AncientMariner

In actuality it is a good thing this old system is dying. It will be tough times but it is an inherently evil system they have created and I never realized it in full until recently thanks to guys like Ron Paul and Alex Jones. Unfortunately Obama is a well polished and smooth talking frontman for the Federal Reserve. He probably parties with Bush Sr., Clinton, and W and they all have a good laugh about the con job they have pulled and continue to pull on America. Like you I am done with the whole thing, do not really care anymore but I do find it fascinating to watch it all unfold. Don't care if I get annihilated by coming events. It has been a priviledge to witness this incredible act of criminality and I would like to live long enough to see it come crumbling down but either way I am comfortable with whatever happens.

Just heard Gerald Celente say that around February things will get real bad with bank runs and eventually there will be tax revolts and the country could end up breaking into regions or states breaking off. He said we are going the way of Soviet Union. It looks like the Government is bailing out citigroup so it is another bailout which shows the first bailout didn't work. This cascade of bailouts will continue until people realize there is nothing left. It looks like it is already game over, it is just a matter of time now. People are going to have to band together on the local levels and rebuild from the bottom. All in my opinion only.

Who knows for sure? Ever since the bailout I have been reading all the conspiracy theorist websites because that bailout was the first time where it it really hit me that these conspiracy theorists might be right about the stuff they say. What they are saying is that this depression is engineered by the fed and the politicians. They want to completely destroy the middle class and retirees etc. Basically bring the whole nation to its knees. Then they will use the bailout money to buy up all the infrastructure and stocks when they get to ridiculously low levels. In essence the politicians and the fed create the problem then when people are desperate they come back and pose as the saviors and offer up a new system that will be a police state. They are saying it will be corporate feudalism and your life will be planned out for you by government officials. They say they are going to eventually move to a cashless society and install everyone with microchips and people will have to pay carbon taxes. They say they will use false flag terror attacks to round people up and send them to Fema camps or labor camps. Times are crazy enough it is hard to say what is gonna happen but at least for me anyway I would say all bets are off and just about anything could happen at this point. Interesting time to be alive.

My view is that if there is to be a Golden Age its not North America that will get kicked out of anything it will be a Constitutional Renaissance in North America that kicks out the oligarchs that control the banking system and the politicians. It is the international bankers that are the Shadow Government behind the evils of the American Empire. The politicians are puppets of these bankers so these politicians will be brought down too. Still a long way to go until any of this happens as most of the public are completely dumbed down.

I to the conspiracy theorists that say the government intentionally created this crisis and the will consolidate the banking industry and their power and will come in and pose as the saviors when it fully runs its course. Obama is the frontman who is supposed to get the people to restore their trust and faith in government. Apparently the bankers that control the politicians did this same thing in WW1 and WW2. So we are seeing this same scenario unfold now. It is amazing time to be alive.

The interesting thing about the Revelations to me is that the world does appear to be heading towards One World Government and a cashless society where you will need a microchip implant or something to particpate in the economic systsem. I don't know if Revelations mentions these things as I am not a bible expert but just based on the stuff I have heard about Revelations there do seem to be some similarities. Don't know if everything will unfold like in Revelations. I can understand both sides of the argument. People say these visions were just megalomanical visions of primitive religous madmen but then again the supersoul is working in everyone and even back then so maybe these madmen were getting a glimpse of the future, who knows for sure. I guess we may eventually find out. I think it is also possible the people that control the banking system are intentionally creating world events to make things look like Revelations. Another interesting thing about Revelations is that is my understanding is that it predicts that eventually there will be a 1000 year reign of Christ where I assume things will be harmonious and my understanding is that Prabhuapda predicted that we were going to enter a golden age of Lord Caitanya eventually so there are some similarities there as well but who knows for sure.

I can relate to what you are saying. I have had experiences that make me believe that God is real but I live in a world where even most religions are full of mostly exploitation and corruption and that sometimes makes me wonder if my faith is just wishful thinking or I am deluding myself just to make life more tolerable. Those are the sad facts but I figure I will keep chanting and praying so that when I die I might as well call out Hare Krishna and see if it works. Even as sinful as I am I figure at that point I will not have anything to lose by chanting. When I die I am going to try and simultaneously think of Jesus and Krishna at the same time and see what happens. I figure if my experiment doesn't work and I am forced to reincarnate again things cannot get much worse than life on planet Earth right now.

Until the international bankers are exposed for their crimes against humanity and educated people form an army to repel them I don't think any real spirituality of any sort will flourish in any meaningful way. They use intelligence agencies to destoy grass roots movments and virtually all the grass roots movements on the Earth infight with each other and battle for power on their own ego trips.

Who knows but personality cults are rampant throughout America. People worship musicians, actors, politicians, you name it. Most Americans seem to be atheists these days so they tend to worship these celebrities as Gods so to speak even though they don't believe in God. Don't know about this person being the Buddha or anything. I guess there are some real strict qualifications you have to have to be an incarnation of God. Who am I to say he is not the Buddha but I am not excited enough about it to go and found out for myself as usually it seems like these sort of things end up being a hoax.

Yep. It will be interesting if the NWO tries to go after China. It would be suicidal but I have heard it speculated that Obama is planning on attacking Pakhistan to try to get to China because China get most of its oil from Pakhistan. Have also heard that America is too broke to do anything like that so who knows.

