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POPS15 Quotes by Famous Atheists Bertrand Russell: “You find as you look around the world that every single bit of progress in humane feeling, every improvement in the criminal law, every step toward the diminution of war, every step toward better treatment of the colored races, or every mitigation of slavery, every moral progress that there has been in the world, has been consistently opposed by the organized churches of the world. I say quite deliberately that the Christian religion, as organized in its churches, has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world.”
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POPSIf they die, they die. Just don't hurt profits!! Are you kidding me!!!??? The United States government chose to withhold information about airline security because if people knew just how risky it was they may not buy tickets??? OMG...i think we really are living in the United Corporations of America!
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POPSThe Next Renaissance The next renaissance (if there is one)—the phenomenon we're talking about or at least around here is not about the individual at all, but about the networked group. The possibility for collective action. The technologies we're using—the biases of these media—cede central authority to decentralized groups. Instead of moving power to the center, they tend to move power to the edges. Instead of creating value from the center—like a centrally issued currency—the network creates value from the periphery.
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POPSWe were warned Despite these warnings, Woodrow Wilson signed the 1913 Federal Reserve Act. A few years later he wrote: I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men. -Woodrow Wilson
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POPSSometimes We Becme Prisioners To Our Material Choices Of course this is not taking into account the fastest growing debt here in the US which is for necessities such as medical care, food, and gasoline. You know, the ones who simply cannot be helped because they enjoy being poor. Thanks to GW the poor and moderate income families now have much more difficulty using bankruptcy protection. It's called tough s***, whoops, love. On the other hand, compassion flows for corporations like milk and honey. This clip is dedicated to those who get in credit card debt for their wants, not their needs. It's quite easy to become prisoners to our material choices.
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POPSTop 5 Greatest Movie Monologues According to the author, the top 2 greatest movie monologues ever are: 1. Peter Sellers as President Merkin Muffley in Dr. Strangelove . 2. Ned Beatty as Arthur Jensen in Network . Can you guess the other 3 without looking? Do you have some better suggestions? What makes a great movie monologue? Even more to the point, what qualifies as a monologue? Hamlet's soliloquy would certainly make the cut, but its origins didn't spring from film, so it's probably ineligible. Does a speech have to be a certain length to qualify as a monologue? Can it be addressed to someone who reacts or occasionally interjects something in the middle of the display? (Via kottke.org.)
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POPS Hunger Due to Injustice, Not Lack of Food Worth noting:: "In addition, the offspring of some GM plants are sterile, which means they cannot be stored to grow future crops. Poor farmers thus become dependent on transnational companies, and are forced to buy new seeds every year."
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POPSWho is the greediest? Communists or Capitalists?
Although I do not believe that socialism and capitalism necessarily conflict, this article raises a very interesting point. To talk about a slightly different point, I think Communism definitely does make people more greedy and materialistic. Communism (and to be more specific, I refer specifically to Marxism, and large-country model Communism, namely Stalinism and Maoism) is much more complex than simply being the opposite of capitalism, thus it doesn't offer a true counterpoint to capitalism free of other complicating variables. But, even if its not perfect, it provides some valuable insight. From my experience studying the Chinese culture and the way it changed in the last 50 years, communism breeds nothing but greed, materialism and elitism. Most alarmingly it creates a sense of entitlement without the sense of responsibility. It is the freedom of capitalism that saves it. We should be very careful to ensure that our markets are in fact free. Otherwise we are no differen
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POPSConfessions of an Economic Hit Man Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. They funnel money from the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other foreign "aid" organizations into the coffers of huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet's natural resources. Their tools included fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder. They play a game as old as empire, but one that has taken on new and terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization.
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POPSHow To Brainwash A Nation Visit clip source for a great short video about Edward Bernays, Assassin of Democracy. Videos tend to get buried. I thought this to be worth wider attention.
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POPSLOGO R.I.P. dead logotypes graveyard "In today's ruthless business environment, corporations face uncertain futures. The forces of globalisation are creating unprecedented change. Yet apart from the displacement, downsizing and elimination of the workforce, the other casualties are the visual manifestations of the company: its logo, or trademark. 'LOGO R.I.P.' is a commemoration of logos withdrawn from the ocular landscape. Many are considered icons of their time or international design classics, whilst others cost millions only to be replaced within a year or two. These logos disappeared, yet in contrast to the ceremony and pomp that greeted their arrival, they often suffered an ignoble death. Now deemed defunct, they are consigned to the logo graveyard, no longer allowed to signify."
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POPSA Coalition of the Co-Opted, the Corrupted and the Coerced: Joe Wilson
"In the absence of international consensus, the Bush administration relied on a coalition of what I call the co-opted, the corrupted and the coerced: those who benefited financially from their involvement, those who benefited politically from their involvement and those few who determined that their relationship with the US was more important than their relationship with anybody else.There is no underlying international legitimacy that sustains us throughout this action" "The increasing use of contractors makes wars easier to begin and to fight - it just takes money and not the citizenry," says Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, who sued private contractors for alleged human rights violations. "To the extent a population is called upon to go to war, there is a necessary resistance to prevent wars of self-aggrandizement, foolish wars and in the case of the US, hegemonic imperialist wars. Think about Rome and its increasing need for mercenaries."
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POPSThe 10 Worst Corporations of 2008 I would pick Monsanto. No contest. On March 11 a new documentary was aired on French television - a documentary that Americans won’t ever see. The gigantic bio-tech corporation Monsanto is threatening to destroy the agricultural biodiversity which has served mankind for thousands of years. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6262083407501596844 The list: AIG: Money for Nothing Cargill: Food Profiteers Chevron: "We can't let little countries screw around with big companies" Constellation Energy: Nuclear Operators CNPC: Fueling Violence in Darfur Dole: The Sour Taste of Pineapple GE: Creative Accounting Imperial Sugar: 13 Dead Philip Morris International: Unshackled Roche: "Saving Lives is Not Our Business"
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POPSHershey's is going cheap and hoping you won't notice The FDA, in it's attempt to protect us from deceptive advertising practices, has forced Hershey's to admit they no longer use cocoa butter in their products. However, FDA ruling will not prevent Hershey from practicing deception. The packaging looks exactly the same. They are selling an inferior product and they’re not even telling anyone. Do you feel betrayed yet? In a statement, Hershey’s told TODAY that consumers love its products and all its candies are clearly labeled. It still offers real milk chocolate in Hershey’s Kisses, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and its classic chocolate bar. Most corporations deal with increasing cost by raising their prices, Hershey's substituted inferior ingredients and tried to slip it past us. Buyer beware!
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POPSFirst They Came for the Lawyers The words of Martin Niemoller are the exact reason, why I clip stuff like this and I can hear that little quote too in the back of my mind that goes: "Evil thrives, when good men do nothing" Gitmo, CIA secret prisons, FEMA detention camps, extraordinary rendition, the MCA and cases like José Padila's just have to be challenged by everyone, all the time. They just have to...
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POPSThe Life and Death of Your Tweets Raises interesting questions. Would you want to have access to everything you've ever twittered? Will corporations be able to paint a picture of you based on "what you've been doing" for the past X years? Found via this clip