What does a revolution need to succeed?

What our readers think:

"Unity! Not only are we divided, but our entertainment industry has succeeded in distracting us from real problems. Also, considering we're not a dictatorship, there are other plausible methods of attaining power." - Anonymous

"Right-wingers calling for "revolution" don't comprehend what they are saying, LOL! By definition, revolutionaries push politics to the LEFT......politicos pushing to the Right are called "reactionaries"..." - LG

"I am of the opinion that America itself is THE BEST example of what a revolution needs to succeed. A revolution is what created this country. The people who participated in that revolution were smart enough to create the basic Constitution which allows for revolution. Every amendment to that Constitution has been the result of a revolution. If you want to change something, you have the right to do so." - Debbie

"A revolution needs a very smart well-educated as well as charismatic person.

At his side a thug criminal...

Revolutions are not about little people rising up against the rich and powerful. It is a transfer of the positions of power between the leader class. The only revolution is the turbulence during the changing of faces.

Examples:

Lenin - Stalin: Lenin a lawyer and member of the literati Stalin a bank robber.

Hitler - Rhoem: (SA) Although Hitler was not well educated he was charismatic - Rhoem a sadistic murder.

Castro - Che: again a middle class lawyer and a sick demented murder.

It probably was the same in every revolution..." - XX

"The Republicans and Democrats have a plan: Divide and conquer. They keep the voters distracted while they get rich." - ND

"As Jefferson said, "Mankind is more disposed to suffer when evils are sufferable". Be that as it may we live in a democratic Republic. Our government is not imposed on us it is elected by the people. If you feel a revolution is needed, then it is against your fellow citizens, not the government.

But here is my revolutionary thought. Government is no longer elected by the people, it is bought and paid for by moneyed interests. The people will revolt against these interests if they don't back down and work for the good of the nation and not the good of their pocket books." - Jehen

"A revolution needs widespread discontent. As long as people have food, clothing, shelter, and TV sets to keep them entertained, they will not revolt." - L.

"Americans are not pro-revolution because they believe that the System works. They may not like those in office but they still think that the democratic process works." - Zach

"As much as the media would like us to believe that things are really bad in America, it just isn't so. Life is harder than it used to be, but it is not hard enough to make people risk everything." - Josh

"A revolution won't happen in America. The Government is too powerful. Riots may and will. What we really need is for people to get involved in politics and work to get rid of corruption." - Paul

"Revolutions need front-line fighters who are not afraid of death. Most of these fighters will die. Fake revolutionaries do not have the courage to be front-line fighters." - Anonymous

"A revolution needs truth and a strong leader." - Frank H.

"Revolutions need momentum - nothing succeeds like success." - Tyler

What do you think?

Globalization = Slavery

The dominant propaganda systems have appropriated the term "globalization" to refer to the specific version of international economic integration that they favor, which privileges the rights of investors and lenders, those of people being incidental. In accord with this usage, those who favor a different form of international integration, which privileges the rights of human beings, become "anti-globalist." This is simply vulgar propaganda, like the term "anti-Soviet" used by the most disgusting commissars to refer to dissidents. It is not only vulgar, but idiotic. Take the World Social Forum, called "anti-globalization" in the propaganda system—which happens to include the media, the educated classes, etc., with rare exceptions. The WSF is a paradigm example of globalization. It is a gathering of huge numbers of people from all over the world, from just about every corner of life one can think of, apart from the extremely narrow highly privileged elites who meet at the competing World Economic Forum, and are called "pro-globalization" by the propaganda system. An observer watching this farce from Mars would collapse in hysterical laughter at the antics of the educated classes.

The benefits of globalization accrue mainly to investors, multinationals and the elites, while the working classes suffer relative impoverishment.

Further, the massive inflows of foreign investment in developing countries cannot be effectively absorbed, especially in regard to environmental protection and workers' rights.

The open-door aspects of global production and marketing have tended to "homogenize" economic and even cultural lives around the world as dominant entertainment and media; consumer products; and, commercial practices fall into place. Additionally, the consumer goods produced by a globalized economy are not necessarily those that the world's poor are most in need of.