Washington is Powerless to Stop the Coming Economic Depression Barbara L. Minton Natural News November 14, 2008 The U.S. is in the grip of fear. People are so worried about the collapse of the economy that they’ve stopped going to the mall, and they’re cutting every expense they can think of to save money for the hard times ahead. They’ve even stopped going to Starbucks. Bankers too have pulled their purse strings closed and refused to lend anything to anyone. Investors have been selling their stocks and converting what’s left of their retirement accounts to cash that can be horded in a safe. Even the usually optimistic media now wonders if America is sinking into a depression. Everyone is waiting for Washington to do something to end the crisis and get the country back on track. But the truth is that even with its new administration, Washington is no more able to save the U.S. from depression now than it was in the 1930’s. Today’s Americans have lived through unprecedented good times Most Americans alive today have never witnessed a depression. They have lived through an unprecedented period of good times characterized by a predominance of peace, economic expansion and easy credit. Sure there were a few recessions along the way, but the general growth trend remained intact. People felt confident that this trend would continue, with each generation envisioning an even better future for its children. People have come to think of wealth as ever-expanding. They have seen each year on the job entitling them to a raise, and the purchase of a house entitling them to capital gains. They have eschewed “safe” investments like certificates of deposit and government bonds, believing investment in stocks could pave the way to an early and cushy retirement. For many years Americans have contemplated their future with complacency. It’s been a great time to be alive, but good times always come to an end. What is an economic depression? A depression is a severe downturn in economic activity that lasts for several years. It is a period during which the economy fails to grow at all and actually shrinks. The last depression, named The Great Depression, began in 1929 and lasted ten years. Several years during this period experienced huge economic shrinkage: 1930 -8.6% 1931 -6.4% 1932 -13% 1933 -1.3% The unemployment rate during this time rose to 25%, and wages for those who still had jobs fell 42%. Total U.S. economic output fell from $103 billion to $55 billion and world trade sank 65% as measured in dollars. For many people during this period it was not a question of whether they could afford the latest styles for their children. It was a question of whether they were able to provide their families with a few potatoes to eat. Like the coming depression of today, the Great Depression followed a period of monetary expansion and easy credit that sparked a real estate boom. Just like today, many people moved into mansions and bought stocks believing that the market had no way to go but up. During the period from October, 1929 to July, 1932 the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell from about 375 to 48, a decline of 89%. The Dow did not regain the levels seen in 1929 until 1954, and that was only as a result of World War II. Without the war, the downturn would have lasted longer. Why did it get so bad? Many people think that the monetary policies of the Hoover administration were to blame. Instead of pumping money into the economy and increasing the money supply, the Federal Reserve allowed the money supply to fall by 30%. The “New Deal” period created many government programs geared to ending the Depression, but unemployment remained in the double-digits until 1941, when the outbreak of World War II created defense-related jobs. Today it is believed that another depression of this magnitude cannot happen because those in charge of monetary policy paid attention to the lessons learned from the Great Depression. People believe that laws and government agencies exist to prevent that type of cataclysmic economic pain from happening again. But the fact is that Washington cannot save the world from the coming depression, and here’s why: The debt crisis is too big to be controlled by the U.S. government Right now the government owes its creditors $52 trillion in interest-bearing debts. Based on estimates from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, there is another $60 trillion in contingency debts and obligations such as Social Security, Medicare and guaranteed pensions. Add to that $596 trillion (more than half a quadrillion) that represents the total value of U.S. debts and derivatives placed worldwide. These are the numbers that are on the table as of now. They don’t include the increasing line-up of companies doomed to fail, such as General Motors and Ford or the increasing need for handouts to companies already on the list of the “too large to fail”, such as AIG. As times get harder for all Americans, more and more companies will begin to fail and look to the government to save them. The precedent has been set. The list also does not include the mortgages that will implode when the second leg of house price declines kicks in following increased job loss. The figures also don’t include government handouts to those whose families are hungry because the parents are unemployed. Now, consider that even after the additions to the ever lengthening list of pledged government bailouts in recent months, the total amount of rescue money announced in the U.S. so far is $2.7 trillion, a huge sum but miniscule in comparison to the massive debt that needs to be accounted for. Yet the mantra still exists that Washington can save us from another Great Depression because they won’t repeat history and make the mistakes that were made in the 1930’s. Americans continue to think that Great Depression Part II will not come to pass. It’s time for Americans to start adding up the numbers and drawing some conclusions. Washington is powerless to raise the kind of money needed without borrowing The U.S. economy is like a ship that has struck an iceberg and is taking on water. With the economy sinking, Washington is unable to fund the bailouts and reign in the debt with higher taxes. Higher taxes would crimp even more the amount of money available to be spent by consumers to keep the economy propped up. And as more and more people lose their jobs, the tax base gets smaller and smaller. Many people think it is no problem for Washington to get its hands on money since it owns the printing presses. This would be the easiest solution to the problem - print up huge amounts of money and cause hyperinflation. That would solve everything. Salaries would increase and therefore taxes would increase. GDP would expand in dollar terms and the debt would begin to seem small since it would have been conceived in “old dollars”, and the “new dollars” would be hyperinflated. But this won’t work because a huge amount of U.S. debt is held by foreign creditors who have insisted on stability for their investments. There is no way they would stand for the U.S. launching a mode of hyperinflation because it would drastically decrease their value of their holdings. Right now these foreign debt holders are the country’s benefactors. Without them, American is sunk. They are calling the shots and America is scrambling to keep them happy. There is nothing for the government to do but go out into the world with its hat in its hands and try to borrow more money. In fact, this has already started with the borrowing of $550 trillion dollars in the fourth quarter of this year, more than the entire deficit of fiscal year 2008. According to Goldman Sachs, the immediate needs of the Treasury will be a whopping $2 trillion to finance the bailouts, the existing deficit, and the next refunding. This huge refunding of the federal deficit will result in an avalanche of new Treasury securities that have to be sold to someone. In order to beat the bushes for buyers in these skittish times, the Treasury will have to increase the interest rates offered on these securities, adding even more fuel to the debt fire. Americans realize they have too little savings and too much debt The reason given to Congress as need for speedy approval of the bailout was that without it, no one would be able to get a loan. The specter of the masses with their credit cards planted firmly on their hips was a scary thought to the Secretary of the Treasury and the Fed Chairman. Washington needs consumers to borrow more, spend more, and save less. But consumers are doing just the opposite. Recent sales figures point to a collapse in retail sales. Washington is pushing bankers to lend, but they won’t do it. It’s as though everyone has been slapped in the face with cold water. As a result, the economy is left to fall on its face. It is this coming together of debt and deflation that makes a depression inevitable. It’s what happened in the 1930’s and it’s what is happening now. Debt and deflation produce a powerful downward spiral The downward spiral is across many areas and will inevitably encompass most of American life. Consumers and businesses slash spending and lay off workers, leading to fewer consumers with money to spend at the businesses, resulting in the need to lay off more workers and so on. Mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures bring on selling of more real estate, driving the prices lower and lower. These falling prices then bring on more mortgage defaults. Fear of bankruptcy forces selling of stocks in companies, and the selling of stocks brings on more bankruptcies. It is the inevitable unwinding of the good times that lasted for 30 years. It will take awhile for all this unwinding to play itself out. The unwinding of the Great Depression took 10 years and the debt overhang was nothing like it is today. Source for facts about the Great Depression: Kimberly Amadeo, “What is a Depression?”, About.com US Economy.

