ananya's Open Salon Blog

Re: One World Government

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:06:47 -0400

So today I open my email to see this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCjg_k2cifE with the note: "take a look at this when you have 10 free minutes - pretty disturbing" sent from one of my friends. The clip (well, other than the scary music in the background) isn't nearly as disturbing as the fact that people believe it and continue to circulate it on the internet.

This clip and the stories behind it were created in the minds of a small group of conspiracy theorists and then perpetuated by 2008 losing Presidential nominee-hopeful Ron Paul. I don't even know where to start with this, but here goes....

In 2005, the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) was launched by the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The SPP is an initiative outlining a comprehensive framework, staffed by mid-level officials from the three countries, to synchronize customs, security and regulations while respecting the sovereignty and unique cultural heritage of each nation. Ideally this will lead to increased security cooperation against terror threats and improved trade in North America. The information is available (www.spp.gov) so if you don't know anything about it, the reason is NOT because it's being hidden from you but rather because you are choosing not to research the information. The clip indicates that the SPP and the "North American Union" (NAU) are one in the same. The NAU is a conspiracy theory and it is fictional. It does not exist.

The amero does NOT exist either. Daniel Carr, a coin designer, has minted a series of copper and silver ameros and sells them online to raise awareness of the NAU (and, no doubt, make himself a pretty good profit). His coins can be found here: http://www.dc-coin.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=8. The entire theory of the amero seems to be based on the interview shown in the clip of Steve Previs, Jefferies International, who hasn't been heard from publicly since.

The quote from David Rockefeller isn't cited and I can't find it anywhere which leads me to believe it has been completely taken out of context OR it is fabricated.

Aaron Russo is not only a filmmaker and producer but also a 9/11 conspiracy theorist. So, not surprisingly, he believes that the Federal Reserve, 9/11, the war on terror and the Iraq war have all been fabricated with the ultimate goal of.....wait, what did he say? To get everybody in this world chipped with an RFID chip. SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?! Then, if you protest or don't do what "we" (not sure who he means here) want, we just turn off your chip. What are we, robots? I'm not really sure how to even respond to this because it is embarrassingly ridiculous. The creators of this video allow him to publicly "quote" Nicholas Rockefeller with no proof to us that it's even accurate.

Next, the "Real ID Act" was a provision of legislation passed in May, 2005 in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States (a conspiracy per this clip). The provision was prompted by the fact that 18 of the 19 hijackers had obtained fraudulent identification in order to board the planes that they eventually flew into the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon. The "Real ID Act" mandated that States implement a system to ensure that anyone applying for a license is who they say they are and don't pose a security risk. Starting in May, 2008 any person applying for, or renewing, a driver's license has had to provide documentation of identity, documentation of residence address and documentation showing that they are in the United States legally. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the proposed regulations establish common standards for States to issue licenses. The Federal Goverment is not issuing the licenses, is not collecting information about license holders, and is not requiring States to transmit license holder information to the Federal Government that they don't already have (i.e. social security number): http://www.dhs.gov/xprevprot/programs/gc_1210269250821.shtm

The narrator of the video indicates that we are all a bunch of morons being unknowingly led by politicians, business leaders and government officials but then, ironically, tries to do the same thing by feeding us a bunch of undocumented, mostly untrue, garbage. Fear tactics (like this) work because people are unwilling or unable to do the research to uncover the truth. It is out there, you just have to look.

RE: Letter from auto parts supplier (Gregory Knox)

Mon, 8 Jun 2009 17:06:25 -0400

In one day I received two emails with the title: Two letters-One from GM President-One from auto parts supplier. I checked snopes (you can read the email here: http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/knox.asp if you haven't already seen it) and they confirm it is a real letter although Mr. Knox should be ashamed. It's incredible to me that when a business does well it is because of the management and CEO but when it fails it's because of the lazy workers. How many CEOs and managers wrote letters praising their workers when the economy was thriving? At any rate, in response to his letter:

First of all, to call union workers overpaid, arrogant, ignorant, lazy and entitlement-minded is not true and creates and/or perpetuates a hateful stereotype. There is a very small minority of people in the United States that could be described with those words and they are represented by every occupation, sex, race, ethnicity, religion, and/or age. Being in a union doesn't create and/or change a persons character and/or work ethic.

