The Future of Humankind

1. Since the earth is finite in size both economic and population growth must cease. No power on earth or in the heavens will permit infinite growth on the finite earth. Nothing humanity can do or say will permit infinite growth on the finite earth. New technology, recycling, environmentalism, and even a possible second or third green revolution will not permit either the economy or the human population to continue to grow. Any person who advocates economic growth or economic stimulation may be causing the short term destruction... Read article

Profit Ties between Phony Terror Alerts, Airport Security and L-3 Communications

By Steve Scheetz. Since September 11, 2001, our government has been operating with a demand for the understanding of the people. We, as part of this demand, are to allow for certain limitations of our liberty in order to gain a certain level of security. But, given the questionable nature of what are likely exaggerated threats, coupled with Congressional enrichment from these expensive security technologies, the U.S. public is losing both liberty and security, as well as money. Former director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge... Read article

COICA Blacklisted by Senator Wyden

First the scary part. Leahy’s Law, called Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeit Act (COICA), was introduced as a bill by Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy on September 20th. It was then referred to the Judiciary Committee which he chairs. On Nov. 18, the bill received a unanimous 19-0 vote in Leahy’s committee and was headed to the Senate floor for a full vote. It was definitely on its way, until Senator Ron Wyden from Oregon stepped in. Isn’t it amazing? When the public is involved, legislative gridlock is the... Read article

COICA kills free speech: Write Sen. Leahy

By Chris Pratt Blacklisted domains and terminated websites are both possibilities if bill S.3804 becomes law. It is called “Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act” (COICA) and it was introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy on September 20, 2010. Hard to imagine that the same man who could say: “I commend Secretary of State Clinton for reaffirming our nation’s deep commitment to openness and freedom of expression on the Internet. The Internet has become a vital tool to protect and ensure the rights and... Read article

Fun with Arithmetic – Winning the War in Afghanistan

By Nicholas C. Arguimbau Michael Nasuti of Kabul Press recently published an article in which he calculated that killing each Taliban soldier in Afghanistan costs on average of $50 million to the US.   The article, seemingly carefully. researched with all assumptions laid out so that anyone can examine them, is well worth reading. Nasuti, “Killing Each Taliban Soldier Costs $50 million,” http://www.kabulpress.org/my/spip.php?article32304.  He points out that at this rate, killing the entire Taliban ... Read article

Rebuilding Local Economies: A Shift in Priorities

By Anna White From the burgeoning popularity of farmers’ markets and co-operatives to the revitalisation of community banking, people are organising to reclaim the economy from large profit-driven corporations and ‘too big to fail’ financial institutions. The small-scale and diversity of these local initiatives masks the immense potential they hold for addressing fundamental flaws in the current model of economic development. Rather than treat the swing towards the local as a fad or misplaced radicalism, the... Read article

On the Road with Ahmadinejad in Lebanon

By Franklin Lamb Ph.D. Qana. “If President Ahmadinejad asks my opinion, I shall tell him:  A stone? My dear brother, you are capable of throwing much more than a stone.” Hassan Nasrallah  (AFP 10/12/10) He came, he saw, he conquered. As he watched the Iranian President blow kisses to cleaning workers at Beirut’s airport during his departure for Iran early this morning, a Lebanese Christian historian commented “This Persian’s glory at the moment is arguably greater than Caesar’s following Rome’s... Read article

What You Will Not Hear About Iraq

By Adil E. Shamoo Iraq has between 25 and 50 percent unemployment, a dysfunctional parliament, rampant disease, an epidemic of mental illness, and sprawling slums. The killing of innocent people has become part of daily life. What a havoc the United States has wreaked in Iraq. UN-HABITAT, an agency of the United Nations, recently published a 218-page report entitled State of the World’s Cities, 2010-2011. The report is full of statistics on the status of cities around the world and their demographics. It defines slum dwellers... Read article

Obama’s Jobs Program

One – Two – Three More Free Trade Agreements! On July 7, 2010, President Obama made the following remarks: We’re also reforming our own restrictions on exports, consistent with our national security interests. And we hope to move forward on new agreements with some of our key partners. I’ve instructed U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk to begin discussions to help resolve outstanding issues with the pending Korean Free Trade Agreement before my visit to Korea in November. It’s an agreement... Read article

Secrecy industry hits home

Unchecked growth in intelligence agencies raises troubling questions and even affects how we interact with neighbors By Bonnie Bricker and Adil E. Shamoo Marylanders in Odenton, Annapolis, Frederick and our home town of Columbia had their suspicions answered last week when The Washington Post published a three-part series about our unchecked, out-of-control expansion of the defense and intelligence operations that have grown since 2001. The expansion of this influential sector has been evident to us, as it has to Americans... Read article

The U.S. Military Moves Into Costa Rica

Nestled between Panama to its south and Nicaragua to its north, Costa Rica is a Central American nation roughly the size of Rhode Island. If another nation were to send Rhode Island a force of 7,000 troops, 200 helicopters, and 46 warships in an effort to eradicate drug trafficking, it is doubtful that the residents of Rhode Island would consider this offer “on-the-level.” Such a massive military force could hardly be efficiently used to combat drug cartels. The only logical conclusion is that the nation whose... Read article

America Speaks and the Corporate Agenda – A Participants Account

By Mark Vorpahl On Saturday, June 26th, an organization called America Speaks held town halls entitled “Our Budget, Our Economy.” These town halls took place in 19 different locations across the U.S., drawing out an estimated 3,500 participants. The ostensive purpose of all this was to discuss how to fix the federal deficit which, according to the calculations of America Speaks, will reach 114 percent of our GDP, or $1.2 trillion, by 2025. With billionaire groups such as the Peter G. Peterson, W.K. Kellogg,... Read article

Freedoms still sought

By LynMarie Berntson 4th of July parades marched past. Stunning displays of fireworks faded from the night sky.  Proud, patriotic fanfare was sung and shouted, waved, sported, and pledged. But critical freedoms remain elusive.  Let’s start with a basic three. Freedom from fear Fear is daily evoked in the media, and strategically induced by the spectrum of yellow, orange, and red alerts designed to quicken our hearts and effectively anesthetize us against empathy for innocents in other lands. (And should we not be concerned... Read article

In Defense of Soccer

That’s Football to You! They say that love is a disease. If so, then so is sports fandom. The latter is perhaps best expressed through a Russian idiom. When you cheer for a certain team, you say, “ia boleiu za tu komandu” — “I am sick for that team.”  This phrase is exclusive to competitive scenarios rather than fandom per se. It certainly describes the temporary state you enter when witnessing a competition: your abnormal heart rhythm and your hopeful anticipation. I only bother with sports at... Read article

Freedom is for the Living

Two hundred and twenty years ago, the United States Constitution was ratified by a convention of delegates in the several thirteen states, comprised mostly of an agrarian and Christian culture–back before train tracks were laid across this continent; when the West was considered to be uninhabitable for civilization for another thousand years;[1] before electricity was a usable product; when travel was more than merely inconvenient. Not without serious resistance from some of the most intelligent, noble and articulate... Read article

Are Foreign Lives of Equal Worth to Ours?

By Adil E. Shamoo When a U.S. civilian is murdered in a foreign land or in the United States, we rightfully feel angry, sad, and some of us demand vengeance. These are normal, primordial, and instinctive feelings of group loyalty and herd mentality that have bound communities and countries for thousands of years. Should such human traits, which are often beneficial, emotional and irrational, continue to justify the retaliatory killing of innocent civilians in the 21st century? After the tragic murder of nearly 3,000... Read article

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