The Sacred Feast of Plastic Crap That You Don't Need
Originally Posted November 26th, 2005
The madness has begun. I don't know how it goes in the rest of the "Christian" world, but North Americans
are about to be inundated with a month of consumption. American Thanksgiving was Thursday, that led to
"Black Friday" and the official start of the Shopping Season. Spend Spend Spend! Here is your chance to make
up for a year of disappointing your friends and family by trying to buy their love. Since entertainment companies
own the media, (and stand to profit by shaming people into buying what their parent companies sell)
reporters acted as cheerleaders on Friday morning. Correspondents were stationed at big box stores across
the US, capturing embarrassing footage of porcine consumers trampling each other in a race to the pile
of DVD's. These "reports" were little more than thinly disguised commercials for Wal Mart and the like.
They interviewed executive types who were thrilled to talk about the great deals that their stores offered.
They challenged viewers to get out there and consume, for the love of the economy, do your patriotic duty
and buy crap now!
In North America, Christmas has very little to do with Christ. It is a (month long) holiday that celebrates
our culture of consumption, nothing more. I would suggest that the very survival of our exploitative (not to
mention unsustainable) economic system is entirely dependent upon Christmas spending. Why is the day after US
Thanksgiving called "Black Friday?" It is the day that the retailers are expected to break even. In the last
month of the year, there are tremendous cultural pressures urging us all to spend lots of money. The beast needs
to feast before the end of the fiscal year. What does this have to do with Christianity? Though the gift-giving
tradition may originate with Oriental Kings following their astrologer's advice and making a pilgrimage to Palestine,
Santa Claus is nothing more than the bastard child of Coca Cola. Would the Christ want us to celebrate its birthday
by going into debt? Our culture tells us that we must be sure to match or outspend everyone else so as not to seem
cheap or uncaring. If they spend hundreds of dollars, we must do the same. Its a classic race to the bottom, inspired
more by pride and guilt than by love. Is this what the Christ would have wanted? We've really missed the point of
Christmas. There's nothing wrong with gift giving, but it has spiraled out of control. I challenge Christians to
tone it down this year, give the gift of time rather than money. In the end, it will be much more appreciated.
If you do intend to spend money, why not give it to the Red Cross, they need it more than Sony does.
Let us reclaim Christmas from the retailers. Let us once again make it about spending quality time with family.
Jesus was not a fan of merchants in the temple. The Beatles were right, you can't buy me love.
Bread With Circus Podcast - Consumerism, Our Way of Life
How much is the life of one of these cannon-fodder kids worth, to the movement?...
Most of them are slum kids or village kids who like the free food and the idea of shooting people,
the two things any teenage boy is naturally drawn to. They're willing to pull a trigger and they're dumb
enough to volunteer; that's about all you can say for them. All kids are game, but that doesn't mean they got game.
These guys don't know how to blend in the airport world, the business world; they don't speak English at all, or if they do
it's the sort of mangled Rawalpindi English that sets red lights blinking at every border checkpoint in the world.
They look Pakistani, and not that pale, tall kind you get with elite Pakistanis like that cricket guy.
They've still got plow dirt under their fingernails.
As the Credit Crisis morphs into the second great depression, there's a big picture concept that
a lot of people seem to be missing. I want to make a very simple point.
The Bush administration's financial policy is exactly the same as its military policy. The people in Bush's
cabinet who are responsible for any given area are the people that used to be in charge of an industry leader
in that area. The revolving door between big business and government is the same with bankers as it is
with military contractors. The people in Bush's cabinet represent the companies that they used to be in
charge of, not the American people. They do what is best for their former companies, not for the country.
People have no problem understanding the connection between Dick Cheney and Halliburton in relation to the
Iraq war. Cheney used his position of authority to funnel massive amounts of government money to the company
that he was once the CEO of. The same thing is happening now with Henry Paulson in relation to Goldman Sachs,
the company that he used to be the CEO of. Paulson, like Cheney, came through the revolving door between government
and big business. Cheney became Vice President, Paulson became Secretary of the Treasury. Guess which company is
benefiting most from the bailout? The man that Paulson appointed to administer the bailout program is Neel Kashkari.
Guess who Kashkari used to work for?
In essence, the US Treasury has been privatized and its management has been handed to Goldman Sachs.
Forgive the primitive graphics skills and allow me say this a little more clearly.
I'll repeat the headline at the top of this post; Credit Crisis=Iraq, Paulson=Cheney, Goldman Sachs=Halliburton.
