom, hope and others that you mention are attributes to be ascribed to people, not nations. Nations and individuals certainly influence each other heavily. However, it seems to me that any hope for the future rests firmly upon a solidarity among decent people, nations be damned. There is a war going on. It is a war between the financial elite and the rest of us. It has nothing to do with nations. You are absolutely correct that we have become "zombies who are so brainwashed." However, we do need to remember that there have been insidious, secret and fully-funded agendas which have sought to do just that. I suspect that you have an above average IQ. Therefore, as you become more enlightened, you move even further away from those who have neither the capacity to understand the complexities, nor the desire to delve further into the truth, beyond the absolute crap that is shown on TV. Yes, it's sad, lonely, frustrating.
You stated, "I said that I hoped BP would be made to do the right thing." That statement let me know that there are many truths left out there for you to discover. BP is our government. Corporate interests control all politics throughout the world lock, stock and barrel. If you look closely enough you will see the best governments that money can buy. The recent and ongoing financial upheaval is illustrative of the who, the behind the curtain puppeteers, who really are causing this to happen. Yes, caused. This economic crisis was no accident. Follow the money. This crisis immensely benefited certain people. People who know how to profit from war and suffering. Imagine if we imprisoned these immoral profiteers. That would be a start, huh? But, no. We the people have no say in any political decision. I don't have the solution other than to ban all money in politics, period. But, it seems a bit late for this.
You said, "I like to see the best in everyone and everything." Well, I think that most of us are born this way, and if allowed to develop healthily into maturity, end up this way. The acceptance of capitalism as an ideology seems to diminish these caring and empathetic feelings that are fully human, stunting us in our emotional/intellectual growth. That is why, I think, so many of our contemporary political discussions border on infantile. It was that statement Chrisy, about wanting the best for everyone, that gave me that bit of hope I needed today. Thanks!
Bravo, wayout. We are on the exact same wavelength.
I noticed that in earlier comments you made. Thanks for being there.
Well i was going from story to story on CD today, commenting on how vapid and empty the stories are, and then i saw this headline:
"Our Planet, Our People are not Expendable! We Refuse To Sacrifice Life for Corporate Profits"
YES!
Now let's all get down to the hard work of actually refusing.
What are you going to refuse to go along with today, as a step on a lifetime path of such refusal?
Webwalk,
Some ways to refuse to go along with the corporate agenda: choose nonprofits like Paul Newman's for food, deposit our money in credit unions,shop at food cooperatives or at farm markets as much as possible, re-use worn things, share with neighbors, go to the library, seek entertainment through local productions, get your car washed by high school students who are raising money for a trip, and donate a buck or two to CD. Those are some of the things I try to do--not all of them today, however.
I couldn't help commenting on the 'overpopulation' comments. Growing up I was always subjected to the racist comment that..."if those third world people just stopped screwing so much, we wouldn't have so many people today." Of course what was missing here was the root cause of overpopulation, namely the 'empowerment of women'. In Europe, Japan and Korea, countries in which women have legal rights and participate in the decisions of society, the birthrate is declining. Women in these countries have a say in whether they will have children or not. However a recent U.N. survey of a very large sample of mothers in developing countries asked a simple question regarding women giving birth to their second child..."Did you want to have your second child?". Over 80% said "No." These women in other words had no say in the matter even though it is the female that carries the burden of a pregnancy. Terminating the pregnancy for 80% was obviously not an option either. But if these women had a leg to stand on, the 'second child' would have never been conceived.
Because corporations are against empowerment of anyone except themselves, the expansion of democracy to include women simply won't happen on their watch. If people are really serious about reversing unwanted pregnancies, then it is time to elect a government (if possible?) that represents the public interest including an international commitment to protect women from rape and unwanted pregnancies everywhere.
Precisely right. Thanks for saying so.
It started with the "Great Communicator," and has continued unabated through the lst George Bush, Bill Clinton, the 2nd George Bush and to Obama. All are masters at screwing us without benefit of kiss. Corporate American writes the script and they read it.
If you want to show the American people who the culprits are and the extent of their culpability, just publish a list of "campaign" contributions by name and amount (euphamism for bribes)for all members of the House, the Senate and the White House. It is all there.
Oh, no, the Europeans are destroying the earth. And now people all over the planet are destroying the earth, too. What will this old Indian ever do?
