4 Scenarios for the Coming Collapse of the American Empire

4 Scenarios for the Coming Collapse of the American Empire By Alfred W. McCoy

"The demise of the United States as the global superpower could come far more quickly than anyone imagines.

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Future historians are likely to identify the Bush administration’s rash invasion of Iraq in that year as the start of America's downfall

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Viewed historically, the question is not whether the United States will lose its unchallenged global power, but just how precipitous and wrenching the decline will be.

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If America's decline is in fact on a 22-year trajectory from 2003 to 2025, then we have already frittered away most of the first decade of that decline with wars that distracted us from long-term problems and, like water tossed onto desert sands, wasted trillions of desperately needed dollars.'

Sure, these apocalyptic scenarios may well be shunted by yet another variation on the theme, but one thing that's been very clear to people who have spent time studying and thinking about the problem: America is headed for disaster. In 2003 this statement has highly inflammatory and burned many relationships. Today it's a far different story, and in a mere matter of time will be still another story - none of it good.

You may recall the Project for a New American Century (PNAC), the (Zionist heavy; study the signatures) Neocon manifesto that describes the stinking philosophy that drove America's invasion of the Middle East.

To borrow a question from a Neocon zombie: "How's that working out for you?"


Bill

Need a reminder that we're at war?

We read the papers and watch the "news" and barely know there is a war going on, and then this comes out.











See this website for details

Bill

Mass media's war on Christianity, scorecard published

Only Half of Americans Rate Clergy as Ethical By Daniel Burke

"Slightly more than half of Americans (53 percent) rate the moral values of priests, ministers and other clerics as "very high" or "high."

That percentage is a slight bump from 2009, when only 50 percent of Americans said men and women of the cloth are ethical paragons, the lowest number in Gallup's 32 years of measuring professional reputations.

Before the Roman Catholic clergy sexual abuse scandal erupted in 2002, two-thirds of Americans had regularly approved of ministers' morals, according to Gallup."

Bill

Wikileaks

What the Wiki-Saga Teaches Us By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS

"Just as american politicians want Bradley Manning executed because he revealed crimes of the US government, they want Julian Assange executed. In the past few days the more notorious of the dumbshits that sit in the US Congress have denounced Assange as a “traitor to america.” What total ignorance. Assange is an Australian, not an american citizen. To be a traitor to america, one has to be of the nationality. An Australilian cannot be a traitor to america any more than an american can be a traitor to Australia. But don’t expect the morons who represent the lobbyists to know this much. "

The Proper Response to WikiLeaks by Karen Kwiatkowski

"On a more serious note, beyond the debate on whether to assassinate Assange, blow up the Internet, conduct an unwarranted attack on an NPT signatory that is following the rules, or to continue to ally ourselves with the crazies in Pakistan and Israel, it is important to recognize that fascism of one kind or another is currently embraced by a majority in Congress, and by a large minority across the country. An alert and informed citizenry, valued by presidents from Washington to Eisenhower, is now deemed by D.C. to be a nascent domestic terrorism threat. As the American wholesale subsidy of banks, bullets and butter metastasizes, devouring freedom and wrecking the system, the desperation of the ruling class and those in its employ is palpable. Americans ought to gratefully smile as we review these latest Wikileaks, and we should savor the hilarity. Seeing our government as theatrical stooge, as incompetent popinjay, as naked and embarrassed Emperor, sets the stage well for what comes next."

Noam Chomsky: WikiLeaks Cables Reveal "Profound Hatred for Democracy on the Part of Our Political Leadership" By Noam Chomsky and Amy Goodman

"The Brookings Institute just a few months ago released extensive polls of what Arabs think about Iran. The results are rather striking. They show the Arab opinion holds that the major threat in the region is Israel -- that’s 80. The second major threat is the United States -- that’s 77. Iran is listed as a threat by 10%.

