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the manner in which governments address
Emily Arter
them continues to provide proof for Einsteins
Theory of Relative Insanity. Illustrations
Anthony Freda / Dan Zollinger
Another proof is to be found in the US
presidential election. The electorate will vote Photo
for a representative of one of the two political parties. An analysis of what these Michael Bloom
parties have accomplished during their respective reigns reveals an unbroken Design
track record of failure failure ranging from the catastrophic to the abject. Norgaard Advertising & Design
Thus, to vote for either presidential candidate and to expect something other
than failure is, by definition, insanity.
Why will so many people vote on Election Day when they know they will
not get what they really want? Not only will they settle for less, many openly
acknowledge that they will be voting for the lesser of two evils.
How can people justify voting for an evil and actually believe that any good
can come of it? Lesser or greater, evil is evil. Yet, not only do they justify it, they
will argue that their evil candidate is better than your evil candidate and become
furious when you dont see it their way.
In America, it is an article of faith (drummed into our heads since childhood)
that voting is a privilege and a duty and if you dont vote you get what you
deserve. Personally, I deserve better than a lesser of two evils and will not
demean myself by voting for one. Nor do I consider it a dereliction of duty. Just
the opposite. It is by not voting that I register my vote of No Confidence.
Not voting is not necessarily a sign of apathy, its a positive statement in
repudiation of a failed and corrupt system. Only when enough people vote No
Confidence can the system change. To perpetuate the same system and expect
different results is insanity.
Emirs at the helms of the ships heart, intellectual food for the
of state behave as though head, and at the highest level,
they believe they are of a high- food that elevates the soul.
er order. At the physical level, of
Are we destined to be no course, its obvious: Eat junk
more than hapless passengers food, drink junk drinks and
slaves aboard their slave ships, the inevitable result is a junk
whipped into submission, forced to obey orders and work body. The same applies to the quality of food fed to the
until we are no longer useful and then thrown overboard? head, heart and soul. Read junk books, absorb junk news,
The answer to these questions is Yes if we are slaves listen to junk music, watch junk entertainment and the
that obey the Captain and his mates, accept their author- mind thinks junk thoughts and inevitably the heart expe-
ity, and believe in their superiority, then that is our fate. riences junk emotions.
But if we are human beings who refuse to believe, ac- When enough individuals become sufficiently junk
cept and obey self-important, self-serving beings, regard- free, society is transformed from within and the course
less of their positions then the answer is No! of history changes.
The course of history most certainly can be changed, But at this juncture, as detailed in the following pages,
but for history to change the individual has to change. the most commanding trends are not leading toward a
S
everal studies suggest that the $1.4 billion in government subsidies are encouraging the ethanol program without
reaping substantial benefits to the U.S. economy. Large ethanol industries and a few U.S. government agencies,
such as the USDA, support the production of ethanol.
Corn-farmers receive minimal profits. In the U.S. ethanol system, considerably more energy, including high-grade
fossil fuel, is required to produce ethanol than is available in the energy-ethanol output. Specifically, about 29% more
energy is used to produce a gallon of ethanol than the energy a gallon of ethanol can produce. Fossil energy powers corn
production and the fermentation/distillation processes.
Increasing subsidized ethanol production will take more feed from livestock production and is estimated to currently
cost consumers an additional $1 billion per year. Ethanol production increases environmental degradation. Growing corn
production causes more total soil erosion than does growing any other crop. Also, corn production uses more insecti-
cides, herbicides and nitrogen fertilizers than required for any other crop.
All these factors degrade the agricultural and natural environment and contribute to water pollution and air pollution.
Increasing the cost of food and diverting human food resources to the costly, inefficient production of ethanol fuel raises
major ethical questions. These occur at a time when more than half of the worlds population is malnourished. o
What is not open to interpretation is the reality of the Past is Present With angry, destitute and starv-
trillions of tons of poisons spewed into the air, pumped ing populations outraged and rising in protest against the
into the earth, and spread over the land and the seas. Be it financial mobs, business monopolies and powerful politi-
global warming induced by fossil fuels or climate change cians, history was repeating itself in 2012.
due to natural cycles, everyone and everything the Man The names and times had changed but the fundamen-
on the Street and Mother Earth herself has been and tals were essentially the same: a few people with a lot, in
continues to be seriously damaged by the toxic onslaught. control of everything and a lot of people with very little,
Clear-cutting of forests, topping off mountains and going out of control. The Panic of 08, and pre-1st Great
mega-mining operations, over-fishing, inexorable popula- War of the 21st Century, were near-mirror images of post-
tion growth, dwindling natural resources, cannot, by any Crash of 29 and pre-World War II.
stretch of the imagination, be considered as unavoidable, For the general public and all of the media, even the
acceptable byproducts of progress. Yes, they create jobs, most obvious parallels were not being made. Ironically, as
but on a grander scale, they are among the myriad factors economically ravaged Spain was being reduced to Franco-
destabilizing and desecrating life on Earth. era poverty, so the stage was being set for a new Spanish
Civil War.