To carry this analogy forward, you can look at what happened in Iraq to get a sense of what is likely to happen
next to the US economy.
I have posted a copy of the "Declaration of the Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy", a.k.a.
the leaders communique from the G20 meetings held in Washington on November 14th and 15th.
You can read it here.
It would be a strategy designed to ease the burden of ALL debts - by simultaneously devaluing ALL currencies
...and re-inflating ALL asset prices. That's what central banks and governments around the world are going to start
talking about this weekend - a new financial order that includes new monetary units that helps to wipe clean the
world's debt ledgers.
Anxiety is sweeping the hedge fund industry before a crucial deadline on Saturday, when investors angered
by recent heavy losses are expected to demand the return of billions of dollars...George Soros, an industry
elder statesman who emerged from retirement at age 78 to protect his fortune at Soros Fund Management,
said he expects hedge fund industry assets "will shrink by between 50 and 75%."
This weekend could be one for the history books. A major meeting, the outcome of which could
greatly impact all of our lives for the next few decades, is about to take place in Washington.
Still-President George Bush has summoned world leaders to spend the weekend deciding on how to reorganize
the world's financial system. This is a desperate effort by world leaders to protect their economies as
the pyramid-scheme known as modern banking collapses around them. Some are referencing this weekend as
the start of "Bretton Woods Two." I'm having a hard time understanding just what that is supposed to mean.
My eyes glaze over as I try to make sense of documents written in economist jargon and bureaucratese.
I don't know what the leaders are going to come up with, or what it is going to mean for the rest of us.
I can hope that the meetings bring about fair and just monetary reform that improves the lives of people.
I suspect however, that the politicians will do everything they can to prop up the status quo. It is probable
that they will fight for the interests of the coalition of criminal-syndicate banks and multi-national
corporations who got us into this mess in the first place. My own instincts and intuition tell me that
this summit has big evil written all over it. If the meetings don't collapse under the weight of the hubris
and arrogance of its participants, (still a very good possibility) a big change will be coming, and it may
not be the kind of change we need.
The following are some resources that you might look into to better understand what is going to happen.
Bretton Woods 2 FAQ
European Network on Debt and Development
The G20 Leaders Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy
University of Toronto Munk Centre for International Studies
Bretton Woods SytemBretton Woods II
Wikipedia
Group of 20
Financial Times
A New Bretton Woods
The Guardian UK
Yesterday, American President-Elect Obama announced that his White House Chief of Staff will be
Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel. I think that people ought to know a little bit about who this guy is.
Here is a link to Emanuel's Wikipedia Page. The following are excerpts from that page.
...a central proponent of neo-liberal economic policies...
Emanuel is said to have mailed a rotting fish to a former coworker after the two parted ways.
On the night after the 1996 election, Emanuel was so angry at the president's enemies that he
stood up at a celebratory dinner with colleagues from the campaign, grabbed a steak knife and began
rattling off a list of betrayers, shouting "Dead!...Dead!... Dead!" and plunging the knife into
the table after every name.
Open Secrets reports that Rahm Emanuel "was the top House recipient in the 2008 election cycle of
contributions from hedge funds, private equity firms and the larger securities/investment industry."
In his book, Emanuel advocated a 3 month compulsory universal service program for Americans between
the ages of 18 and 25.
Emanuel held a seat on the quasi-governmental Freddie Mac board, which paid him $231,655 in
director's fees in 2001 and $31,060 in 2000. During the time Emanuel spent on the board, Freddie Mac
was plagued with scandals involving campaign contributions and accounting irregularities.
His father, the Jerusalem-born Benjamin M. Emanuel, is a pediatrician and former member of the Irgun,
a radical Zionist paramilitary group active in the British Mandate of Palestine between 1931 and 1948.
Consider what the above suggests about the character of Mr. Emanuel. Now consider what Wikipedia says
of the position of White House Chief of Staff.
"The White House Chief of Staff is the highest-ranking member of the Executive Office of the
President of the United States and a senior aide to the President. Some individuals who have held
the position, including Sherman Adams, have been dubbed "The Second-Most Powerful Man in Washington"
due to the nature of the job."
Lots to think about with this one as we get an idea of what the Obama years are going to look like.
I wonder which former Goldman-Sachs executive he will appoint as Treasury Secretary.
Just a few thoughts as the Americans prepare to shed their status as rogue nation.
