The Greatest Canadians Ever, Eh!

Reflections on Canadian Nationalism

While I am not a fan of nationalism in the narrow sense of “us versus them” thinking, there is definitely something constructive and life-affirming about having a certain pride or basic dignity when it comes to one’s cultural heritage. If we can take pride in our own cultural heritage, while respecting the cultural heritage of others, then this seems to be something very positive, very helpful, and very empowering – mutually empowering in fact. Our errors and present challenges should be honestly acknowledged, and so too our strengths, talents, and true shining moments. Dignity, confidence and mutual respect are helpful attitudes to be cultivated and cherished. There are also other, equally important considerations on this day, Canada Day, and democracy is one of them.

Freedom requires self-determination, and self-determination requires some form of authentic participatory democracy, at the very least. If we value freedom or self-determination, as we should, then we should value democracy, and seek to preserve it at the least, if not to preserve it in order to evolve it further. Celebration, dignity, confidence and mutual respect are in order: so too is vigilance and awareness. We should dance, and we should also increase our awareness daily, and not only on this day.

More important perhaps than cultural pride within a spirit of tolerance and mutual respect, is this consideration: despite its faults, the nation-state is the primary vehicle of democracy at this time, and therefore, we would be very unwise to attack, undermine or dismantle it, at least until we have something with which to replace it: and that something had better be at least as democratic, if not more so, than the nation-state, or we will be selling ourselves into slavery. What has been happening for some four decades is that the nation-state has been under attack, and it has been under attack for one primary reason, which is to destroy national democracies. We should have no illusions about this. The trend is real, and the trend is not accidental. It is highly conscious, and it is highly deliberate.

Who would wish for such a thing? Who has the greatest vested interest in destroying national democracies? The answer should be clear: the trans-national corporate elite wish to destroy democracy, which means they must destroy the nation-state, which is still the principle forum and bastion of democracy, so that they can do as they wish without having to worry about anyone getting in their way, without that nuisance of the democratic process, and so that they can effectively rule the earth, as the business press has itself said, as the “de facto world government.”

The trend toward the dissolution of the nation-state and national democracies began in earnest in the early 1970’s, with the unilateral cancellation of the Gold Standard by the US, the beginnings of the digital revolution in information and communications technologies, and the unparalleled global hegemony of the by then trans-national corporate elite. The trend can be called by many names: globalization, neoliberalism, neoconservatism, corporatism, globalism, corporatocracy, oligarchy, plutocracy, corporate neo-feudalism, corporate fascism, or most plainly, global corporate rule. Whatever we wish to call it, it is happening, has been happening for some four decades, is deliberate and highly conscious, and it amounts to the destruction of both freedom and democracy.

It would be wise for us to realize what is going on, that democracy is under attack, and that whatever more idealistic dreams we may hold, the nation-state still remains the principle vehicle or vessel of democracy at this time. Before we allow the nation-state to be dissolved, therefore, we should at least have something better in its place, or waiting in the wings, and this is not a world government of megalomanical elites and financial barons.

Democracy is, of course, power of the people, power to the people, and rule by the people. Democracy therefore becomes meaningless when the government is too far removed from the people; for when the government is far above and removed from the people, what we get is elite rule, or oligarchy, which in essence is a return to feudalism and the caste systems of the past, and not democracy in any meaningful sense of the word.

If democracy and therefore self-determination and freedom are to be presevered, then the minimum that must be done is to prevent the further concentration of powers at the trans-national or global level. This means that while we may further democratize the nation-state, we must not let this minimum of democracy as represented by national democracies be destroyed by allowing it to be castrated or effectively folded into unaccountable continental or global powers.

Democracy requires that power be closely connected to the people, as well as representative of the people. This means that power cannot be too centralized without democracy being destroyed. If we dissolve the nation state, or allow it to be dissolved, and do so without having or creating another forum of government that is closer to the people and the grassroots, then what we shall have is the evisceration of democracy, and the rule by an international elite.

What we will have is a kind of global corporate neo-feudalism unless we stand up to the assault on democracy; and we must begin by re-establishing the value and the functioning integrity of national democracies. Missing this point is living in a dream world.

It is important that we realize the value of national democracies now, and realize that where we are heading is not toward some kind of rosey world order, but toward a kind of Orwellian neo-feudal corporatism, in which democracy is no more, and freedom, human rights and dignity are destroyed, all under the guise of inevitability or the common good, to be sure. We must re-establish the integrity and independence of national democracies now. This is critical, and it is urgent. And of course, we should start at home.

So long as we avoid the “us versus them” thinking that often plagues nationalism, and realize that we are in fact interdependent, a certain pride or dignity is a very good thing. So too, are democracy and freedom worth preserving. For these reasons, we should generate confidence and a spirit of independence. In that spirit, let us celebrate the diverse cultural heritage that makes up this land we call Canada, and celebrtate the land as well, which is our home.

*

Before celebrating the rich heritage, and the present lands and cultures which make up this place we call Canada, a note on the ideology of greatness may be in order as well. Greatness has nothing to do with fame, power or wealth. Hitler was famous, powerful and commanded great economic resources, but he was not a great man – he was, of course, a madman. Wealth, power and fame cannot measure greatness, nor even virtue or talent. Many of the greatest of Canadians or individuals from any country have been and will remain unknown to all but a few friends, family and community members. This does not reduce their status. We tend to worship those who have fame, as if being known meant something in itself. Paris Hilton is famous, but is she any greater than anyone you would meet on the street? It is unlikely. King Midas was wealthy in the extreme, but that did not give him character, virtue, wisdom or even happiness, let alone greatness. Stalin had great power, but he was a paranoid egomaniac, and a mass murderer. Let us cease to worship fame, wealth and power, and instead, respect that which is worthy of respect, which is talent, character, and above all, the qualities of the heart. And from a deeper persepctive, we can say this: if you want greatness, look in the mirror: realize your true nature. This is the secret of all the world, the perennial wisdom that all the sages have discovered.

If we can find our own dignity and empowerment by recognizing the good qualities and the true successes or victories of others, then let us do that; but let us always remember that the greatness we see in others merely reflects that which we have yet to uncover in ourselves. Just as the errors or stumbling of others reflects our own potential to err and to stumble, the true successes, virtues and victories of others reflect the potential within us to realize our own greatness. Dignity, mutual respect, and mutual empowerment are worth pursuing, and are also worthy of celebration. This Canada Day, let us celebrate with a new awareness, and sow the seeds for a beautiful future for all. In fact, let this be our celebration daily, and everywhere, no matter where we live or where what country we call home.

*

On a lighter note, as the title indicates, I would nominate Bob and Doug MacKenzie as the greatest Canadians ever. Bring on the beer and back-bacon eh! A sense of humour is one of our finest assets here in the great white North. Bring it on. I recommend the film Strange Brew for all new and old, young and young-at-heart Canadians. A mixture of Hamlet, Star Wars, 1984, and hockey – with beer, naturally – it is a very funny movie, and very perceptive to boot: the Canadian version of Doctor Strangelove. Along with this low-brow/high-brow humour, the film Canadian Bacon, with Canadian funny man par excellence John Candy, would be a perfect combination.

What else do we have to be proud of here in this land called Canada today? The list is as long. Recently Canadians voted Tommy Douglas as the greatest Canadian in our – relatively short and still unfolding – history. I for one, would not disagree. Look him up, if you are not familiar with this truly great man. One other brave heart from this land I would like to mention only: Louis Joseph Papineau – a democrat before his time. There are of course many, many others worthy of great honour, both past and present, and there will be more in the future. As to a further list of names and accomplishments in the on-going history of this country, I will leave that to others.

The lands and the peoples of Canada deserve to be celebrated. And the famous are not the only ones we should remember, take note of, or respect. Mutual respect will help us all. After all, it is only enlightened self-interest, as well as a matter of virtue and basic kindness. Let us celebrate the good in all peoples, everywhere. Today, the focus happens to be on Canada, and that is not a bad thing at all, and very well deserved.

There is no country. Any country is a name only. A country is a mental concept, lines drawn on a map. What is real is the people and the land. Real also is our democracy – or so it is if we preserve it. Let us celebrate the land, the peoples, and the freedom and democracy of Canada. Imperfect as these may be, they are precious, and worthy of both respect and preservation.

JTR,
Canada Day,
2009

Situation Normal: All Fucked Up

Anything can become normal – if we live with it long enough. Violence can become normal; addiction can become normal; living surrounded by a constant mess can become normal; apathy and despair can become normal; aggression can become normal; vapid, mindless voyeurism and consumerism can become normal. Or, joyful empowerment and engagement in life can become normal; caring for the people around you, for yourself, your environment, home and community can become normal; peace and contentment can become normal; compassionate kindness can become normal; self-honesty and a preference for truth over lies and illusions can become normal; healthy eating, exercise, a positive frame of mind and enthusiastic vitality can become normal. Normal is simply what we have grown accustomed to. It can be all fucked up, as the military expression SNAFU (situation normal – all fucked up) describes so well, or it can be sublimely beautiful. It is a matter, ultimately, at least to a very high degree, of habit. What have we become habituated to? What do we accept as normal, and do we really want to continue to accept this as “normal?”

Habit is the driving force, more than 90% of the time. And yet, as we all know, but forget routinely, nothing is permanent, everything is subject to change, and everything can therefore be transformed. If we do not like our present “normal” we are free to change it. What this requires is a) a recognition of impermanence – that all things are impermanent, all things are subject to change; b) that while we are never in control – for linear, unilateral causality does not exist and all things are mutually interdependent – for the same reason that we are never fully in control, we are also never truly powerless. If we can recognize these two inter-related points, which are a matter of the nature of existence, then we will realize immediately that we can in fact transform the patterns in our lives which have become normal to us. The same holds true for the macrocosm of society as it does for the microcosm of the individual, household or community, though a greater effort and patience is required to transform patterns in the macrocosm, for the simple fact that there are more actors involved in the play at that scale.

