Ralph Nader Speaks On An Obama Presidency | CommonDreams.org

Ralph Nader Speaks On An Obama Presidency | CommonDreams.org

This is some good election eve analysis by Ralph Nader and others on why we need to remain vigilant and call on the Obama administration of change to remain true to its promise.

He calls for an organized response in all congressional districts to hold the House of Representatives accountable.

Charles & Frances

Charles & Frances

Here is the web page for my Great Grandparents. Funny what you find on Google.

For Sale: High-Tech, Lethal WeaponsPrivate military companies are expanding their offerings to clients with the latest in high-tech weapons - CommonDr

For Sale: High-Tech, Lethal WeaponsPrivate military companies are expanding their offerings to clients with the latest in high-tech weapons - CommonDreams.org

We are seeing an increasing amalgamation of public/private enterprises in military "services". I was confident in the wake of 911 that the war on terror would fatten the wallets of many homeland security companies. A natural outgrowth of the "military-industrial complex.

Will come a day, I predict, when American services will either be called on to go up against an independent army supported by American corporate charters. Or worse, be called on to support such a force in executing illegal incursions in countries around the world.

One day, will all military forces "controlled" by US interests all still obey the same general? Might it be up to a strong-man commander in chief to reign in all the factions that can afford to field an army?

Maybe it had been about feudalism all along and we never saw it?

Bohemian Grove summer camp for powerful - Topic Powered by eve community

My Post to Press Democrat Blog

Bohemian Grove summer camp for powerful - Topic Powered by eve community


Posted 28 July 2008 02:36 PM Hide Post

quote:
Originally posted by niche:
It's the opening ceremony, (art - it's a play) where they give up the cremation of care. They all become equals no matter of status, wealth and leave all there cares of the world behind for the encampment.

Niche, et al-

The thing I have against he Cremation of Care has nothing to do with human sacrfice, in the context it is usually used to dismiss the CofC.

This gathering is like no other I know of in terms of its concentration of the VERY top economic and political interests commingling off the record in an admittedly casual atmosphere. The casualness of it is disarming, and you can forget that the guys sitting around the fire in polo shirts and khakis discussing political and economic topics of the day are in a position to form public and/or economic policies.

Burning Care is a very negative message. Care should be what holds people together. For them to feel they have to get rid of the "Dull Cares of the Market Place" sends a message that these men are at odds with Care, find it repulsive and to be avoided.

Some would argue that that mindset finds its way outside the grove and in to the board rooms and situation rooms these men control.

I would like the men in charge to hold a higher regard for Care, and what it should signify as a guide for the decisions they make.

If better decisions were made, maybe Care wouldn't be so repugnant. We don't need to send our youth to war, for instance, over personal vendettas and power plays. You have to know how to set Care aside to do that. These men get practice.

Donny Fix

David Suzuki: A nuclear reaction | Straight.com

As global warming and even peak oil pick up steam in the face of $4 gas and rising, nukes, "clean coal", drilling in Alaska Wilderness Refuge and other bad ideas will be held forth as answers to the crisis.

The big problem, of course, is consumerism, which pushes the need for continued growth, and more energy. We need to cut down on consumption, production and waste. "But," you say, "That's recessionary!"

No, it's what used to be called living within your means, and not depending on credit to get us out of our mess.It's deciding what we really "need", and focusing on that.

Still, if people around you are lamenting the need for "clean nuclear", please share this with them.

David Suzuki: A nuclear reaction | Straight.com

The Cavalry Isn’t Coming - CommonDreams.org

#
Donny Fix April 16th, 2008 10:31 pm
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While I agree with a lot of the reforms Ted Rall lays out, we need to look at this problem from a deeper level, and change around the argument a bit.

The US is a relatively small percentage of humanity consuming a majority of its raw resources and labor. We live in a consumer society full of bigger, better, best, first, I win. captn72 had it right- it’s a con game, and the goal is to make us afraid of the evil of recession.

Recession just means people have slowed their buying- a good thing for those who believe that over consumerism is killing the planet- I sure do!