First, Barack Obama's victory is encouraging, but we can't get too far ahead of ourselves. There are still
two and a half months left until Obama's administration takes power, and the last days of the Bush administration
may be particularly ugly. Bush, and others of similar ideology may realize that the next few weeks offer them their
last opportunity to do what they've always meant to, whether it means launching an attack on Iran, repealing
environmental laws, or simply continuing the looting of their country. I expect that they will take all of the
lightbulbs and strip the copper wire out of the walls on their way out. With all the attention on the incoming
President, we must pay close attention to the last actions of the Bush administration. They have seventy five days
or so. I have no doubt that they are capable of at least one more massive betrayal of the rest of us.
Second, having elected Obama, the Americans have taken a huge step towards regaining their credibility as a
democracy. If they want to show the world that they are truly back, it is important that they close the concentration
camp in Guantanamo Bay, re-instate Habeas Corpus, begin closing out the war in Iraq, and begin taking action on
reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, if they really want to get back in everyone's good graces, they'll
prosecute the war criminals who have spent the last eight years pillaging the planet. Let's have a second Nuremburg
Trials! They can try Rove, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Libby, Wolfowitz, Gonzales, etc. for crimes against humanity.
They can put the proceedings on pay per view and raise millions. The world wants to see the neo-cons where
they belong, in prison. If the Americans do this, they could ask the world for anything, maybe even a little bit
of debt forgiveness. First though, Obama must convince transportation authorities to ban all flights to Paraguay.
Third, something that really bothered me throughout the campaign was the rhetoric of Sarah Palin. In particular,
while touring small towns and racist backwaters, she'd talk about how it was good to be in the "Real America."
I would like to remind everyone that it is the people you saw at the Obama rallies, that mix of young and old,
black and white, religious and not, that is the real America. The xenophobes that the McCain campaign pandered
to are relics. I am encouraged to see that there are no longer enough of them to give the Republicans victory.
Finally, Obama, for all his charisma and oratory skills, is about to take over the helm of a sinking ship.
The mess that he has to clean up is immense, and his hands may be so tied that he may not be able to keep his
promises. We must remember to be realistic about just how far the US has fallen. I wouldn't expect any miracles.
At the end of the day, Obama is not a messiah, but a politician. He can't help but let us down. I hope that everyone
cuts him a little slack. I wish him luck, he's going to need it.
It is good to know that there will soon be new management in Washington. The violent alcoholic, (the guy who ran
over your dog with his Hummer) is moving out of the neighbourhood and a nice new family is moving in. Welcome back
America. It will be good to once again have a reasonable neighbour.
There are only a couple of days until the US Election, and I've become convinced of one thing: if the vote is fair,
Barack Obama can not lose. Obama is way ahead both in polling and general public sentiment. Poll after poll in state
after state shows him carrying enough of the electoral college to easily win Tuesday's election. There's just one thing.
The election is not going to be fair. Republicans have stolen the last two elections and are actively working to steal
this one too.
There have already been reports of voters (mostly in low-income or ethnic neighbourhoods) being "purged" from the
voting list for no apparent reason. If you are one of these people, it means that you'll show up at the polls, and the
official will tell you that you've been removed from the voting list, and that in order to correct this, you should have
sent paperwork away last week. This happened in Florida in 2000. If someone called John Smith committed a crime, and you
are a John Smith in a predominantly black neighbourhood, you've been purged. Names with a certain ring about them were
also taken off the list. If your name is Shaniqua, Jamal, or DeShawn, chances are good that there's going to be an issue
when you finally get to the front of that long line on Tuesday. I recommend going early if you can.
There have been reports of voting machines (why in the hell do you Americans still use those things?) "flipping votes."
It works sort of like this. I encourage people to watch Hacking Democracy to see how easy it is to tamper with the machines.
There are also many cases (again in low income and ethnic neighbourhoods) where there are not enough voting booths.
This leads to very long lines that discourage people from voting. If a vote costs many hours waiting in line, many people
will walk away from the poll. Votes are also suppressed through demanding perfect matches in identification. If your
name is Herschel Johnson and the bureaucrat who filled out your voter registration form misspelled it as Hershel
Johnson, you don't get to vote. This is disenfranchisement by clerical error. Also, if you've moved in the last
little while, even within the same neighbourhood, and your new address doesn't match up with the one on the voter
form, (even if you can prove who you are through your driver's license, social security number, birth certificate etc)
you don't get to vote. Consider all of those whose houses have been foreclosed in the last months. They all have new
addresses. Do you think they were going to vote Republican?