That is a beautiful understanding that is inspirational to a person of any particular religion or faith in my opinion.

With Christianity I pretty much only focus on the life of Jesus. His life as it is portrayed in the story is divine in my opinion. I have read some other interesting stories in the Bible as well but the endless philosophical debates and fine points isn't where I put my focus. I like to focus on the lives of these divine characters wether it is Jada Bharata or Jesus Christ. That is where the lessons are for me personally not in the endless bickering between religions or bickering over philosophical differences in interpretations of scriptures of various religions or within different sects of the same religion.

Celente Predicts Revolution, Food Riots, Tax Rebellions By 2012 Paul Joseph Watson Prison Planet.com Thursday, November 13, 2008 <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=366 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=16></TD><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD width=16></TD><TD width=350></TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD width=16></TD><TD class=photo-caption vAlign=top align=left width=350></TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> The man who predicted the 1987 stock market crash and the fall of the Soviet Union is now forecasting revolution in America, food riots and tax rebellions - all within four years, while cautioning that putting food on the table will be a more pressing concern than buying Christmas gifts by 2012. Gerald Celente, the CEO of Trends Research Institute, is renowned for his accuracy in predicting future world and economic events, which will send a chill down your spine considering what he told Fox News this week.Celente says that by 2012 America will become an undeveloped nation, that there will be a revolution marked by food riots, squatter rebellions, tax revolts and job marches, and that holidays will be more about obtaining food, not gifts. “We’re going to see the end of the retail Christmas….we’re going to see a fundamental shift take place….putting food on the table is going to be more important that putting gifts under the Christmas tree,” said Celente, adding that the situation would be “worse than the great depression”. “America’s going to go through a transition the likes of which no one is prepared for,” said Celente, noting that people’s refusal to acknowledge that America was even in a recession highlights how big a problem denial is in being ready for the true scale of the crisis. <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=439 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=16></TD><TD width=16></TD></TR><TR><TD width=425> </EMBED></OBJECT> </TD><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD class=photo-caption vAlign=top align=left width=425></TD><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD><TD height=8></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Celente, who successfully predicted the 1997 Asian Currency Crisis, the subprime mortgage collapse and the massive devaluation of the U.S. dollar, told UPI in November last year that the following year would be known as “The Panic of 2008,” adding that “giants (would) tumble to their deaths,” which is exactly what we have witnessed with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and others. He also said that the dollar would eventually be devalued by as much as 90 per cent. The consequence of what we have seen unfold this year would lead to a lowering in living standards, Celente predicted a year ago, which is also being borne out by plummeting retail sales figures. The prospect of revolution was a concept echoed by a British Ministry of Defence report last year, which predicted that within 30 years, the growing gap between the super rich and the middle class, along with an urban underclass threatening social order would mean, “The world’s middle classes might unite, using access to knowledge, resources and skills to shape transnational processes in their own class interest,” and that, “The middle classes could become a revolutionary class.” In a separate recent interview, Celente went further on the subject of revolution in America. “There will be a revolution in this country,” he said. “It’s not going to come yet, but it’s going to come down the line and we’re going to see a third party and this was the catalyst for it: the takeover of Washington, D. C., in broad daylight by Wall Street in this bloodless coup. And it will happen as conditions continue to worsen.” “The first thing to do is organize with tax revolts. That’s going to be the big one because people can’t afford to pay more school tax, property tax, any kind of tax. You’re going to start seeing those kinds of protests start to develop.” “It’s going to be very bleak. Very sad. And there is going to be a lot of homeless, the likes of which we have never seen before. Tent cities are already sprouting up around the country and we’re going to see many more.” “We’re going to start seeing huge areas of vacant real estate and squatters living in them as well. It’s going to be a picture the likes of which Americans are not going to be used to. It’s going to come as a shock and with it, there’s going to be a lot of crime. And the crime is going to be a lot worse than it was before because in the last 1929 Depression, people’s minds weren’t wrecked on all these modern drugs – over-the-counter drugs, or crystal meth or whatever it might be. So, you have a huge underclass of very desperate people with their minds chemically blown beyond anybody’s comprehension.” The George Washington blog has compiled a list of quotes attesting to Celente’s accuracy as a trend forecaster. “When CNN wants to know about the Top Trends, we ask Gerald Celente.” — CNN Headline News “A network of 25 experts whose range of specialties would rival many university faculties.” — The Economist “Gerald Celente has a knack for getting the zeitgeist right.” — USA Today “There’s not a better trend forecaster than Gerald Celente. The man knows what he’s talking about.” - CNBC “Those who take their predictions seriously … consider the Trends Research Institute.” — The Wall Street Journal “Gerald Celente is always ahead of the curve on trends and uncannily on the mark … he’s one of the most accurate forecasters around.” — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution “Mr. Celente tracks the world’s social, economic and business trends for corporate clients.” — The New York Times “Mr. Celente is a very intelligent guy. We are able to learn about trends from an authority.” — 48 Hours, CBS News “Gerald Celente has a solid track record. He has predicted everything from the 1987 stock market crash and the demise of the Soviet Union to green marketing and corporate downsizing.” — The Detroit News “Gerald Celente forecast the 1987 stock market crash, ‘green marketing,’ and the boom in gourmet coffees.” — Chicago Tribune “The Trends Research Institute is the Standard and Poors of Popular Culture.” — The Los Angeles Times “If Nostradamus were alive today, he’d have a hard time keeping up with Gerald Celente.” — New York Post So there you have it - hardly a nutjob conspiracy theorist blowhard now is he? The price of not heeding his warnings will be far greater than the cost of preparing for the future now. Storable food and gold are two good places to make a start.

