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Whose Interests Will Shape Barack Obama’s “Change”? Radical Change Needs Pressure from Below
Ismael Hossein-zadeh
Abstract. Barack Obama was elected by the majorities of both the grassroots and the ruling elites. His mandate thus comes both from below, or the left, and above, or the right. Both sides are anxiously echoing his winning slogan of “change.” The question, therefore, is no longer simply change (as the market meltdown has made change an urgent universal demand), but what kind of change? Whose mandates or interests will guide the course of the urgently needed change? The answer, in a nutshell, seems to be dependent on the outcome of the balance of power, or the outcome of the ongoing (though largely submerged) class struggle.
To say that President Obama will face daunting challenges is stating the obvious. What is less obvious, however, is that these challenges also represent opportunities for change in favor of peace and economic security for all.
Obama Conspiracy
Mickey Z.
Mr. G.B. Shaw sez: “I often quote myself; it adds spice to my conversation.” With that concept in mind, I’ll remind you of something I said in a recent interview, re: St. Barack. Obama’s ascendancy, I posited, “is an excellent illustration of how the system handles dissent. A black face, a soothing voice and a vague message of change - all designed to keep the rabble pacified without changing anything at all.”
This, I submit, could be deemed the ultimate conspiracy theory.
The power elite, especially in the United States, share remarkably common interests and background. Corporate America is concerned solely with profits…period. Therefore, America’s foreign and domestic policy is logically geared towards that financial end—without any real accountability.
The Power Elite Playbook, Japan, Land of Western Industrialization Part 16 by Deanna Spingola
Deanna Spingola
In Japan – “For a thousand years, it was the policy of emperors and shoguns to keep the people ignorant, and to keep taxes high enough so families had to struggle to survive, because this kept them fully occupied and harmless.”
J. P. Morgan was involved in Japan during the Meiji Restoration (1867-1912) which replaced the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate with the restored imperial family. This trade-off of power was merely a cosmetic change. Assets were confiscated from the Tokugawa shoguns and used to build factories and railroads. These assets were then privatized into four major zaibatsu (conglomerates): Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Yasuda and Iwasaki. A zaibatsu could be comprised of mines, factories, banks, ocean fleets, insurance companies and export agencies. These four zaibatsus retained their exclusivity through kinship, marriage, school associations, bribes or any other secret or social arrangement. This is very similar to America’s elite class.
Anousheh Ansari: I am proud of being an Iranian Muslim
Interview by Kourosh Ziabari and Ahmadreza Tavassoli
The second anniversary of Anousheh Ansari's adventurous travel to the spatial station as the first Iranian space explorer passed over with the reticence of global media who have been busy analyzing the very earliest "side effects" of President-elect Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 US Presidential Elections.
In the heat of Ansari's space voyage, American media broached bunches of controversial issues such as the reluctance of half-blooded astronaut to introduce herself as Iranian or Muslim, but she never found the opportunity to clarify this.
Furthermore, most of the newspapers or websites dedicated their conversations to professional and technical matters when interviewing Anousheh Ansari which caused many stories to remain untold.
Following is the text of exclusive interview with the first female private space explorer Anousheh Ansari, the Iranian businesswomen who has perpetuated the name of Iran in the 2007 edition of Guinness World Records Book with her everlasting record.
Mass media are distorting the image of Iran
Interview by Kourosh Ziabari and Ahmadreza Tavassoli
The Cinema Verite International Documentary Film Festival, which was held in Iran on the third week of October 2008, was undoubtedly an occasional opportunity for documentary filmmakers from 75 countries worldwide to congregate for a landmark event and share their precious artistic experiences together and become acquainted with the obscured and disputatious culture of Iran.
The festival, which was inaugurated by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Islamic Republic of Iran, has hosted a stack of artists, journalists, filmmakers and analysts from US; which is not in an official friendly and impartial stance toward Iran these days, though is considered as a close cultural and scientific ally of Iran on behalf of its independent and non-governmental organizations and communities.
