All the social systems controlled by the figurative 1% and opposed by the 99%, all the institutions that any compassionate person would liken to fascist or feudal, all have been instigated, implemented and reinforced by people. I know that I alone cannot change such systems; this is guaranteed by the combined oligarchical complex of government, corporate, financial and military, all formed in a steep pyramid system with “the 1%” (those in control) atop and “the 99%” (those under control) below.

But it is perfectly obvious that if a system is simply the creation of people, then people can change that system – with serenity, courage and wisdom. And since the systems in question operate at the progressive expense of our physical environment and personal freedoms, it is no longer a question of whether people can force such change, but when.

Anyone who says that people cannot change things, that we are powerless to the control systems that already exists, does not realize they are in a system that began as imagination, an idea, which came about through influence. With new, better ideas, people can change those outdated systems that other people once created; even those that have become long-standing traditions, or pose as such.

War On Individualism
The best business strategies utilize knowledge of trends, if a stock is going up and has been going up, chances are it will continue to go up for a time. In the same way trends can be used to gain an understanding of history and current events. If something has occurred and is occurring and nothing is being done to change it, chances are it will continue to occur, perhaps more frequently so.

One such growing trend is the investment into a police state. Increasingly the United States is becoming a police state where institutions are allowed to figuratively and literally put the boot down. The aim of the game is social control, not governance. The police in the United States support the institutional ties between the state, corporate and military collective and are often used as cogs in a system of enforcement for revenue, rather than enforcement for the purposes of upholding human rights – as they were intended.

Great Read: http://wakeup-world.com/2015/01/28/oligarchy-and-the-war-on-individualism/

Inmates Forced into Brutal Gladiator Style Combat for San Francisco Deputy’s Sadistic Pleasure
By Jay Syrmopoulos * March 28, 2015 * Free Thought Project

“This is the most troubling and outrageous conduct I have seen in my 30 years at the Hall of Justice,” Adachi said.

San Francisco, Calif. – On Thursday, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi held an impromptu press conference to make a shocking announcement. He announced that deputies at the city’s jail at the Hall of Justice were forcing inmates to participate in gladiator style combat against one another.

The deputies had been organizing the fights for their own entertainment, and then gambling on the bouts.

“I can only describe this an outrageously sadistic scenario,” said Adachi.
Four deputies were involved in organizing the fights, with the ringleader being Deputy Scott Neu, according to the city’s public defender. Neu was previously accused of forcing inmates to perform oral sex in 2006 case that was settled out of court.

According to the complaint, deputies would threaten inmates with beatings, pepper spray, handcuffing and even sexual assault if they didn’t participate in the fights.

Inmate Stanley Harris detailed the abuse in the complaint:

“…while I’m incarcerated, Deputy Neu made me fight another individual that we’re – we’re housed in the same tank. He made us fight. We had like two fights already. It’s like, uh, he would make us go to like a – like a (inaudible) to where nobody can see, and he would make us just wrestle and fight each other to his own entertainment.”

Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/california-deputies-forced-inmates-gladiatorial-combat-entertainment-bet-fights/#0FfOljZj9dT6FTqV.99

Well I can dream can't I?

Please post a smilie of your choice as a response. Nor not.

My smilie is:

9 basic concepts Americans fail to grasp
A lack of worldliness is clouding our vision on everything from sex to economics, and the proof is in our policies
by ALEX HENDERSON * ALTERNET/Salon * March 28, 2015

1. Universal Healthcare Is Great for Free Enterprise and Great for Small Businesses

The modern-day Republican Party would have us believe that those who promote universal healthcare are anti-free enterprise or hostile to small businesses. But truth be told, universal healthcare is great for entrepreneurs, small businesses and the self-employed in France, Germany and other developed countries where healthcare is considered a right. The U.S.’ troubled healthcare system has a long history of punishing entrepreneurs with sky-high premiums when they start their own businesses. Prior to the Affordable Care Act of 2010, a.k.a. Obamacare, many small business owners couldn’t even obtain individual health insurance plans if they had a preexisting condition such as heart disease or diabetes—and even with the ACA’s reforms, the high cost of health insurance is still daunting to small business owners. But many Americans fail to realize that healthcare reform is not only a humanitarian issue, it is also vitally important to small businesses and the self-employed.