Obahhhhhhhhhhhhma is gonna save us. Don't worry, be happy.

Yeah, I view that as a sensible approach to things. To say people should not have any means of self defense in an age when everyone is basically an animal and governments are agents of exploitation and oppression it seems pretty foolish to me. Hopefully one can develop enough favor with Krishna that Krishna will protect you from such people but just in case it is nice to have some guns. I know Jesus said that those who live by the sword die by the sword but I have also read in Bhagavad Gita that anyone who invades someones home or violates someones wife should immediately be killed.

I tend to agree with that analysis. Just haven't seen any evidence that people change very much even when there is a big crisis it doesn't take long until things return to business as usual. The only way I ever see people chaning to any large degree is if an avatar showed up or Jesus does end up being real or something like that.

Obama’s Change Leaves By The Back Door Tom Eley Countercurrents November 7, 2008 Three days after Barack Obama’s election victory, the initial moves by the president-elect to prepare his administration already show that his policies will be determined not by popular expectations, but by the domestic and foreign policy interests of the American financial and corporate elite. Obama and Democratic congressional leaders are well aware that these policies—further measures to secure the social interests and personal wealth of the financial aristocracy at public expense and the continued use of military violence in the Middle East and Central Asia—clash with the will of the electorate, which sought to reverse these policies by sweeping the Republicans out of power. That is why the Democrats are seeking to dampen expectations of a serious change of course. The personnel of Obama’s transition team and his first major appointment stand in obvious contradiction to his campaign rhetoric about "change,new politics," and "building a movement from the ground up." The individuals selected are all fixtures of the political establishment, with close ties to powerful corporate and financial interests. Obama’s transition team, which will assist in assembling his cabinet, is headed by John Podesta, former chief of staff to Bill Clinton and one of Washington’s most successful corporate lobbyists. Co-chairing the transition team are Valerie Jarrett, a long-time Obama advisor, Chicago real estate executive and influential figure within the Chicago Democratic Party machine, and Pete Rouse, a Washington insider and Obama’s senate chief of staff. (See: "A closer look at Obama’s transition team"). Obama’s first appointee is Rahm Emanuel, who will serve as his chief of staff. The Illinois Congressman is a leading member of the right-wing Democratic Leadership Council. While running for Congress in 2002, he supported Bush’s bill to authorize military force against Iraq. A former investment banker, he has close ties to financial interests and is one of the biggest recipients of campaign cash from banks and investment firms. Sources close to Obama have leaked names on the list of candidates for the position of treasury secretary—no doubt as a means of reassuring Wall Street. Included are former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, former Clinton treasury secretary and current Citigroup executive Robert Rubin, another former Clinton treasury secretary, Lawrence Summers, and Timothy Geithner, the New York Federal Reserve Bank president. All of these individuals played leading roles in the deregulation of the banks and investment houses that facilitated the super-profits and massive CEO compensation packages of the 1990s and first half of the current decade, and contributed to the financial collapse that is now plunging the US and the rest of the world into the deepest recession since the 1930s. Geithner has played a central role in the government bailout of Wall Street banks and other major firms, such as insurance conglomerate AIG and the mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. As Federal Reserve chief under Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, Volcker was responsible for the high interest rate "shock therapy" which decimated American industry in the early 1980s and led to the impoverishment of entire regions. There is much speculation that Obama will ask current Defense Secretary Robert Gates to stay on in the same capacity, at least on an interim basis. Gates recently gave a speech expanding the doctrine of "pre-emptive war" to include the use of first-strike nuclear attacks. Other names broached for the positions of defense secretary and secretary of state include former Bush Secretary of State Colin Powell, outgoing Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, and Anthony Lake, who as Clinton’s national security advisor played a key role in organizing the US-NATO war against Yugoslavia. Obama’s actions since Election Day have been calculated to signal to the ruling elite his readiness to defend their interests and not be swayed by the will of the electorate. To underscore his intention to seek a consensus with the defeated and discredited Republican minority, he will meet on Monday with Bush. The traditional White House meeting between a president-elect and the outgoing president normally takes place much later in the transition period between administrations. To demonstrate that his first priority is shoring up the major banks, Obama’s first post-Election Day meeting will be held today with his top economic policy advisers. The meeting will include Volcker, Rubin and Summers, along with billionaire investor Warren Buffett, former Clinton labor and commerce secretaries Robert Reich and William Daley, Clinton economic advisor Laura Tyson, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, Time Warner Chairman Richard Parsons, XEROX CEO Anne Mulcahy, Residence by Hyatt CEO Penny Pritzker, former Bush administration Securities and Exchange Commissioner William Donaldson, and Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm. Meanwhile, a series of statements by leading Democratic figures have emphasized their intention to pursue a "centrist" policy—by which they mean a conventional, i.e., right-wing, policy. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, spelled this out in no uncertain terms on Wednesday, advising Obama that he must "bring people together to reach consensus" on issues like the economy and the war. "A new president must govern from the middle," she said. Leon Panetta, former chief of staff to Bill Clinton, said, "He’s got to lower some expectations, indicate the limits he’s confronting." A basic premise of the talk about lowering expectations and delaying making good on campaign promises for health care reform, middle class tax cuts and other social measures is the claim that massive increases in the budget deficit preclude such outlays. Of course, the worsening budget crisis is the direct result of the allocation of more than $2 trillion in taxpayer money to bail out the banks, with the auto companies and other industries lining up for similar government handouts. No Democratic leader has explained why there are unlimited taxpayer funds available for the banks, but no money to address the increasingly desperate economic situation facing the working class, including millions of home foreclosures, soaring utility shut-offs, collapsing retirement accounts and mounting layoffs. The media has joined in the effort to dampen expectations. Newsweek warns, "Obama Won’t Meet Everybody’s Expectations." The San Francisco Chronicle explains, "Surely, President-Elect Barack Obama must prepare his supporters for the difficult circumstances that he, and this country," must undergo. Yesterday’s New York Times published an article, "Obama Aides Tamp Down Expectations," describing Obama’s efforts to "temper hopes that he would be able to solve the nation’s problems.The economic crisis" the Times notes, "will certainly complicate Mr. Obama’s more ambitious domestic efforts." On the same day, under