Hit Me Congress, One More Time: Bailing Out the Auto Industry
by Walter Brasch
Congress should bend over, dig into the public coffers once again, and give the auto industry everything it wants—even though 61 percent of Americans oppose a bailout, according to a CNN/Opinion Research poll.
A couple of weeks ago, CEOs from GM, Ford, and Chrysler, known collectively as the Big 3, revved up their corporate jets’ engines, dropped in on the Senate, and testified that without a $25 billion bailout western civilization would collapse.
With the nation in a Recession, auto sales have declined to the lowest point since January 1982. Sales are off 47 percent for Ford, 41 percent for GM, and 31 percent for Chrysler from last year. Even sales of major overseas auto manufacturers selling to the American market are down, but not as much as for the Big 3. But, Big 3 market share has plummeted from 70 percent in 1998 to only 53 percent this year, according to Autodata Corp. Equally as important, Consumer Reports has consistently given cars produced by foreign-owned manufacturers higher ratings than American-made cars, although the problem is more attributable to management decisions than problems on the manufacturing line. But, even if Big 3 Management was flawless in their business plans, sales would still be significantly down because of the Recession, partially caused by the sub-prime loan fiasco and the reality that credit is now tight for most Americans.
The Power Elite Playbook, Fascism and False Flags = War, Part 17
Deanna Spingola
Nagata Tetsuzan, in company with Obata Toshiro and Okamura Yasuji (all three trained in military intelligence) and Prince Hirohito, had met secretly at the German spa Baden-Baden on October 27, 1921 to plan a total war against the West. With the exception of Hirohito, all were then serving at Japanese embassies in Europe. They developed strategies to purge the army of the Samurai (knightly) leadership of the Choshu clan, to reorganize and modernize the army, and a plan to dominate Manchuria. Another young officer-attendee was Tojo Hideki, the future prime minister who would launch the Pacific war, the imperial scheme.
We are slowly dying
Sameh A. Habeeb
Israel has further tightened the screw on Gaza, where some areas have been completely plunged into darkness as fuel shortages shut down Gaza\'s sole power plant 25 days ago.
The power cuts affect all activities dependent on electrical power as the remaining power sources provided by Israel and Egypt cannot serve the needs of the whole of the Gaza Strip. Access to drinking and irrigation water is affected, as well as sewage treatment, risking disease. Already, this means that millions of liters of sewage water pollute the Mediterranean Sea on a daily basis.
A Historic Moment: The Election of the Greatest Con-Man in Recent History
James Petras
“I have a vision of Americans in their 80’s being wheeled to their offices and factories having lost their legs in imperial wars and their pensions to Wall Street speculators and with bitter memories of voting for a President who promised change, prosperity and peace and then appointed financial swindlers and war mongers.” An itinerant Minister 2008
Introduction
The entire political spectrum ranging from the ‘libertarian’ left, through the progressive editors of the Nation to the entire far right neo-con/Zionist war party and free market Berkeley/Chicago/Harvard academics, with a single voice, hailed the election of Barack Obama as a ‘historic moment’, a ‘turning point in American history and other such histrionics. For reasons completely foreign to the emotional ejaculations of his boosters, it is a historic moment: witness the abysmal gap between his ‘populist’ campaign demagoguery and his long-standing and deepening carnal relations with the most retrograde political figures, power brokers and billionaire real estate and financial backers.
'I Have a Scam': the Real Cause of Impending, Utter Financial Collapse
Len Hart
Ft. Knox
That there is gold in Ft. Knox may be a popular myth. Then again it could be just another bald-faced lie, a hoax, a callous, criminal fraud like 'supply side, trickle-down' bailout economics! I say: NO bailout for the banks, NO bailout for the fat cats who created this mess, NO bailout that lets the GOP off the hook! Screw the banks and to hell with Wall St!
What we need is a bailout for the people!
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