Trendpost: Regardless of short-term fluctuations (too This time the civil war would not be cast, as it had been
much rain, not enough rain, too hot, too cold, good har- in the 1930s, as a struggle between Fascism and Freedom.
vest, bad harvest) Environmental Restoration on the In fact, it was just that. Back then it was championed by
micro and macro scale will be a long-term mega-trend. Republican sympathizers as a struggle between tyranny
Out of necessity, safe food and clean water; energy-ef- and democracy, while opposing Nationalists painted it
ficient equipment, appliances, fixtures; alternative energy as a struggle between communist/anarchist hordes and
development, sustainability at every level (from the grand Christian civilization.
scale to the personal level) will become paramount con- This time around the government would paint the war
cerns. In the process, the new Environmental Restoration as a struggle between the righteous forces of national se-
trend will generate innumerable new entrepreneurial and curity and stability and a rabble of anarchists, socialists,
investment opportunities. malcontents, separatists and home-grown terrorists.
While the mega-trend will not result in an environ- However, for the tens of millions of unemployed and
mental utopia, the more individuals, communities and newly destitute who had lost everything and had noth-
countries that embrace it, the greater the compounding ing left to lose, it was a struggle between themselves and
positive effects. the criminal banking cartel, business monopolies and a
IN CHARGE OF THE ASYLUM Good afternoon, everybody. There are very few
Even though it was evident that the choice of candidates moments in our lives where we have the privilege
was limited to psychopaths, sociopaths, and megalomani- to witness history taking place. This is one of those
acs, they were, in the eyes of the faithful, political gods, moments. This is one of those times. The people of
wise and benevolent. Egypt have spoken, their voices have been heard,
The political priesthood told the worshipers that if they and Egypt will never be the same.
didnt perform the voting ritual, they forfeited their right By stepping down, President Mubarak respond-
to complain when they didnt like the results. ed to the Egyptian peoples hunger for change
The reality was, however, that by performing the ritual, Egyptians have made it clear that nothing less
voters were guaranteed unsatisfactory results, since they than genuine democracy will carry the day.
were voting for politicians who, almost by definition, were (President Obama, 11 February 2011)
pathological liars interested only in furthering their own
interests and the interests of those that gave them the Democracy? The people of Egypt hadnt spoken. The
most money. June 2012 election would prove that the countrys en-
It was a mystery, but there were no hidden secrets. trenched interests did all the speaking. Secular, religious,
How could otherwise-functioning adults, people who it made no difference. A party was a party was a party and
had an education, could drive a car, earn a living and whatever party won, all those outside the party would not
raise a family actually be so gullible as to believe that be invited, let alone have their interests addressed.
their electoral choice had their best interests at heart and Yes, there was a vote, but the numbers told the true
cared about them? tale. In the first round of elections, only 46 percent of eli-
Yet they did, and they would become angry, even violent, gible voters turned out, and just 51.6 percent voted in the
should anyone question the sanctity of their political god. ensuing runoff. The moral of the Egyptian election story
Seemingly innocuous and even-handed as the Daily Mail story is, as with so many other mainstream reports, it provides yet
another instance of journalistic bias.
The evidence resides in the language. In the Western media, virtually all stories concerning Americas staunch ally Israel,
regardless of the issue (seizing Palestinian land to build further illegal housing developments, extra-judicial assassinations,
attacks upon unarmed civilians) are couched in non-judgmental, non-inflammatory language.
But in virtually all stories concerning Americas sworn enemy Iran, a totally different order of language is employed.
When Netanyahu wants to hold America hostage, its just Bibi being Bibi. But if the same language that was applied to
Ahmedinejad talking about retaliation to an Israeli strike were applied to Benjamin Netanyahu, Bibis true nature would
stand revealed: reprehensible, outrageous, totally unacceptable, a diatribe from a raving, scheming, paranoid
psychopath.