With regard to nuclear weapons, rather remarkably, a majority -- in fact, 57 – say that the region would have a positive effect in the region if Iran had nuclear weapons. Now, these are not small numbers. 80, 77, say the U.S. and Israel are the major threat. 10 say Iran is the major threat. This may not be reported in the newspapers here -- it is in England -- but it’s certainly familiar to the Israeli and U.S. governments, and to the ambassadors. But there is not a word about it anywhere. What that reveals is the profound hatred for democracy on the part of our political leadership and the Israeli political leadership. These things aren’t even to be mentioned. This seeps its way all through the diplomatic service. The cables to not have any indication of that.

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AMY GOODMAN: Noam, I wanted ask if you were President Obama’s top adviser, what would you tell him to do right now?

NOAM CHOMSKY: I would tell him to do what FDR did when big business was opposed to him. Help organize, stimulate public opposition and put through a serious populist program, which can be done. Stimulate the economy. Don’t give away everything to financiers. Push through real health reform. The health reform that was pushed through may be a slight improvement but it leaves some major problems untouched. If you’re worried about the deficit, pay attention to the fact that it is almost all attributable to military spending and this totally dysfunctional health program."

The Arrest of Julian Assange By CHRIS FLOYD

Truth in Chains

"Well, they got him at last. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, the target of several of the world’s most powerful governments, turned himself into British authorities today and is now at the mercy of state authorities who have already shown their wolfish – and lawless – desire to destroy him and his organization. "

This is an extremely thoughtful and powerful article that is well worth your time to review.

From Jefferson to Assange By Robert Scheer

"That is the issue here, pure and simple. It is unconscionable to target Assange for publishing documents on the Internet that mainstream media outlets have attested had legitimate news value. As in the historic case in which Daniel Ellsberg gave The New York Times the Pentagon Papers exposé of the official lies justifying the Vietnam War, Assange is acting as the reporter here, and thus his activities must be shielded by the First Amendment’s guarantee of journalistic freedom"

Bill

Seriously, Jail the Bankers or This Economy Will Never Fully Recover

Seriously, Jail the Bankers or This Economy Will Never Fully Recover By Joshua Holland

"The Great Recession showed the world that the crimes that create the most victims are not committed by terrorists, gangbangers or drug traffickers, but by well-heeled crooks in Wall Street’s executive suites. Tens of millions of people have seen their jobs disappear and their pension funds fleeced, and had their homes taken out from under their feet as a result of the crash of Wall Street’s Great Casino. Yet so far, the culprits have been given little more than a slap on the wrist.

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According to University of Missouri scholar (and veteran regulator) William Black, there was widespread fraud “at every step in the home finance food chain.” As Black and economist L. Randall Wray recently wrote:

The appraisers were paid to overvalue real estate; mortgage brokers were paid to induce borrowers to accept loan terms they could not possibly afford; loan applications overstated the borrowers' incomes; speculators lied when they claimed that six different homes were their principal dwelling; mortgage securitizers made false [representations] and warranties about the quality of the packaged loans; credit ratings agencies were overpaid to overrate the securities sold on to investors; and investment banks stuffed collateralized debt obligations with toxic securities that were handpicked by hedge fund managers to ensure they would self destruct."

Bill

The Evidence Is Overwhelming: We Aren't Getting Out of Afghanistan or Even Iraq

The Evidence Is Overwhelming: We Aren't Getting Out of Afghanistan or Even Iraq By Tom Engelhardt

"It looks and feels like the never-ending story, and yet, of course, the imperium is visibly fraying, while the burden of distant wars grows ever heavier. Those “embassies” are being built for the long haul, but a decade or two down the line, I wouldn’t want to put my money on what exactly they will represent, or what they could possibly hope to control."

Have you noticed that NOBODY is talking about those "embassies"? Why not? Because they aren't mentioned in the "news" - and our frame of reference is controlled by what the "news" says is important and what's not. This is a valid question, and an equally valid observation, yet because the scope of this proposition is so large, you can put it right into people's faces and they STILL wouldn't see it.