The microcosm is like a small boat: since it has less inertia than a large ship, it can change direction more rapidly. The macrocosm of society is like a large ship, and therefore has more inertia than a single individual, and thus requires more effort and patience to alter its direction. In either case, however, there is no permanence to things, and all phenomena are in their true nature fully transmutable. Change is not only possible, but inevitable. The question is, what kind of change do we wish to set in motion?

Whether it be our personal lives or the society we live in, since all phenomena in existence are impermanent, having no fixed intrinsic or independent existence, but depending at all times upon changable and changing causes and conditions, therefore we can see that control is an illusion, just as powerless is an illusion, and therefore we can realize that we are truly empowered, as soon as we recognize this fact, to engage actively in the moment by moment and daily choices of our lives and the collective life of our society, that we can and do have an influence, and that we can work to transform any existing pattern, no matter how normal it has come to seem.

This is at once at tremendous responsibility, and also a tremendous source of joy and freedom. If we engage in life with a sense of the impermanence, and also the precious of life, with a sense of empowered involvement or responsiveness – aliveness – then we can see that not only is there a light at the end of the tunnel, but that our whole world brightens. It is a matter of what view of life we take, to a great extent: what attitude we take. There patterns which are slow to change, and others which require only modest effort. If we approach things with energy and an empowered attitude, an attitude that expresses the recognition that nothing is permanent and that all things are interdependent – which entails that we are both actors as well as acted upon – then the world lightens, opportunities are seen where none appeared to exist, and an inner dynamism and enthusiasm arises which is one of the greatest powers in existence: the power of the human spirit it has been called, but the terms are unimportant here.

It is a matter of balancing patience with energetic engagement in life. One side that we can fall toward is aggression, with its obvious troubles associated, including constant tension, stress, strain and frustration. The other side we can fall toward is apathy or despair.

Aggression and apathy are two sides of the same coin. In Eastern terms, one is too yang, while the other is to yin: one is too much pushing; the other, too much foot-dragging or collapse. One side we can err on is the illusion of control, or the attempt to forcefully control, which produces aggression. The other side is the illusion of powerlessness, and the result is collapse, apathy, defeatism, despair, cynicism, or simply a drifting passivity and complacency (all the rage these days with many people). One error requires a loosening up, a softening up, a relaxation – it is too tight. The other error requires a greater vigour, a greater initiative, a greater energy – we have become too sloppy, or simply to meek, too timid, too pleasing of others or too apathetic toward our circumstances or the circumstances of our world.

Whatever the error in the present moment – too tight or too loose, too much push or too much holding back, we can observe how we are engaging with life, and add the necessary correction through an inner change, a change in tack. Of course, at first we may over-correct, as someone new to sailing or piloting a ship will tend to over-correct, and end up zig-zaging excessively through simple lack of skill. We end up then, as most people do routinely and with little awareness, oscillating between too tense and too sloppy, too forceful and too lackadaisical. But as our perception of the subtleties of our inner states and their outer expressions becomes more clear, and our practice at correcting the subtle errors in tack or approach becomes more refined, it becomes increasingly easy, simple and natural to automatically give the right inner correction so that we bring ourselves again back into a more skillful approach to piloting our little ship and navigating the vast expanse of life.

What is needed is a mindfulness, a presence of mind, that is here for the long run, and not just an occasional reflection or a one time decision to make a change. We need on-going mindful awareness of what our situation is, and how we are engaged with it, so that we can practice the subtle – or sometimes large – corrections which are needed to bring a greater harmony, happiness, well-being and empowerment for ourselves and others – which ultimately, is the only goal worth pursuing, and one that is not only both path and destination, but also within our reach.

Clearly, some patterns are daunting and difficult – even to face, let alone address and transform. But we err generally on the side of drastically underestimating our power. Should we begin to realize impermanence and interdependence, we will begin to realize that we are far from powerless. Some patterns, such as social and ecological crises in particular, require collective effort, clearly, but that does not change the facts of impermanence and the openness of phenomena or patterns of life to change. A greater awareness of our personal and collective power is, however, urgently needed. Certainly panic, despair and complacent denial are equally useless. Aggression is likewise short-sighted and unskillful. Where then does that leave us?

It is a matter primarily of attitude. What kind of normal do we want to create? Let us start first with a recognition of impermanence and also of our own power, and we can create anything we like.

JTR,

September 25, 2008

The Growing World Food Crisis: Context, Analysis & Action

World food riots have begun. There is social unrest, precipitated by the deepening world food crisis and rising food prices, in at least 30 nations, and spreading rapidly. Food shortages – primarily a crisis of distribution, and not supply – grow while prices rise, as global warming, biofuel production, environmental degradation, commodities speculation, oil depletion, rising energy costs, rising meat and dairy intake, over-consumption, hording and waste, as well as the increasing global economic madness of a predatory neoliberal corporate dominated world economy, drive the crisis to deepening levels. The crisis is world-wide, affecting North and South, East and West, though Africa, Asia and Latin America are taking the worst of the brunt, as usual. However, this is a truly global crisis, particularly as the middle class is being wiped out in the “advanced” industrial nations, and no stop-gap measures will suffice to remedy the growing problem. It is a problem of spreading poverty, primarily, with ecological and geological factors weighing in heavily as well. It is primarily a testimony to the utter failure of the global corporatist order of neoliberal politics and economics – or its success, depending on whether you are among the tiny business elite, or among the vast majority of the world’s polulation, which is sliding rapidly downward into not only serfdom, but also abject poverty. It is the latest chapter in the rape of the Earth.

Common sense, cooperation and basic human traits such as solidarity and sharing will be needed to resolve this growing disaster. That may be a tall order, but within reach.

However, as much as this is the case, soon we will hear the cries of the giant agro-chemical-biotech corporations (which are all now merged) – the same corporations that bear a large portion of the responsibility for undermining ecosystems, world food security and equitable food distribution, helping to cause the crisis they will claim to solve – claiming again that genetically modified foods will be the salvation of the world.

As most people now are aware, genetically modified (GM) foods pose far too great a risk to humanity and the earth, as their effects are unknown. The popular film I Am Legend speaks eloquently of the more dire possibilities arising from unleashing technology we do not understand. But we should be ready for the PR campaign, as it will unfold shortly.

Half a dozen giant corporations dominate the world food system. It is these same giants that have been deeply involved in the food crisis which has unfolded and worsened over many decades, and who will shortly present their highly deceitful plans to “save the world” from hunger, through biotechnology and genetic engineering – a move that will only increase the risks to humanity, while further increasing the already great control over world food production and distribution which is held by the world’s financial elite. Watch for this.

While the biotech and agrochemical giants are storing the world’s seeds in a Doomsday Vault in Norway, they are simulataneously preparing to push genetically modified food crops on Africa. Something truly nefarious is in the works. I shudder to think what the robber barons have in mind this time. Probably they plan to use a global food crisis, which they have consciously helped to create, to bring about the wide-spread implementation of bio-tech foods, which will give them even greater profits and even greater control over the world’s food system – which means greater power over the world’s population, and which will effectively consolidate their position as the Lords of the Earth. At least, this seems to be the general outline of what the world’s business elite have in mind. And for anyone who has any knowledge of the history of the past 150 years, this should come as no big surprise, considering the unspeakable record of the food and chemical giants – United Fruit, Unilever, IG Farben, Dow, Dupont, Cargill, Monstanto and Union Carbide to name a few – and with the generally appalling record of contempt for humanity shown by the world’s corporate elite more generally.

The leading figure in both the GM foods drive and the Doomsday Vault in Norway, appears to be none other than the most powerful businessman in the Americas, head of the Trilateral Commission as well as City Bank, America’s biggest bank, and half a dozen other corporate lobby groups and think tanks: the most slithery David Rockefeller. God help us all.

Thankfully, such megalomaniacal power plays have never faired well through history, and every one of them has been ultimately defeated, as we will do once again.

The clear aim of the world’s business elite is simply world dominance – as was the case for every power monger and would be emperor of the past. The strategy, apparently, of the global business elite, now that scaring the public into submission is not working as well as was hoped, seems to be to starve us into submission. There seem to be two interwoven strategies for global dominance on the part of the world’s financial barons. One is to frighten the people into submission, via the “war on terror” – and since the effectiveness of that stratggy is waning and falling short, there will likely be a devoted search for new ways to scare us into giving up our liberties, our rights and our power. The second strategy is even more dark, if that is possible, and that is to lay seige to the world: to squeeze the public so tightly economically, including the method of depriving the basics of life, such as food, so that surrender is obtained. I would dare speculate that this is the second part of the strategy. Intimidation, manipulation, deciet, and seige: in short, psychological warfare and control of resources – strange that the tactics of empires have changed so little over the ages. In any case, the necessary actions on our part are the same.

While the corporate players work their dark schemes, back here in the world of basic sanity and simple human decency, we can see pretty clearly what needs to be done, if we are willing to look.

A number of actions must be taken collectively if we are to seriously address and resolve the world’s growing food crisis, including a rapid shift to organic farming and green energy (and not biofuels which effectively burn food), the protection of forests, wetlands and farmland, reduction of meat and dairy consumption, a dramatic reduction in consumption and waste among the consuming classes, a re-orientation of the economy, including production, distribution and purchasing, toward re-localization and bioregionalism, and above all, the elimination of poverty, which in turn requires a radical restructuring of the global economy, away from its present drive for accumulation of massive wealth and power in the hands of a few, and towards an economic system which benefits all.

