"Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" author John Perkins spent three decades as an Economic Hit Man, argues that the United states has created a modern-day empire through the use of economic blackmail and the undermining of foreign governments.
Stage 1: Financial - Faith in "business as usual" is lost. The future is no longer assumed resemble the past in any way that allows risk to be assessed and financial assets to be guaranteed. Financial institutions become insolvent; savings are wiped out, and access to capital is lost.
Stage 2: Commercial - Faith that "the market shall provide" is lost. Money is devalued and/or becomes scarce, commodities are hoarded, import and retail chains break down, and widespread shortages of survival necessities become the norm.
Stage 3: Political - Faith that "the government will take care of you" is lost. As official attempts to mitigate widespread loss of access to commercial sources of survival necessities fail to make a difference, the political establishment loses legitimacy and relevance.
Stage 4: Social - Faith that "your people will take care of you" is lost, as local social institutions, be they charities or other groups that rush in to fill the power vacuum run out of resources or fail through internal conflict.
Stage 5: Cultural - Faith in "the goodness of humanity" is lost. People lose their capacity for "kindness, generosity, consideration, affection, honesty, hospitality, compassion, charity" (Turnbull, The Mountain People). Families disband and compete as individuals for scarce resources. The new motto becomes "May you die today so that I die tomorrow" (Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago).
Even MORE arrests in the Luzerne County courthouse corruption dragnet!!!!!!!!
Sandra Brulo - from the Courthouse of Corruption - yesterday we had mobsters...this is MASSIVE, baby!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sandra M. Brulo, a high-ranking Luzerne County probation services official, was charged this afternoon by federal prosecutors with one count of tampering, altering or destroying an official record, a felony.
A criminal complaint filed by federal prosecutors alleged Brulo “knowingly, intentionally and corruptly” altered or destroyed a record and document “with the intent to impair the object’s integrity and availability for use in an official proceeding.”
The alleged tampering occurred within the last three weeks, prosecutors said, and at least a week after federal prosecutors filed corruption charges against former President Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and decertified Senior Judge Michael T. Conahan and an embezzlement charge against Court Administrator William T. Sharkey Sr.
THE CITIZENS’ VOICE FILE A petition filed on behalf of The Citizens’ Voice states then-President Judge Michael T. Conahan, right, and his cousin, Court Administrator William T. Sharkey Sr., ‘steered’ a defamation case involving the newspaper into the courtroom of Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., left.
NEPA: A witness will testify that one or both of the disgraced Luzerne County judges who’ve pleaded guilty to accepting millions in kickbacks have “direct connections” to jailed mobster William “Big Billy” D’Elia, according to a petition filed Thursday in the state Supreme Court by lawyers for the owners of The Citizens’ Voice.
D’Elia, 62, the longtime reputed head of the Bufalino crime family, is serving nine years in federal prison for money laundering and witness tampering.
Two Wall Street firms that received at least $60 billion in government bailout funds will be rewarding their financial advisers with controversial retention payments, the terms of which one senior executive described as "very generous" in audio obtained by the Huffington Post.
The soon-to-be-merged financial giants -- Morgan Stanley and Citigroup's Smith Barney -- announced the payments during an internal conference call last week, but warned advisers against describing them in terms that would cause PR headaches.
"There will be a retention award. Please do not call it a bonus," said James Gorman, co-president of Morgan Stanley. "It is not a bonus. It is an award. And it recognizes the importance of keeping our team in place as we go through this integration."
Cenk Uygur from Meet the Bloggers and Young Turks: "They're bleeding the banks every single day that we allow it. They're taking OUR money, putting it in THEIR pockets, and running for the hills. We've got to end this - TODAY!!!"
Corporate CEOs Caught Scheming on Tape
This is CRIMINAL! Charging to check the balance of your unemployment! And repeal Reagan's TAX ON UNEMPLOYMENT! Why isn't this being done? Did you know you have to pay tax on unemployment? Because of Ronald Reagan?