ONLY IN AMERICA
It was a curious fact that the American press and American politicians were routinely more pro-Israel than the Israeli press
and politicians. As the to bomb, or not to bomb Iran debate heated up in Israel, Shaul Mofaz, chairman of the opposition
Kadima Party ridiculed the Prime Ministers style of government, calling it Bibi-land Netanyahus land of wonders, a cut-
off kingdom that is all illusion, complete with a fraudulent leadership.
He also accused Netanyahu of using the Iranian issue to divert attention from Israels domestic problems, saying the
premier was planning distractions far from Israels borders.
Cries are heard from afar. Motivation is high. Scare tactics are used. And the strategy is clear: If we die of fear, we wont
die of hunger, Mofaz added.
The lesson within the Trend Lesson: Watch, read and listen to as many sources from as many different points of view as
possible, both domestic and foreign, on any issue with geo-political, economic and military consequences. This, of course,
means going beyond mainstream and even alternative media for specialized research and analysis on the given topic.
As demonstrated in the story above, there is a stark difference in how Netanyahus war talk is reported in Israel as com-
pared to the United States. If you received information only from US media, you would not realize how contentious the issue
was in Israel itself. o
man Rep. Mike Rogers on Friday. tration of 20 percent. The West fears Irans actions
Citing sources, Reuters reported on Thursday are aimed at paving a way for the manufacturing
that Iran is continuing to install many more ura- of nuclear bombs. (Haaretz, 24 August 2012)
nium enrichment centrifuges in its Fordo facility,
which is buried deep inside a mountain, in order
to protect it from a military strike. One source Apocalypse Now or Later? Could this be?
suggested Iran had already installed hundreds of Was Israels Prime Minister going to use the presidential
enrichment machines. election as a cover to attack Iran, and in so doing, coerce
Meeting in Jerusalem, Netanyahu told Rogers, Obama into dragging America into war? Considering Alon
who is the chairman of the House Intelligence Ben-Davids inside access to Israels military high com-
Committee, that the report was additional proof mand, was there any reason to challenge his veracity? Or
that Iran is continuing its accelerated progress to could he be acting on behalf of Netanyahu and/or the
obtain nuclear weapons, while completely ignor- military by sending up a trial balloon to gauge US and
ing international demands. international reaction?
Iran is using the Fordo facility, near the holy Here was Israel, a diminutive nation (bigger than New
city of Qom, to enrich uranium to a fissile concen- Jersey but smaller than Massachusetts) financially and
If the stubborn Democratic donkey couldnt be led by the Mitt Romneys insult-the-world tour
Israeli government, would the Republican circus elephant excels in picking on the Palestinians
perform its tricks? In late July, with his campaign in stall In his enthusiasm to attract Jewish donors,
mode, Mitt Romney took it overseas to England, Israel and Romney fails to acknowledge Israels iron grip
Poland to showcase his foreign policy skills and presidential on Palestinian economic hopes
potential. Mitt Romney isnt on an ordinary world tour. Hes
The Romney road show bombed big on its first stop. on an insult-the-world tour, during which hes
Upon arrival in London, the presidential challenger wast- constantly trying to outdo his previous personal
ed no time in alienating and insulting his hosts: best. How else to explain the Republican presi-
dential candidates horribly offensive comments
Mitt Romney visits London about Palestinians during his recent trip to Jeru-
while stumbling on almost every front salem, so soon after the clunking insults leveled
The Obama campaign could scarcely have thought at his British hosts in London last week?
of a better outcome for Mitt Romneys first UK visit Over a 16,000-a-plate campaign fundraiser
as presumptive nominee breakfast with Jewish donors in Jerusalem, Rom-
If Barack Obama were dreaming up the ideal ney aired his deep thoughts on the dramatic,
start to Mitt Romneys first overseas visit as the stark difference in economic vitality between
presumptive Republican nominee, the president the Palestinian and Israeli economies. These
might wonder whether his rival could offend the thoughts were obtained by reading books, he pre-
USs historic transatlantic ally. fixed, before surmising that Israeli accomplish-
That would obviously be rejected as impossibly ments were down to at least culture and a few
ambitious, so the president might then ask him- other things oh, and also, the hand of provi-
self whether Romney would fail to remember the dence. So Romney thinks that Palestinians are
name of one of his hosts in London. screwed because Israelis have a better culture and
To the undoubted joy of the White House, a better god. Its a shame he didnt add something
Romney stumbled on all those fronts in London about bad karma and the Palestinians not doing
on Thursday, the first day of his visit to three of their positive affirmations properly.