The most pointed part of the question concerns resource allocation, including access to land, food and water, as well as equitable and universal economic empowerment more broadly. While we must address the environmental causes of the food crisis, as well as biofuel usage, the current problem is not one of supply but of distribution. If we continue to destroy the environment, then we will soon have supply problems as well – and of vast proportions. Naturally, we must cease to destroy the basis of agricultural production, viable living oceans and life on earth generally. But the primary cause of hunger and the growing food crisis at present has nothing to do with supply, and everything to do with control.

It is a matter of the globalization of poverty, as Ottawa University economics professor Michel Chossudovsky has called it, under a global neoliberal economic order which effectively consolidates dominance over the world’s economy as well as the world’s food system in the hands of a few giant transnational corporations. Three companies control over 90% of world trade in bananas. Three companies dominate the world trade in coffee. One company controls 90% of world tea markets (Unilever). One company dominates in world grain distribution (Cargill). With such a stranglehold, the biggest corporations can squeeze both the farmers who produce the food, paying them as little as possible, and less every year, while queezing the consumers as well, driving prices up for the end buyer while robbing the farmer. Hence, world prices for bulk coffee have plummetted over the past 30 years, while the end consumer still pays dearly enough to ensure Nestle makes nice fat, growing profits. Coffee farmers can barely survive, but Nestle seems happy. Prices of bread and rice rise to levels world wide where more and more people can’t afford to eat properly, but Cargill has record profits, rising every year. It is a shell game, the natural result of monopoly capitalism. If we want food security or food availability for all, then the robber barons must go. Until this happens, the world’s food crisis will continue to deepen, and social and political instability, including the eruption of violence and wars, will continue to escalate.

The world currently produces enough food to feed all. The problem, presently, is not production but distribution. If we cut waste and over-consumption, learn to share equitably, as kindergarten was supposed to teach us, we will have a future of mutual abundance. Population must be addressed, but population is not the primary issue: 20% of the world’s population consumes 80% of the world’s resources; a trend that is only worsening. Further, experience has shown that the best way to halt population growth is to end poverty. When poor people know that their only security in later years of life comes from their children, and half their children will die before adulthood, they will continue to have large families. End poverty, and children become an expense, rather than an insurance policy, and population growth halts, as has heppened in every region, state and nation where poverty has been substantively reduced (Kerala State in India being the text book example). Therefore the choice we face is clear: war and greed, or peace and solidarity with sharing and dignity for all. A choice is at hand. Freedom, abundance and dignity for all is a possibility, if we choose to act on it.

We cannot understand nor realistically address the growing world food crisis if we do not understand its causes. Basic common sense and human decency are all that is required. But we will have to act quickly and decisively.

I hope this overview has been of some small help in dealing with this issue, which is but one more of the great and troubling issues plaguing the world and begging for action – one more issue which is intertwined with the rest. Empire, poverty, destruction, war and greed, or freedom, equality, peace and sustainability? The choices become more stark by the day. And these are all tied together.

J. Todd Ring,
May 14, 2008

Writings of J. Todd Ring

World Food Crisis: Video Archive Primer

Videos to Rock Your World

Announcing Channel Prajnaseek: dedicated to the pursuit of truth.

Prajna is a Sanskrit word meaning knowledge or truth. Prajnaseek is the committment to truth: seeking truth, speaking truth, especially speaking truth to power, and about power.

Here you will find over 300 videos in an archive that will inform, elucidate, inspire and empower. Enjoy.

YouTube – Prajnaseek’s Channel

Channel Prajnaseek: A Selection of Incisive Videos

For more videos bookmark this:

Videos to Rock Your World << Writings of J. Todd Ring

J. Todd Ring,

aka Prajnaseek

May 2, 2008

Writings of J. Todd Ring
(For those of you reading this on Blogger,

please see the new site at WordPress!)

The Truth About Obama: Corporate happy face man

I’m going to break a personal rule and post a link to another article, making an exception to a policy of all original content here because the article is so exceptional, and because I have already written four articles relating to the subject. Here, for your enjoyment, or fuming disenchantment, is the scoop on that greatest of PR men, Mr. Barack Obama.

Corporate America Hearts Obama | Election 2008 | AlterNet

And a dozen more references:

Even Conservative Media Chorus Sings Obama’s Praises – washingtonpost.com

Democracy Now ! | Vote for Change? Atrocity-Linked U.S. Officials …

Dems snooze through Latin America’s wake-up call – The Real News Network

Chomsky: Do the Democrats have a different answer on Iran? – The Real News Network

Obama on Iran

Mike Gravel Exposes Clinton & Obama on Iran, Hillary Cackles

Zbigniew Brzezinski @ The Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Noam Chomsky – The Political system in the USA.

YouTube – Changes – Presidential Candidates feat. Bowie

My Buddy Obama « Writings of J. Todd Ring

McCain, Clinton, Obama – Good, Solid Republicans All « Writings of J. Todd Ring

HEY YOU! Lefties, liberals and progressives – Listen up « Writings of J. Todd Ring

The death of democracy in America: Time for a re-awakening

Trivia question of the day: hint, Arras

A little break from sometimes heavy subjects: today’s trivia question is……

……ready?

Voluntary exile, revolution postponed, brilliant physicist, dark home, utopia on a barren rock, bleak society on a garden-like world……What novel is this?

Bonus question: who wrote this enchanting and prescient piece of prose?

A Short Rebuttal of Hobbes

Freedom, Democracy and the Delusions of Power

For all his faults and the faults of the endeavour he was involved with, Jefferson was right on the essential point, in terms of political theory, which is the rebuttal that lays waste to Hobbes, the fantasy which still imprisons our minds and world, and that is: “If you can’t trust men to govern themselves, how can you trust them to govern others?”

Here is a succinct critique of the Hobbesian confusion over power in society, which still affects our world profoundly and pervasively, and from which we had best awaken, and quickly. Power games are nothing new. They are millennia old. It is imperative that we understand them, particularly now, as old patterns are morphing into new and darker guises.

Hobbes wrote nearly 400 years ago, around the time of the English Revolution, well before anthropology was born as an academic discipline, so he might be forgiven for his complete lack of understanding of human society, but his prejudices have become ours, his mistake our mistake, his confusion our own, and we are forced to deal with him, jaundiced, cynical and pathetic as his views may be. He wrote that life before civilization was “nasty, brutish and short” – something he surmised, and which anthropology has now thoroughly disproven, but the premise of his entire political philosophy none the less. He argued that human beings need a strong and powerful central authority to keep them from tearing each others’ throats out. Just who this authority might be, considering he did not trust people with power, was the lunacy to which Jefferson alluded. Moreover, it has been the rise of hierarchical power structrues in society that has brought unending war, conflict and systemic violence, not its absence, as the anthropological evidence now has shown. Still, we must deal with Hobbes, though we should have listen more attentively to Jefferson, and put this deluded figure on a dusty shelf where he belongs, along with his tragic ideas. Hobbes felt that if there were not a strong central authority powerfully constraining human beings, then we would instantly return to barbarism and a “war of all against all.” His fearful assumption and resulting notions of power in society have since pervaded all of Western society, and with the globalization of Western media, culture, and neoliberal political ideology and economics, Hobbes’ delusions have now pervaded most of the world. This specter haunting the world must be put to rest once and for all.

The core premise that I am addressing, the premise that you can’t trust human beings, is the root of the Hobbsian fallacy. There are strong reasons to disagree with this premise, and I do, but let’s accept it for the moment for the sake of argument. Assuming, for the moment, that you can’t trust people, who then, do you propose to govern people? The argument put forth by Hobbes, and accepted by so many scholars, politicians and business men, though it is clearly ridiculous, is this. You say you don’t trust people, therefore you give some people enormous power. This should strike us as patently absurd, if not simply delusional. If you do not trust people with a little power, the power over their own lives, then why would you entrust them with overwhelming great power? Is not Lord Acton more sensible here? “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” I think there is a great deal of confusion surrounding the issues of power in society, and the implications – as we have seen in Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, China, Russia, Cambodia, and across the “Third World” in so many brutal, soulless, self-serving dictatorships – are extreme.

It seems to me that if you are afraid of people, if you take it as a basic assumption that you cannot trust people, then you have basically two choices – assuming there is no place to go to get away from people, or that you choose not to do so.

One choice, is the path of Hobbes: seek, cozy up to, or align yourself with some great power, in order to feel safe(r). But as we saw with Stalin, to name just one example, cozying up to power is no guarantee of protection, and as we see in all dictatorships or tyrannical regimes, of either right or left, seeking the protection of such powers leaves one in great danger from the very same powers. And seeking power oneself, when it is not a cozying up as a courtesan underling, or a mousy tugging at the coat tail for protection from above; when it is a grasping at the highest level of power, ie: becoming top dog oneself, this too is fraught with the greatest of danger, both from external and internal threats. The latter course leads generally to a life of paranoia, as it is always a reality that such power is impossible to guarantee, and even powerful emperors and empires fall to dust, invariably.

Therefore, the three variations on the first strategy – seek, serve/cozy up to, or align with a great power, is totally unreliable, and cannot ensure safety – far from it. In fact, this strategy opens the doors to even greater dangers.

The alternative to looking to power – your own or someone else’s – to protect oneself, which is the essence of the Hobbesian hypnosis, or delusion, is to disarm – both oneself and others. This is what Jefferson aimed to do, I would say. And this is the basic premise of classical liberal democracy. (Jefferson was simply more coherent and consistent with regard to such views than many others at the time or since – though he too had his contradictions.)

