-------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2008 12:37:43 -0800 From: Robert Bolman <> To: •••@••.••• Subject: The Post-Bush Regime: A Prognosis http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7693 The Post-Bush Regime: A Prognosis by Richard K. Moore Global Research, December 27, 2007 Hey Richard, Robert Bolman here in Eugene..... I just finished reading the above referenced piece and feel that your analysis is pretty spot on. But I have a question about the very nature of "conspiracy". So many things that we in this circle may read or write make it sound like there's a big conspiracy to do all these bad things. That there are sinister men behind closed doors making all kinds of plans..... But that implies that those conspiring against us are either extremely evil people or astonishingly adept at talking themselves into believing nonsense. I tend to believe that it's the latter. I have a hard time believing that even Dick Cheney wakes up in the morning and looks at himself in the mirror and says, "Gee, I sure am a bad person. In fact, today I'm going to try to become even more bad." Yet I do believe that even the most brilliant people are capable of enthusiastically believing utter nonsense. Look at Hitler. He was a pretty smart guy. But another thing to consider in how these "conspiracies" manage to happen is to consider the very nature of "conspiracy". Is it possible that what we pass off as bad people making sinister plans resulting in a "conspiracy" is actually a much more amorphous, loose-knit phenomenon? Is it possible that various different players in in the global scene can all make and implement their various decisions and that no single decision is THAT sinister, but when the sum total of all the various decisions comes together, the end result is very sinister indeed? If we could articulate a way that that could happen, it would make our conspiracy theories much more plausible to the skeptical. Interested in your thoughts, Rob ------ Hi Rob, My thoughts you shall have. No, it is not possible that it's an amorphous process. It is what it is; it is not possible for it to be something else at the same time. This has nothing to do with theories of any kind, conspiracy or otherwise. The simple fact is that the USA operates just like a corporation, with control firmly in the hands of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors in this case are the same as the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. And yes, they are sinister men who meet behind closed doors and make all kinds of plans. Anyone who doesn't know this needs to do a little research. It doesn't take much. You might start by watching "The Money Masters": http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-515319560256183936 And no, this does not imply that "those conspiring against us are either extremely evil people or astonishingly adept at talking themselves into believing nonsense". It simply implies that their self-interest is different than ours, and they don't give a damn about us. I call that evil, but they think of it as the natural law of the jungle - if they weren't on top someone else would be. The policies they pursue are not nonsense at all, they just aren't good for humanity. They make lots of sense to those who benefit. rkm -------------------------------------------------------- From: "Jeff Keiffer" <> To: <•••@••.•••> Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2007 10:05:20 -0500 Subject: Re: What to expect from the next US Administration http://cyberjournal.org/show_archives/?id=1368&batch=16&lists=cyberjournal Hi Richard, Always good to read your posts; informative as always. While there is much to be concerned with in the US I have also noticed a small but growing people's movement to make changes for the better here in the US. I have been a member to several organizations with a green agenda and while the federal government continues to do the bidding of the big polluting corporations that only care about their bottom lines; many people have organized to make themselves and their local communities greener. Local governments have begun offering incentives to people to buy hybrids, solar panels, more energy efficient appliances, etc. I have also seen a green movement in the auto industry where smaller car companies are flaunting the powers that be and making fully electric cars (see Tesla or Aptera). I believe this movement will only grow because many Americans are concerned and waking up to the fact that we do need to wean ourselves off foreign oil and I have begun to notice that many Americans are beginning to turn to the Internet for their information. There is also a strong populist movement supporting candidates running for president like Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul and while the mainstream media either makes fun of them or ignores them completely they are getting their word out and people are taking notice. There is always the fear of another 9/11 attack and Bush declaring himself dictator and that leave me to wonder how many Americans would be willing to stand up and fight their own government. I believe many would stand up and fight and there are even states that would declare their independence from the US (Vermont, possibly California) and that would eventually lead to another civil war (though in my mind it would be a revolutionary war to free ourselves from another King George). There are signs of change but I can only hope that it continues and that Americans continue to awaken to what is really going on in their country. Peace, Jeff ------- Hi Jeff, You are quite right to point to all the people who are 'making