Yet, when people slow their buying, maybe even try to live within their means, it is seen as a detriment to economics.

And it is, to the economics that matter to rich people. If the price of things go down to them because fewer people are buying, it cuts in to profits. But you will not find poor people compaining about lower prices.

Cutting back on overconsumerism will cause economic dislocations. If we truly want to lower our ecological footprint, it may well mean the loss of thousands of job catagories in finance, mining, nuclear, weapons, energy, auto and other dirty industry.

This should be embraced ad a goal, not feared.

There will be good jobs developing in mass transportation sector, renewable energy, environmental conservation and restoration, and the service sector, but overall, we should be considering how we will transition to a world less identified by competition in the market place- the Bohemian Club view- and more identified with making sure the non-workers of the world have enough to get by on before anybody gets richer.

Certain of our commons: housing, education, health care, food, water should be available and affordable to all, even if we need to make them off limits to profit motive.

Good jobs and a rising middle class will get us only so far. In the end, I believe we need to look after the most needy, first, even if the least needy (i.e. oil companies and munitions manufacturers making record profits) need to be assessed more to help out.


The Cavalry Isn’t Coming - CommonDreams.org

American Dream, World's Nightmare

This is a song I wrote during a two month road trip through the red and blue states during the 2004 elections. The slide show is photos I was taking along the road as I traveled home.

Nader Seeks California Green Party Support

Here is the first of three parts to Ralph Nader's presentation at a Green Party Presidential Candidates' event in San Francisco on January 13, 2008.

The event included former Congresswoman, Cynthia McKinney, as well as other candidates seeking Green Party endorsement, Journalist Jerend Ball, Texas Green activist, Kat Swift, California Green Activist, Kent Mesplay, and West Virginia Mountain (Green) Party activist, Jesse Johnson Jr.

All their presentations will be available at my You Tube and below.

Donny

Thank you for contacting the office of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi.

sf.nancy@mail.house.gov

The following is from Common Dreams, and asks a question that must be asked over and over of the Speaker: Why will you not impeach this administration for its abuses of power? Impeachment is not an option or done by whim. Please call on her to act to protect what is left of the Constitution.

Donny Fix
San Francisco

What Did Pelosi Know About NSA, and When Did She Know It?

by Ray McGovern

Published on Tuesday, October 16, 2007 by CommonDreams.org

It is time to fish or cut bait. If the Bush administration did not inform you regarding eavesdropping on Americans before 9/11, you need to reflect now on what such disregard for the laws and Constitution on matters of this importance means for future of our Republic, and cease covering up for the White House. Familiarize yourself with the orderly process the Founders wrote into the Constitution to address this kind of abuse of power. It is called impeachment; there is no reason to be afraid. You may wish to locate a copy of the Constitution and read Article II, Section 4:

“The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

I cannot believe that, with your pedigree and schooling, you now forget the difference between the indicative and the subjunctive mood. The Founders did not. The Constitution does not say the president “may be” impeached, unless the speaker of the House decides for some reason to keep impeachment off the table. Given the long train of abuses and usurpations of this administration, you have no choice but to begin impeachment proceedings, Madame Speaker, if protecting our rights under constitutional government means anything to you.

Ahmadinejad: Iran Not Walking Toward War, Iranian Leader Tells Scott Pelley His Country Does Not Need Nuclear Weapons - CBS News

Ahmadinejad: Iran Not Walking Toward War, Iranian Leader Tells Scott Pelley His Country Does Not Need Nuclear Weapons - CBS News

President Ahmadinejad has suffered much stupidity coming out of our main stream media, like Pelly's 60 Minutes embarrassment, as well as the shrill questioning of Charlie Rose and dismissive and misleading reporting from Katie Couric and others.

While I do not agree with all the man says, he says enough that I can agree with that I do not feel served by the DA cross examination treatment he has faced.

On numerous occasions, I heard him questioned about his nuclear ambitions, as alleged by the Bush administration. In the following excerpt from the interview, Ahmadinejad denies at least 4 times that his government is arming the Iraqi resistance.

