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

Saturday, January 7, 2012

The US-Iran Economic War

Click here to access article by Pepe Escobar from OpEd News. 
A key amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act signed by United States President Barack Obama on the last day of 2011 -- when no one was paying attention -- imposes sanctions on any countries or companies that buy Iranian oil and pay for it through Iran's central bank. Starting this summer, anybody who does it is prevented from doing business with the US.
The NDAA not only moved the US closer to a police state, it has enabled US and Israel to play a very dangerous game. Welcome to 2012!