For these reasons, the opposition to globalization has grown amongst a diverse, but surprisingly cohesive, group of nongovernmental organizations and other interest groups. The primary targets of the anti-globalization movement have been the United States, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. These organizations are seen as the enforcers of the globalization and the rights of multinationals to the detriment of ordinary people. This loosely coordinated group of protesters has taken on a high profile by disrupting various WTO and IMF/World Bank meetings over the years. Ironically, the same information technology that facilitates global commerce makes it easy for the forces against globalization to mobilize. Information technology has the ability to amplify both individual and organizational voices making the case for limits on global changes.

In looking at countries in a global context today, a "six dimensional" framework is needed. To the traditional economic, political and national security analyses of international relationships, we must add technology, the environment and culture as critical dimensions in which globalization is affecting nations. Interestingly, these dimensions can be looked at in the light of the eight core principles espoused by anti-globalization forces:

Localization vs. globalization: Production for sale to local, not global, markets and keeping political decisions at as local a level as possible.

Environmental sustainability: Global market capitalism is seen as intrinsically harmful to the environment as it is characterized by ever-expanding consumption of unneeded homogeneous products; over-exploitation of natural resources; and, waste-disposal problems. Accordingly, local political institutions need to have primacy over environmental policy.

Economic human rights: Workers are seen as having their traditional lives irreversibly disrupted by globalization and/or being treated less favorably than the same multinationals would treat those in developed countries. In this instance, it is often recognized that local political sovereignty may not be enough; global rules are needed to ensure that multinationals can't exploit workers.

Certain goods should not be traded as economic commodities or be subject to trade agreements: Food; water; seeds; the genetic basics of life (and some culturally sensitive products, e.g., entertainment) as well as toxic waste; arms; and drugs, should not be classified as "economic goods." The knowledge embodied in genetic structures should not enjoy intellectual protection, but should be "collective property." Local authority over food and agriculture should not be restricted by international trade agreements.

Equity: Globalization should be restrained as a force that tends to widen the gap in living standards both between and within states.

Cultural, biological, economic and social diversity: Local politicians should be able to prevent economic activities which tend to homogenize life in the various regions of the world.

The main theme running through the core principles of anti-globalization is local political control versus market sovereignty. It also looks at the more recent ascendancy of market forces in determining the allocation of resources, which we now know as the phenomenon of globalization. Whether the capitalist market model maintains its current ascendant position depends on whether it in fact delivers enough benefits to enough people and at acceptable cost. At this time, anti-globalization activism is a well developed world issue and the peoples of the developing world will not support any policies that limit the access their countries have to Western products, entertainment, capital and jobs in multinational factories.

The gap between the rich and poor is growing....

9/11: Ten Years After

NEW YORK - Tourists flock to Times Square for the bright lights and Broadway shows. There they find another spectacle: helmeted police with machine guns patrolling the subway station on the lookout for would-be bombers and gunmen.

CARSON CITY, Nev. - A gunman wielding an AK-47 opened fire on a table of uniformed National Guard members at an IHOP restaurant on Tuesday in an outburst of violence that killed five people, wounded seven others and put Nevada's capital city on high alert.

The Government tells us that we are much safer today than we were ten years ago... the United States has altered the balance between freedom and security, turning an open and casual society into a police-state.

But at what cost in lost liberty and dollars? Civil libertarians fear the era of surveillance and circumspection will become permanent.

The United States has spent an additional $400 billion on security plus $1.3 trillion on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan before counting interest on the war debt and healthcare for veterans, according to the "Costs of War" research project by Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies.

The president and police have more power, claiming more authority to spy into the private lives of citizens with less oversight from the courts. Airport security is much more thorough.

Soon after September 11, the U.S. government resorted to two controversial practices in response to threats from abroad -- extraordinary rendition -- the illegal transfer of foreign suspects captured abroad to a third country for detention and interrogation -- and imprisonment of suspected militants captured abroad at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"Ten years later, if we are still in this emergency mindset, then this is now who we are. This is the new normal," said Susan Herman, president of the American Civil Liberties Union. "At some point if you don't reverse that process you really have moved yourself into an Orwellian state."