the headline "Next Administration Shows Signs It will Seek Middle Ground with Business on Thorny Issues," the Wall Street Journal reassured the moneyed elite that in an Obama administration, "a bill that would make it easier for unions to organize workers, efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, and a slew of contemplated taxes will likely take a back seat." The article continued, "Several of Mr. Obama’s top economic advisers, including former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, billionaire investor Warren Buffett, and former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin—are moderates and reassuring figures to the business community." Obama’s first moves as president-elect have underscored some basic political facts. First, there is a fundamental contradiction between the hopes and aspirations of the vast majority of people who voted for him out of anger and disgust with the Bush administration and the Republicans, and the class character of the Democratic Party and the social and economic interests it defends. Second, these moves underscore the cynical and fundamentally anti-democratic character of the electoral process itself, in which promises are made by candidates who know full well that, once in office, their polices will be determined not by election promises but by the demands of the ruling elite and the exigencies of American imperialism. A closer look at Obama’s transition team By Joe Kishore Barack Obama’s transition team is a collection of Washington insiders, former Clinton administration officials, corporate and banking executives, and individuals with roots in the Chicago Democratic Party political machine. The Obama-Biden Transition Project is led by three co-chairmen. They are John Podesta, former chief of staff for Bill Clinton; Valerie Jarrett, a long-time Obama adviser, Chicago real estate executive and influential figure in the Chicago Democratic Party; and Pete Rouse, Obama’s Senate chief of staff. John Podesta Podesta, chief of staff for Clinton from 1998 to 2001, will serve as the Transition Project’s leader. Podesta is a long-time Washington insider, where he served, beginning in the early 1980s, as legal counsel for a number of congressional committees. As is the custom in Washington, Podesta made use of his political influence to establish a lucrative Washington lobbying firm, the Podesta Group. Podesta authored a recent book entitled The Power of Progress: How America’s Progressives Can (Once Again) Save Our Economy, Our Climate, and Our Country. The lobbying firm of this "progressive" includes among its top clients the oil giant BP, defense industry corporations Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics, biotech firms Genentech and Amgen, Swiss pharmaceuticals corporation Novartis Interational AG, and Wal-Mart. Podesta has the dubious distinction of having been ranked the third most powerful lobbyist in Washington DC by the Washingtonian. According to the newspaper, BP, whose "pipeline problems and refinery fires have created regulatory and public relations issues," has turned to Podesta, who "has quietly been guiding BP through congressional hearings." For Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics, Podesta has been busy "trying to sell Congress and the Pentagon on another version of their Stryker troop transport vehicle." Podesta is president and chief executive officer of the Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank. The center was set up with substantial funding from billionaire investor and Obama adviser Warren Buffet. Valerie Jarrett Jarrett began her political career in 1987 under then-Chicago Mayor Harold Washington. She became deputy chief of staff for Mayor Richard Daley and later served as Chicago’s commissioner of the Department of Planning and chair of the Chicago Transit Board. Jarrett has also held leading positions on the Chicago Stock Exchange (member of the board from 2000 to 2007 and chairman from 2004 to 2007), the University of Chicago Medical Center (chairman of the board of trustees), the University of Chicago (vice chairman of the board of trustees) and the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry (board of trustees). Jarrett is the CEO of The Habitat Company, a real estate development firm in Chicago. She has been a top executive at the company since 1995, becoming CEO in 2007. Habitat has worked closely with the Chicago city administration to oversee public housing, receiving millions in local and federal subsidies. A Boston Globe article from June 27, 2008 ("Grim Proving Ground for Obama’s Housing Policy," by Binyamin Appelbaum) describes the state of one 504-unit public housing complex, Grove Parc Plaza, located in Obama’s former state Senate district. "About 99 units are vacant, many rendered uninhabitable by unfixed problems, such as collapsed roofs and fire damage. Mice scamper through the halls. Battered mailboxes hang open. Sewage backs up into kitchen sinks. In 2006, federal inspectors graded the condition of the complex an 11 on a 100-point scale—a score so bad the buildings now face demolition." "Grove Parc has become a symbol," the newspaper noted, "for some in Chicago of the broader failures of giving public subsidies to private companies to build and manage affordable housing—an approach strongly backed by Obama as the best replacement for public housing." The Globe reports "thousands of apartments" throughout Chicago, overseen by Habitat, that are characterized by similar disrepair. The Habitat Company "managed Grove Parc Plaza from 2001 until this winter and co-managed an even larger subsidized complex in Chicago that was seized by the federal government in 2006, after city inspectors found widespread problems." There is some talk that Jarrett will be named housing secretary in the Obama administration. Pete Rouse Pete Rouse is an interesting case, whose political trajectory says much about the Obama campaign. Rouse was the chief of staff to Tom Daschle, the former Democratic leader in the Senate. Rouse was known as the "101st senator" in Washington circles due to the power he commanded, particularly when Daschle was the majority leader. He has worked on Capitol Hill for over 30 years. After Daschle lost his seat in 2004, Rouse decided to take a position as chief of staff for Obama, then just beginning his first term in the Senate. The fact that an individual with Rouse’s history and political ties decided to throw in his lot with a freshman senator with little political power or influence indicates that Obama was being groomed at an early stage by sections of the Democratic Party establishment, including Daschle, for bigger things. Rouse has been a strong advocate of bipartisanship and "reaching across the aisle" to work with Republicans. Also included on the Transition Project are: * Carol Browner, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for eight years in the Clinton administration. After 2001, Browner took a position at the Albright Group, a firm headed by former Clinton administration Secretary of State Madeleine Albright that advises businesses on policy. * William Daley, brother of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. Daley was special counsel to President Clinton on trade (helping pass the North American Free Trade Agreement) and Clinton’s secretary of commerce from 1997 to 1998. After leaving government, Daley took a position as president of SBC Communications and later served as Midwest chairman of JPMorgan Chase and Bank One. He serves on the boards of directors of airline manufacturer and defense contractor Boeing and drug giant Merck. * Michael Froman is president and CEO of CitiInsurance, a branch of banking giant Citigroup. During the 1990s, Froman served in the US Department of Treasury as deputy assistant secretary for Eurasia and the Middle East, and later as chief of staff. * Federico Peña was secretary of transportation (1993 to 1997) and secretary of energy (1997 to 1998) under Clinton. After leaving government, he took a post in Vestar Capital Partners, an investment firm.