changes for the better' - but you're underestimating them! I'd say it is a MASS movement, not a 'small but growing' movement. Besides all the things people do as individuals, there are literally thousands of activist groups devoted to such changes. Particularly after Gore's film, everyone and their brother seems to be change conscious. We can take great hope and comfort in this mass support that exists for change. HOWEVER, we must be careful not to fool ourselves about whether or not that support and energy is actually accomplishing anything as yet. The mass consciousness around change is POTENTIALLY powerful, but solar panels, hybrid cars, minimizing your travel, and efficient appliances do nothing whatever to move us toward sustainability. Such things amount to throwing the deck chairs off the Titanic, in the hope that will lighten the ship and keep it from sinking. The problem is not the passengers or the furniture, the problem is the ship itself - the infrastructures of our societies. They have hit an iceberg - the finiteness of the Earth - and we are beginning to sink. It is very important to understand that the mission of Gore and his ilk has nothing whatever to do with responding to the crises that face us, quite the opposite. What they are doing, and quite successfully, is co-opting all that 'change energy', and channeling it in such a way as to enable the continuance of 'business as usual', to enable the destructive engines of our growth-driven industrial society to continue purring along. Hybrid cars, for example, are no help whatsoever; we need to transform our transport systems from cars and trucks to modern, efficient, rail systems. We need similar radical transformations in every one of our infrastructures and production methods. Nothing less will reverse our relentless drive toward collapse. Gore and his ilk understand this very well. There will be no civil war, there will be no secessions, and there will be no Presidents like Ron Paul. Those, I'm sorry to say, are idle fantasies. optimism + realism, rkm -------------------------------------------------------- From: •••@••.••• Date: Sun, 20 Jan 2008 22:55:18 EST Subject: Re: What to expect from the next US Administration To: •••@••.••• Hi Richard, rkm: <<In this context, the net consequence of a major biofuel agenda comes down to intentional genocide. In order to provide marginally more fuel to the over-consuming industrialized nations, untold millions will starve in the third world, in addition to those untold millions that are already starving. The marginal energy gain is so small by comparison, that we must accept that the biofuels agenda is PRIMARILY about genocide. >> What about the motivation derived from various corporations making lots of money from biofuels? Bill ------ Hi Bill, Let's not confuse the cart with the horse. Of course investors will jump into any available market, just as ants will swarm to honey. The ultimate perpetrator of the swarming is the one who placed the honey, the ants are purely reactive. The market for biofuels is being created by government action, and by the manipulation of oil prices, and the only reliable way to judge the motivation of the men behind the curtain is by the long range implications of their actions. rkm -------------------------------------------------------- From: "Claudia Rice" <> To: "rkm" <•••@••.•••> Subject: Re: post-xmas dialog... http://cyberjournal.org/show_archives/?id=1369 Hi Richard: check out Power versus Liberty: Madison, Hamilton, Wilson, and Jefferson by James H. Read <http://www.upress.virginia.edu/books/read.html> for an interesting discussion of our Founders differing views. I don't know that we'll ever get power out of the equation but if we can figure out how to be self reliant and cooperative adults with similar children, we'll probably have an advantage to pass along to those who come after. It's ironic that the cooperative skills we used to become such a widespread species are now so hard to come by. Claudia ----- Hi Claudia, Thanks for the Founding Fathers link. Unfortunately, the Hamiltonian wing prevailed. No Claudia, we do not need to wait a generation to begin cooperating. We are all quite capable of cooperating. If you want to measure how good we are at cooperating, look at how people behave within a progressive corporation like Apple or Microsoft. I worked at Apple for over five years, and the spirit of cooperation was amazing, among individuals and among teams. We did not go through any 'cooperation training', we simply found ourselves in an environment where cooperation was encouraged, and where the corporate culture was more about 'making the company a winner' than it was about 'moving up the ladder'. We have not lost the skills, we simply have very little opportunity, or perceived need, to exercise them in our non-work life. One of the problems of the capitalist system is that gives us everything we need! We don't need to carpool, because we can all afford a car. We don't need to agree on what to watch on TV, because we each have our own TV in our room. We don't need to build a school together, because the government gives us one. We don't need to cook a meal together, or even eat together, because we can each pop something the the microwave when we're hungry. In an instant-gratification society, why bother with cooperating? What we need to do is to put our cooperative skills to use. We need to launch collaborative initiatives. More and more I'm convinced that it doesn't particularly matter what the objective of an initiative might be, what matters is the dialog processes, and decision-making processes, that are used in the endeavor. If 'wise