To make an analogy: if you are afraid of people, you can get a gun – better yet, become a mob boss, a big gun – or you can lick the boots of the mob boss who has the guns, hoping he’ll protect you, and won’t get angry for some unforeseen reason one day and feed you to his dog. This is basically the power-seeking/power cozying-up/protect me mister powerful man set of patterns. Become a mob boss, or lick the boots, or whatever else is required, of the mob boss, and hope this strategy keeps you safe. It doesn’t. And moreover, it should be repulsive to anyone to do either.

The alternative to becoming a mob boss, or licking the boots of the mob boss, is to eliminate the mob bosses – to disarm the threat. This is the basic gist of constitutional democracy, when intelligently applied, and particularly to that more robust form of constitutional democracy which is Jeffersonian democracy. Do not seek to gather power or align with centers of power, but rather, seek to distribute power and empower all, so that none have such excessive power that it could easily be abused.

To make another analogy, in a world where you perceive danger everywhere, as Hobbes did, you can start an arms race, hoping that great power will protect you, or you can work toward mutual disarmament. The former path is the one we have been on for some millennia now, and it has been a path of disaster. At this time, our weapons have grown so powerful that to continue down this path is a virtual guarantee of self-annihilation. The path of mutual disarmament is now the only viable path for human survival. This applies not only to the obvious aspects of disarmament, such as the universal elimination of all weapons of mass destruction, but to the more essential point of dissolving excessive concentrations of power in society, distributing power more broadly, and empowering all in equality, so that none have the means to terrorize or oppress others. Jefferson thus was far more sensible, more rational, and simply more sane than Hobbes.

Ultimately, the kind of elitist thinking which Plato and Hobbes represent, forms the basis of both feudal and fascist orders. Liberal democracy is antithetical to such notions, and libertarianism – left libertarianism, to be clear – is the most consistent application of this line of thinking which rejects elitist and authoritarian social structures. This is where Jefferson, for example, intersects with Chomsky. Jefferson understood the need to keep power decentralized politically in order to prevent its abuse, and understood equally well the need to place firm checks and limits on the powers of corporations, and what he called “the new monied aristocracy.” Jefferson, were he alive today, would be aligned with the libertarian left.

Chomsky put it remarkably succinctly when he said, ultimately, “you’re either an aristocrat or a democrat.” In other words, you either believe in rule by an elite, or you believe in rule by the people. The monarchies and aristocracies of feudal times were forms of elitist rule. The Caesars and Pharaohs and Babylonian kings represented forms of elitist rule. The theocracies of the Ayatollah Khomeini or the Taliban were forms of elitist rule. The reign of local thugs and war lords in parts of Africa is a form of elitist rule. The regimes of Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Mussolini and Hitler were forms of elitist rule. And the emerging de facto world government, as the leading business journal, the Financial Times calls it, seated in Davos, Switzerland, is of course another form of elitist rule. All of these are antithetical to democracy, antithetical to freedom, antithetical to human rights, and antithetical to human dignity. They are a crude form of barbarism, masking itself, as always, as the salvation of the world. And there is now a powerful and dominant faction of the world’s business elite who want to create a most thorough form of elitist and authoritarian rule. We should shudder, and of course, defeat all such adolescent and dangerous dreams of self-deification. It would be very unwise to think that such infantile grandiosity, delusions of grandeur, or fantasies of total power have gone away, are a thing of the past, or can be dismissed as minor concerns. There are always a few who dream of complete domination, and will go to the greatest of lengths to attain their goal.

Plato became disillusioned with democracy after the council of Athens sentenced his teacher, Socrates, to death. Famously, he advocated a society ruled by philosopher kings. It sounds good in principle, but in reality it has almost without exception turned into a nightmare. Elite rule has almost universally brought oppression, tyranny, irrationality, stupidity and destruction upon humanity – over and over again throughout five thousand years of recorded history. Shall we try again? Have we not repeated this pattern enough? At present, the global business elite is planning the same routine, once more, and working fiercely and consciously to create Plato’s dream. They have decided that they are the wise kings, and want a global rule, with them in full control. Sounds like a recipe for total disaster to me, as I’m sure it does to most people. Yet here we go again. If we do not oppose the current trend, that is, if we do not reclaim our power, we will have a global feudal fascist order, and soon.

It is time we dispensed with our Hobbesian delusions, and decentralized power. Authentic democracy, freedom, human rights, and even human survival, now requires mutual empowerment and the dissolution of excessive concentrations of power in society. This would mean greater power for individuals, families, communities, states and provinces, joined together in federations of shared power and mutual aid and protection; and diminished power for national governments and large corporations. It would require firstly, however, a dismantling or opting out of investor rights agreements which transfer real power to unaccountable and undemocratic transnational centers of power, namely the global business elite. NAFTA, CAFTA, FTAA, the WTO, IMF, World Bank and SPP all concentrate real power in society in the hands of a few international business elites, as does the current global monetary system. All of these therefore are anti-democratic and incompatible with a future of social justice, democracy or freedom.

In order to decentralize power and reduce the possibilities for power to be abused or become oppressive – as Jefferson advised and even urged – the power of the nation state and national democracies must first be strengthened however, for it is the power of the nation state and national democracies which are one of the powers potentially available to people to fend off and reverse the growing concentration of power in the hands of a global investment elite. To save democracy, the global business elite must first be put in check, their powers limited and rolled back to a level where they can no longer dominate national governments, communities and the lives of virtually all of humanity. Once this is accomplished, and it will be, then we can look to decentralizing power further, in order to take democracy and freedom to new levels of maturation and fullness. I think I’m safe in saying that three of the thinkers I respect most, Chomsky, Jefferson and Thoreau, would all agree on this. First reduce the power of the global business elite, and return power to national democracies. Then we can talk about a future of sanity, sustainability, justice and peace. Until then, we are on the road to serfdom and slavery, if not self-destruction. It is time to take the power back.

Thomas Paine was right. The central issues of power in society are not so very complicated. Ultimately, it is largely a matter of common sense. The primary obstacles are fear, disempowerment and illusion. The answers therefore are clear. They are courage, empowerment and a basic clarity of mind. These three elements are all within our reach.

The future is in our hands.

J. Todd Ring,

February 13, 2008

Essential reading:

The Chalice and the Blade – Rianne Eisler

The Ecology of Freedom – Murray Bookchin

Mutual Aid – Petr Kropotkin

Escape from Freedom – Eric Fromm

The Discourse on Voluntary Servitude – Etienne de la Boitie

On Civil Disobedience – Henry David Thoreau

The Pedagogy of the Oppressed – Paulo Friere

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism – Max Weber

Powers and Prospects – Noam Chomsky

Year 501: The Conquest Continues – Chomsky

Necessary Illusions – Chomsky

Shock Doctrine – Naomi Klein

The End of America – Naomi Wolf

Trilateralism – Holy Sklar

The Collapse of Globalism – John Ralston Saul

The Great Turning – David C. Korten

WordPress: Writings of J. Todd Ring

YouTube – Prajnaseek’s Channel

A few quotes, by way of introduction

A few quotes, to introduce myself, and to give some glimpse into who I am, what I value, and what has inspired me:

Compiled for a publisher, and reprinted here as an introduction to this blog and this writer, and also as a sort of short-hand preface to my (first) book, which should be released shortly.

My apologies for the chaotic mix of fonts – Blogger must be one of the worst digital publishing platforms available, but I have put too much effort into this site to easily switch, and have neither the technical savvy nor the patience to labor over its bugs. Sooner or later I do transfer all articles from this site to the far superior format at WordPress, so you can check there for a more esthetically soothing format if you like. (I would transfer the entire site to WordPress in an instant if I knew how to transfer the enormous body of links and resources that have been compiled on the Blogger site. For now, there are two sites – one that works well, and one with an excellent resource directory. Maybe someone more technically literate can help me figure out how to bridge the two.)

WordPress: Writings of J. Todd Ring

I have sworn upon the alter of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. – Thomas Jefferson

For reasons I do not fully understand, fiction dances out of me. Non-fiction is wrenched out by the aching, broken world I wake up to every morning. – Arundhati Roy

There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root. - Henry David Thoreau

The theme of much of what I write, fiction as well as non-fiction, is the relationship between power and powerlessness and the endless, circular conflict they’re engaged in….I believe that the accumulation of vast unfettered power by a State or a country, a corporation or an institution — or even an individual, a spouse, friend or sibling — regardless of ideology, results in excesses such as the ones I will recount here.

– Arundhati Roy

Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth. – Thoreau

If necessary, let us forgo one bridge across the river, go `round a little there, and throw at least one span across the greater gulf of ignorance that surrounds us. – Henry David Thoreau

In accumulating property for ourselves or our posterity, in founding a family or a state, or acquiring fame even, we are mortal; but in dealing with truth we are immortal, and need fear no change or accident. – Thoreau

I took my stand in the midst of humanity, and I wept for them, for they came into the world blind, and they seek to leave the world blind. - Jesus, The Gospel of Thomas

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it. – The Buddha

Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth. – Albert Einstein

A single step on the path of enlightenment is greater than being the ruler of the universe. – The Buddha

When I reflect upon the ruts in a road, I am forced to think, how much deeper the ruts of the mind. – Thoreau

It is never too late to give up your prejudices. – Thoreau

Life is rounded by a little sleep. – Shakespeare

Only that day dawns to which we are awake. – Thoreau

A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. – Thoreau

(TV is perhaps the most ugly, pathetic and vacuous example, next to heroine. – JTR)

As if you could kill time without injuring eternity. – Thoreau

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. But it is uncharacteristic of wisdom to do desperate things. – Thoreau

Why should we be in such desperate haste to succeed and in such desperate enterprises? - Thoreau

Most men would feel insulted if it were proposed to employ them in throwing stones over a wall, and then in throwing them back, merely that they might earn their wages. But many are no more worthily employed now. – Thoreau

It’s not enough to be busy. The question is: what are we busy about?

