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

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Saudi Arabia: The Ultimate Rogue State?

Click here to access article by Don Quijones from Raging Bull-Shit. 
The Saudis’ increasing destabilization of the region is testament to just how desperate and isolated they’ve become. In many ways the country is still stuck in the middle ages, and the family that has reigned as an absolute monarchy for generations is determined that it will stay that way. However, there is a tide of change sweeping through the region and if history teaches us anything, it’s that governments that are unwilling to change will eventually be forgotten by time.
The author provides an excellent summary of evidence of this Medieval kingdom's role in supporting terrorist activities throughout the Middle East in an attempt to ward off threats to it antiquated rule.

I have been waiting for some kind of disciplinary response from the directors of the Empire to the recent insubordinate activities of this kingdom, and now I am wondering if their cozening up to Iran might just be their way of retaliating.
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