First, Arthur Santa-Maria called Bank of America to ask how to check the balance of his new unemployment benefits debit card. The bank charged him 50 cents.
He chose not to complain. That would have cost another 50 cents.
So he took out some of the money and then decided to pull out the rest. But that made two withdrawals on the same day, and that was $1.50.
For hundreds of thousands of workers losing their jobs during the recession, there's a new twist to their financial pain: Even when they're collecting unemployment benefits, they're paying the bank just to get the money — or even to call customer service to complain about it.
In New York, several dozen student activists have barricaded themselves inside a cafeteria at New York University. The group Take Back NYU has submitted several demands, including the establishment of a socially responsible committee, a full disclosure of the school’s annual budget and support for Palestinian students in the Gaza Strip.
Student: “The first two orders of the socially responsible finance committee will be an in-depth investigation of all investments in war and genocide profiteers, as well as companies profiting from the occupation of Palestine.”
MAYOR VIRG BERNERO OF LANSING MICHIGAN TEARS FOX ANCHOR A NEW ONE - this guy looks like he's going to cry at one point. Rush Limbaugh is another propagandist for the extremely rich, wake up, please! He makes a million dollars a week. See how these guys crumble in a 2-way conversation? When they're not talking one-way like Tokyo Rose Drug Limbaugh? The 1/2 billionaire??? This video is a good one to show you how TV tries to make the working class guy feel "guilty" about making a living wage with good benefits. TV says you should be "ashamed" if you're making a living wage with adequate benefits. They say you must give up more! Nothing about the banksters who gambled away their money and are gettin Billions from us or CEO's making $40 million dollar bonuses. Rush Limbaugh actually speaks on their behalf, who do you think is paying him? Did Rush Limbaugh ever speak on behalf of YOU??? He's a paid mouthpiece and propagandist for the richest of the rich. Also, I believe, he has fake callers like an infomercial. Black guys who call in and say: "Rush, I'm black and I agree with everything you say!" Rightwing radio is an infomercial for the extremely rich! If you're not a millionaire, you shouldn't be listening to Rush Limbaugh! Or any rightwing radio programs! Try and name anything they promote like covering everyone with health care and things like that! Rush Limbaugh and rightwing radio and FOX "news" will get more and more and more irrelevant the worse it gets for you.
David Brock, the reformed conservative noise-maker, on how the Right has sabotaged journalism, democracy, and truth.
As a young journalist in the 1990s, David Brock was a key cog the Republican noise machine. Writing for the American Spectator, a conservative magazine funded by billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, Brock gained fame for his attack pieces on Anita Hill and President Bill Clinton. Then, in 2002, Brock came clean. In his memoir, Blinded by the Right, Brock admitted that his work was based on lies and distortion, and part of a coordinated smear campaign funded by wealthy right wing groups to discredit Clinton and confuse the public.
Since then, Brock has continued to expose the conservative media onslaught. In his newest book, The Republican Noise Machine, Brock documents how right-wing groups pressure the media and spread misinformation to the public. It's easy to see how this is done.
Fringe conspiracies and stories will be kept alive by outlets like Rush Limbaugh, the Washington Times, and the Drudge Report, until they finally break into the mainstream media.
Media groups like Brent Bozell's Media Research Center have spent 30 years convincing the public that the media is, in fact, liberal. As Brock says, it's all asham: "I have seen, and I know firsthand, indeed from my own pen, how the organized Right has sabotaged not only journalism but also democracy and truth."
It is unfortunate, but understandable, that young people in the United States are not taught (in the government's schools) the history and operation of their country's most powerful financial institution, The Federal Reserve System. We suggest that informed teachers use this page to help students gain valuable knowledge as part of their general education.
...KOOKY Bishop alienating more people in NEPA again!!!
Never says anything about the corrupt judges or mobsters in NEPA, or the Iraq War.
In a letter to the heads of three local Irish organizations, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton has threatened to close St. Peter’s Cathedral in Scranton during St. Patrick’s Day celebrations if the groups feature elected officials who support abortion rights at their annual events.
