I'm not surprised, we all already know that corporations and government are more corrupt then we can imagine. What does boggle my mind is the lack of prosecution... Is their any just politicians or people in law? Or have the enlightened folks already given up? We see this corruption on freaking Fox News and cnn and still nothing gets done. Tsk tsk

They won't prosecute for fear that it could topple the financial system... Does the fact that drug cartel money and the security of the economy being intimately connected not alarm government officials? I find it funny that it seems to be shaping up that legalization of drugs really could change the way the game is played. For example legalize drugs tax and regulate them, put cartels and corrupt government employees out of business. Once these money grubbers are out of the way who knows what the world could become? It seems to me that the issue of drug legalization in regards to the benefits of the whole financial system are being purposely downplayed likely by these same type of politicians who deem this not important to prosecute the guilty individuals.

How is collecting a fine, however many billions, not also profiting from criminal activities? A settlement? SETTLEMENT? One mafia paying the other mafia. Makes me think this is one organized crime syndicate spanking another monetarily for being so reckless in their tactics.

The comparison to an average citizen when caught with a tiny amount of MJ on them sickens me as it's happened to myself. I never got the option for a settlement! I DID have to spend thousands on a lawyer to get the charges thrown out. I'm still paying that off! Much more than "5 weeks of income."

I swear (that I'm joking) I'm going to colonize the moon on the border of the light and dark sides and invite all true liberty minded individuals there. Acacia, iboga, phalaris, caapi, rue, etc. plants providing our oxygen in the glass bubble cites of nature. I'll start a kickstarter and contact Virgin Galactic for the transportation LOL!

I have read a few bits on how the Mexican cartels "helped " the banks out of the financial crisis. Apparently after the toxic mortgage issue banks really needed a cash injection the cartels have this kind of cash in hard currency and wished to launder it. HSBC and others turned a blind eye as to where the money was coming from and ended up being implicated in money laundering accusations.

Whatever your view on the war on drugs and the best way to its resolution you would probably agree that Mexican drug cartels are not part of the solution and assisting with there financial transactions is a bad policy.

HSBC have in the past illegally charged there U.K. customers (myself included) for overdraft fees, they have sold unsuitable payment protection to millions of people and now they are laundering Mexican drug money yet they are to important to prosecute. Banks are run by greedy people with incredibly low moral standards yet they will never be punished due to the fact we need them.

What bugs me the most is that like the financial crisis it will be legitimate customers with pensions and savings who will ultimately pay this fine. These people would not have been effected if the most senior employees of HSBC to be implicated had faced criminal charges and there must have been a lot of evidence for HSBC to be willing to settle out of court for such a large sum of money.

You can buy your way out of anything these days but at least have the good grace to use your own money and not my savings you thieving muppets.

Occasionally I can envision a good case for medieval torture.

/me burns some steaks

I'd sentence them to a lifetime of performing good deeds at there own personal expense. Obviously if this was defaulted on it would be back to the old skool medieval torture and waterboarding.

Even if there are "just" politicians or people in law who believe they want to do it for the people, they do not matter; theyre a grain of sand in the ocean. No one individual can challenge a system like that. As an example, even with Ed Snowden calling out the whole spy program. Some people are pissed cause they knew it all along, some never saw it coming and are confused, and others say its necessary and are pissed at the people who are pissed over their rights being eroded. And even with all of the information flapping around in the wind slapping every one in the face, what was/will be done? Nothing. Except things just chugging along as they were planned to any way.

Just think how mad some people get if there is a dispute over $50. Now, be one, or hell, even 100 persons looking to call out a corporation with billions of dollars thrown into the mixture. Their whole world would be turned upside down within 10 minutes flat. Not only because its that ONE corporations money, but that money is guaranteed to be tied up between several entities, not just the primary one in question. So you F with one of them, you F with all of them. And don't you dare screw with them, they all have down payments on 200 Million dollar yachts with their cut. Construction of the yacht wont be completed unless there is proof of funds!

Law does not exist to bring justice to/for the people. Law exists to suppress/control people and it does so with a blind eye to those with the money and power. The system is designed to maintain and protect itself, all in the interest of public safety/national security/etc of course! People get tossed a tax return of $3,500 and think "WOW, freedom rules!!! Now I can pay off 1/8th of my credit card debt!"

Money and power feed the system, why would the system punish itself by calling itself out and be like 'Damn, our bad guys. Sorry we hurt your feels.' The entire structure is an actualized illusion. Its a big, well scripted and well acted Hollywood hit that nearly every one buys into. And even if you don't buy into it, you're still caught up in it regardless.

the US lets jumbo jets full of cocaine, courtesy of sinaloa, fly in for the exchange of intel on other cartels. they've admitted it in the wake of the 'fast-and-furious' fiasco.

+1

And let's not forget this stretches back to Iran/Contra and before...