Keep in mind that these measures seem to be introduced only in neighbourhoods that tend to vote Democratic. Add them
all together, and then consider the fact that the McCain campaign, along with the mainstream media, has been questioning
the accuracy of polls in the last few days. "Never mind that Obama has a 15 point lead," they say "maybe some people are
secretly racist so they lied to the pollsters about their intention to vote for Obama."
Perhaps the most disturbing talking point has been along the lines of "you can't trust polls because in the last election,
John Kerry was leading but then on election day he lost." Given what we now know about the '04 election theft, they
might as well quote Joseph Stalin. "The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide
everything." The campaign is trying to plant the idea that the vote will be much closer than polls indicate. If people
start to believe this, then they won't be surprised if they are told that the vote was actually about 50/50, and McCain
won a narrow victory.
A close election is more easily stolen. In previous elections, the margin of victory has been small enough that the
purging/flipping/suppression of maybe one hundred thousand votes in key states was enough to have Bush carry the day.
However, an Obama land-slide can not be overturned. If enough of the voters who say they were going to vote for Obama
actually show up at the polls, he will win, simple as that. My message is, don't be complacent. Drag friends and family
to the polling station. Even though you may think that Obama has this one locked up, make sure that you and everyone you
know gets out and votes. Obama must win big to overcome the fraud that will take place.
Now, the what if. If somehow the story on Wednesday is McCain's last minute surge, the low turnout of likely Obama voters,
and strange circumstances leading to a McCain win in Pennsylvania, DO NOT SURRENDER. Democrats rolled over twice before
and look what it did to their country. They may have to call in the lawyers. You may have to take to the streets and protest.
Be prepared to do this! There is no way that McCain can win legitimately. You may have to fight this time, and no matter how
ugly it may look, this is what democracy demands. The whole world is counting on you not to screw this one up. Only you can
prevent election fraud. Yes you can.
Main Page Podcast Videos Photos Archives
Contact - host at breadwithcircus dot comThe madness has begun. I don't know how it goes in the rest of the "Christian" world, but North Americans are about to be inundated with a month of consumption. American Thanksgiving was Thursday, that led to "Black Friday" and the official start of the Shopping Season. Spend Spend Spend! Here is your chance to make up for a year of disappointing your friends and family by trying to buy their love. Since entertainment companies own the media, (and stand to profit by shaming people into buying what their parent companies sell) reporters acted as cheerleaders on Friday morning. Correspondents were stationed at big box stores across the US, capturing embarrassing footage of porcine consumers trampling each other in a race to the pile of DVD's. These "reports" were little more than thinly disguised commercials for Wal Mart and the like. They interviewed executive types who were thrilled to talk about the great deals that their stores offered. They challenged viewers to get out there and consume, for the love of the economy, do your patriotic duty and buy crap now! In North America, Christmas has very little to do with Christ. It is a (month long) holiday that celebrates our culture of consumption, nothing more. I would suggest that the very survival of our exploitative (not to mention unsustainable) economic system is entirely dependent upon Christmas spending. Why is the day after US Thanksgiving called "Black Friday?" It is the day that the retailers are expected to break even. In the last month of the year, there are tremendous cultural pressures urging us all to spend lots of money. The beast needs to feast before the end of the fiscal year. What does this have to do with Christianity? Though the gift-giving tradition may originate with Oriental Kings following their astrologer's advice and making a pilgrimage to Palestine, Santa Claus is nothing more than the bastard child of Coca Cola. Would the Christ want us to celebrate its birthday by going into debt? Our culture tells us that we must be sure to match or outspend everyone else so as not to seem cheap or uncaring. If they spend hundreds of dollars, we must do the same. Its a classic race to the bottom, inspired more by pride and guilt than by love. Is this what the Christ would have wanted? We've really missed the point of Christmas. There's nothing wrong with gift giving, but it has spiraled out of control. I challenge Christians to tone it down this year, give the gift of time rather than money. In the end, it will be much more appreciated. If you do intend to spend money, why not give it to the Red Cross, they need it more than Sony does. Let us reclaim Christmas from the retailers. Let us once again make it about spending quality time with family. Jesus was not a fan of merchants in the temple. The Beatles were right, you can't buy me love.
I'll repeat the headline at the top of this post; Credit Crisis=Iraq, Paulson=Cheney, Goldman Sachs=Halliburton. To carry this analogy forward, you can look at what happened in Iraq to get a sense of what is likely to happen next to the US economy.