Obama: return to elite status quo Larry Chin Online Journal November 8, 2008 The election triumph of Barack Obama and the return of power to the Democrats was a cause for a split second of relief, but not elation. What the world learned is that it will not be subjected to a McCain-Palin presidency, which certainly would have ushered in horrors, violence, and insanity that likely would have dwarfed those of Bush-Cheney. But the arrival of Obama as the new imperial figurehead of the Anglo-American empire is not a victory of, or for, the people. It will not signify a dramatic upheaval, in any way, and by no means is any sort of revolution at hand. Nor is Obama’s ascendancy about “you.” It is about “them.” This election was a necessary rotation of management, scripted at the highest levels of the Anglo-American elite. The shifting of the deck chairs The empire — bloated, sickened, and on the verge of systemic collapse from eight years of sucking on its own Bush-Cheney poisons — is retrenching for its own survival. Eight years of Bush-Cheney delivered unprecedented power, control and trillions in loot. But in the end, the bottom-line results proved insufficient. Bush-Cheney did not make good on their promise to conquer the Middle East, secure all of the energy, and maintain American primacy. Their hubris and reckless arrogance has proven to be too big an international public relations nightmare to cover up. Although the Republicans did steal millions of votes, as predicted and tracked by Bradblog, Black Box Voting, and Greg Palast. It became clear, as election night unfolded, that Obama would be permitted a win, encoded on Republican voting technology, and beamed across a corporate media that had already begun to favor Obama and the Democrats months earlier. The “change” that a Barack Obama presidency will bring to America and the world will be one of style, not substance: a return to the centrist corporate globalism of the Clinton and Carter eras, complete with regurgitated Democratic Party elites from those administrations, and new neoliberal politicians touting similar ideologies. Obama’s coming wars As noted by Mike Ruppert and other seasoned observers, Obama is no savior, but the momentary pause offered by the imperial shift at the top has some value. It buys humanity some time. Time to prepare to face the worsening decline that Obama himself will oversee. The velvet gloves will be slipped back over the iron fists, but the fists will still be wielded aggressively. Within months, the global conquest that Bush-Cheney started will resume under the vastly more convincing and adored Obama, who has consistently stated his intention to intensify the war in Afghanistan, and “kill ‘terrorists’” across the Middle East. Many expect Obama to prove “how tough he is” immediately upon entering the White House, for political reasons. Obama is also perfectly positioned to introduce wars justified by popular humanitarian pretexts, such as in Darfur and other energy-rich geography in Africa. As written in the biting and definitive indictment of the Obama foreign policy promise by Michel Chossudovsky, The Democrats endorse the “Global War on Terrorism”: Obama “goes after” Osama, there will be no change of direction under Obama: “9/11 constitutes for Obama the main justification for waging a humanitarian war in the Middle East and Central Asia. In this regard, his position does not differ from that of the Bush administration. “Withdraw from Iraq, but remain in Afghanistan. Confront Iran, challenge Russia . . . Apart from the rhetoric of ‘bringing the troops home’ from war torn Iraq, which may or may not be carried out, what distinguishes the Democrats from the Republicans? “A more articulate, knowledgeable and charismatic president? “A more dignified and diplomatic approach to US foreign policy? “An opportunity to the US ruling elite to ‘present a different face to the world that could revive illusions to its democratic pretensions, not only internationally but within the United States as well.’ . . . “A spurious and counterfeit ‘humanitarian’ approach to Empire, which serves to mask the truth and gain popular support. “A less reckless Commander in Chief, who has an understanding of geopolitics and is capable of taking foreign policy decisions. A more carefully thought out military agenda than that experienced during the Bush administration? But no substantive shift in direction. “A means to quelling mounting dissent and opposition to the ruling corporate establishment by providing the illusion that the Democrats constitute a Real Alternative. “A means to sustaining the illusion that African-Americans can move up the social ladder in America and that their fundamental rights are being upheld. “A means to undermining real progressive movements by further embedding civil society organizations, trade unions and grass roots organizations, not to mention “Leftist” intellectuals into the realm of the Democratic Party. “A distraction from the extensive war crimes committed under successive US administrations. “A ‘human face’ to war and globalization?” Obama will not only maintain the bipartisan Washington consensus “war on terrorism” deception, he will improve upon it. As a pacifying force, he will perpetuate the cover-up, and retrieve the “squandered opportunity” presented by the false-flag operation of 9/11: a world united behind imperial war. March of the elites The true nature of Obama’s administration will be evident the moment Obama introduces members of his transition team and cabinet. Legions of corrupt elites — legendary war criminals, think tank assets and intelligence/security advisors — guided the campaigns of Obama, Clinton and the Republican candidates. Which of these same figures will now run Obama’s CIA, his Department of Homeland Security (which he will not dismantle), his National Security Council and his Defense Department? What Wall Street elites and former investment bank CEOs will be tapped to oversee the Treasury? Who will be the ambassador to the United Nations? Which Republicans will Obama “reach across the aisle” to bring in? How many “Bushies”? How many members of the conservative Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) will be given free reign? How many members of the Council on Foreign Relations, how many Bilderbergers, will run the show? They’re still here Lost in the election noise, and clouded by Obama euphoria, is the fact that Bush and Cheney have nearly two months left in power. More than ample time to commit some final atrocities and crimes. As tracked by Mike Ruppert, Catherine Austin Fitts and others, trillions of dollars are being systematically sucked, and suckered, out of the financial system. The global financial meltdown, along with other forms of destruction and cover-up, is the Bush-Cheney machine’s scorched-earth farewell. And it is not over yet. Will any bombs go off before Obama takes office? Who will George W. Bush pardon on his way out? A call for sobriety and vigilance The style shift from Bush-Cheney neofascism to “classic” neoliberalism under Obama may feel like “change.” It is not. The reality of the continuing global crisis — and Obama’s role as its latest figurehead — demands even more astute opposition, even more aggressive demands for justice, and a redoubled effort to end war and imperial criminality. Those who opposed Bush-Cheney must now refuse to drink the Obama Kool-Aid, and face the new challenge of battling a retrenched empire, a newly pacified population, and a naïve, hopeful and easily manipulated population that will be lost in even thicker denial; one that believes that “the bad guys are gone,” the worst is over, and that its salvation has been delivered.