Pay my bills and die in the pay your bills and die world of the Europeans. Got a powwow to go to today. Going to be some really good big feasting for the people. I'll check back later to see if you have the problems of your Nation solved or the earth saved yet.
Laughed 23 years ago when a woman of European heritage talked to me about something called, Saving the Earth. 23 years later the earth is still here. I am still here. I am 23 years older to my journey being completed through the cash register world of the Europeans.
I could have died any second in those 23 years but I didn't, but I will eventually. So I might as well have fun and enjoy life.
I am not laying any bets in Vegas the Europeans will solve all the problems of their Nation or save the earth either one in my lifetime.
I would a lay a bet in Vegas that those who really run this world aren't interested in my thoughts about anything at all.
So just live my life in the pay your bills and die world of the Europeans, and pay my bills and die.
Life is good. What an experience! It's always best to forgive.
To understand why $40.000 fines are necessary read:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=20131
You will likely need to paste the above address in your browser.
One of the most blatant examples of corporate power over people seems to be YouTube's policies of controlling, even censoring people. When you want to respond to some outrageous comment by some right wing proponent, YouTube will often respond by replying: "Comment Pending Approval". This pretty much means that, no, your comment will not appear. This is pretty outrageous, considering that at the same time, YouTube routinely allows all kinds of vulgar comments by immature people as well as pure vitriol and ad hoc personal attacks.
This is a pretty bad situation, when you consider that YouTube and Google are in business together, Google is probably by far the search engine most used by people, and Google routinely checks people's search patterns and gathers more and more information about people for sales purposes.
Some examples of censored remarks are ongoing debates over whether global warming exists, and over government health care. These are of vital importance to many people, and if one-sided discussions take precedence, as they already do in the U.S. national media, it would appear that the U.S., as "leader of the free world", is trending toward corporate oligarchy or fascism. Since most large corporations are transnational these days, it would appear that when corporations like BP and others can supersede our civil rights, the U.S., and other nations, are well on the way toward world corporate government. Sadly, it won't be a government of the people; rather, a world government of, by, and for, the corporate profitseekers, where the CEOs are kings.
In the 1960's it seemed nice to be in the "free world". Now, sadly it seems like a distant memory.
chrisy58
Let's not ulogize the past, the US never was a great, moral nation. Slavery, genocide, robber barons. Need I say more ?
Also the only nation which actually dropped two atomic bombs.
We are all slaves.
Debt is a big scam and permeates every aspect of our lives and keeps us all trapped.
We are awash in fear mongering to the point that we are all half-crazed.
The government is owned lock stock and barrel by corporations.
All of the politicians are a bunch of blood sucking vampires.
We are enslaved. We really, actually are. Walking and driving around and shopping blah blah is all window dressing. We are in prison. It is a big prison. "Seal the borders" for security? Hah. We are being sealed in.
We are in crazy land here, and ANYTHING we do to break out of that is worthwhile - almost nothing is happening to break out of it now - and we have absolutely nothing to lose.
People here are miserable - they are in pain and suffering.
We are intentionally being kept sick, demoralized, and fearful.
We can't see the trouble we are in, because we have nothing to compare to.
The national political discussion in this country is a joke.
All the major party politicians should be tarred and feathered and run out of town.
America is a society gone completely mad. We live in a big prison. It is pathetic. Fear keeps us locked in. We are so saturated with fear, that it would not be off the mark to say that fear is the only thing happening here, and that anything else is ruthlessly suppressed and punished. And we are all trustees. Anyone refusing the role of trustee is isolated and viewed and treated as a pariah. That is not to say that we cannot overcome this - not in the least. We have to fight, though, every hour of every day and break the spell.
Demoralization coupled with fear - all of the thinking and speaking around us everyday is just laced with those two.
Let's smash it up. Let's never rest until we do. Nothing else is anything but a waste of time.
mcoyote,
I feel your pain, and there is little in your post I can disagree with. However, as we move forward it is important to know who we are up against. The campaign to control the message was begun some time ago. It would only make sense that Common Dreams is monitored, and pressure is, or will be, put upon Common Dreams to disclose the identity of those who comment, for national security issues, of course. Maybe they already know who we are. Is this being paranoid? Not if you've been following real events in the last few years. The laws are purposely vague now, in this War on Terror, to cast the broadest net possible. Real people are being thrown in jail for siding with justice. I think it is important for those of us who would like to help create real change, while remaining free, to understand that we live in a brave new world. Big brother is here. I guess it's something we do have to keep in mind. The criminal government is making up all sorts of stuff to put the "trouble makers" in jail. I, too, want truth, justice, equality and to give peace a chance. So, I hear what you're saying. I just think this realization needs to be discussed more often, especially here on CD.
