We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Friday, August 8, 2014

The Old Continent’s Road to Ruin (Through Moscow)

Click here to access article by Don Quijones from Wolf Street. 
The message was clear from the U.S. and European leadership: sanctions against Russia would have a “limited spill over” on U.S. and European businesses and a “moderate effect” on their economies. At least that was the plan – or at least the plan presented for public consumption. Unfortunately, the spoilsport that is Vladimir Putin seems rather less inclined to play along.
.... As the stakes get higher in a trade war that has already inflicted serious pain on many European and Russian companies as well as on their broader economies, the big question is: Who Will Fold First?
Russia, as always throughout modern history, refuses to submit to the dictates of other would-be imperial powers. Thus, they must be punished. The problem for the directors of the Empire is to keep Europe under their control while directing mostly a proxy war against Russia. The author sees a lot of difficulties that may get in the way of their plans.

So, once again, if we fail to act, we ordinary people must brace ourselves for more capitalist intrigues and power struggles. There seems to be no end to the crises that they are imposing on the world's Ninety-Nine Percent. The question I ask is: why brace ourselves instead of working to dismantle the system which gives them their power? Why put up with their intrigues, their crises, and their disasters any longer given the fact that future disasters will be far worse than ever before?