He also seems to scoff at the idea that he covets nuclear weapon capability, and says if nuclear weapons could resolve the problems between nations, it would have by now, and it never has.

I do wish Ahmadinejad would end his nuclear power program, and set an example for meeting his country's energy needs more sustainably through wind and sun, which are more abundant in the Middle East than oil.

But his message is that any autonomous people should be able to make their local decisions, and the US's security interests should not impose themselves on the goals and process of the United Nations. As a decentralist Green/anarchist, I agree with that

So, as an environmentalist who stringently opposes nuclear power and weapons, I have to support Iran's right to move ahead on its nuclear power program as a matter of autonomy.

But I would also urge the US, Iran and all nuclear and non-nuclear nations to work together on more effective energy strategies. They should be centered more on conservation and decentralized renewable energies, worker and public safety, oversight and storage of nuclear wastes, and further nuclear arms reductions.

Talk to me,

Donny Fix

from 60-Minutes on American accusations:

"It is an established fact now that Iranian bombs and Iranian know-how are killing Americans in Iraq. You have American blood on your hands. Why?" Pelley asked.

"Well, this is what the American officials are saying. Again, American officials wherever around the world that they encounter a problem which they fail to resolve, instead of accepting that, they prefer to accuse others," the president replied. "I'm very sorry that because of the wrong decisions taken by American officials, Iraqi people are being killed and also American soldiers. It's very regrettable."

"The American Army has captured Iranian missiles in Iraq. The critical elements of the explosively formed penetrator bombs that are killing so many people are coming from Iran. There's no doubt about that anymore. The denials are no longer credible, sir," Pelley pointed out.

"Very good. If I may. Are you an American politician? Am I to look at you as an American politician or a reporter? This is what the American officials are claiming," Ahmadinejad replied. "If they accuse us 1,000 times, the truth will not change."

"Are you saying that it is not the policy of this government to send weapons into Iraq? Sir, forgive me, you're smiling, but this is a very serious matter to America," Pelley said.

"Well, it's serious for us as well. I daresay it's serious for everyone," Ahmadinejad told Pelley. "It seems to me it's laughable for someone to turn a blind eye to the truth and accuse others. It doesn't help. And the reason that I'm smiling, again, it's because that the picture is so clear. But American officials refuse to see it."

Asked if he could very simply and directly say that Iran is not sending weapons to Iraq, Ahmadinejad said, "We don't need to do that. We are very much opposed to war and insecurity…"

"Is that a 'No,' sir?" Pelley asked.

"…by Iraq. It's very clear the situation. The insecurity in Iraq is detrimental to our interests," Ahmadinejad said.

TomPaine.com - Greenspan Spills The Beans

TomPaine.com - Greenspan Spills The Beans

In case there was any doubt, Greenspan tells it like it is.

Diplomatic convoys curtailed in Iraq - Yahoo! News

Diplomatic convoys curtailed in Iraq - Yahoo! News

Whatever government finally takes hold in Iraq, the US will want a piece of the oil action, as set out in the Plan for a New American Century:

http://home.earthlink.net/~platter/neo-conservatism/pnac.html

Without their mercenary thugs, paid more and controlled less than American combat troops, diplomats charged with twisting arms in the al-Maliki government are losing their enforcers. Without Blackwater, Dyncorp and other private armies, controlled by neither the laws of Iraq, of the US, nor, apparently, the UN, American negotiators will have to abide by the rules- such that are left- and turn down the heat under the whistle of the American agenda.

Original Sin

The war against "terrorism" guarantees military solutions to the ongoing feud humanity has had with its baser nature- at least according to some fundamentalist religious beliefs.

Original Sin reminds us that none of us is pure enough to declare mass death to anybody.

Written and performed by,

Donny Fix

Leaders gather in Iraqi province days after Bush visit - Yahoo! News

Leaders gather in Iraqi province days after Bush visit - Yahoo! News

Here is the carrot on the stick, to get economic deals in Anbar Province to win over the Sunnis.