2. Comprehensive Sex Education Decreases Sexual Problems

3. American Exceptionalism Is Absolute Nonsense in 2015

4. Adequate Mass Transit Is a Huge Convenience

5. The Bible Was Not Written by Billionaire Hedge Fund Managers

6. Learning a Second or Third Language Is a Plus, Not a Character Flaw

7. Union Membership Benefits the Economy

8. Paid Maternity Leave Is the Norm in Most Developed Countries

9. Distrust of Oligarchy Is a Positive
In February, the Emnid Polling Institute in Germany released the results of a poll that addressed economic and political conditions in that country: over 60% of the Germans surveyed believed that large corporations had too much influence on elections. ThE survey demonstrated that most Germans have a healthy distrust of crony capitalists and oligarchs who take much more than they give. Meanwhile, in the U.S., various polls show a growing distrust of oligarchy on the part of many Americans but with less vehemence than in the German Emnid poll. A 2012 poll by the Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research showed that while 62% of American voters opposed the U.S. Supreme Court’s disastrous Citizens United decision, only 46% strongly opposed it. And in a 2012 poll by the Corporate Reform Coalition, most Americans agreed that there was too much corporate money in U.S. politics—although only 51% strongly agreed.

http://www.salon.com/2015/03/28/9_basic_concepts_americans_fail_to_grasp_partner/

Not just a "few bad apples".

These Cops were So Corrupt, that their Entire Department was Just Raided by Multiple Agencies
By John Vibes * March 26, 2015 * Free Thought Project

Brooklyn, Illinois – This week, the Brooklyn Police Department was raided by a number of other law enforcement agencies, including, the Illinois State Police, and the St. Clair County Sheriff.

On Wednesday, local news crews witnessed police from different agencies carrying equipment, computers, weapons and records out of the building and driving away with them.

Local News 4 reported that the raid was connected to corruption allegations, which relate to the theft of evidence, weapons, drugs and other items from the evidence room.

Outside the Police Department, Illinois State Police Capt. James Morrisey told reporters that the raid was “in reference to some allegations received by Illinois State Police and the State’s Attorney’s office. No further information is available at this time.”

One former officer, Chris Heatherly reportedly kept an AR-15 rifle in his car that had been stolen from the evidence room. He flaunted the rifle in a photo that was later used for a police department calendar. Other guns and drugs that were missing from Heatherly’s cases have yet to be found.

Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/police-department-raided-law-enforcement-agencies/#lYBQ4IKHkzMFEMLf.99

Barack Obama places the blame for the swift rise of Isis at George W. Bush's feet by suggesting its growth was an unintended consequence of... the US invasion of Iraq. The US President made the comments as he spoke with Vice News about a number of issues currently affecting America.

Isis began its rapid and bloody advance across Iraq last year, taking over swathes of the country and territories in Syria, later declaring a ‘caliphate’ across areas under its control. The extremist group has committed a number of atrocities in these areas, including mass beheadings, public executions and the kidnapping of women from minority groups who were sold into sexual slavery.

Mr Obama said: "Two things: one is, Isis is a direct outgrowth of al-Qaeda in Iraq that grew out of our invasion. Which is an example of unintended consequences. Which is why we should generally aim before we shoot." - See more at:

See source article + a VIDEO HERE: http://upriser.com/posts/obama-isis-unintended-consequence-of-invading-iraq-which-is-why-we-should-aim-before-we-shoot#sthash.kerShLDr.dpuf

You need to see this 72 minute documentary of the CIA/Bush Crime Family's 2002 coup attempt in Venezuela, and how it dramatically back-fired because THE PEOPLE of Venezuela literally rose up, by the 100s of thousands, surrounding the Presidential Palace, demanding that their democratically elected President Hugo Chavez be restored to power.

This is an excellent film in its own right, an award-winning documentary by a Dutch film crew who just happened to be already on the scene, as the coup unfolded, and were allowed to keep their cameras rolling through the entire incident, until Chavez was reinstated as President. An amazing historical piece of film work.

