I’m not sure what to make of the hoopla going on in the US right now. I’m inclined to think it’s all just political theatre, as Gerald Celente calls it, designed to distract the people from the real issues – the central one being, who controls the government and the
Continue readingTag: empire
Writings of J. Todd Ring: The deeper reasons for the “war on drugs”
There is a deeper reason for the war on drugs, which is the central reason for the policy, even outweighing profits from private prisons and seizure of property by law enforcement officers, both of which no doubt are also significant and strong motivations for keeping the “war on drugs” going.
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The real reasons for threats of war against Syria
(that the mass media won’t tell you about) 1. The Middle East holds 60% of the world’s remaining energy reserves: therefore, the entire region is critical to control – for anyone with an empire fetish, that is. And if you’re serious about controlling the Middle Eastern oil reserves, then you
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Top Priorities of the 21st Century
If I were asked what I felt were the top priorities facing human beings today, in the 21st century, I would have to say there are four that top the list, in my mind. 1. Halt the global corporate coup. Defeat the corporate war on democracy, which is now escalating
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Reflections on democracy
There is a global war on democracy underway, and if it is not addressed, our future will be bleak. But let us start with the ground work of democracy, and follow from there. Simple majority rule is accurately described as the tyranny of the majority; hence the need for constitutional
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Americans Now Primed for WWIII
(Gallup: Staggering 99 Percent of Americans See Iran’s Nuclear Program as ‘Threat’ Americans See Civilian Program as a Bigger Threat Than North Korea’s Actual Nukes by Jason Ditz, February 20, 2013) ”A grim new poll from Gallup shows an overwhelming majority of Americans, indeed 99 percent of them, believe
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Rising prices, falling wages, and the emerging economic trends: Currency wars, hyper-inflation, currency devaluation, and how to prepare for the coming storm
120% of the wealth created since the economic crisis began in 2007 has gone to the top 1% – meaning, the bottom 99% have fallen and have lost real income to the richest 1%. (Turn off “the news” and watch the Keiser Report for the real facts, or see Gerald
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Go Back To Sleep America, At Your Own Peril
I never reprint other people’s writings, no matter how good – but I will make an exception for this. This article is a true must-read. Please, take the time to read it. Then act. Good morning America. It’s time for a new day. Kudos and warm thanks to Jill Dalton
Continue readingFive of Five: Aristotle, Homer, Rembrandt and Joseph Heller
Aristotle Contemplating a Bust of Homer, Rembrandt van Rijn. (1653) Apparently Joseph Heller wrote his novel Picture This about this painting. The only Heller novel I haven’t read yet.
Heller conclude…
Continue readingFive of Five: Aristotle, Homer, Rembrandt and Joseph Heller
Aristotle Contemplating a Bust of Homer, Rembrandt van Rijn. (1653) Apparently Joseph Heller wrote his novel Picture This about this painting. The only Heller novel I haven’t read yet. Heller concludes that we don’t learn from history (and in fact so much of history may be nonfactual that learning may be
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Empire and Trade
Empires vary: of conquest, of settlement, of trade; contiguous and maritime. Empires abound: a long list, longer even than many books on empire admit to. Wikipedia lists over 200 empires from the Akkadian Empire of Sargon the Great in the 24th century BCE to today’s American Empire. In terms of
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: Lessons from Kyrgyzstan
A year before the Arab Spring, Kyrgyzstan experienced a populist uprising of its own complete with violent conflict, from both the state and between ethnicities, and resulted in a change of governance. The lessons that can be drawn from the recent history in Kyrgyzstan are useful in putting some of the Arab
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: ExxonMobil and Shell Stamp Huge Oil and Gas Deals in Iraq
Rumaila Oil Field Explosion.jpg Just a few weeks after President Barack Obama announced U.S. troops are "leaving" the war-torn country, ExxonMobil and Shell each announced major new oil and gas production agreements in Iraq. On November 12, ExxonMobil signed an oil production deal with the Kurdish Regional Government to drill in Iraqi Kurdistan, located
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: BBC speechless as trader tells truth: “Collapse is coming… and Goldman Sachs rules the world”
Move your money now – put it into gold, silver, and if you can, more importantly, a piece of land that can feed your family, tools for self-reliance such as solar and wind energy, seeds and garden tools, a trailer, teepee, yurt or cottage, in cas…
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Why Occupy Wall Street does NOT need the Democratic party
Some people are now calling for Obama and the Democratic Party to get behind (or is that take over or co-opt) the Occupy Wall Street movement; this at best a strategically unwise misdirection of energies, I would argue, and at worst, a dangerously naiv…
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Occupy Wall Street: The emerging global pro-democracy movement, where it stands, what it means, and where we go from here
The Occupy Wall Street movement, which has already become a global grassroots populist pro-democracy movement, if we have eyes to see, has clearly already won a broad and growing base of support. What is needed now, I believe, is to further clarify and…
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Why isn’t Wall St. in jail? And come to think of it, why isn’t Obama?
I don’t usually repost other people’s writings, but this article is too hard-hitting and important to pass up. If we want to understand better what is wrong with the economy and politics, this sheds more than a little light, and confirms th…
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: A Canadian Republic (with a new anthem to boot)
It is worth remembering, every once in a while, that Canada remains a constitutional monarchy. Precisely because the monarchy has no de facto power, most of us – myself included – rarely give it much thought and when we do it is of a mild form of bemus…
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Built to crash: the coming economic tsunami
`Would you rather have a perfectly efficient system that, if hit by a pebble, would shatter? Or, would you rather have an adaptable system that may not give you the exact output you want, but can handle anything? According to Barry Lynn of the New Am…
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