Damn Humble you really hit the nail on the head there.

Humble,
Your post made me physically ill with its exactness of truth.


How can anything ever get any better, when almost all of the money in the world is dead set against it?

Render capital irrelevant

Thank you Inhale and Peabody. Sorry I made you feel sick hahah. It's a very intense topic though. It's not easy to talk about things like this in normal day to day life with the average person, when people like myself who see thru the waterfall of endless poop are asked our beliefs on whats going on in pasing, the answer I just gave here would be scoffed at by cognitive dissonant-englufed individuals who have to toss in their rebuttals as to why Im wrong because CNN said so, so an outlet is nice once in a while to let it spew on a forum like this which is pretty open minded. I don't involve myself with politics in the slightest bit, because, it's a spectator sport. There is no involvement in politics. The fact that politics is televised should be enough for a few to realize...well this is just one big circus isnt it?

Despite seeing and realizing all of this for quite some time now, all of the intertwined'edness of the way things work, that's the one question I ask and can't seem to figure an answer like Mr. Peabody asked: How can anything be made better?

Although in the past 10 years it seems like A LOT of people are, in a sense, waking up to concepts like this, it comes back to what I said earlier. It slaps us in the face, and nothing will be done. Why though? Really, I've concluded that despite nothing will be done, nothing can be done. Gone are the days a protest works, gone are the days rallying works. Anyone who's labelled as a protester is just blasted by the media as some crazy holistic medicine loving poor hippie who doesnt want to conform to modern society as people who await Honey Boo Boo to come on or UFC while wearing a Tapout tee-shirt with a Tribal sleeve tattoo will sit there and scream "Yeehaw whack them damn hippys and spray em with mace". A rebellion or revolution simply wont work and doesn't really facilitate a proper resolution; fighting fire with fire in this case won't work. It's almost like its too far deep really for anything to be done. It will not get better, because who's gonna get in the way of a freight train running down hill like that and either not hop on or get plowed through by standing in the way?

Sounds like you need to get up, get out, and get something. I have seen protest "work." I have seen corporate giants kept out of minority neighborhoods. I have seen the camaraderie and solidarity in the looks exchanged between eyeslits in masks, as people fire projectiles back at the police. I have seen the exchange of knowledge as the experienced tell kids not to pick up teargas canisters with their bare hands. I have seen entire police departments restrained by local government as a result of altercations they have had with protesters, thereby disrupting their ability to harass vulnerable communities.

I have seen buildings occupied and repurposed, the flow of capital shut down for hours at a time, police stations boarded up...and the tendrils of new communities of resistance snake their way into previously dormant locales. I have seen town governments mired in hours of angry voices from citizens in the wake of repressive actions. I have seen media narratives frantically try to spin stories as movements swell, crest, and fall, as they do.

I have seen the unrest in the streets...I have seen the smoldering looks in the eyes of those who are back in dead-end jobs after that wave passes...I have seen the furtive glances that say, "We will return at the next social fissure...we are biding our time until the cauldron is hot yet again."



I have to be honest...this resigned, pseudo-nihilistic rant seems to be pretty out of touch with global actions, on both the macro and micro levels. Claims of the inefficacy of "fighting fire with fire" contain within them the sort of empty rhetorical pleas for non-violence that allow this system to replicate itself in the first place.

I don't see anything being offered by the perspective you put forth. There are communities in resistance all around the globe...many of them are quite easy to find. To ignore these acts of resistance, to pretend they are not happening or don't/can't matter is to buy in wholesale to the dominant narrative. In the past 18 months alone, millions of dollars of GMO crops were destroyed, oil executives and nanotech developers were assassinated, various major intelligence programs were exposed, and numerous countries experienced uprisings, to name but the tiniest sliver of some of the more publicized actions. You could write volumes on the past 18 months alone.

So, to me, the perspective you're putting forth seems at odds with the reality of social struggle in the present. Yes, things looks grim, I don't deny that...but that's miles away from what you appear to be saying.

Will we win? Most likely not. But we don't fight because we can win, we fight because there are things worth fighting for.

Give up and keep fighting.

^^^ I understand that there is a lot being done, but it seems to me that no matter what happens, we will always be left with a system of slavery. Even if every bully in office, every corrupt politician, every money grubbing CEO is thrown out, there's always more to replace them. They seem to be an integral part of humanity as a whole. I understand the concept of the noble fight, but damn it, I want those disguting parts of humanity I named to get what they deserve. But even if they do, how can we ever reach a point where those types of people don't get power? They are in power because they are made for it, because the whole system was built by them.

I guess I just don't see the point in the struggle when there's no attainable end. So, my decision is simply to make my own way through this dysfunctional society, and try to make as posistive of a mark on the world as I can while doing it. I apologize if this is resigned, or negative, but it's just how it seems to me. It's my pragmatic take on the situation.