processes' are used, that take into account everyone's ideas and concerns, then the endeavor will naturally evolve toward enlightened objectives, regardless of what brought the people together in the first place. Unfortunately, most of our popular initiatives have no dialog awareness whatsoever. Instead of evolving they remain statically oriented around some pre-determined agenda and way of operating. I'm working with one organization that is typical of many. They have a reasonably promising agenda, and a fairly large group of members spread worldwide. What do they do with those members? They send them newsletters and ask them for donations. That's about it. They might survey them about policy, but they don't try to engage them in creative dialog about moving the organization forward more effectively. I'm working with them now to organize a 'wise dialog' conference, involving a cross section of their membership. cheers, rkm -------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 30 Dec 2007 01:33:41 +0100 From: Earl <> To: •••@••.••• Subject: Re: post-xmas dialog... Hi Richard, It's been some time since I last contacted you, but I am still a faithful reader. Congratulations on being published on Global Research, and then given the honor of 'Best Article of the Year'. Another favorite resource of mine. Keep on doing the wonderful work. Best wishes for the New Year and the future, Earl Duthler Amsterdam ----- Thanks Earl :-) -------------------------------------------------------- From: "John Lowry" <> To: <•••@••.•••> Subject: Re: post-xmas dialog... Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2007 18:59:58 -0800 rkm >...delegating power does not work as a formula for democracy. Delegating power, or "authority," or "responsibility," cannot be done. Each of these must be assumed or taken, hopefully with the consent of those affected, but force works too, for a while. Your new mission sounds like a management consultants' pitch, like MacKensey (sp?). Appropriate to the time of course.... Star well, John ------ Hi John, You first comment mystifies me. I have no idea what you're trying to say. :-( Well, yes, the new mission is similar to that of a management consultant or a facilitator. All of us seek to increase the effectiveness of groups through the use of better process and communications. In my case, however, the services are free and I'm aiming to empower the people involved, more than the organization they belong to. rkm -------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2007 16:55:34 EST To: •••@••.••• From: •••@••.••• Subject: Re: post-xmas dialog... Congrats! -------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 30 Dec 2007 23:41:23 -0500 Subject: Re: dialog + new website From: Greg Coleridge <> To: <•••@••.•••> Richard, A truly excellent piece! Very succinct. Might I recommend a couple of articles examining the myth of democracy and ways to democratize the Constitution. The U.S. Constitution: Pull the Curtain First of two articles on the U.S. Constitution Winter 2007 By What Authority, published by the Program on Corporations, Law & Democracy (POCLAD) http://www.poclad.org/bwa/Winter07.htm A U.S. Constitution with DEMOCRACY IN MIND Second of two articles on the U.S. Constitution By What Authority, published by the Program on Corporations, Law & Democracy [POCLAD] Spring, 2007 http://www.poclad.org/bwa/Spring07.htm Cheers, Greg Coleridge Director Economic Justice & Empowerment Program Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee [a Quaker social action organization] -------------------------------------------------------- To: <•••@••.•••> Date: Mon, 31 Dec 2007 15:52:05 -0600 From: "Howard Switzer" <> Subject: Re: * rkm issues a New Year's Challenge * http://cyberjournal.org/show_archives/?id=1370 Richard, thank you for the work... I've been talking to my colleges in the Green Party, I'm a delegate from TN on the National Council, for some time now about such an intervention. The GP is divided and is held completely at bay with internal conflict over the large state small state representation issue and over the fact that the party voted to support one of its own instead of Ralph Nader in the 2004 election. Most of the GP seems pretty good but there is a divisive faction that is raising hell all the time and the elected leadership hasn't been able to handle it very well and so far has ignored my suggestions for a facilitated effort to get the party unified so it can move on. It may be that the minority faction refuses all mediation. But ever since I read your book, Richard, and the Facilitators Manual, I have been talking about this. We need to do something that will make us smarter. The vision you have about how this might spread community to community is why I encourage GP members at the local level to become conveners in their communities etc etc. But they've got to all get on the same page first it seems to me and learn to respect one another. Decentralizing the economy is one of the 10 key planks in their platform but the minority faction seems to want to be top down, one right way. ....I don't know, maybe its a COINTELPRO operation. Howard Switzer, Architect ------------ Hi Howard, Congratulations! You are the only person who responded to my challenge! I was quite surprised at that. I guess no one else has any problems. Here's my response to your situation. I wouldn't worry about the Green Party as such. Parties are a bad idea; they're divisive. And I wouldn't focus on convening Wisdom Councils. That turns out to be a very slow-moving process. What I would suggest is to gather together a group of Greens, in a facilitated session, and have everyone bring up their concerns about the Green Party. Let that lead where it will lead. You won't be the only one with doubts and with ideas. imho, rkm -------------------------------------------------------- From: "JOHN ADDYSON" <> To: •••@••.