And, that is exactly where we are. An Orwellian state where no one feels safe. Not even the police and the Government.

The security industry is feeling public opposition to intrusive scans at airports and sees more growth potential in machines that inspect cargo containers and tractor trailers. The problem is we can't afford them.

The invasion of privacy is more unsettling, especially for Muslims and people of Middle Eastern descent who face discrimination and have been caught up in the security net.

"It's worse now than it was on September 11, 2002," said Dawud Walid, head of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "I don't see things being dramatically different five to seven years from now."

One prominent civil libertarian blames President Barack Obama for expanding the growth of executive power. Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University's law school, called Obama a "nightmare" who betrayed civil libertarians after campaigning against Bush's approach.

"It's very easy to give up civil liberties but it's very difficult to regain them," Turley said. "For civil libertarians, Barack Obama has proven to be a nightmare. He has made all the arguments previously made by Bush and has gone further in some cases. He has shown very little concern for civil liberties in the area of counterterrorism."

As the attack unfolded in Nevada, officials worried about the violence being more widespread. They locked down the state Capitol and Supreme Court buildings, and put extra security in place at state and military buildings in northern Nevada.

"You go a whole tour in Afghanistan and no one is shot. And you go to IHOP and several are shot," said 31-year-old Sgt. First Class Cameron Anderson of Reno, a Nevada Army National Guard member. "It's a shock. I came to work today and had no idea I'd be driving the chaplain here (to the hospital.)"

The shooter, 32-year-old Eduardo Sencion of Carson City, was born in Mexico and had a valid U.S. passport.

"He's a gentle, kind man who was very helpful to friends and family," witnesses told The Associated Press. "I couldn't venture to guess what would cause him to do something as horrible as this."

Maybe he couldn't get a table at IHOP?

Honor: The Modern Duel

A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.

Duels in this form were chiefly practiced in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period (19th to early 20th centuries) especially among military officers. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly fought with swords (the rapier, later the small sword, and finally the French foil), but beginning in the late 18th century and during the 19th century, duels were more commonly fought using pistols, but fencing and pistol duels continued to co-exist throughout the 19th century.

The code of the honorable duel surrounded the notion of honor. Duels were fought not so much to kill the opponent as to gain "satisfaction", that is, to restore one's honor by demonstrating a willingness to risk one's life for it, and as such the tradition of duelling was reserved to the male members of nobility, in the modern era extended to those of the upper classes more generally. From the early 17th century duels were often illegal in Europe, though in most societies where duelling was socially accepted, participants in a fair duel were not prosecuted, or if they were, not convicted.

There are those who propagate the idea that dueling should be reinstated in Aryan society to settle 'affairs of honor'. Very well then, let's take a look at this idea. You insult me so I challenge you to a duel. (Or vice versa.) Good, however, I am an expert pistol shot, have two black belts, and am pretty good with a saber. I have fought duels with knives and machetes. Personally, I think dueling is stupid. At best, it is a pretty good way to kill half of us off. At worst, the guy you challenge brings in a mercenary and calls him his 'champion.'

To make dueling fair we would have to use Russian Roulette as the 'weapon of choice'. 

The way this dangerous game is played is usually with a six shot revolver giving the players a 1 in 6 chance of staying alive equaling out to about 84%. How the game works is that the players will place one bullet into the chamber of the revolver and spin the cylinder not knowing the location of the round. Then the players will take turns placing the muzzle against their heads and pulling the trigger. This goes on until the live round fires and one of the players is dead. Honor is satisfied. (Until the next time.)

How stupid. But then, the idea of combat 'settling affairs of honor' verges on stupidity. In our society, one would have to spend most of his time killing other people because they were considered rude and thoughtless. Anyone in politics, would be forced to hire a squadron of 'champions' to defend his honor. And members of the National Socialist Movement would be fighting duels non-stop... This is preposterous!

We hear ideas of this caliber all the time and never respond to them because it is pointless. This world that these people fantasize is never going to happen. It is a pipe-dream. Some "Klingon' shit from Star Trek, or video game quackery... Little boys touching themselves 'down there'.