- Thoreau

I do not wish, when I come to the end of this life, to find I had not lived. – Thoreau

They are busy, as an old book says, laying up treasures that moths and rust will corrode, and thieves break through and steal. It is a fool’s life, as they will find out at the end of it, if not sooner. – Thoreau

I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor. – Thoreau

Silence is the communing of a conscious soul with itself. If the soul attend for a moment to its own infinity, then and there is silence. She is audible to all men, at all times, in all places, and if we will we may always hearken to her admonitions. – Thoreau

We select granite for the underpinning of our houses and barns; we build fences of stone; but we do not ourselves rest on an underpinning of granitic truth, the lowest primitive rock. Our sills are rotten. – Thoreau

The greater part of what my neighbors call good I believe in my soul to be bad, and if I repent of anything it is very likely to my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behaved so well? – Thoreau

I became convinced that non-cooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good. – Martin Luther King Jr.

Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience, then? I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right. – Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience“

“The truth must be told.

A true revolution of values will lay hands on the world order, and say of war, this way of settling differences is not just…cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice and love.

A nation that continues year after year, to spend more money on military defense (sic) than on social uplift, is approaching spiritual death.

It is a sad fact…the Western nations that initiated so much of the revolutionary spirit of the modern world, have now become the arch anti-revolutionaries.

Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit, and go out into a sometimes hostile world, declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism and militarism.

I am disappointed with our failure to deal positively and forthrightly with the triple evils of racism, economic exploitation and militarism. We are presently moving down a dead end road.

All men are brothers. All men are created equal. Every man is an heir to a legacy of dignity and worth. Every man has rights that are neither derived by nor conferred from the state. They are God-given.

I have not lost faith. I’m not in despair. I haven’t lost faith because…

You shall reap what you sow.

With this faith we shall be able to speed up that day, when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

With this faith we will be able to speed up the day, when all over the world, we will be able to join hands, and sing in the words of the old negro spiritual, “Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, we are free at last.”"

- Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

It is a sort of disease when you consider yourself some kind of god, the creator of everything.

- George Soros

They must find it difficult…those who have taken authority as the truth, rather than truth as the authority. – Gerald Massey

Where is the knowledge that is lost in information?

Where is the wisdom that is lost in knowledge?

- T.S. Elliot

The man who reads nothing at all is better educated thanthe man who reads nothing but
newspapers. – Thomas Jefferson

The moment a person forms a theory, his imagination seesin every object only the tracts which
favor that theory. – Thomas Jefferson

I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attendingtoo much liberty than to those attending
too small adegree of it. – Thomas Jefferson 

I have no fear that the result of our experiment will bethat men may be trusted to govern themselves
without amaster. – Thomas Jefferson

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. – Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

The republican is the only form of government which is not eternally at open or secret war with the rights of mankind. – Thomas Jefferson

Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God.

- Thomas Jefferson

If there is one principle more deeply rooted in the mind of every American,it is that we should
have nothing to do with conquest.
                 - Thomas Jefferson

If there is anything which it is the duty of the whole people to never entrust to any hands but their own – that thing is the preservation of their own liberties and institutions.

- Abraham Lincoln

The people of the United States are the rightful masters of both Congress and the Courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution. – Abraham Lincoln, September 17, 1859, in a speech in Cincinnati, Ohio

A diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty. – James Madison 1825

I have seen enough of one war never to wish to see another. – Thomas Jefferson

I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies … If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] … will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent [that] their fathers conquered. – Thomas Jefferson in the debate over the re-charter of The Bank Bill, (1809)

I do verily believe that a single, consolidated government would become the most corrupt government on the earth. – Thomas Jefferson to Gideon Granger, 1800

Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constituteso strong an
attachment as that from which they draw
their gains. – Thomas Jefferson 

The purpose of economic competition is to eliminate competition.

                - John Kenneth Galbraith

I hope we shall crush in its infancy the aristocracy of our monied corporationswhich dare already
to challenge our government to a trial
by strength, and biddefiance to the laws of our country. – Thomas Jefferson 

The country is headed toward a single and splendid government of anaristocracy founded on
banking institutions and monied incorporationsand if this tendency continues it will be the
end of freedom and democracy,the few will be ruling and riding over the plundered plowman
and the beggar in the omenry. – Thomas Jefferson

The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism: ownership of a government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power.

- Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Society must take every means at its disposal to defend itself against the emergence of a parallel power which defies the elected power. – Pierre Elliot Trudeau

All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remainsilent.
            – Thomas Jefferson

Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue,and prepares 
fit tools for the designs of ambition. – Jefferson 

Do not bite at the bait of pleasure, till you know there is no hook beneath it.– Jefferson 

The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing. – Albert Einstein

Put fear behind and save the country. – Simon Bolivar

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

- Eleanor Roosevelt.

No way of thinking or doing, however ancient, can be trusted without proof. What everybody echoes or in silence passes by as true today may turn out to be falsehood tomorrow, mere smoke of opinion, which some had trusted for a cloud that would sprinkle fertilizing rain on their fields. – Thoreau

Public opinion is a weak tyrant, compared with our private opinion–what a man thinks of himself, that is which determines, or rather indicates his fate. – Thoreau

The finest qualities of our nature, like the bloom on fruits, can be preserved only by the most delicate handling. Yet we do not treat ourselves nor one another thus tenderly. – Thoreau

I believe that every human mind feels pleasure in doing good to another. – Jefferson

The future holds ominous portent, and signs of great hope. Which result ensues depends largely upon what we make of the opportunities.

- Noam Chomsky

The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to a close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences…

- Winston Churchill, on facing the threat of fascism (the first time)

We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. – Martin Luther King Jr.

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them. – Thoreau

Ultimately, men hit only what they aim for; therefore, though they should fail immediately, they had better aim high. – Thoreau

There is more day yet to dawn. The sun is but a morning star.
– Henry David Thoreau

It aint’ over `till it’s over.

- Yogi Beara

The Kingdom of Heaven is Within You

The Missing Scriptures: The Gospel of Thomas

It was from a reference by Joseph Campbell, whom I greatly admire, that I first heard of The Gospel of Thomas. Joseph Campbell’s quotation from the lost scripture made me rush out to order the book immediately.

I guess I was fortunate, because it turned out to be Marvin Meyer’s translation. It is wonderful.

I can’t put words to what this gospel says to me. It rings true in accordance with the writings of sages the world over, East and West, as well as with the generally ignored passage in the New Testament: “The kingdom of heaven is within you.”

It is not surprising that Emperor Constantine chose to crucify the Gospel of Thomas – worse, attempted to erase its memory by burning all copies he could find, and killing anyone who spoke of it – along with other scriptures he disliked: it leaves no need for a gatekeeper to heaven – neither emperor, as self-appointed ruler under God, nor church hierarchy – but only a direct communion with truth, through the wisdom of His words. Power seekers do not like to be left out of the loop.

The Gospel of Thomas is a revelation. Were it not for Emperor Constantine’s self-anointed appropriation of the position of God’s editor in the 4th century CE, we would have a very different, and expanded Bible. The Gospel of Thomas would certainly be one part of that more complete cannon. Only the most rigorously dogmatic can fail to recognize its authenticity.

Alas, such as these are always the ones drawn most to positions of “authority” within hierarchical social institutions, such as academia and the church. Jesus has a blunt retort to such men and women, recorded in the Gospel of Thomas: “The priests are like dogs that lay in the manger, for they do not eat, and they do not let the cattle eat.”

“I took my stand in the midst of humanity, and I wept for them, for they came into the world blind, and they seek to leave the world blind.” – Jesus, Gospel of Thomas. Who knew the church could be so afraid, even of the words of its root and inspiration? The door is now open, however, for all who “wish to see.”

“The kingdom of heaven is spread out upon the earth, and men see it not,” Jesus is recorded as saying in the Gospel. If we could begin to realize that, there would be a spiritual and social revolution on earth, and “on earth, as it is in heaven,” would not be mere words of piety, but actual visible fact.

Marvin Meyers translation, I later discovered, only through direct comparison to others, is by far the superior in the field, from the translations I have seen.

Do not miss this text. It is one of profound wisdom.

JTR

Writings of J. Todd Ring: The Kingdom of Heaven is Within You

Amazon.co.uk: The Gospel of St Thomas: Marvin W. Meyer:

Writings of J. Todd Ring: Thomas Merton: My Favorite Monk

Writings of J. Todd Ring: The Truth About Christianity: What Jesus Really Said

Writings of J. Todd Ring: Earth 101: Essential Reading

Amazon.com: A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam: Karen Armstrong: Books

Amazon.com: The World’s Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions: Huston Smith: Books

Amazon.com: The Power of Myth: Joseph Campbell,Bill Moyers: Books

Amazon.com: Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth: Joseph Campbell (III),Bill Moyers: Movies & TV

Amazon.com: Varieties of Religious Experience: William James: Books

Amazon.com: Mysticism: East and West: Rudolf Otto,Bertha L. Bracey: Books

Powell’s Books – The Perennial Philosophy (Perennial Classics) by Aldous Huxley

Powell’s Books – The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are by Alan W. Watts

No Boundary: Eastern and Western Approaches to Personal Growth (978-1-57062-743-9) – No Boundary

Global Geopolitics: 2008 Update

“The future holds ominous portent, and signs of great hope. Which result ensues depends largely upon what we make of the opportunities.” – Noam Chomsky

A number of long-term trends are coming to a head in 2008, particularly within the United States, but also more broadly, affecting North America, the Western nations and the world as a whole. Among them are, to name a few of the most pivotal, in brief: a global crisis of legitimacy, stemming primarily from broad and deep popular opposition to the emerging framework of world order, which is most accurately described as global corporatism, or more starkly but appropriately, global feudal fascism; the unfolding and escalating war on democracy and attempted consolidation of domestic and global dominance by Western elites; rapidly deepening economic crisis; peak oil repercussions; escalating ecological fallout; escalating geopolitical maneuvers for maintaining imperial hegemony; the stealth coup of continental corporatism under the Security and Prosperity Partnership; and pretexts for fortification of existing powers in the heartland of the Western empire, with rapid and highly conscious movement from corporate dominated liberal democracy to full corporatist fascism, under an orchestrated state of emergency. These trends continue to unfold with increasing speed, while at the same time, there are also signs of great hope, as “the other superpower” – the people of the world – begin to awake.