••• Subject: Thanks from John Addyson Date: Tue, 01 Jan 2008 13:49:19 -0500 Hello Richard, Thank you for your kind response. Consider me a slow learner, but the challenges that you have set forth make sense. After much soul searching I, too, have come to the conclusion that if meaningful change is to come, it must start at the the local level. Humankind has survived through the centuries living in this very manner: families meld into tribes, tribes meld into confederations, and this understandably works best when members of the community realize that everyone's survival depends upon the mutual cooperation of all the members, and not just an unfortunate few. But I am stating the obvious. You are correct in saying that the internet scares the hell out of the puppet masters who manipulate the events that shape our world. More and more of us in the trenches are beginning to realize this important fact. In this era of on-line communication, I sense that we have now gone past what I call the Identification Phase. The Identification Phase, in my estimation, lasted for about 10-years (say, 1995 to 2005). It consisted of folks from all walks of life sharing their stories, comparing notes, and formulating an understanding of how power, money, and information, was used to benefit the few, while oppressing the many. This was a crucial time, not to mention a lengthy process. In one respect, many of us were amateur sleuths, trying to piece together a crime scene from sketchy--and often conflicting--pieces of information. As we know so well, an accomplished criminal is a master at covering his tracks; indeed, in the commission of a crime mistakes are made, but when the criminal controls the police department and the judicial system, the task of bringing the truth to light of day is darn near impossible. In my view, you have been instrumental in piecing together an accurate picture of how this ingenious system of power and control works. I am probably not alone in saying this, but when my wake up call came in 2003, and when I discovered that our key political, religious, and financial leaders were nothing more than "made" members of a sophisticated criminal enterprise, I grew depressed realizing that the fairy tales impressed upon me from kindergarten on were nothing more than bald-faced lies. I went through all of those emotional passages that Elizabeth Kubler Ross identified in his works on death and dying. But I realized, however, that lashing out at the system would accomplish very little. I felt that creating a website that hosted a series of negative rants and tirades against the system would be, at best, preaching to the choir, and merely adding to the despair and hopelessness that many of us fee. So the perplexing question that weighed heavily upon my mind for the past several years was: "How can I make a positive difference?" Believe me, the answers did not come overnight, because it took several years to formulate a fundamental understanding of how I fit into this matrix of domination and control. Perhaps Occam's Razor holds true in addressing these complex issues. The simplest solution/answer may be the best approach; that is, change must start with the individual. If transformation is to work, pardon the pun, it must be an inside job. In future correspondences, I would like to share a couple of small success stories with you in how we (my family) have taken steps to circumvent the matrix, and find more meaningful lives in the process. Lastly, I hope that my little sermonette does not read like an overly emotional, sappy tome. But as you have so eloquently written, the exchange of meaningful dialog leads to self-discovery and change. Best wishes, Richard. John Addyson Pennsylvania, USA ---------- Hi John, Thanks sharing your thoughts, and I look forward to hearing of your success stories. I agree that the transformation must start with the individual. And the transformation that is needed has to do with empowerment and action, rather than with 'realizations' or 'enlightenment'. It has to do with not relying on any government or organization - or anyone but yourself - to be the agent of change. And when I say 'agent of change' I am NOT talking about changing your lifestyle. I'm talking about getting out there and creating change in society. cheers, rkm -------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 03 Jan 2008 09:27:06 +0100 From: Hélène CONNOR To: <•••@••.•••> Subject: Re: * rkm: Has capitalism passed its peak? * http://cyberjournal.org/show_archives/?id=1371 Dear Richard, Difficult to write an article on that topic that would put "smiles on faces" as you say, but you could try... as it ends in too pessimist a manner. You usually give a glimpse of hope and it is appreciated since we don't want to demobilize our friends. Brazil also has become too aware in building its biofuel program (since 1973) to let itself go and become enslaved to such a trade. At least I think so Thank you for all your research and work which we are in the habit on spreading to our international lists. Have a fruitful and happy year 2008! Helene -------- Hi Helene, Why would I want to put smiles on people's faces? Demobilization is what most people need most, to re-evaluate what they're about. If people were doing the right things we wouldn't be in this mess. If Brazil is so savvy, why did Lulu sign a major deal to grow biofuels? smile when there's something to smile about :-) rkm -------------------------------------------------------- From: HTomHOK Date: Thu, 3 Jan 2008 13:16:07 EST Subject: Re: * rkm: Has capitalism passed its peak? * To: •••@••.