US Weapons Have a Nasty Habit of Going AWOL
From Afghanistan to Yemen, a short history of American arms ending up in the wrong hands.
By AJ Vicens * Maarch 18, 2015 * Mother Jones

On Tuesday, the Washington Post reported that the Pentagon can't say what happened to more than $500 million worth of gear—including "small arms, ammunition, night-vision goggles, patrol boats, vehicles and other supplies"—it had given to the Yemeni government. The news comes as Al Qaeda and Iranian-backed groups vie to control the country following the collapse of the country's US-backed regime in January. The Post noted that the Pentagon has stopped further shipments of aid, but the damage has been done. "We have to assume it's completely compromised and gone," an anonymous legislative aide said.

This isn't the first time US military aid to allies has gone AWOL or wound up in the wrong hands. A few notable examples:

Libya: In late 2012, the New York Times reported that weapons from a US-approved deal had eventually gone to Islamic militants in Libya. The deal, which involved European weapons sent to Qatar as well as US weapons originally supplied to the United Arab Emirates, had been managed from the sidelines by the Obama administration.

Syria: More than once, American arms intended to help bolster the fight against ISIS in Syria and northern Iraq have ended up in the group's control. Last October, an airdrop of small arms was blown off target by the wind, according to the Guardian. ISIS quickly posted a video of its fighters going through crates of weapons attached to a parachute.

Iraq: American weapons supplied to the Iraqi army have also found their way ISIS via theft and capture. And weapons meant for the Iraqi army have also gone to Shiite militias backed by Iran. This isn't a new problem: As much as 30 percent of the weapons the United States distributed to Iraqi forces between 2004 and early 2007 could not be accounted for.

Afghanistan: It's been widely documented that American forces invading Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11 had to face off against weapons the United States had once supplied to mujahideen fighters battling the Soviets in the '80

MORE: Somalia
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/03/pentagon-arms-lost-missing-yemen

As a Portlander, I take this news especially hard. Damn, we're better than that.

Or at least I thought we were.

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Why Can’t One of America’s Most ‘Progressive’ Cities Reform Its Police Force?
Zoë Carpenter * March 16, 2015 * The Nation

It was just after midnight on a September Sunday when several police officers, responding to reports of property damage, approached a small group of young black men walking down a street in north Portland, Oregon. Among them was 16-year-old Thai Gurule, a football player at Roosevelt High School, and his older brother Giovanni. Officers ordered Thai to stop. He kept walking.

Within minutes Thai would be tackled by several officers, forced to the ground, tased and handcuffed. Later, despite a judge’s ruling that the initial stop was illegal, he’d face charges of resisting arrest, assaulting a public safety officer and attempted strangulation. Giovanni would face similar, though less serious, charges. The Portland Police Bureau worked quickly to defend their officers, releasing a statement that explained that the Gurule brothers were “very hostile,” and that Thai demonstrated “active aggression, including his choking the female officer.”

Cell phone videos captured a different scene: Thai, slight of body, standing still between two officers. “Can I ask you a question?” Giovanni can be heard saying. “What did my little brother do? He don’t do nothing. He plays football for Roosevelt, come on now. He don’t drink. He don’t smoke.” Suddenly, the officers pull Thai towards the ground. His white hat falls off, and he reaches for it through the scrum. Officers bark orders, and bystanders shout: “Stop pulling his hair!” “Why are you punching him?” “That’s illegal!” “What’s the problem that he caused?” “Fucking pigs!” When they tase him, Thai begins to gasp, his high-pitched keening overlaid by the hoarser, panicked protests coming from his older brother.

Less than a month earlier, the Portland Police Bureau had reached a “groundbreaking” agreement with the Department of Justice to settle a case stemming from repeated incidences of police violence. There was the schizophrenic who was beaten to death by officers; the suicidal young black man who was shot in the back after concerned relatives called the police; another young man in a mental health crisis who was shot to death after cops pulled him over for driving “like a gangster.” The deal, as described by the DOJ, will put in place “innovative new mechanisms” for community oversight and requires reforms to training and use-of-force guidelines.

http://www.thenation.com/blog/201545/why-cant-one-americas-most-progressive-cities-reform-its-police-force