Fox Business: Gerald Celente (http://www.trendsresearch.com/) Predicts Revolution

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.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46MEqEgdLTg

A Credit Crisis or a Collapsing Ponzi Scheme?

The Two Trillion Dollar Black Hole

http://counterpunch.org/martens11132008.html

If he means McCain, then he must've missed his enthusiastic support of wholesale murder in Iraq and his "bomb Iran" mantra.

This priest and the Catholic Bishops are on the horns of a dilemma. I greatly admire and respect their desire to protect the sanctity of life, and I do understand the theological underpinnings, but they're horribly wrong in buying into the notion that the gut-wrenching decision made by a pregnant woman (even one who may have become pregnant by an act of rape!) to abort is somehow on the same level as the cold-blooded calculations of the war party.

Only one of these acts constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil -- and it isn't the one made by women in desperate circumstances.

re: Greenspan really is not stupid

And therin lies a real problem.

If one believes that Greenspan is stupid, then all of those who sung his praises for so many years -- including most economists -- are even stupider. These are now the same people who are supposedly going to lead us out of the economic wilderness.

On the other hand, if Greenspan is not stupid, then we can only conclude that he knew full well what damage his policies would cause.

So take your pick. Either choice is equally ugly in its implications.

re: That the Palin absurdity should follow the two-term presidency of another individual utterly out of his depth in national government is particularly troubling ...

I am at a total loss when I realize that even after the indisputable disaster of Bush, McPalin was still able to get 48% of the vote! Think about it: 48% of the electorate was perfectly willing to not only continue the Bush disaster, but to allow Palin to potentially have her fundamentalist finger on the nuclear trigger!

Clearly, half the electorate is plain crazy, stupid, or both. There is no other explanation.

re: Granted, the Church, like any other 2,000 year institution, has had a lot of jerks, megalomaniacs, thieves, murderers, and you-name-it in its history.

Likewise, the United States government has had its share of jerks, megalomaniacs, thieves, murderers, and you-name-it in its history. That does not mean that we should all leave the United States or condemn it as irrelevant; rather, it means that people of good will -- that is, the majority -- must work that much harder.

Insofar as the Church, when I feel betrayed by the actions of some of its members and wonder if it in fact represents God, I recall that it was Christ himself who chose Judas.

A mystery of the faith.

Watch this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZapLpNBEAoE

I highly recommend this DVD , also available for instant viewing:

'The Weather Underground'

http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The_Weather_Underground/60029983?trkid=222336&lnkctr=srchrd-sr&strkid=1857777339_0_0

Perhaps the best documentary I have ever seen. An extremely insightful look into the Vietnam-era times of protest and social upheaval, and how it shaped the views and actions of Ayers and others. Without this understanding, you can't really grasp the framework in which Ayers operated.

Viewing it, I was reminded of the words of Jack Palance as 'Jesus Raza' in the wonderful film, 'The Professionals', as he mused on the revolution:

"La Revolucion is like a great love affair. In the beginning, she is a goddess. A holy cause. But... every love affair has a terrible enemy: time. We see her as she is. La Revolucion is not a goddess but a whore. She was never pure, never saintly, never perfect. And we run away, find another lover, another cause. Quick, sordid affairs. Lust, but no love. Passion, but no compassion. Without love, without a cause, we are... nothing! We stay because we believe. We leave because we are disillusioned. We come back because we are lost. We die because we are committed."

re: You are faulting Reagan for Hussein's crimes.

U.S. Had Key Role in Iraq Buildup

Trade in Chemical Arms Allowed Despite Their Use on Iranians, Kurds

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/1230-04.htm

Officers Say U.S. Aided Iraq in War Despite Use of Gas

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/51/220.html

How Reagan Armed Saddam with Chemical Weapons

http://counterpunch.org/dixon06172004.html

Shaking Hands with Saddam Hussein:

The U.S. Tilts toward Iraq, 1980-1984

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/

Reagan and Saddam - The Unholy Alliance

http://www.counterpunch.org/dawoody06082004.html

Plenty more where those came from.