While China, India, Russia and other powers rise rapidly as economic giants, and these BRIC alliance economies in particular, the global hegemony of the Western business elite is threatened, both from these rising external powers, along with rising popular opposition to neocolonial dominance abroad, and from within, by a growing and deep crisis of legitimacy, very much as former right hand man to French President Jacques Chirac, Jacques Attalie had predicted in his candid analysis, Millennium. Western elites believe the barbarians are at the gates, and worse, are in their midst – the masses becoming restless. In response, they grow increasingly desperate. A wounded predator is in its death throws, but as Chomsky has noted, a wounded predator is a dangerous animal. The following is an extremely concise overview of where we stand in light of global geopolitics, as of early 2008.

The Western political and business elite – particularly and most imminently with regard to the United States – face a severe and highly volatile crisis of legitimacy which is set to explode; in response, the elites want to lock-down their power while they have it. (See World Economic Forum global poll, 2002.) As international financier George Soros said recently, “We have to make major compromises now, or we will lose everything.” Clearly, the business elite do not wish to compromise, nor do they want to “lose everything”. The only alternative to these two options, therefore, is a power-grab: lock-down and consolidate while it is still possible. This is end-game. As Maude Barlow put it, it has come to a “global showdown” between the corporate elite and their empire of greed, and the people of the earth and democracy. The business elite may see a temporary victory, even though power lies ultimately with the vast majority, who in reality can only be ruled so long as we concede power and submit. In the not too distant future, the cooperation of the many with this unfolding corporate-fascist order will fall to critical levels, and the order will collapse. In the short term, a heightened and very ugly struggle between the forces of empire and those of democracy is likely – and is in fact, unfolding now at escalating speed.

Internal documents as well as public statements by the Western business and political elite show (corroborated by historical evidence of their actions, patterns, motives and methods) that a) they want global dominance secured in their hands; b) that this will require control over world oil supplies – primarily in the Middle-East and Canada; c) that imperial war, particularly for control over oil, will be necessary; d) that “catalyzing events” – aka false flag operations, such as the Gulf of Tonkin incident and others, as the Pentagon’s Operation Northwoods set out – will be necessary in order to provide a pretext for the imperial wars; e) that maintaining control over the homeland and heart of the empire during the present time of propaganda failure will require resort to force – ie: fascism; and f) that these considerations have been well thought out, and have been found acceptable to these same elites.

Western business elites seek control of world oil reserves as means of securing global dominance; are escalating and broadening the military and paramilitary operations across the oil rich Middle East for this purpose, along with others; are preparing for an attack on Iran sometime in the very near future; need, as Brzezinski also pointed out, another “Pearl Harbor type event” to provide cover for such operations; and will likely launch a “catalyzing event” to provide the justification and cover for their planned action – another 9/11.

The next 9/11 will provide a pretext for a) the attack on Iran to secure mid-east oil reserves, and b) the lock-down on power in the homeland, the heart of the empire – North America and Europe – via martial law and the full emergence of a police state.

The U.S.-led NATO forces that have been deployed to the Persian Gulf and eastern Mediterranean since late August 2006 indicate a military build-up of a scale that can only mean two things: war is planned for the near future; the scale of the planned war is much greater than Iran alone. It could be said that the size of the build up is a precaution, due to the foreknowledge that this is an extremely dangerous gambit: China and Russia are almost certain adversaries if the U.S. and NATO attack Iran. In either case, the time-frame is clear: such a massive deployment of military force – on the part of the U.S., with the involvement of French, German and British forces – is for a clear and imminent purpose. Military build-up as well as the usual preliminary saber rattling, statements by political officials, spin and PR deluge indicates a Western attack on Iran is not far off.

With Western elites set to attack Iran, the question is whether another false flag operation will be conducted to provide cover for the operation: ie: the “war on terrorism” propaganda stepped up by the artificial creation of another terrorist attack on “the Homeland” in order to squeak through one more imperial war before the lock-down on power is complete. And the indications are, yes. It is highly unlikely that the U.S. and Western powers would dare launch an extremely unpopular attack on Iran when the population of the world, including in Europe and the U.S., are deeply opposed to such an act, unless they first create a very strong pretext and justification for invasion. This is the need for another 9/11.

The next “terrorist attack” will destroy the constitutions of the Western world, and democracy, once and for all – or so it is hoped by the business and political elite who wish to rule unencumbered by “the masses.” As General Tommy Franks declared, the next attack will be the end of democracy. (It is hoped.) As 2008 unfolds, the war on democracy and the move toward fascism is becoming increasingly undeniable, particularly within the United States. What was unthinkable only a short time ago is now rapidly becoming a reality. It is furthermore becoming obvious that the attack on democracy is highly conscious. This is a power grab, a stealth coup. Another major terrorist attack would provide the rationalization for the full implementation of emergency powers and the suspension of all remaining civil liberties and democracy.

With the Western elites preparing for imminent attack on Iran, a pretext needed, and the “war on terror” fears needing to be stirred up to fever-pitch to allow for such an arrogant and extraordinarily dangerous, reckless and brazen move, the next “Pearl Harbor-type event” will likely be soon; and that event will usher in the fascist state: for all of the “North American Homeland” – as the Pentagon has declared the continent, echoing Nazi terminology – commencing with the United States, and soon after, for as much of the world as the Western elite can control, including, of course, Europe.

Also planned for 2007-2008 is the completion and implementation by stealth of the “regulatory framework” for the SPP/NAU: that is, the new government of North America is to be in place and fully functioning as a shadow government by 2007-2008. This is the unfolding of the “Security and Prosperity Partnership”, whereby Canada, the U.S. and Mexico are merged into one continental body, with one continent-wide corporatist regime, in what is being called the North American Union. That government is called the NACC: the North American Council on Competitiveness; and it is composed of 10 representatives from each of the three nations. This council of 30 which is the NACC, the new North American government, is already appointed – appointed by the business elite of North America; and it is composed of representatives from the biggest corporations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. (We already know their names, and which corporations they come from.) 30 CEO’s will govern the entire continent. “The Homeland” becomes a full-fledged corporate-fascist state.

At the same time, also to be expected from an attack on Iran – in fact, a guaranteed result, which is why the attack was likely delayed for some time until the financial elite had prepared their positions securely – is a huge spike in global oil prices. The effects on the destabilization of the U.S. and also the global economy will be very great.

Also at the same time, the U.S. dollar is already falling. Central banks the world over are pulling out. A run is about to commence. Capital flight will bring down the dollar, and the U.S. economy with it. Already the head of China’s central bank has said “We have enough [U.S. currency and Treasury Bonds].” The U.S. relies on $2.8 billion a day in foreign money coming into the U.S. system via the purchase of U.S. currency and Treasury Bonds, in order to off-set its $70 billion per month trade deficit. The main prop holding up the U.S. economy and U.S. dollar is the enormous inflow of money from China. Now China has said “We have enough.” The U.S. dollar is about to sink, and with it, the U.S. economy. In January of 2008 the S&P index of stocks of the 500 biggest corporations traded on Wall Street showed a 14.5% drop in value over the previous three months, showing a deepening of these trends.

When the U.S. dollar crashes, not only the U.S. economy follows with a crash, but the global economy as well. 66% of world currency reserves held by the central banks of the world’s nations are in U.S. dollars. With the crash of the U.S. dollar comes a global economic depression, if not system collapse. This is expected anytime over the near future by anyone who is paying attention.

As if all of that were not already enough crisis and turmoil for one very short period of time, to this we can add the reality of peak oil. In the fall of 2006 I predicted that, according to the best evidence available, and some of the best analysts on the subject, peak oil would hit between 2006 and 2008. When it does, oil prices will spike dramatically, and will continue to climb, likely quadrupling or more. As of February 2008, at the time of this writing, it is now being admited, not only that peak oil is a geolocial and economic reality, but that it occurred in 2007: peak oil is here. Oil prices did rise dramatically, going from US$50/barrel to US$100 a barrel in just over a year, following a slightly longer trend from $20 a barrel in 2004 to $100 a barrel at present, and rising – a five-fold increase in three years. As oil prices skyrocket, the cost of all shipping and transport becomes far more expensive. Virtually all consumer goods rise dramatically in price, including basics such as food. Costs for all businesses relying on transport or inputs or goods over long distances – most businesses now – go through the roof, and widespread bankruptcies, layoffs and unemployment ensues. In short, peak oil means global economic depression, and mass unemployment, poverty, homelessness and hunger. And this is hitting at approximately the same time as we are dealing with the new unfolding of a North American corporate-fascist state under the SPP and NAU/NACC, led by the business elite and their lobby groups, such as the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, the Business Round Table and the Council on Foreign Relations.

To add further complexity, the U.S. government under Bush has snuck through a law that makes mandatory the holding of a “REAL ID” national identity card for all Americans by May 2008. Since by May 2008 Canada, the U.S. and Mexico will have ceased to exist as nations in any meaningful sense – having been stripped of both sovereignty and democracy, the NAU/SPP being in place in operation if not public announcement, and “regulatory harmonization” under the NACC also having been quietly implemented by accommodating executive branches and high level bureaucrats – the “smart card” micro-chip-based REAL ID will become continent-wide. “Papers please.” The stage is then set for the introduction of electronic currency, via the universal smart card, which will be offered as a solution to both security issues and currency crashes. No card, no food. And since all personal data is stored on central databanks, accessed by a swipe of the card, being dubbed an “enemy combatant” without notice or trial can mean having all means of sustenance cut, with a few strokes on a remote keyboard, or one mouse-click, somewhere in the netherworld of the surveillance state. Any who hold the wrong opinions – that is, opinions that do not correspond to those the corporate rulers want us to have – can be silenced without even having to dispose of them to the detention centres (which are also under construction).

All of this is within the context of the greatest challenge humanity has faced in recorded history: the ecological crisis which we have set in motion, and which is now bearing fruit in the form of increasing and compounding disasters, leading towards systems breakdown and collapse, as Jared Diamond, David Suzuki, Ronald Wright and many others have warned.

It would seem that it is critical for anyone who does not wish to become a slave, or simply to be submerged in the deepening and interwoven crises of the time, to start to come together, and quickly, to build alternative means of sustaining ourselves and one another during the present time of rapidly unfolding troubles. Most will be swept into poverty by the global depression, compounded by the effects of energy shortage and growing ecological disaster. The middle class will be essentially vaporized across the Western world. Government services will be gutted – far beyond the mere cut-backs of the past twenty years – as corporate rule takes hold in full. Hunger and homelessness will be widespread and epidemic as poverty becomes the norm, as Jacques Attalie and others predicted some time ago. Meanwhile, those who can buy or sell in the new economy will be able to do so only insofar as they are willing to be silent and obedient slaves: dissidents will be shut down electronically, via the symbiosis of the electronic currency system, the universal smart card/ID, and the global surveillance state which serves corporate rule.

To be free in the new economy will mean being economically independent – and that does not mean being an employee, or relying on the monetary system. It means we need to establish parallel economies, whereby human needs and human freedom come first, not service to giant corporate feudal lords. We will need to establish sustainable cooperative local economies based in creative problem solving and mutual aid and common sense, and which operate parallel to and largely outside of the new economy: an economy which will leave only poverty under fascism for the majority, and slavery with perks for the “lucky” few.

There is not much time to prepare for such an unthinkable, but unfortunately real unfolding of events. The time to act is now, both to resist, to prepare to survive this ordeal, and to build alternatives for this ugly feudal fascist system’s inevitable demise.

The popular opposition to global corporatism has already reached great breadth and depth – as the World Economic Forum’s 2002 global poll showed, as well as the collapse of the WTO talks, as further noted by Canadian philosopher and former Governor General John Ralston Saul – and continues to grow, despite the unsuprising lack of coverage of this phenomenon in the corporate dominated network media. It is precisely because of this crisis of legitimacy and failure of the propaganda system that the Western elite are now seeking to consolidate power while they still can: through the resort to increasing use of fear as a means of public control, and more directly, through the use of force and state terror. But the crisis of legitimacy indicates the end of their reign approaches, just as it did for the regime of the former Soviet Union, less than twenty years ago.

Along with opposition to the present corporatist form of globalization, popular movements have for decades been busy experimenting with and developing working models of alternatives, in everything from green energy and transportation, organic farming and fair trade, to tools and models for authentic democracy and sustainable, just and peaceful communities. Everything we need to build a better world is here. We need only to act. And the time is ripe. Furthermore, there is no time to lose.

“In the long run, global politics are bound to become increasingly uncongenial to the concentration of hegemonic power in the hands of a single state. Hence, America is not only the first, as well as the only, truly global superpower, but it is also likely to be the very last.”
– U.S. long-term strategic planner and Trilateral Commission founder Zbigniew Brzezinksi,
The Grand Chessboard

Not only will the U.S. be the last nation state superpower, the last of the nation state empires: the end of empires more broadly – including the present trans-national corporatist empire – is about to be witnessed by a thankful and newly empowered humanity. Sadly, it seems we must first live through a period of darkness before the age of empires can be closed.

Do not forget that the sun also rises. Let us work together now for a better world for all. A new dawn is already on the horizon. I can see it clearly. It’s birth may be painful, but its splendour will be magnificent.

J. Todd Ring,

February, 22, 2008

Links and references:

The death of democracy in America: Time for a re-awakening

Smedley Butler and the Business Plot

Powder Keg USA: US heading toward fascism and civil war

HR 1955: The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act

Fast-Track to Fascism: The SPP in a Nutshell

HEY YOU! Lefties, liberals and progressives – Listen up

My Buddy Obama

Money, Banks and Democracy

America: A Fork In the Road

On Libertarianism: Right & Left

Earth 101: Essential Reading

Preparations for an Attack on Iran:

The Next War: Public in the Dark about Government’s Plans for War in Iran – Daniel Ellsberg

* “Cold War Shivers”: War Preparations in the Middle East and Central Asia

Debating World Domination: Bilderberg Meets in Canada’s Capital

ZNet |Foreign Policy | We Had a Democracy Once, But You Crushed It

9/11:

False Flag: A “Pearl Harbor Type Event”

Bush Directive for a “Catastrophic Emergency” in America: Building a Justification for Waging War on Iran?

Brzezinski warns of Pearl Harbor type event, a pretext for war on Iran

Ron Paul – Gulf of Tonkin

9/11: The “Perfect Opportunity” for North American Integration

Ex-Italian Prime Minister – ‘9/11 Carried Out By CIA and Mossad’ // Current

Former German Minister Says Building 7 Used To Run 9/11 Attack

9-11 Research: Insider Trading

More evidence of Pre-9/11 Inside Trading: Follow the Money? God forbid

911 Proof

911 Aftermath: Unanswered Question from 9/11 (pt.1) – video

911 Aftermath: Unanswered Questions from 9/11 (pt.2) – video

911 Aftermath: Unanswered Questions from 9/11 (pt.3) – video

THE TRUTH & LIES OF 9/11 – Michael Ruppert – video

War and Globalization – The Truth Behind September 11 – Google Video

American Scholars Symposium

** Senior Military, Intelligence, and Government Officials Question 9/11 Commission Report

9/11 Statement Signed by Prominent Americans

Scholars for 9/11 Truth

ONE IN 3 AMERICANS SAY U.S. AIDED 9/11 By THOMAS HARGROVE and GUIDO H. STEMPEL III – New York Post Online Edition: News

* Scientific Poll: 84% Reject Official 9/11 Story

* Radio Poll: 85% Of Canadians Believe 9/11 Inside Job

* Over 80% supported the stance of Charlie Sheen

9/11: Why the Official Theory Has Collapsed (opinion)

* Alex Jones warns about attacks before 911

ABC News: U.S. Military Wanted to Provoke War With Cuba

National Security Archive – Pentagon Proposed Pretexts for Cuba Invasion in 1962

Venezuela’s Chavez says Bush planned 9/11 attacks – video

Reichstag Fire, Hitlers 9/11 Fake terror to grab control! : SF Indymedia – video

TerrorStorm Delxue High Quality (Alex Jones) – Google Video

The Pentagon’s “Second 911″

Dynasty of Death: Historical perspective on the Bush family

***Amazon.com: 9/11 and American Empire: Intellectuals Speak Out: Books: David Ray Griffin,Peter Dale Scott

book – Day Of Deceit: The Truth About FDR and Pearl Harbor: Books: Robert Stinnett

9/11: Press for Truth – DVD Documentary

Celcius 9/11 – World Takeover and the War of Terror – CRG

9/11 Key Articles – Centre for Research on Globalisation (CRG)

The emergence of fascism in the West:

*** Habeas Corpus Your words are lies Sir – YouTube – olbermann 10-18-06

***Bush Moves Toward Martial Law

Habeas Corpus, R.I.P. (12/15 – 2006)

Demolishing Democracy At Home and Abroad – Noam Chomsky video

The Return of Total Information Awareness – Bush Asserts Dictatorial “Inherent” Powers

Examples of the president’s signing statements – The Boston Globe

***The Secret Government – PBS – Google Video

Eisenhower warns us of the military industrial complex. – Video: 1961 Farewell Address

Power of Nightmares – BBC Documentary

Mind Control: America’s Secret War – History Channel Documentary

***Commission Finds President George W. Bush and His Administration Guilty of War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity

Bush’s 9/11 Reichstag Fire

9/11 – the American Reichstag Fire and the Fourth Reich

The Pentagon Declares War on America

The limits of liberty: We’re all suspects now

Are YOU the Enemy?

Maher Arar: The Horrors of ‘Extraordinary Rendition’

*** Torture Inc. – America’s Brutal Prisons – BBC Documentary

* National Yawn as Our Rights Evaporate | bushcommission.org

* A Constitutional Shredding — Rounding Up U.S. Citizens | bushcommission.org

The End of Habeas Corpus and the Belligerent Despot-in-Chief – Ralph Nader

Ambassador to Death Squads – Who is John Negroponte?

On the Rise of Fascism – “The Great Transformation” Revisited

LIBERTY V.S. SECURITY

Harsh law set to live on, unexplained

*CRG – Canada’s Anti-Terrorism Laws – Rocco Galati

FSTV video – Noble lies and perpetual war: Leo Strauss, the neocons, and Iraq

Amazon.com: Blowback: America’s Recruitment of Nazis and Its Effects on the Cold War: Books: Christopher Simpson

Amazon.com: The CIA’s Greatest Hits (The Real Story Series): Books: Mark Zepezauer

Amazon.com: Whiteout: The CIA, Drugs and the Press: Books: Alexander Cockburn, Jeffrey St. Clair

Amazon.com: Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion: Books: Gary Webb

Amazon.com: Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency: Books: James Bamford

* Amazon.com: Police State America: US Military ‘Civil Disturbance’ Planning: Books: Tom Burghardt, Tom (ed) Burghardt

Necessary Illusions; Thought Control in Democratic Societies – Chomsky, online text

Year 501: The Conquest Continues – Chomsky, online text

Amazon.com: Open Society and Its Enemies (Volume 1): Books: Karl Raimund Popper

Noam Chomsky on the Trilateral Commission – from The Carter Administration: Myth and Reality

Amazon.com: Trilateralism: The Trilateral Commission and Elite Planning for World Management: Books: Holly Sklar

Amazon.com: Trilaterals Over America: Books: Antony C. Sutton

TC’s own manifesto – Amazon.com: The Crisis of Democracy: Report on the Governability of Democracies to the Trilateral Commission: Books: Michel Crozier,Samuel P. Huntington,Joji Watanuki

Amazon.com: Tragedy & Hope: A History of the World in Our Time: Explore similar items

Skull and Bones K.O.’d – video

Zbigniew Brzezinski – The Grand Chessboard

***American Prison Camps Are on the Way

Rex 84: FEMA’s Blueprint for Martial Law in America

Homeland Security Contracts for Vast New Detention Camps

10-Year U.S. Strategic Plan For Detention Camps Revives Proposals From Oliver North

Fatal Vision: The Deeper Evil Behind the Detainee Bill

Top 10 Signs of the Impending U.S. Police State

Notes on the Progress of the Counterrevolution

America: The Fourth Reich

How the Nazis Won the War – Chomsky Nazis Odonian

The Nazi Parallel – NSS & Fascism – NSS Churches US Fascism Herman

Trading with the Enemy The Nazi – American Money Plot 1933-1949

General Tommy Franks calls for Repeal of US Constitution

Air Force chief : Test weapons on testy US mobs – Sep 12 …

Noam Chomsky on Hegemony or Survival: America’s Quest For Global Dominance – audio

War on Terrorism Watch: CAUT Resource Website – Home Page

The State of Democracy – counterSpin final edition

* Demolishing Democracy At Home and Abroad – Noam Chomsky, Freespeech TV

A Marxist Threat to Cola Sales?

Who are the Global Terrorists, by Noam Chomsky

On the Long and Bloody History of U.S.-Sponsored Terrorism – Chomsky – audio

Amazon.com: Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II-Updated Through 2003: Books: William Blum

America’s “War on Terrorism” – Chossudovsky

Amazon.com: The COINTELPRO Papers : Documents from the FBI’s Secret …

Ten Minutes to Midnight: The Emerging Police State – Z Store

Fascism watch

SPP/NAU/NACC: The new corporate fascist government of North America, 2007

* Secret Banff Meeting of CEOs and the Defense Establishment : Militarization and the Deconstruction of North America

CBC – Top secret: Banff security meeting attracted U.S., Mexico officials

* CNN Video: Lou Dobbs Slams CFR & North American Union

*** De Facto North American Government in the Making: “Canadians must take back Canada”

Deep Integration – The Council of Canadians

**CFR Task Force Report – Building a North American Community

* CRG – Continental Integration of Military Command Structures: A Threat to Canada’s Sovereignty

* Documenting the rush to globalism – The August Review

* North American Union/Testimony, Publications and Reports – SourceWatch

*** Paul Martin’s Big Texas Adventure

Politics of Oil:

Video – Robert Newman History of oil – Google Video

The Oil Factor: Behind the War on Terror – Google Video

“It’s the Crude, Dude” Linda McQuaig book launch

Peak Oil:

AlterNet: Will the End of Oil Be the End Of Food?

AlterNet: WireTap: Has the Long Peak – Oil Emergency Begun?

BBC NEWS | Business | ‘Peak oil’ enters mainstream debate

CNN – We Were Warned: Tomorrow’s Oil Crisis

Peak Oil alert – Houston Business Journal:

Peak Oil: The Energy Crisis of Oil Supply Depletion – full video

Re-Energizing America: Rescuing America from its Costly Fossil Fuel Addiction – Google Video

Mike Ruppert on Peak Oil – video

www.oilempire.us

The Long Emergency: Surviving the Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century: Books: James Howard Kunstler

U.S. Faces “Economic Armageddon”:

* The Dollar’s Full-System Meltdown

Economic ” Armageddon ” Predicted

Dollar Catching Asian Flu – Asia Times

Arab central banks sell dollar

As Dollar Plunges, Watch for US Government Bonds Sell -off – DEBKAfile –

The War To Save The U.S. Dollar – Trinicenter.com –

Fears for dollar as central banks sell US assets

BBC NEWS | Business | Is the global economy set for trouble?

Collapse of the Petrodollar Looming

Iranian Oil Bourse Opens for Business: A Final Step Toward US Dollar Collapse & Preemptive Nuclear Strike

An empire at twilight:

Superpower’s global dominance in question

50 Years After Suez, US Hegemony Ebbing Fast

“The United States is Terrified” – Noam Chomsky on Latin America’s Move Towards “Independence and Integration”

The Crumbling Empire: Latin America and Asia Breaking Free of Washington’s Grip – Noam Chomsky

The crisis of legitimacy:

Global corporate rule is now fragile

Confronting the Empire – Chomsky at the World Social Forum

The Global Crisis of Legitimacy of Liberal Democracy – Social and Economic Policy – Global Policy Forum

REAL ID: Universal ID Cards

US National ID Cards by May 2008

National nightmare – ACLU of Southern California Campaign: Stop The Abuse of Power

Globalization and the rise of corporate power:

The Corporation – video

Iraq for Sale

On Globalization – Noam Chomsky

On the New World Order – Chomsky

Rollback – Chomsky

* Thirdworldization of America

Chomsky: Global Economy – excerpts from The Prosperous Few and the Restless Many

Profit Over People – excerpts – Noam Chomsky

Emerging Framework of World Power – Chomsky – audio/video

Institutions vs. People: Will the Species Self-Destruct? – Chomsky – MIT video

150 CEOs rule Canada: Time to tame corporate power – Murray Dobbin

No Nonsense Guide to Globalization – book

Book Review – All You Can Eat: Greed, Lust, and the New Capitalism by Linda McQuaig – Alternative News Media on Democracy, Politics, Trade, Environment, Military and Money in Canada

The Globalization of Poverty – Chossudovsky

Alternatives:

Global Showdown: How the new activists are fighting global corporate rule – video

Confronting the Empire – Chomsky

Confronting the Empire – Chomsky – audio

Chomsky – Dismantling Empire, Building Democracy – audio – Chomsky

Taking Control of Our Lives: Freedom, Sovereignty, and Other Endangered Species, Noam Chomsky, 2/26/00

Another World: Alternative Ways to Globalization – audio/video

Noam Chomsky speaks at Binghamton University 3/4/06 – “Imminent Crises: Paths Toward Solutions” – on WSKG Radio

Dismantling empire – chomsky

Rise Up Against the Empire – Chavez speach to UN

International Project for a Participatory Society – Z net

Strategy/Vision – Z net

Peak Oil Primer/What Can Be Done? | EnergyBulletin.net | Peak Oil News Clearinghouse

The Relocalization Network

The Community Solution to Peak Oil

The Local Future Network

The Community Solution: The Solution to Peak Oil

Ruralisation: Integrating settlements and agriculture to provide sustainability – Dept. of Systems Ecology, Stockholm University

Cohousing Association of the United States

Global Ecovillage Network

Intentional Communities Web Site: Home Page

The Earth Charter

The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil – order video

Making Sweden an OIL-FREE Society

Nordic Countries Design Sustainable Communities: The Natural Step for Eco-Villages

How to pass a peak oil resolution | EnergyBulletin.net | Peak Oil News Clearinghouse

LETSystems home page – http–www.gmlets.u-net.com-

LETS Groups around the world – LETS-Linkup International LETS Directory

Hometown Money Starter Kit & Video

Toronto Dollars

Transaction Net – How Currency Systems Work (a Money Map)

Reinventing Money.com

ZNet Parecon – Life After Capitalism – And Now Too

Parecon – ZNet

Amazon.com: Roads to Freedom: Books: B. Russell

Powers and Prospects – Chomsky

Mutual Aid A Factor of Evolution – Kropotkin – libcom.org library

Civil Disobedience – Henry David Thoreau – full text

The Ecology of Freedom: The Emergence and Dissolution of Hierarchy: Books: Murray Bookchin

The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future: Books: Riane Eisler

Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh: Books: Helena Norberg-Hodge

Good News for a Change: How Everyday People are Helping the Planet: Books: David T. Suzuki,Holly Dressel

Insurrection: Citizen Challenges to Corporate Power

* Amazon.com: The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community (BK Currents): Books: David C. Korten

Amazon.ca: Another World Is Possible: Globalization and Anti-Capitalism: Books: David McNally

South End Press | Earth Democracy – Vandana Shiva

Looking Forward – Albert and Hahnel

No Nonsense Guide to Fair Trade – book

Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World: Books: Richard Heinberg

Amazon.ca: One Big Party: Books: Paul Hellyer

* Amazon.co.uk: Shambhala : The Sacred Path of the Warrior ( Shambhala …

Scientific American Mind: The Samaritan Paradox

Amazon.com: World as Lover , World as Self : Books: Joanna Macy