Secondly, he states that we (I assume United States citizens) have decided that capitalism doesn't work and the United States is in the process of nationalizing but "our once fine citizens don't even have a clue this is what is really happening." The capitalism ideal is that government should be "hands-off" so the free market, based on supply and demand, can maximize consumer welfare. It does not work. The United States is now dealing with the consequences of what happens when governmental oversight is relaxed. Unfortunately, government intervention is necessary to curb the abuse that is inevitable when power-driven, greedy individuals are given the freedom to do what they want with their companies and to their employees. Government and unions were instrumental in stopping abuse that was suffered at the hands of workers in this country when employers were not regulated and trusted to do the right thing by their employees. While I am the first one to agree that most people are complacent about civic issues and should become involved well before they are negatively impacted, nationalizing? Nationalism, by definition, is just a philosophy that believes a group of people's primary duty/loyalty should be to their nation. It isn't a economic/social/policital system and whether stated or not I think most Americans would believe this, as evidenced by the reaction to 9/11.

Thirdly, Obama is NOT "reeling it back in" when he talks about the economy. I saw, heard and read several speeches in the last two years and he NEVER implied that he had a "magic wand" or that it would be easy to fix. In fact, in almost every one of his speeches (which can be found here: http://www.barackobama.com/speeches/index.php) he talks about how difficult our current situation is and how complex it will be to fix. He also stresses the fact that it will take sacrifices by ALL Americans to overcome and reverse the current state of the nation's economy....among other things.

Fourthly, people who jump over the border illegally don't get free health care benefits. In 1996, Congress excluded noncitizens from access to many government programs (including welfare) which include: grants, contracts, loans, licenses, health, disability, public/assisted housing, post-secondary education, food assistance and unemployment benefits. It is only after five years as a legal permanent resident that an immigrant is eligible to apply for US citizenship. It is citizenship which then gives that individual the right to vote and then draw on government benefit programs if they are eligible.

I'm sure the president of Knox Machinery, letter-writer Gregory Knox, makes good money AND thinks he's worth it. I wonder if he has ever driven a forklift or had to work as a forklift operator. I have not so I can't make any comment on whether or not it is a job that warrants an $85,000/year salary. However, I would venture to guess that there are many people who would scoff at the amount of money that Mr. Knox pays himself compared to what he pays his employees and would also say that it is disproportionate compared to the work performed. Since I don't know what he makes or what he does, that is not my opinion, I'm just guessing that there are people who would balk at the money he makes for the work he does.

Finally, I believe that every one of us is to blame for the current state of the economy and, more specifically, auto industry. There is a lot of attention paid to labor costs, but research indicates that they only account for approximately 10% of the cost of making a vehicle. So, we can try to blame management as they have certainly played a major role with their inability or unwillingness to prepare for the global economy or people's response to environmental concerns. We could blame vendors, like Knox Machinery, who continued to inflate the prices of their products (while not increasing wages) that were imperative to manufacturing a vehicle efficiently. If you don't agree with that, put blame on politicians who have been hesitant to put any regulations on these corporations for fear of political fallout.

But ultimately, if we wanted to save these companies, we would have demanded a better American-made product and bought more cars.

Please stop sending me inaccurate viral emails!

Mon, 8 Jun 2009 17:06:51 -0400

I am so sick of receiving ridiculously inaccurate, hateful viral emails. While these emails land in millions of internet mailboxes (including mine) daily, I very rarely see more than a one sentence dissenting response returned. As such, I am going to commit myself to researching and responding to each and every one that I get, even if I don't like what I find out.