That is the sad thing about Obama, I actually feel sorry for the guy. He very well might have started off with good intentions getting into government and wanted to be able to take care of his family and all that. The problem is the people who are in control of the political system are so diabolical and have such diabolical plans that now he is caught in the machinery and there is basically no way out for him now but to keep selling his soul to these corporate military demons and do their bidding. I saw his speech on Friday and he looked like a deer in the headlights. I think it is starting to dawn on him that this is no longer a big party now, the rhetoric is over and the decisions are going to be real and it is probably not so comfortable to be a puppet at this stage. He is more intelligent than Bush so there seems to be a higher chance that he has a conscience.

That sums it up. Even trying to wake up one single materialist seems like the most difficult thing in the world I could ever imagine. Don't know how the Hare Krishnas even function at all, the stress of trying to wake all these people up would be too much for me to handle.

An Obama Presidency More Of The Same Only Worse By Larry Pinkney http://www.blackcommentator.com/297/297_kir_obama_presidency_pt1.html “I believe that there will ultimately be a clash between the oppressed and those who do the oppressing. I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice, and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the system of exploitation. I believe that there will be that kind of clash, but I don’t think it will be based on the color of the skin…” -Malcolm X November 05, 2008 "BlackCommentator" -- -If the masses of people in this nation knew or had known the pertinent facts pertaining to the war mongering “we can fight the war better,” pro-apartheid Zionist, corporate Wall Street-backed, slippery tongued Barack Obama, it is doubtful they would have been so thoroughly bamboozled and hoodwinked to their own detriment and that of the world. Wall Street and the corporate media, however, have, to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, engaged in a relentless, ruthless, and absolutely unprecedented campaign of corporate branding and marketing on behalf of Barack Obama, with the peoples of the United States as their targets. Assuming that the corporate Wall Street elite and its concomitant opinion-forming, omission, and misinformation machinery of the U.S. corporate media successfully installs their favorite choice - Democratic Party Republicrat Barack Obama - as the first colored President of the U.S. Empire, the majority of people in the United States are in for a rude awakening in the form of increased economic austerity, internal political repression, deepened racial disharmony, external U.S. military adventurism, and an endless stream of misleading disinformation from the corporate government. The peoples of the world will face intensified imperialistic and military assault and attempts at U.S. hegemony. This time, however, the imperialism of the U.S. Empire will be conveniently spearheaded, condoned and rationalized by its newest and most potent weapon: the dangerously double-talking “Emperor” in black face - Barack Obama. Moreover, in one fell and foul swoop, the corporate / military elite of the U.S. Empire intends to utilize Barack Obama as the “messiah” (created by none other than corporate America and its corporate media) to neutralize and destroy the ongoing Black liberation struggle for justice and equality in this nation, and in people’s liberation struggles throughout the world. In relative short order - inside the United States itself - under a Barack Obama presidency, the living conditions of the majority of Black, White, Brown, Red, and Yellow peoples will continue to steadily and massively deteriorate while the corporate Wall Street barons prolong their glut of the every day people’s finances, resources, hopes, and dreams. Under an Obama presidency those non Blacks who stand in opposition to Barack Obama’s de facto pro Wall Street backers and their blood-sucking policies will be branded as racists and traitors, while those Blacks who oppose Obama’s policies will be ignored and/or branded as fringe radicals and traitors. Thus, the horrors of the U.S. Empire will continue unabated, and in many respects, under Barack Obama, actually worsen. The blame for the deteriorating economy and continued war will of course quickly be laid by the Obama / Biden regime and the Democratic Party Republicrats on the previous Bush / Cheney regime, despite the fact that it was the complicity of the Democratic Party itself with the Bush / Cheney Republican Republicrat regime that facilitated the despicable policies and practices of the Bush / Cheney regime. The fact is that the Democratic and Republican Parties are de facto Republicrats with the objective of exploiting the majority of people and maintaining U.S. Empire abroad. After the Democratic Party Republicrats so-called election euphoria and celebrating is over, the Obama / Biden Republicrat regime will get down to the business of placing the ongoing exploitation of the every day people of this nation on fast track. The masses of Black Americans, along with the oppressed and exploited Brown, Red, Yellow, and White peoples of this nation will learn first hand that, notwithstanding the deceptive Obama rhetoric, exploitation nationally and internationally will be intensified. The “clash between those who want freedom, justice, equality for everyone and those who want to continue the system of exploitation” about which Malcolm X referred, will be intensified under Barack Obama, with Obama representing the interests of the oppressors. The political contradictions in this regard will also be increasingly obvious. Those so-called leftist and progressives who were and are collaborators with U.S. Empire will, for a time, try to pretend that their support of Barack Obama was not a sell out, and that they simply