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Vatican Changing of the Guard
by Stephen Lendman
In April 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI. At the time he said:
"Dear brothers and sisters. After the great Pope John Paul II, the Cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble worker in the vineyard of the lord."
He hid his dark past. More on that below.
On February 11, he announced he'll step down. He's the first pope to do so since Gregory XII in 1415. Vatican spokesman, Federico Lombardi, said he "took us by surprise." He's 85. His energy and health deteriorated. It did so "to the extent that (he) had to recognize (his) incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to (him)," he said.
"For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom (he) declare(d) that (he'll) renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter."
The Persistence of Memory
Reggie
The Elite surround themselves with their peers, minions, and court jesters. Their minions are expendable, the jesters replaceable, and periodically they wage war against their peers. But … The Elite can always agree on this:
They never support anything that would thwart whatever it is they want to do. And they want what all gangsters have always wanted … more.
Yesterday I read the latest at the Brilliant at Breakfast Blog:
The rise and fall of prog-talk radio
http://brilliantatbreakfast.blogspot.ca/2013/02/the-rise-and-fall-of-prog-talk-radio.html
She extensively quotes from a column at Truthout.org written by Peter B. Collins.
An Insider's View of the Progressive Talk Radio Devolution
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/14355-an-insiders-view-of-the-progressive-talk-radio-devolution
Man in Search of Humanity: Lessons from the Bogus Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan
Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD
“….Human nature is at least in part wicked and in part foolish, how can human beings be prevented from suffering from the results of their wickedness and folly? ….Men simply do not see that war is foolish and useless and wicked. They think on occasion that it is necessary and wise and honourable, for war is not the work of bad men knowing themselves to be wrong, but of good men passionately convinced that they are right.”- (C.E, M. Joad. Guide to Modern Wickedness).
By NATURE, all human beings are born on One Nature as humans but race, cultures and politics divide them into divergent entities, absurd nationalism and warrior creeds as were the Europeans until recently. If Obama is to reclaim his originality of the Nature, who he is and where he comes from, would he be a Leader of Change trying to invest in peace and goodness for the humanity rather than vengeful wars and killings of the poor, destitute and innocents across the globe?
More Evidence Obamacare Ripped Off Americans
by Stephen Lendman
Make no mistake. March 23, 2010 will live in infamy. With strokes from 22 pens, Obama enacted the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
It's a ripoff. It's a healthcare rationing scheme. It's a boon to predatory providers. It's a plan to enrich insurers, drug companies, and large hospital chains.
WellPoint, Inc. is America's largest managed healthcare company. It wrote the plan. It got what it wanted. It benefitted at the expense of people needing care. So did other healthcare giants. They scammed ordinary people for profit.
Ralph Nader calls Obamacare "a pay-or-die system." It's "the disgrace of the Western world." It's a monstrosity. It mocks a fundamental human right.
Record Numbers of US Military and Veteran Suicides
by Stephen Lendman
Headlines like this should shock: Suicides Outpace War Deaths. Surge in Military Suicides. Nearly Two Dozen Veterans Commit Suicide Daily.
These reports and similar ones reveal imperialism's dark side. War takes its toll. Civilians suffer most. So do many combatants and veterans after returning home.
Most people don't know. Little gets reported. Why do active duty personnel and vets take their own lives?
Unbearable emotional pain consumes them. Daily trauma builds. So does intolerable stress. Relief is desperately sought. Suicide is chosen. It's a last option. Others were exhausted.
Obstructing Hamas/Fatah Unity
by Stephen Lendman
Previous unity talks failed. On February 6, more talks were held. Fatah and Hamas officials met in Cairo. At issue are long-delayed reconciliation and new elections.
Reports suggested cause for optimism. It's hard imagining why. Israel and Washington ruptured relations earlier. Efforts followed to isolate and vilify Hamas.
Days before meeting in Cairo, Israeli forces conducted sweeping arrests. Hamas-affiliated officials were targeted. Two MPs were included. Residents identified them as Hebron's Hatim Qafisha and East Jerusalem's Ahmad Attoun.
Mavi Marmara Massacre Whitewash Redux
by Stephen Lendman
In May 2010, Israeli commandos committed premeditated murder. They killed nine humanitarian activists in cold blood. They did so in international waters. They were trying to bring vitally needed aid to besieged Gazans.
Israel wants them isolated. It wants them suffocated. Slow-motion genocide is longstanding policy.
A Human Rights Council investigation followed. It criticized Israel's "outrageous attack on aid ships attempting to breach a blockade on the Gaza Strip."
Israel Commits Crimes Without Punishment
by Stephen Lendman
Israel is a rogue state. It's a serial abuser. It commits crimes without punishment. It tolerates no criticism.
Last May, it suspended contact with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
On April 30, Haaretz headlined "Israel joins UN list of states limiting human rights organizations," saying:
Censure followed an earlier Ministerial Committee on Legislation approval to restrict foreign governments from funding NGOs. It should have been for crimes against humanity. Israel commits them daily.
Recolonization of Africa, a Symptom of Our Addiction to Growth: Differential Accumulation, Why GDP Growth Rates Influence Foreign Policy
by chycho
Let’s continue our conversation from Part 1 and Part 2.
The name of the game when it comes to investing in the markets is that you must not only be ahead of inflation but you must also beat the averages, exceeding the normal rate of return. If you don’t do both then you are neither protecting nor accumulating capital, i.e., in the limit you will lose your wealth. This principle also applies to nations.
Ignoring our need to rely on different economic measures (pdf) other than the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a nation to indicate progress, wealth and well-being, if a countries GDP growth rate is below the global average, then over time that country will lose influence and be subject to an unstable economy. In essence, how a countries economy performs is relative to how other countries perform – there is a “growth imperative in capitalist economies” (pdf).
“But why do capitalist economies need to grow? Because competition and the quest for profit compel each business to grow or be wiped out by its competitors.”
The economic theory that best encompasses this principle is Differential Accumulation. It “emphasizes the powerful drive by dominant capital groups to beat the average and exceed the normal rate of return.” The video linked below and the following excerpts from an article entitled “Differential Accumulation” by Shimshon Bichler and Jonathan Nitzan provide further information on this train of thought (emphasis added).
Storming the Bastille Takes Many Forms
By Larry Pinkney
“It is better to die for an idea that will live, than to live for an idea that will die.” – Steve Biko
Nothing worth attaining comes into being without conscious struggle.
Everyday ordinary Black, White, Brown, Red, and Yellow people in this nation have been systemically and systematically indoctrinated to believe the fallacious notion that ‘change’ automatically represents ‘progress’ and that progress is somehow inevitable. The fact is that change does not automatically mean progress and real progress does not come about by osmosis nor is it inevitable. Mental consciousness coupled with sustained struggle are essential in bringing about real change and real progress.
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