Systems are fleeting on a historical timescale..and nonexistent on a global one. This too shall pass. This system accounts for a tiny sliver of that which has existed.


They certainly are an existing part...and by default, does that not make them an integral part? Perhaps they will get their just desserts, perhaps not. But we have no control over that, we only appear to control our own actions. Some people work to give them their just desserts. But I think that focusing on individuals only makes sense where they intersect with systemic points of leverage. That's part of the reason certain groups focus on the scientists behind some of the more oppressive technologies.


Is it not positive to help those you can with the actions you deem worthwhile? Contrary to your claim, this seems much more in line with what I'm talking about. It takes more than people in the streets. It takes entire networks of support. Encouraging ideas about what is going one, nurturing people engaged in on the ground struggle, working to preserve ecosystems, spread health and joy...the work is nearly infinite.

Life is in the doing.

What you do is up to you. I think there are untold benefits in situating what you do in opposition to dominant culture (as psychedelics somewhat do by default...or at least have great potential to do) if you want to leave a positive mark.

My point was that the sentiment of "there's nothing we can do...we should do nothing" is debilitating, disempowering, and removes our agency. The points you've articulated seem to be quite the opposite of that

Snozzleberry what I said wasnt really putting forth any sort of surrender and I wasnt trying to really come to a conclusion either as to what to do. I was just saying what wont work. Just look at Venezuela, and Kiev. And even what you said youve seen first hand. The violence that erupted there is unreal. I certainly don't want that. A protest doesn't get the job done any more without tons of people being killed or maimed or thrown in jail for unlawful assembly, resisting arrest, etc. Youre not gonna have a 10,000 person march and have the heads of Govt say WOAH, alright folks calm down, come on in have a seat and lets discuss this.

Maybe a million? Two? Five?

I appreciate your inspirational and motivational words, Snozz. I guess I just spend a lot of time feeling like I'm one of the few who sees this stuff, with exception of many of fine fine folks here on the Nexus. I beat my head against the wall trying to show people these things, and speak about them when I can, but no one seems to listen. It's as though people need to discover things for themselves, but so many are stuck in these spirals, caused in part by information bubbles, and simply don't hear anything! It makes me depressed (or maybe it is a target for latent depression to latch onto, I can't tell the difference).

I just find it so hard to believe no one hears these things, but so often people haven't heard anything! It's right there, and I heard about it, and I barely go out of my way to find anything. You would think, with the sheer volume of information available, a level of unprecedented and unrivaled information exchange ever seen on this planet, that people would have better access to the truth. They might have better access to real news. It's the f'n opposite!!! I just can't get over that. It drives me up the wall. I still try to wake people up, but often to no avail.

I'll try harder to keep a positive attitude, and look into some stuff. I definitely like the pie thing.

Pie? I love pie.

If the rhetoric of non violent protest is empty, surely the rhetoric of violence is just as flawed?

I do not have a problem with defending myself or defending the weak through violence but i think the problem that i have with that link is that it comes across as being totally against non violence. It implies that the successes of non violent protest were helped by violence but the same could be said for non violent protest giving an acceptable side to violence . I think that successful change, whether it be a problem in personal relationships or political structures, is brought on by compromise. Violence is the epitomy of non compromise.

NON VIOLENCE IS INEFFECTIVE


I do not think that exterior violent pressures such as WW1 and WW2 take away from the validity or success of the non violent movement in India.



This is true but i would say that ML King also provided an acceptable counterpoint to the Black Panther movement. If it was just an armed struggle then i imagine that the authorities would justify a violent stance on the subjugation of the movement by using the magnification of fear.

NON VIOLENCE IS RACIST


If pacifism comes from a priveliged context does that necessarily take away it"s validity? I have known plenty of working class pacifists. A lot of the anarchist activists that i have known that have taken part in violent protest have been middle classed privileged students, but i still do not think that this takes away any validity from their views either.

NON VIOLENCE IS PATRIARCHAL

It could be argued that violent protest is patriarchal. If patriarchy came about through our intial need for war and a possible tendency for males to be more biologically and cultuarally aggressive, then violence is a continuation of aggressivity and therefore patriarchy. An example of non patriarchal non violent protest.



In my limited experience with female friends that have been physically abused, it has been better for them to get away from a violent partner. I am not saying that wife beaters do not deserve a good kicking but any violence visited on the abusive spouse may result in vengeful, violent repercussions. Not only that, but he knows where his victim lives.

NON VIOLENCE IS DELUDED

This is quite possibly true. There will always be violence and it is almost impossible to not become overcome with anger at the oppressive nature of humanity. But if you fight fire with fire (rather than water), there is no end to the flames. I do not have any concrete answers to how to end people being nasty to each other, and it is frustrating.

I am not completely against violence (when necessary) but i think that the stick and the carrot have to go hand in hand.