Sunnis are put in the place of moving toward the Americans after America took out their man in Baghdad, Saddam Hussein, and unleashed the oppressed Shiite majority, backed by their Iranian kin.

Now the clash is at least characterized as being between Ba'athist Sunnis and al Qaeda Sunnis.

All in an effort to keep all the factions from uniting against us.

First Amendment Challenge

CAUTION: Adult Content!

A challenge to the war on drugs and the war for oil, dedicated to the ones whose addiction is killing the people, the earth, and human integrity.

Donny Fix

Record Number of Americans Lack Health Insurance - Forbes.com

Record Number of Americans Lack Health Insurance - Forbes.com

Take note how the mainstream media pretty unanimously paints this as a health "insurance" crisis, instead of the more correct health "care" crisis.

There are more ways to deliver health care to the population besides the health insurance industry. There is no such industry in many countries, like England, Canada and France, whose populations are all covered by national health care coverage. And at a fraction of the total costs of the American system.

It just makes sense that if a thing like health care, education, energy and other public needs are privatized, relegated to making a profit for investors, those costs will rise to help the investors realize their just profits.

In California, we have an opportunity to turn that around. Support for the Single-Payer health care legislation drafted by State Senator Sheila Kuehl and supported by a growing list of legislators would expand Medicaid, Medi-Cal, and other health delivery agencies, and consolidate them in to a plan much like that of Canada.

Legislators at the state and national level need to hear that it is not just about insurance. Other tools are available to fulfill the need for health care. If you need encouragement, go see Michael Moore's "SICKO".

Then, in California, support SB 840.

And in the nation, Medicaid for the masses!

Donny Fix

He's Brave (with other people's children)

I wrote this song too long ago, now, about the timne the hundredth US soldier died in Iraq. It's called "He's Brave (with other people's children)", and were the words of one mother told her son would not be returning home. That mother later became known to me to be Sandy Sheehan

We will all know who "He" is, if we remember some of our saddest history the day Bush landed on an aircraft carrier and declared, "Bring 'em on!"- At least he did a mea culpa on that, if only a superficial one.

But one role of folk music and blues has been to document a moment in time, and the feelings engendered, and this is one that needs to be remembered.

Donny Fix

Bangkok Post Breaking News

Bangkok Post Breaking News

Now, as much as ever, follow the money.

It is no surprise that Afghanistan is offering yet another parallel with Viet Nam. During that war, the Golden Triangle grew as an international economic force through heroin export. French Connection mafia, local warlords and the CIA were among the profiteers.

Later, Ollie North and Ronald Reagan tried the same out of the White House basement, this time negotiating guns for cocaine deals between Nicaragua and Iran.

Now, poppies from Afghanistan, and if history is any judge, look for American hands in the blood money.

We should also prepare for a major influx of heroin, especially in to poorer neighborhoods as happened during Viet Nam. As Alongopos and Saigon Cities materialize outside the permanent military bases being established, young soldiers (and maybe some old) will find ways to smoke opium, or worse. One try...it's free. And the cares float away, for a while.

For many years, I have heard many the story of men my age who experienced horror or boredom and fixed it, for a while.

Meanwhile, look out for where the money for this bumper Afghan crop is headed.

Bill Moyers Journal . Tough Talk on Impeachment | PBS

Bill Moyers Journal . Tough Talk on Impeachment PBS

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of congress are complicit in the war crimes of the Bush-Cheney regime. We need to impeach them NOW, before another president is elected who believes that the tools Bush/Cheney have developed for themselves can continue to be used. Instead, Pelosi comtinues to call impeachment "off the table".

The American public will be increasingly estranged from this government as long as it continues to hold politics over statesmanship, as pointed out in this Moyer piece.

Everyone needs to pressure- and keep pressuring- their US Congressional representatives to hold this administration accountable for its deeds. Domestic spying, torture, intimidation of the media- these are not the things I consider American values.