It is absolutely amazing - astounding - that we-the-people are allowing the warmongers to act as they have - and continue to - in our name. They tell us "this" and do "that" routinely.

TSA: Despite objections, all passengers must be screened

"In response to a video of a California man's dispute with airport security officials, the Transportation Security Administration said Monday it tries to be sensitive to individuals, but everyone getting on a flight must be screened."

The Origin of America’s Intellectual Vacuum By Chris Hedges

"Most of the professors ousted from universities never taught again. Radical and left-wing ideas were effectively stamped out. The purges, most carried out internally and away from public view, announced to everyone inside the universities that dissent was not protected. The confrontation of ideas was killed."

What Chris Hedges is talking about in this article is the origin of America's intellectual vacuum (as the title says!). If you've wondered what happened to the intellectuals in universities, here's your answer: they were purged.


Helen Thomas: ‘It Was a Sneak, Stealth Attack’ -Truthdig

"In this sit-down discussion with the Real News Network, Helen Thomas, deposed doyenne of the White House press corps, discusses her moment of infamy last spring that led to her resignation, claiming she didn’t know she was being interviewed at the time but standing by her controversial commentary about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

Helen Thomas is high on my list of heroes. She had the tenacity, the nerve to actually speak the truth.

She's also a casualty of the Zionist led coupe d'etat that's been taking place in America for years now. Think about it. She got in their face - and they summarily canned her. Where were the protests? Not a word of support, yet I couldn't be more supportive. Now, either I'm that different then the ordinary American, or the ordinary American's voice is being filtered. I believe it's the latter - and I'm using this space to voice that information. In the information age, and the current coupe d'etat, our communications channels (the MSM) have been seized, lock, stock and barrel (Helen Thomas being a big chunk of evidence). Purchased or seized, when it comes to something like our information supply, our mindset, the things we think about and what we think about them, the result is the same. Our talking points agenda is established, and we either follow it or be declared "a loner" and a "a loser" - Helen Thomas' epitaph. Such, I fear, is also the epitaph for all of us who think for ourselves and outside of the Zionist-controlled box that is the American information supply.

Given the "thought control" nature of this attack on America, I will not assume you are really aware of what's happening behind the scenes, and the force of this influence cum control. If you goggle on "neocon video" you can watch the testimony of some independent thinkers - like Helen Thomas, who stood out, but is not alone. I, and all "seekers of truth" invite you to PLEASE peruse the mountain of material that's been put together on the Internet regarding this coupe.

I suspect - believe - it's only a matter of time before some national security excuse is used to seize control of the Internet. But until that happens, there are literally tons of information available on this subject for you to read and cross-check. I've been following this coupe for some 30 years now, and it's so big and in our face today that I find it astonishing so few people are doing anything about it. America today is not the America I thought it was growing up. It's very spirit has been seized.

It's too early to tell the fate of this coupe-in-motion. It is easy to see it growing in strength (witness recent elections). To my way of seeing it, they are getting bolder by the day, and the case of Helen Thomas is a very clear example.


Bill

The dangers of U.S. militarism

The dangers of U.S. militarism by William Pfaff

"It is time to ask a fundamental question that few in an official or political position in the United States seem willing to ask. Has it been a terrible error for the United States to have built an all but irreversible worldwide system of a thousand or more military bases, stations and outposts?

As the Country Falls Apart, It's Time for Our Revolution By Ted Rall

"It doesn't matter whether you feel it or not. It's happening. The story of the United States of America as we know it -- not merely as the world's dominant superpower, but as a discrete political, economic, and geographic entity -- is drawing to a close due to a convergence of emerging economic, environmental, and political crises."

Europe Map Video Shows Changing Borders, '10 Centuries In 5 Minutes' (VIDEO)


Very interesting video shows how the world's map has changed in 1,000 years - all in 5 minutes!


Bill