When you hear an idea that is a good one you know that it will happen - because it has to happen! Bad ideas abound in our society because most people can't tell reality from fantasy. They've been watching too much TV.

Still, it is the duty of leaders to point out stupid ideas and make sure that our Folk stay on the right path. Hopefully this will start happening soon. Until then, all we can do is hope that there are enough reasonable people in our community to keep the idiots in check....

Unemployment in America: Happy Labor Day!

If you still have a good job, you certainly have something to celebrate on Labor Day 2011.  So far you have survived the decline of the U.S. economy.  But your day may be coming soon.  This weekend, there will be millions of Americans that will not be doing any celebrating.  They are not enjoying a break from their jobs because they don't have any jobs.  In fact, it seems kind of heartless for the rest of us to be celebrating while so many of our countrymen are destitute.  What are we celebrating on Labor Day 2011?  The lack of jobs in America?  At this point, the U.S. economy closely resembles a gigantic game of musical chairs.  Every time the music stops, even more good jobs are pulled out of the game and even more workers are added.  Once upon a time, if you really wanted a job in America you could get one.  But now the competition for even the most basic jobs is absolutely brutal.  If you gathered together all of the unemployed people in the United States, they would constitute the 68th largest country in the world.  It would be a nation larger than Greece.  All of those unemployed people are not going to be taking trips with their families this holiday weekend.  Instead, most of them are going to be trying to figure out what to do with their shattered lives.

With the economy in such a mess, you would think that someone out there would be suggesting that Labor Day 2011 should really be a day of mourning.  This economic downturn has shredded the lives of millions of American families.

Is there any other crisis in recent years that has had more of an impact on a national level?

On Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that no new jobs were created during the month of August and that the official unemployment rate remained steady at 9.1 percent.

Wait, aren't we supposed to be in the middle of an economic recovery?

Actually, we need at least 125,000 new jobs or so each month just to keep up with the growth of the U.S. population.  So it seems odd that the economy would add zero jobs but the unemployment rate would not increase.

But that is what the government is saying.

In any event, things don't look good.  According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the civilian employment-population ratio was at 58.2 percent last month.  This is an incredibly low figure.

In a recent article, John Mauldin explained what would have to happen to return the employment-population ratio to where it was in the year 2000....

The US has roughly the same number of jobs today as it had in 2000, but the population is well over 30,000,000 larger. To get to a civilian employment-to-population ratio equal to that in 2000, we would have to gain some 18 MILLION jobs.

Does anyone have an extra 18 million jobs laying around somewhere? 

When you look at the ratio of employee compensation to GDP, it is now the lowest that is has been in about 50 years.  In other words, U.S. workers are taking home a smaller share of the pie than at any other time in modern U.S. history.

But at this point those that still actually do have jobs consider themselves to be the lucky ones.

Tonight, there will be millions of desperate unemployed Americans that will blankly stare at their televisions as they try to figure out how their dreams got flushed down the toilet.

42 percent of all of those unemployed Americans have been out of a job for 27 weeks or longer.

What would you do if you lost your job and you were unemployed for half a year?

Would you be able to survive?

In America today, the longer that you are unemployed, the harder it is for you to get another job.  If you have been unemployed for at least one year, there is a 91 percent chance that you will not find a new job within the next month.

Out of sheer desperation, many Americans have taken jobs that they never even dreamed that they would take.

Only 47 percent of the U.S. workforce is "fully employed" at this point.  Right now there are hordes of Americans that are waiting tables, flipping burgers or stocking shelves at Wal-Mart because that is all that they can find right now.

Sadly, this is all part of a long-term trend.

The middle class is being destroyed and the gap between rich and poor is widening. 

Why is the country in such sad shape?

Because Tweedledee and Tweedledum (the Republicans and The Democrats) have betrayed the working people. They have stood by as millions upon millions of our jobs have been shipped out of the country. They have stood by as millions upon millions of illegal immigrants have taken jobs away from American citizens. They have stood by as U.S. businesses have been absolutely crushed by mountains of nightmarish regulations and have been taxed into oblivion. They are owned - lock, stock and barrel - by Corporate Capitalism the Enemy of every human value.

