Capitalism approaching a bend in the road

The BBC reports that "many governments across the 27-member bloc have imposed punishing cuts in wages, pensions and employment to deal with spiralling debts." Because of this, Europe is seeing mass protests. Learn more

Not long ago we witnessed mass uprisings of the indigenous peoples of the Amazon who were protesting oil and gas exploration of their natural homelands, resulting in the revocation of pro-corporate/anti-human land laws. "The controversial laws, passed to implement a free trade agreement with the US, were revoked by Peru's Congress by a margin of 82-12 after a five-hour debate." Learn more and click here

Coupling these two events one begins to wonder if capitalism as we have known it isn't heading towards a bend in the road? This is not to say that we are predicting a return to the old communist past. Instead, social democracy, with a strong green awareness topped by peace and justice , is most probably the next step in the planet's evolution towards global citizenship.

BTW - check out the photos comparing East Germany in 1991 and then again in 2001 (a clear demonstration of the failures of the former "communist system" and a testimony to the "Rhine" model - here

Of Israeli Settlements and Peace Flotillas

With the so-called freeze on settlements about to expire (which in fact it has been ongoing) We take our hats off to the brave individuals who are standing up to the inhumane boycott of Gaza and attempting to draw world attention to the plight by bringing in needed supplies. who will forget the 9 individuals who were killed aboard when Israeli troops attempted to commandeer their ship? (To learn more read the article "Rough Passage" about a former U.S. Marine on board the flotilla)

Today a group of Jewish activists set sail for Gaza aboard a 32 foot boat called the Irene. (Learn more) Jews for Justice for Palestinians is one of the organizers. Unfortunately, U.S. media often ignores Jewish and Palestinian peace activists and organizations. (Note: a search of both the New York Times and CNN did not bring up a story about Kenneth O'Keefe and his experiences aboard the flotilla; nor did either organization feature a news brief on the Russell Tribunal on Israel. There are a number of outlets that attempt to balance the coverage. "Israel-Palestine: The Missing Headlines" is one example of providing a critical slant of Israel in order to counter balance the pro-Israeli corporate media.

To begin exploring visit

Arab-Jewish Partnership (Israelis & Palestinians striving together to end the Israeli occupation and to achieve full civil equality through daily non-violent direct-action)

Learn more about Peace and Reconcilliation on Earth here

Israel and Apartheid

It shouldn't come as a shock that the Zionist state was Apartheid South Africa's biggest military supporter. A new book by Polakow-Suransky unearths much of the sordid history.

Israel's annual military exports to South Africa between 1974 and 1993 at $600 million, which made South Africa Israel's second or third largest trading partner after the United States and Britain. Military aircraft updates in the mid-1980s alone accounted for some $2 billion, according to correspondence he obtained. He puts the total military trade between the countries at well above $10 billion over the two decades. Read more here


This actually should come as no surprise. what is surprising, though, is the shock effect the book seems to be having, calling Israel's myth of a morally superior country into question. Glenn Frankel (Foreign Policy) raises the question: After all, if Israel is just another standard-issue country that conducts business with pariah states and lies about it, why should America be concerned about its fate?

In America no one would want to be caught having supported and propped up the inhumane regime. But today, because of the rampant Anti-Arabism and Islamophobia that one encounters in the West that Israel goes largely unquestioned by the mass media (and Jews and Jewish groups who question Israeli policies are ignored).

"A New Way Forward: Rethinking U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan"

A study group has developed a worthwhile read on how to move forward in Afghanistan, offering a simple 5 point recommendation - here

If acted upon, the recommendations could help turn the humvees and dingos around. Lest we forget, how about a 10 point reality check to go with it:

1. The Taliban are largely a "blow back" phenomena of misguided U.S. policy
2. U.S. policy failed to separate the Taliban from Al-Qaeda, confusing the two
3. The Taliban themselves are contrary to Afghan culture
4. Both the Taliban and Al-Qaeda arise out of Saudi culture
5. The Taliban should be viewed as a fluid movement that wanes and waxes, like most criminal organizations, by the environment in which it operates. In other words, Taliban recruitment goes up and down, depending largely on: (a) the local economy; (b) outrage and anger with ISAF actions (e.g. civilian deaths, etc)
6. The Taliban, like most paramilitary groups, have a vested financial interest in maintaining the war.
7. Taliban ideology can be defeated through a solid Islamic theology
8. Cut off the Taliban's sources of weapons and funding and you cut off the Taliban
9. The Afghan people deserve a better alternative to the Taliban than Karzai and his cronies
10. Iran and Pakistan are key to stabilizing Afghanistan

Learn more about war on earth - here

Consider conflict on Pandora - here

An Urgent Appeal to Obama: "There is no Planet B"

This letter is certainly worth the read. Moench reminds Obama that "there is no Planet B". Of course, perhaps the story of "Noah and the Ark" really point to some hidden mystery? Perhaps we once occupied the lush planet Mars, destroyed it, and then a few survivors made their way to third planet in the solar system. They might have sworn off technology and bred with the locals (another hidden story).