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, January 20, 2012

The US-GCC fatal attraction

Click here to access article by Pepe Escobar from Asia Times Online.
...the House of Saud sells its oil only in US dollars - thus the pre-eminence of the petrodollar - and in exchange benefits from massive, unconditional US military and political support. Moreover the Saudis prevent the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) - after all they're the world's largest oil producer - to price and sell oil in a basket of currencies. These rivers of petrodollars then flow into US equities and Treasury bonds.
But, hold on! Escobar looks at some trends which suggest a very different scenario in the future. You see, a major factor propping up the Empire is the imposition of the US dollar on most of the rest of the world. It is very much like a hooligan in your neighborhood forcing everyone to use his money. This is a huge benefit to him. He can merely print money, and as much as he likes and use it to get the goodies he wants from everyone in the neighborhood.
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