The decade that just ended was the worst decade for job growth in America since the Great Depression.  In fact, even though thirty million people were added to the U.S. population during the decade, there was essentially zero job growth.

Sadly, things look like they are going to continue to get even worse.

In the end, there will be a Revolution. It may be peaceful, or it may be violent, but it will be.  Because the alternative is unthinkable....

The Enslavement of Humanity

"Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful, murder respectable and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." ~ George Orwell 

When one's mind is subjected to the constant stream of bullshit that is called the 'mainstream media', it becomes crucial to apply a simple formula in its interpretation; a principle which saves the mind from falling prey to warped fantasies and toxic mental pollution. This formula is known as Absolute Rejection and Underground Travel ('ARUT' for short).

Whatever is being reported by the mainstream media must be rejected immediately as bullshit and the seeker after Truth must 'travel underground' to the place where the mainstream media dares not enter. And that place, cloaked in fog and darkness, is the home of true Freedom Fighters around the globe. None are allowed to speak of it, and if they do the consequences are dire (terrifying). 

Why is the Enemy so zealous and overbearing in this matter? 

Because the Enemy is in total control of the media, Hollywood and Wall Street and they are completely unashamed to admit it.

In a culture that pays lip service to 'free speech' and 'free thought' most people would be shocked to discover that these things do not exist at all. There are certain subjects and areas of thought that are completely forbidden. Go against the 'party line' and you will be punished severely. Parrot it like a good boot-licking slave and you will be rewarded.

Never has the ARUT principle been more applicable and prevalent than the current geopolitical crises in occupied Libya and occupied Palestine. The Masters who control the mainstream media have gone to great lengths to present an absurd narrative revolving around the ‘liberation of Tripoli’ while covering up NATO’s gruesome savagery in the Libyan capital and deflecting the attention of the globe far, far away from the latest round of Zionist butchery and humiliation of Palestinians in illegally besieged Gaza, occupied al-Khalil and holy al-Quds. This is psychological warfare in its purest, deadliest form and it is attached to an expansionist blueprint that involves the heinous plot which the Masters of the World have always foreseen as an eventuality and not just a pipe-dream, widening of the regional conflict into World War III, burning down all those who oppose Corporate Feudalism (Globalism) in the process.

What's at stake?

Your freedom and the freedom of your children and grandchildren -- At the end of the tunnel is the complete enslavement of humanity.

Will you accept the slave collar or will you resist it?

UFO Sightings On the Rise

"People of Earth Attention..." Just like a 1950s science fiction thriller, UFOs have been sighted with alarming regularity in 2011.

Are we alone in the universe?

I don't think so. Each star in the sky represents a sun. There are so many that we can only see a few of them. The probabilities are very high that there is life in the universe aside from humanity. (Abrahamic twaddle notwithstanding.)

UFOs have been sighted over Jerusalem, Russia, Spain, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Australia, and China (to name a few) in 2011. The People's Daily, which is the official Chinese Communist newspaper, is carrying the story today (click here). Also, for your amusement, here is a link to a map of UFO sightings over North America: UFO Maps.

Are aliens friendly?

Nothing personal - just business. Nobody is going to fly x-number of light years for nothing. Especially in large numbers. If you wanted to make a 'peaceful' contact it would only take one ship. When you start to see lots of ships it is not a good sign.

What do they want with us?

Here's were the speculation gets wild: Maybe they've come to take the 'chosen people' back to Zion... They could very possibly have acquired a taste for human flesh and seven billion is a tasty number... Maybe they want our resources... Or, see humanity as a danger to the Universe... Perhaps they need water, or oxygen... They could just be here to kick our ass and take over the planet... These are all some exciting possibilities, don't you think?

Some people even have suggested that they see us killing the planet and have decided to kill us all off before its too late...

Of course, nobody really believes in UFOs. So maybe it's a new 'secret weapon'... or debris falling into the earth's atmosphere... or the Nazis have come back to even the score?

Your guess is as good as mine....