need more time to persuade the U.S. Empire’s colored corporate emperor to do the right thing. Meanwhile, Black, Brown, Red, Yellow, and White peoples will be enduring an unprecedented rate of economic and social suffering. The anger of the people will ultimately peak and explode, as a result of having bought into false hope and raised expectations. This is precisely why the U.S. corporate government has already made military contingency plans to contain and massively quash dissention within the United States. Barack Obama will serve to provide his corporate / military masters with colored political cover for political repression in this nation; and he will have already provided a small respite of wiggling room for them in this regard. Nevertheless, as brutal reality forces the proverbial scales of blindness to drop from eyes of the masses, it will become crystal clear that the supposed “change” to which Barack Obama referred in his campaign rhetoric, was nothing more than a vicious ruse of double-speak by him, backed by his corporate and military handlers. Indeed, the emperor will be shown to “have no clothes.” But what of the fate of millions of Black, White, Brown, Red, and Yellow peoples inside the U.S.? How many horrible sacrifices will have been, and will yet need to be made by the people in order to get the boot of economic blood-sucking and political repression off their / our necks? The “clash,” to which Malcolm X referred, “between those who want freedom, justice, and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the system of exploitation” will deepen, as will repression and systemic contradictions. The “clash” will have, by necessity, as Malcolm X suggested, gone beyond “the color of the skin.” Notwithstanding his double speak rhetoric, it will become clear to people that a president Barack Obama supports and wants to “continue the system of exploitation” at home and abroad. Despite continued double speak and corporate disinformation and misinformation, it will be become undeniably clear that a president Barack Obama is the servant of the corporate/ military / prison apparatus of U.S. Empire, and a key facilitator of exploitation and political repression inside and outside the United States. Building a real, grass roots peoples’ movement inside the United States will then, in some respects, be more challenging but by no means impossible. Notwithstanding the political repression and incessant disinformation that for a certainty will be emanating from the Obama / Biden Democratic Republicrats and their cronies, a genuine peoples’ movement will be, of necessity, the order of the day. It is no mere coincidence that Democratic Party Republicrat, Barack Obama, had the unheard of amount of approximately 600 million dollars in his political campaign coffer compared with fellow Republican Party Republicrat, John McCain’s, approximately 100 million campaign coffer dollars. This fact alone should give some crucial insight into the despicable financial role played by corporations, and their outrageous, unacceptable, and massively inordinate amount of influence and control over the electoral system in this so-called democracy. Most of this money is blood money, based upon exploitation from the corporate Wall Street and military corporate elite. This fact alone gives yet another good indication as to what to expect under an Obama presidency. It is totally reprehensible and unacceptable and an utter mockery of democracy. BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board Member, Larry Pinkney, is a veteran of the Black Panther Party, the former Minister of Interior of the Republic of New Africa, a former political prisoner and the only American to have successfully self-authored his civil/political rights case to the United Nations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In connection with his political organizing activities in opposition to voter suppression, etc., Pinkney was interviewed in 1988 on the nationally televised PBS NewsHour, formerly known as The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. For more about Larry Pinkney see the book, Saying No to Power: Autobiography of a 20th Century Activist and Thinker, by William Mandel [introduction by Howard Zinn]. (Click here to read excerpts from the book). Click here to contact Mr. Pinkney.

I can appreciate what you are saying although my problem is that I have not seen anything out of Obama that indicates that he is anything more than a puppet for a highly centralized authoritarian police state where the elite live lives of luxury and the common people are essentially forced to work slave labor with no hope. It does the world and black people no good to live under such rule and in fact would most likely set back race relations. What is needed now is massive decentralization and the development of local economies based on cow protection, agriculture, and alternative energy. If Obama ever moves in those directions I will give credit where credit is due but until then I can not participate in the kool aid drinking just because he is black.

That was coming regardless of who won in my opinion. Until the federal reserve issue is adressed Americans will remain debt slaves to the centralized banks. Only if things get so bad that people are starving will they figure out how they have been duped. What can you do, try to inform people but the television has people so geared into political personality cultism that it is like trying to wake up zombies.

Not a bad idea but I read in Prabhupada's books that if you are a governmental official and cow slaughter goes on in your government you should resign from government in protest. I guess he could use his authority to institute cow protection measures. That would be one instance where I would be in agreement with authoritarian police state tactics if it involved cow protection. Not sure congress etc. would go a long with him and if he really followed the Bhagavad Gita he would be forced by conscience to resign.