The only thing the people of the USA have is their election vote.
There is a problem in proving democracy occurs with such a low participation rate, plus voter exclusion policies, and dubious control of electronic voting systems. Control of advertising, selection of candidate, and over spending by the 2 corporate parties, ensures that almost no one will be elected that will upset corruption as usual. Despite worsening circumstances for nearly everyone, elections continue to bring about more or less the same results.
It indicates a monopoly on the election business, the long established election organisations have the promises and platform business formulas and brand names wrapped up. It indicates the most of the population is unable to rethink their voter loyalty from scratch. A vote for a party is part of personal identity, like the brand of food bought from the supermarket, or the colours of the football team, and not easily changed. Emotional loyalty is not rationally connected with current events, or the workings of government.
Sameness in the system breeds conformity in the candidates.
A random selection of individuals with a filter for reasonable literacy and numeracy skills would result in a much fairer and balanced representation of the national population.
There can be at most a few consistant policy directions for any given issue, and the winners currently are those that can pay the most because they reap the most.
Government has shown it is consistently interested in the personal reaping, regardless of long term consequence. Political deals are trade offs in spoils between powerful parties, which never includes the rest of us.
If anyone really wants change, they have to resort to a combination of co-opt, bypass, undermine, attack, and ignore government and the 2 major parties. Getting real change is like trying to push an elephant or donkey to walk away while it is in the middle of stuffing itself.
I finally just watched The People Speak from 2009 and I recommend it to anyone who thinks there was ever a golden age of equality and fairness in the United States. This is a documentary based on Howard Zinn's book filled with first person accounts of our history, which is so very different than the myths and whitewashed versions we get in school. Not to mention in the major media! Even as we watch they are trying to rewrite and edit yesterday's news to fit the myth of exceptionalism and greatness, while the blood (and oil) is still fresh on our hands. Our history has not been so long that it is lost in the haze of ages....it is sad, but we can't change much while a large segment of our citizens refuse to admit what has happened in the past, or is happening now.
And the term =revisionist history= is always invoked, in hopes of discrediting the pov supported by the alternate data or alternate interpretation.
There's an old Russian story about one historian who turns to another and laments: "From day to day it's impossible to predict the past."
History tailgates.
Perhaps it's a very small step on the path of economic non-compliance, but I no longer patronize any vendors who require a "scanned shopper card" to obtain their best prices, e.g. corporate-owned grocers, drugstores, etc.
Three reasons: 1. Less aggravation and time wasted 2. No privacy invasion by tracking of personal transactions 3. And most importantly, increased effort to reverse the agenda of mass conditioning for databases on ALL Economic Transactions. Ultimately, everyone must be plugged in to the Govt System???
We make daily choices which in the longer-term have profound effects on humanity.
McMillan asks: "At what point will we stop accepting this?" Answer: At the point you stop perpetuating it. GLB made a point: DO SOMETHING. Ranting, aka blogging, in forums that seems like bitching with already known information and not researching your facts is not a solution; it’s fighting fire with fire. Had McMillan researched her point she'd know that the amount of big spills reaches more like several dozen rather than the two samples listed that clearly affect her by somehow crossing her online path incidentally. I doubt she experienced Niger Delta and Ecuadorean catastrophes first hand through real research, real life, or otherwise. Fact is hundreds of spills have occurred and several dozen are far larger than others.
I also found interesting the Native American's comments about saving the planet. Indeed few people understand or really know what it is they are saving or fighting for. End result is that it is their own belief system and lives they are fighting for; animals are competitive and all living matter is competing. To make the natural world a background/backdrop forum from which to bitch from or build notoriety from is not saving the "planet" in all its magnificent magnitude; it's saving your comfortable lifestyle. Nor would most recognize when the planet is actually fighting back and doing what it does best over timelines of millennia with human influence or not. Oblivion is not any better. Few would even know what the natural world is but they name aspects of it while they live plugged-in often 100% of time --- not a natural act.
Somewhere between ranting a stance or lifestyle with some romanticized idea of the past merely seems like more of the same without action. Do NOTHING, do zero, nada, on the forums perpetuating capitalism and I'll take you serious. Do something and THEN consider writing about it so we are not reading more of the obvious: many are online ranting and giving suggestions, few are putting anything to action. I give credit to the real movers and shakers on the ground not living within the cushions of technologies at their fingertips or bending their knees at the altars of capitalism and making excuses for doing so or "demanding" what others should be or be doing, aka the third world, which I take serious.
So good luck with living on the internet! It's certainly what millions have flocked toward in hopes of the lime light or to fill their empty souls instead of running away from it --- welcome to the machine YOU and I help perpetuate and demand oil for its use if even indirectly. But don't be offended if the natural world does not hear you, it's busy doing what it does, with or without your "help". I'm sure most doing this online could rationalize their use without having the nagging thought that yes you are feeding the machine, but we all are as glb can admit.
So, in light of your comment, have you got any suggestions worth implementing?
My problem with these forums and especially articles posted here is that people all are quite proficient at pointing out the problems but not so much at finding solutions for them.
An discussion of possibilities would be nice, instead of just pointing out whats wrong. Or maybe we are all waiting for somebody "great" to take the lead?
I think this place should be an area to brainstorm ideas that are worth implementing that will do something.
In line with this. How do we strip corporations of their "person hood"?
Unshakeable peace
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[The strength of the humand mind lies in the ability to think of OUR future]
http://principlesofbeing.blogspot.com/
Seinbeetre, I strongly agree. Some of us have tried to put forth good ideas but the appeal isn't there. Sometimes, people would look at each of our ideas with interest but sometimes, the motivation would be lacking. I think I've peaked out in learning as much as I had to on this site in terms of the basics but I still take the time to read just in case I find something new and interesting in the discussions worth taking note of. When I started out here, I did more reading and later some posting. Now, it is back to reading. I wished we could all share ideas together and engage in collective and constructive thinking on these forums but I fear that 30 years of the Reagan/Bush2 YOYO ideology has taken away our confidence to think and do things together due to fear of the other side laughing at us for "not being independent enough". On waiting to lead, I don't believe that it is that. Our current leader is making us feel hopeless and powerless more than ever. By doing that, such leaders make it harder for us to attain confidence in getting our ideas out there and heard. That puts us back to the drawing board of having to point out everything that is wrong just to wake up the critical masses who fell asleep at the wheel when the wrong leader was picked. If we had a better leader ala Nader and Mckinney, I think that more people would be motivated to give their ideas a try because they would no longer feel imprisoned and left out under the current system.
P.S.: I look forward to reading your blogsite.
Certainly. I understand your sentiments about having learned all that there is to learn from this site.
I only used to read, no desire to take part in discussions. But one can only watch this spectacle for so long before realising things are just being repeated over and over again.
I don't know how many will known his blog, but I have found Case Wagenvoord very interesting to read. (http://belacquajones.blogspot.com/)
In one of his posts he brought up the thought of working towards an ammendment that would strip corporations of their person hood, curtailing their powers as they should.
This is a big and yet simple goal which is easy to argue for and campaign on. It is also part of what is so broken in the US political system. One would not simply be trying to fix the symptoms, but would be cutting to the chase. Forget about healthcare or the financial markets reform. Nothing real will ever come of them while the corporations have a grip on politics.
Apart from that, putting faith in the political establishment is simply not worth it. If you want change, you have to vote change in. The democrats are just as much against change as the republicans. Nobody wants to lose power, you have got to take it. A "leader" groomed and picked by the establishment is never a leader but only a puppet. He or she can not be a true leader with ideals, because in order to make it you have to suck up to those who have the power to get any power.
What the US needs is a third party. One that is born from a movement. A movement for a simple goal that will motivate everybody (whether you prefer republicans or democrats or Nader). With that, you may get a true leader and real change. I am sure its been tried before but it needs to be tried again and again until it succeeds or this country finally drops dead.
PS: The internet is certainly not ideal to get all motivated. As bad as the person may have been, that famous Austrian dictator had it right when he said you won't motivate people by writing books. Its the speeches that get them. Its the emotional amplification of the crowd that gets them. Once a real movement gets steam it is unstoppable.
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[The strength of the humand mind lies in the ability to think of OUR future]
http://principlesofbeing.blogspot.com/