••• X-Virus-Status: Clean Richard, I believe that knowledge of the past is essential to understanding the present. Sometime ago I ran onto a letter from Keynes to Roosevelt that sheds a lot of light on the present: "An Open Letter to President Roosevelt". <http://newdeal.feri.org/misc/keynes2.htm> The letter was written early during the Great Depression, but apparently was mostly ignored by Roosevelt for several years, although I believe Keynes and Roosevelt must have communicated during the interim. From this letter I have reasoned the cause of the depression as being the introduction of too many machines to replace workers, resulting in massive unemployment. Keynes' suggested solution to unemployment seems to bear this out. One of the more interesting aspects of the letter is the desire of Keynes, and likely Roosevelt, to find a way out of the depression leaving the existing social system, capitalism, intact. As Keynes points out, the failure to do this would have likely resulted in capitalism being replaced by another economic system. It is my assumption that placing this concern in the first paragraph indicates it as being of paramount importance to both Keynes and Roosevelt. It is later in the letter that Keynes explains the "pump-priming" justified by war theory, i.e. the start of the military-industrial complex. If you will recall, in 1948 the economy started down hill again and McCarthy, a kook drunkard, started his communist fear mongering that led to the cold war. The cold war was just as effective as a shooting war in justifying huge deficits. It provided millions of jobs producing non-consumer goods, and served as a life support for capitalism while also creating the fear required to control the Russian people. You may already have the Keynes letter and have made your own analysis of it, but I believe it is worth review at this particular time. Tom ------- Hi Tom, Thanks for sharing your research & thinking. Certainly the preservation of the system, and particularly the primacy of banks, was foremost in Roosevelt's mind. He comes from an old banking family. Keynes was an idealist, a quite different kettle of fish. If the Depression had been caused by too many machines it never would have ended. The level of industrial automation has only increased since then. The Depression was intentionally created by the Federal Reserve, as a way of increasing its control over the economy, and of enriching its private owners by enabling them to buy up assets at bargain prices. The postwar boom, that lasted into the sixties, was not primarily about a war economy, that didn't come until the Vietnam build-up. The postwar boom was about industrial exports, and about investments and developments in the Global South ('Free World'). The purpose of the Cold War rhetoric was to fool the American People into interpreting US imperialism as being a 'defense against a threat', ie communism. The Communist Threat has now been replaced by the Muslim Threat, and again it is a made-up enemy to distract from imperialism. imho, rkm -------------------------------------------------------- From: •••@••.••• Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2008 17:14:00 EST Subject: Anti-Empire Report, January 13, 2008 Anti-Empire Report, January 13, 2008 <http://killinghope.org/aer53.htm> -------------------------------------------------------- To: Richard Moore <•••@••.•••> From: Andrea Lea <> Subject: Fwd: NAACP President: Ron Paul Is Not A Racist - Paul being smeared Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2008 22:38:57 -0500 Hi Richard, You need to say more about Ron Paul rather than the other candidates, with the possible exception of Dennis Kucinich (who can't make the difference that Ron Paul can) or Cynthia McKinney, the former Congresswoman from Georgia who told the truth when do one else would speak up. Of course, it cost her dearly but I understand she is the latest addition to the Presidential race. A ------ Hi Andrea, My interest in the election is strictly limited to interpreting what it means. I have no interest in influencing anyone's votes, as the whole political process is a waste of time. I have posted some things to newslog about Ron Paul, as examples of how the system is rigged. rkm -------------------------------------------------------- From: BEGoodman Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2008 12:18:34 EST Subject: Fwd: Top Censored News Stories of 2007 as Judged by Respected University Rese... This is a DYNAMITE site for all the stories NOT published by the media. Pick and choose which ones interest you most and cut them out, in full. But my suggestion is to forward ALL of this to as many as you possibly can so that the suppressed news will no longer be hidden. Love and Peace, Evelyn <http://www.WantToKnow.info/080117mediacensorship> -- -------------------------------------------------------- cyberjournal: http://cyberjournal.org cyberjournal archives: http://cyberjournal.org/show_archives/ Escaping the Matrix: http://escapingthematrix.org/ The Phoenix Project: http://phoenixgathering.blogspot.com/2008/01/phoenix-gathering-seeking-intelligent.html rkm blog: "How We the People can change the world": http://governourselves.blogspot.com/ The Post-Bush Regime: A Prognosis http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7693 Community Democracy Framework: http://cyberjournal.org/DemocracyFramework.html newslog archives: http://cyberjournal.org/show_archives/?lists=newslog Moderator: •••@••.••• (comments welcome)
Share: