Columbia Turns a Page
From Progressive International
Last Sunday, under the bright skies of Bogotá, thousands of Colombians gathered in Plaza Bolívar to inaugurate Francia Márquez and Gustavo Petro as the Vice President and President of the first progressive government in the history of Colombia.
“Today, the popular mandate for peace, for dignified life, for social and environmental justice has brought us to this square and to all the squares of Colombia,” said Roy Barreras, incoming President of the Colombian Senate, in the opening speech. “This is the rebirth of hope.”
Standing before the crowd, Afro-Colombian land defender Francia Márquez took her oath of office, swearing before God, the people of Colombia, and her ancestors to serve as Vice President “*hasta que la dignidad sea costumbre.*” Until dignity becomes custom.
Soldiers marched the sword of Simón Bolívar, a great liberator of the Patria Grande, onto the inauguration stage — the same sword that the M-19, the guerrilla movement to which Gustavo Petro once belonged, stole in 1974 in act of rebellion against Colombia’s corrupt regime.
As Gustavo Petro prepared to take the podium, the crowd in Plaza Bolívar roared in unison. “No más guerra! No más guerra!” No more war. Wearing the presidential sash bestowed to him by María José Pizarro — feminist, Senator, daughter of Carlos Pizarro, commander of the M-19 shot down on own his path to the presidency in 1990 — Gustavo Petro inaugurated the ‘Government of Life.’
“Many times in our history we Colombians have been condemned to the impossible, to the lack of opportunities, to a resounding ‘No’. I want to tell all Colombians who are listening to me in Plaza Bolivar, in the surrounding areas, throughout Colombia and abroad that our second chance begins today… We must end, once and for all, six decades of violence and armed conflict — in fact, I would say, two centuries of permanent war, of eternal war, of perpetual war in Colombia. It can be done.”
In a sweeping address, Petro called for a new internationalism in Latin America and around the world — not “discourse, mere rhetoric,” but robust institutions to bind together the sister nations of the South, from the Arab World to Africa. “Today, we must be more united than ever.”
Above all, Gustavo Petro called for peace. “I will work to achieve true and definitive peace: like no one else, like never before,” he said. “The Government of Life is the Government of Peace.”
The Progressive International is proud to accompany Council member Gustavo Petro on this journey toward a true and definitive peace — in Colombia, across Latin America, and around the world.
The Permanent War Paradigm
Now that we’re several months into our Ukraine Conflict, we begin to see things a bit more clearly. Putin remains an unstable threat, yet there are undertones and currents which suggest the US empire is exploiting this conflict, allowing Ukraine to be destroyed one bit at a time, when we could be using diplomacy and global pressure to bring an end to this conflict.
We won’t. We’ll continue to call out Russia as the bad guy and keep pretending we’re the good guy, as corporate media always does. In truth as NATO surrounds Russia tighter and tighter it’s kind of to be expected that Putin would react. Remember Cuba in the 1960s? We were having none of that.
“Terrorism” is the perfect term to highlight the permanent war paradigm at this time. After all “Communism” or the “The Cold War” don’t carry the weight they once did. And, once ‘Terrorism’ loses its convincing value, there will be other threats thrust in our face to ensure we allow a trillion dollars a year of our money to be used for U.S. Imperialism. And for those offended by such strong language I do not apologize. I ask that you open your eyes.
Who has military bases in 200 countries? Who has initiated the most military conflicts in the last 50 years? [it’s not even close!] Who has replaced the most democratically elected leaders with U.S. friendly dictators? Think Chile, poor Haiti, Iraq, Lybia and a good handful of others. Yeah, that’s us.
The terrorism bogeyman card can be played, if not forever, well into the foreseeable future. And it’s a trump card, as we’re seeing so clearly in the bloated budget earmarked for the Department of Defense. No wonder they feel obliged to cut social programs.
In the permanent war paradigm, there’s no new money for states and cities, or local renewal. There’s no new money for alternate energy, education,or a host of other issues we face, but there’s 400 billion for Iraq. (That money goes to energy research, we don’t need their fucking oil.)
So ‘our leaders’ are creating a United States of America with rising illiteracy and poverty, less healthcare, no retirement funding and crumbling infrastructure. But BY GOD, THOSE TERRORISTS ARE NOT GOING TO GET US!
Ongoing support for the permanent war paradigm remains ridiculously high in Washington politics. This is the sordid group that’s codifying the Permanent War Paradigm – and believes they’ll be able to control the game for the indefinite future.
They may well be right. Democracy is tough. Corruption is easy if you’re in power. The Permanent War Paradigm guarantees conflict for decades ahead, meaning continued profits for profiteers, and insulation for corrupt politicians.
And if I have not stressed enough the connections between our shitty politicians and the corporations they are beholding to, rest assured they’re incredibly deep and wide. As of 2022, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, General Dynamics, and Raytheon Technologies win the top five spots. They own our politicians and so the endless wars continue.
The eventual success or failure of these outlandish plans depends on many things. One sign of hope is that events tend to outrun even the greatest strategists. [Even this idea of World 5.0] Another positive is burnout. Many Americans are getting tired of the “terrorism trumps everything” modality our federal government champions. And a third cause for hope – we, the People of the Blog. There is an undeniable progressive movement, typified by new editorial sites like David Sirota’s The Lever, that is shaking the fundamental assumptions of capitalism and cronyism.
Sometimes things have to fall apart so they can be reconstructed. “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” – from the Declaration of Independence.
Yeah, what he said.
Bernie’s Revolution Is On!
Bernie is no longer running for president, but the movement is on…
The Gates of Delirium
(from the author) I wrote this just before the coronavirus became a threat in the west. At this point it’s just more delirium…
We find ourselves today with the likely choice of Joe Biden and Donald Trump as president at the end of 2020, both men seemingly getting a bit soft in the head. This when the world is in chaos and climate chaos is taking a daily toll, along with our many other ills. We are at the gates of a delirious world.
Anyone of clear mind and warm heart knows the vast extent of our woes and the massive effort needed to transform our lives and save our planet. Joe Biden and Donald Trump are both less than idea candidates to lead this effort.
While Joe is clearly the better choice, he would need a hellofa vice president, as Joe doesn’t seem as ‘with it’ as one would like. His memory is not what it was. His debate skills fail him. His record is not progressive, and the dem elites would rather have four more years of Trump than an actual revolution against moneyed interests.
Which leaves Bernie Sanders as the only alternative. Bernie has his flaws. I can see a hundred ways in which he could soften his attitude without softening his positions on issues. But he remains our best option and the leader of our revolution.
We who see some glimmer of truth in this broken culture understand that a revolution that takes us from a money driven, hateful, sick, elitist family owned corporate culture to a world of peace and love is not easy. In truth, we know it cannot happen until enough of us realize who and where we are and stand up against the corruption and the old system.
That we must rise up is a premise of World 5.0. We must rise up. This year of 2020 is crucial. This is a magical time. We have suffered under the thumb of kings, dictators, elites and monsters for long enough. Electing Bernie Sanders could have a great impact in moving us forward. Yet, our movement does not die with Bernie or anyone else. As the French poet Victor Hugo noted, ‘You can’t kill an idea whose time has come.’
The time for World5 is now. We already stand together here in Life. This tiny place in time where the future becomes the past. Our intent is the tool that powers our experience. And only love makes us happy. These are the three truths of World 5.0, and they lead us into our new reality – the recognition, realization, in your bones awareness that we are all here together in life.
We have some time on the event horizon to make Bernie our president. But you don’t help with our task on the couch watching the tv.. Right now the great need is for us to rise up.
Book Launch on the Solstice!
“World 5.0 – We Move From Here” delivers the truth about who and where we are, humans on planet Earth at this crucial moment in our history. And so we celebrate our new o/s coming alive on the Winter Solstice at Cafe DeSales in Walnut Hills, Cincinnati.
For too long we have have been subjected to a corrupt system that does not serve us. Corporations and nation-states have never been interested in serving their citizenry. They have offered us only crumbs as they abuse our rights and destroy our only home (yes, Earth). Their wars have decimated tribes and countries across the planet. This must end.
We end this travesty by abolishing the legal status of corporations, the thousand year scourge that came to pass through collusion between royalty and enriched merchants in Denmark and England.
We officially begin this monumental task with our Book Launch on the Solstice. Yes, we are attempting the impossible. But we’ve faced the impossible before, and some time later the impossible becomes reality.
Join us on December 21st at Cafe DeSales in East Walnut Hills in Cincinnati, Ohio at 6:00pm EST. Stay tuned as we will soon be offering ways to join us via facebook and youtube for those unable to join us in person.