the USs closest allies - Britain, Israel and Poland. The presidential hopeful doubtless believes
Downing Street, which had gone to great this standard-issue, superiority-complex racism
lengths to give Romney the red carpet treatment and that its what his donors want to hear. Romney
without breaching strict protocol rules, was as- was, after all, only in Jerusalem to assure right-
tonished when he questioned whether London wing Israelis that he is an even bigger fan of their
was capable of running a successful Olympics. In peace-quashing ways than President Obama. Sit-
an interview with NBC after his arrival in Lon- ting next to the Republican candidate at that Is-
don, Romney said it was disconcerting that the raeli hotel breakfast was American casino-billion-
Olympics organizers had encountered difficulties aire Sheldon Adelson, who bankrolled Romneys
over security. One Whitehall source described visit and has indicated his readiness to part with
Romneys remarks as a total shocker that had $100m (63.5m) for the Romney campaign.
rendered officials speechless. Adelson thinks that the Palestinians are an
David Cameron wasted no time in delivering invented people, supports Israeli hard-right
POLITICAL SLIME
And in keeping with the time-honored political practice
of saying what you need to say to get elected, changing
Susan Rice: Libya Protests In keeping with their motto: A Presstitute is a Pressti-
Hijacked by Extremists tute is a Presstitute is a Presstitute, the American media
An Obama administration official said Sunday recorded and reported these self-serving, uninformed ob-
that the deadly attack on a U.S. consulate in Libya servations, declarations and conjectures without so much
last week was the work of individual clusters of as a grimace, since, after all, they were spoken by a voice
extremists but began as a spontaneous protest. of authority, the US Ambassador to the UN.
Libyas interim president, Mohammed Al-
Megarif, suggested on Sunday that al-Qaeda was Trends Analysis: No, America was not even less popu-
behind the deadly assault on the U.S. consulate lar. That was why, around the globe, mobs were burning
in Benghazi, which claimed the life of the U.S. the American flag and screaming Death to America.
ambassador. And no, according to Ambassador Rice, the protests
Ms. Rice said on ABC that the assault on the werent an expression of hostility in the broadest sense to
U.S. consulate in Benghazi Tuesday started with the U.S. or its policies. Could anyone take this nonsense
a small number of people seeking to replicate seriously? In the broadest sense, the narrowest sense
a violent protest that had broken out in Cairo. and every other sense, the expressions of hostility were
And then as that unfolded, it seems to have been precisely what they seemed to be and were understood as
hijacked, let us say, by some individual clusters such by anyone with common sense.
of extremists who came with heavier weapons, Implicit was the message there was nothing to worry
weapons that in the wake of the revolution in about. As soon as the offending movie is forgotten, the
Libya are quite common and accessible, she expressions of hostility will cease and the Arabs of the
said. And it then evolved from there. world will unite to sing the praises of all things American.
Mr. Magrief said, in contrast, if you take into And, not to forget, no matter what happened, how it
account the weapons used, like RPGs [rocket- happened, or why it happened, the situation was under
propelled grenades] and other heavy weapons, it control. As the distinguished UN Ambassador assured the
proves that it was pre-planned. Its a dirty act of American people, Mr. Obama (in between his rolled-up-
revenge that has nothing to do with religion. sleeve, non-stop campaign stops, golf games and rounds of
The consulate attack in Benghazi killed four basketball) was a Commander-in-Chief who was incred-
Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to ibly calm, incredibly steady, and incredibly measured
Libya, Christopher Stevens. A question that has through the crisis especially since he was thousands
lingered since is whether it started as a spontane- of miles away from the consulate when it was bombarded.
ous protest or had been planned by extremists.
Ms. Rice told Fox News Sunday that the
protests werent an expression of hostility in Were Better Than You Presidents, Secretar-
the broadest sense to the U.S. or its policies, but ies of This and That, Ministers of Importance, Ambas-
rather were a reaction to the video negatively de- sadors of Wherever and all those of Higher Authority not
picting the Muslim faith. She said that it was diffi- only knew what was best for everyone, they lived in a dif-
I LIKE IKE
Did Eisenhowers observation that Any man who wants
to be president is either an egomaniac or crazy apply
to Mitt Romney and President Obama? The former has
been campaigning for the office since 2007 and President
Obama has been on the re-election campaign trail since
April 2011.
And what keeps people obediently following leaders,
looking up to them and rarely questioning authority? Is
the public also trapped in a teenage mindset? Are leaders
surrogate parents; teachers who wont stand for disobedi-
ence? What would make adults follow and obey the same
Anthony Freda / Dan Zollinger
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