Blind Obedience to the Canons of Capitalism (Jason Miller)

[Tace]

Of Sick Societies, American Dalits, and a Nation of Lady Macbeths

By Jason Miller -- World News Trust



"Tell me where do I belong in this sick society?

"... Look at yourself instead of looking at me. With accusation in your eyes. Do you want me crucified for my profanity?

"... Tell me the truth and I’ll admit to my guilt if you’ll try to understand. But is that blood that’s on your hand from your democracy?” --Ozzy Osbourne, You’re no Different, 1983

Nov. 26, 2006 -- Bow your heads and drop to your knees, brothers and sisters! Feel the power of the Holy Dollar coursing through your being as you humbly offer your prayers, exaltations and gratitude to Mighty Mammon!

Lay the perpetual argument to rest. There is no separation of church and state.

It is indisputable that the United States is one nation, under God. Our nation worships the unholy trinity of the Dollar, Acquisitiveness, and Opulence with the fanaticism of the Inquisitors.

‘Tis (officially) the season to be greedy...

Yesterday, most of us initiated the “Holidays” by performing the annual rite of gratitude. Millions gave thanks for living in a nation which has become obscenely corpulent by suckling at the teats of genocide, slavery, and imperialism.

Sandburg once christened Chicago “hog butcher for the world”. Accounting for a mere 5 percent of the world’s population while gluttonously devouring a quarter of the world’s resources easily qualifies the United States as “hog to the world.”

And meanwhile...

more

http://www.worldnewstrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=655&Itemid=1

[OneBlueSky]

1. highly recommended . . . everyone should read this . . .

(snip)

Into the Maelstrom . . .

Embracing the delusion of individualism in the midst of life’s undeniable web of interdependence, the unwavering disciples charged into the fray to avoid the unthinkably tragic fate of dying without having the most toys.

With the wild-eyed desperation of meth addicts pursuing their next fix, obedient consumers joined the hordes of shoppers assailing malls like Vikings plundering unsuspecting coastal villages. Armed with credit card spending limits exceeding their annual salaries, the loyal foot-soldiers buttressing the economic tyranny of U.S. fascism stampeded to indenture themselves to Visa.

Corporate retailers reveled in the glory of the “biggest shopping day of the year.”

(snip)

We the People, one person at a time, one day at a time, have it within our power to undermine and subvert a system premised on hubris, savage militarism, nationalism, exploitation, and rapacity.

How?

Simply by embracing ways of being which are antithetical to maintaining the malignant status quo:

1. Opposing evil through non-violent means (5).
2. Practicing compassion.
3. Recycling and living frugally.
4. Having a healthy sense of humility.
5. Respecting human rights and dignity.
6. Finding a reasonable balance between excess and asceticism.
7. Acting with a modicum of selflessness and concern for the collective.
8. Working toward a more just and peaceful global community.
9. Developing a concern for the environment.
10. Placing people before profits.
11. Devoting oneself to critical, independent thinking.
12. Consistently practicing the Golden Rule.
13. Committing to honesty with self and others.

It is not too late to “tell the truth,” abandon the idolatry of affluence, and

Remember, Humankind and Mother Earth are counting on us!

- much more . . . and well worth your time . . .

http://www.worldnewstrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=655&Itemid=1

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. I have not had the time to read this article, but while I am at this

post, I feel it necessary to drop this link in, seems to go with the basic premise here....

http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Economic-Hit-John-Perkins/dp/0452287081/sr=8-1/qid=1164585900/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-2511367-7143222?ie=UTF8&s=books
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0452287081.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_OU01_SCLZZZZZZZ_V58509623_.jpg

John Perkins started and stopped writing Confessions of an Economic Hit Man four times over 20 years. He says he was threatened and bribed in an effort to kill the project, but after 9/11 he finally decided to go through with this expose of his former professional life. Perkins, a former chief economist at Boston strategic-consulting firm Chas. T. Main, says he was an "economic hit man" for 10 years, helping U.S. intelligence agencies and multinationals cajole and blackmail foreign leaders into serving U.S. foreign policy and awarding lucrative contracts to American business. "Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars," Perkins writes. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man is an extraordinary and gripping tale of intrigue and dark machinations. Think John Le Carré, except it's a true story.

Perkins writes that his economic projections cooked the books Enron-style to convince foreign governments to accept billions of dollars of loans from the World Bank and other institutions to build dams, airports, electric grids, and other infrastructure he knew they couldn't afford. The loans were given on condition that construction and engineering contracts went to U.S. companies. Often, the money would simply be transferred from one bank account in Washington, D.C., to another one in New York or San Francisco. The deals were smoothed over with bribes for foreign officials, but it was the taxpayers in the foreign countries who had to pay back the loans. When their governments couldn't do so, as was often the case, the U.S. or its henchmen at the World Bank or International Monetary Fund would step in and essentially place the country in trusteeship, dictating everything from its spending budget to security agreements and even its United Nations votes. It was, Perkins writes, a clever way for the U.S. to expand its "empire" at the expense of Third World citizens. While at times he seems a little overly focused on conspiracies, perhaps that's not surprising considering the life he's led. --Alex Roslin --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.