This is what finding our freedom looks like.
This is a great opportunity to launch World 5.0 into the public sphere. I hope you’ll join us.
Heart of the Chaos
For those of us who study where we are as a culture, a corrupt and dark place where we approach self-annihilation, a clarity is arising. Even with the disasters set forth by nation-states, religious zealots and worse, one entity has been at the heart of our chaos.
Let me tease further. Our wars, the misery of millions, dirty water, shitty food, environmental devastation, climate chaos, and people and planet failing even now, they all have a common cause, a single source of currently unmitigated power. Welcome, friends, to the now failing world of corporatism.
Corporations.
Yes, of course, it’s the corporations. Mindless legal entities that hoard vast trillions of dollars for their owners, who are the true offenders. 9th Century Danish and English monarchies, obviously for personal gain, enabled a few special corporations. Soon enough we had the East India Company and the Hudson Bay Company, and the British Empire became a thing.
Indeed, the US Founding Fathers were acutely aware of the nature of corporations and went out of their way to contain their power in the early United States. But as we know, those controls withered over time. It’s hard to stop money’s influence. Read Howard Zinns, ‘A People’s History of the United States’.
Today the picture is crystal clear. It is corporations, a small handful in each area of our lives, that rule. A small handful of banks, wreaking havoc on a daily basis to so many. Media, healthcare, food, retail, the list is sickening.
When I was young, we had neighbors that were around for years. Small stores on nearly every corner. Shoe repair, hardware, ‘supermarkets’ and department store were all a part of my growing up culture. What was so different? Each one of the above was owned by someone, and the next by someone else, and this was happening all across America in the post World War II boom.
And then we saw all the little unique characters of our towns disappear as corporations replaced the vast percentage of small shops with their crap. A McDonald’s at every exit. A Walmart in every town. Heart wrenching.
Let’s be clear. The folks running the show have family names like Rothschild and Rockefeller and Walton and Coch and Morgan and on and on. Their intent is clear from their actions. They thrive on war, consumption and fear. Which mean all three deserve our resistance.
From where we see today, there is no good reason for the existence of such a legal entity. Corporations need to be decommissioned or turned into coops. If you’re war profiteers, which means you’re killing hundreds of us daily, you need to go away. If you’re Exxon or another extractor you need to go away. If you’re GMO corporation you need to go away.
For others, we create coops from corporations. We can have honest competition, each company employee owned and each as equally interested in your experience with them as with personal gain.
We are in transition. The old ways and systems are not responding to our deep needs The age of corporatism is coming to an end, and not a moment too soon, considering our current peril.
The administration of Donald Trump, with a massive transfer of wealth pending in the Republican congress, proves beyond doubt that this entity, for whatever values it may have incidentally held, is inherently mindless and manipulative.
Which is why these assholes in congress must be replaced. Such is our task. As we awaken and engage, we cannot be stopped. We create a new world where peace and love reign, and where our current reality becomes a dim, dark past.
What Is Mutual Aid
Mutual Aid is the way Nature and biological life work.
Coming Soon
Hi, and welcome to the new World 5.0 website. If you’re new to this idea of World5, you’re in for a treat. World 5.0 cracks the code of who and where we are, and suggests ways forward that will bring you happiness. Read the book and check out the Declaration video to submerse and learn.
And Now (ahem), we have a digital home. Here you find a refreshing retreat from bullshit and ads, a place where you can contribute and express yourself quite easily through the Connect menu link above. We can now finally be heard in a supportive way.
The World 5.0 menu link breaks down the necessary priorities for us to restore our planet and create new global, local and everywhere in between cultures that affirm Life and our togetherness herein.
We intend much more with this site, primarily in creating better tools to connect with each other, but it’s clearly a beginning. The Connect button on the menu will allow you to post articles, add links and videos for starters, and see and comment on recent posts from others. Soon we’ll allow for grouping by topic and other additions to make that side of the site and functional as possible. The World 5.0 side allows you to learn about our new culture, where we appreciate that we’re all here together in Life, and we begin to understand the power of our intent. The Platform suggests transformative strategies based on Peace, Good Governance, Localism, Organic Food and Learning.
We’ll also be implementing new digital tools as quickly as we may to bring our new paradigm into being. Bernie Sanders keeps telling us of the need for a revolution. Couldn’t agree more, and World 5.0 is surely part of this revolution./p>