IT MUST STOP NOW!

Our unnecessary nuclear future - SFBG Politics Blog

Our unnecessary nuclear future - SFBG Politics Blog

More on effort to revive nuclear power as an answer to global warming.

Following is an article I wrote a couple of years ago warning of Bohemian Grove connections to the support for this lie:

Lynn Orr, Bohemian Behind the Rebirth of Nuclear Power

by Don Eichelberger

Lynn Orr, director of the Global Climate and Energy Project (G-CEP), at the

press

conference announcing the creation of the project, Nov. 20, 2002.

[photo]

In 2002, Stanford University announced the creation of the Global Climate

and Energy Project, naming the interim head of the Stanford Earth Sciences

Dept, Lynn Orr, as director. His training as a hydraulics engineer has

focused on wringing more oil and gas deposits out of the earth's mantle,

and discovering ways of "sequestering" CO2 in deep geologic formations.

His conversations with Schlumberger (oil well drilling equipment and

technical support), ExxonMobil and General Electric helped develop the idea

for the project. DCEP has grown to include E.On, one of the world's

largest energy holding companies. E.On's holdings include natural gas and

oil wells, coal mines, electric production and distribution facilities,

including the newly acquired systems in Spain and Kentucky.

The stated goal of DCEP is to develop the means "to produce sufficient

energy to meet the needs of a growing world population in a way that

protects the environment..."

Orr's hope is to pull more students in to engineering careers and put them

to work solving the technical problems leading to plentiful energy and

fewer greenhouse gasses. He is a true believer that technology and

engineering will get us out of the problems we face. As a director of the

David and Lucille Packard Foundation with his wife, Susan Packard-Orr, he

has already endowed scholarships at Stanford.

Pulling together the massive resources of GE, ExxonMobil, E.On and

academia, he is also working to develop an integrated international energy

grid, drawing from all energy sources that do not produce greenhouse

gasses, or whose gasses can be sequestered. Prominently mentioned in his

speech announcing DCEP, Orr made it clear nuclear power has a welcome place

in the world's energy mix. GE is a founding member of DCEP, and proud

inventor of the boiling water reactor, work horse of the current nuclear

industry. They have developed a new generation of "safe" reactors they

make no secret of wanting to build. They predict that 4% of new generation

built in Europe will come from nuclear by 2015.

GE is also diversifying, and has recently acquired offshore natural gas

leases near marine sanctuaries in the Gulf of Mexico. They are investing

in creating an infrastructure that will allow them to get the remaining

natural gas from sources that were too played out to bother with while gas

prices were low. Now....

Following are key passages from Lynn Orr's speech announcing formation of

DCEP in 2002:

"Imagine a set of global energy systems that will meet society's

requirements for energy with low greenhouse emissions. What will the

primary energy sources be: solar, wind, nuclear power, biomass, fossil fuels?

"In this project, we will build a research portfolio that seeks

opportunities across the full range of primary energy sources, and we will

carry out pre-commercial research that will add innovative technologies and

systems to the global energy mix. We will concentrate on the technology

research, and we will consider safety, environmental impacts, market

acceptance, social responsibility and cost as we build the research effort.

"The mix of future energy technologies will interact in complex ways. Let

me give you an example. Suppose for the moment, that hydrogen becomes the

preferred transportation fuel of the future. We will need to find ways to

generate H2 on a large scale and at reasonable cost. The development of an

advanced infrastructure for hydrogen distribution could favor generation of

the hydrogen at central facilities, while the absence of such an

infrastructure would favor distributed generation.

"If hydrogen were made centrally from methane, coal or other fossil fuel

sources, then CO2 would also be generated as a by-product, and it would be

necessary to separate, capture and store the CO2 generated (perhaps in

depleted oil and gas reservoirs, or unmineable coal beds, for example). On

the other hand, if sufficient electricity could be generated by solar, wind

or nuclear power to make hydrogen from water, no CO2 would be created in

the hydrogen generation step, and CO2 sequestration methods would be less

important."