First of all I wish to say how glad I am to have heard Éric Toussaint, Maria Lúcia Fattorelli, and most of all Costas Lapavitsas.
There was a moment, one of the times I spoke to him ( after his having sat at my table for coffee during an intermission), when he asked me if Portugal's democracy has a problem. All I could utter was a "yes" with a heavy heart. I cut myself short so as to speak of other matters that a friend of mine also wanted to ask about. There were so many things on my mind to ask always........
I was (and am) also very interested in trying to understand a term he had at that moment coined "green growth"...
but back to the matter at hand.
I hope no one minds if I speak of the weekend's event in Lisbon later.. I have too much to say and am temporarily incapable of summing up my thoughts.
This will be written in two parts. Today's blog first goes to the recent past before addressing the above event.
For now I'll leave a video-clip from a couple of weeks ago with Costas Lapavitsas words concerning current affairs that I had just viewed today and after first having written down my thoughts below.
__________________________________
I give a rather clumsy sum of my thoughts regarding these present day foreign debt "crisis" that shrewdly took the fall for the real culprit of 2008's crash.. (private banking and other financial institutions), crisis that gives so much profit from stealing from so many and a very rough outline of only some of the steps I find important in the coming to this point from the 80s and on.
In these past months Europe has:
killed an already deathly ill Democracy,
what was left of sovereign will has been forsaken,
political parties in power as well their opposition in practically all instances are not only "enablers" they are the vehicles by which countries are bled to the marrow, by those who each day profit from mass public Debt (High Finance: Banks, Insurance.. IMF).
If you wish please view the GUIDA FINE ARTS link to a post written on
Thursday March 24th, (Quinta-feira, 24 de Março de 2011)-
ok - some ABCs about the IMF // FMI em miúdos, para quem por razões que só deus sabe, dúvidas ainda tenha..
Lets see if we get our facts straight. It was not due to sovereign debt but rather to Banks (Lehman Brothers and others) that in 2008, the proverbial Bubble was burst, as all surely recall.
It was due to the fraudulent actions on the part of High Finance (owners of "non-existent" monies).
So why the insistent "political" issue constantly brought to the table by ruling European political groups and opposing parties as if it were. White-washing history in such a way is not only the way of furthering political parties discredit, keeping all on the cheating undemocratic road to perpetuate the Neo-Liberal bleeding and hurting of their own peoples (to whom they thus show no respect for whatsoever), but reveal a human quality all of us share yet those of us who care for others keep under constant introspective supervision, the lust for power (a desire that is incompatible with democracy) - a will to oppress, or if you will - the "fascist in all" as Michel Foucault viewed in a preface he wrote for Gilles Deleuze 1972 book Anti-Oedipus
I no longer question that which so seemed to hurt other philosophers such as 18th Century's visionary Spinoza, among so many others
or rather: the desire of self repression, (*see Spinoza's views on "The Rise of Liberalism") where the victim not only blindly concedes in agreement to his or her oppressor but actually (out of a form of Stockholm Syndrome, that has existed way before said affectation) helps in his/her own "self- annihilation". It is my belief that this goes beyond the "Judeo-Christian" tradition of self-hating , auto-punishing, ethic and the politics of self-pity...........
We are all lead to such by the greedy hand of those who "run" practically all but 7 countries in the world, through High Finance (owners of corporate media etcetera). I'm far to hurt by our present political party system and their falsities, that kill democracy right from the "ground" up (the only way a democracy should be practiced, unless you do not believe in "the people" and fear them.. Then you must call what you want something else)
Greece, the nation that gave us Democracy is ironically the first place such a form of rule has been attacked and had their sovereignty handed to Non-elected officials, the rest of Europe either follows or is soon to do so, a fact that is more than obvious.
Even if we wish to re-negotiate, review our Euro-presence (I recall the recent intolerable the German blackmailing and bullying Greeks out of a national referendum - how more undemocratic can you get??????????????!!!)
- Then an all sorts of politicians and political commentators publicly come stating on corporate media how this was not only tolerable or normal but worse even, speaking with an unacceptable "superiority complex" professing the above victimizing, looting of peoples to be acceptable all the while letting out here and there an "Oh, don't confuse us for the Greeks, we're not like them" ... blah blah blah as if it were unacceptable to be.. where has this intolerable arrogance come from???!! Personally I'd be proud to be from a nation that can be compared to another where even though High Finance is literally killing and starving their children, they fight for their rights... THEY ARE NOT BROKEN, they fight like no others in the streets to regain sovereignty that has been stolen from them.
By the way, I add that this was one question I asked Mr. Lapavitsas (mentioned above) the first time I saw him speak. I asked - even if a public audit is made, how can one implement the wishes of "the people" in an undemocratic Europe (giving him the recent example I just spoke of above)...... I'll now return to what I was saying
Germans....??? It is easily proven that their economic growth is not fruit of "PRODUCTIVITY" but rather due to at least a decade of frozen worker's wages.. it has been at the sake of promoting with Maastricht & LIsbon Treaties in the EU (thus over decades) a fall in other country's exports ruining the future of their economies while easily protecting their own exports... this is not Productivity dear friends but exploitation of the common man (the so called working class). We're all familiar with the rise of Chinese economy and how it has come about, aren't we???
These people (in their said political parties + commentating "experts") only want power and see not that they will never be granted such a thing by High Finance... they are but vehicles to the annihilation/domination exploitation of their own people.
There are few exceptions to what I just stated, and respect, true respect & desire for democracy never seems to come from any party whatsoever, only specific people.
I even recall a president, from the recent past of my country (Portugal) feeling bad about the political strata not being capable of convincing people (tired of false promises and incoherence) to vote, he is an exception.
(the only politician I have heard to date that even though winning an election, his second mandate, was sad that more hadn't voted........ from no other have I heard anything of the sort.)
He was for example the face of our nation at the UN back just before the birth in 2002 of East Timor (this is an example of a citizen's respect for the job he was given as a political "institution", as well as one of the rare moments I see politicians truly caring for one's fellow man) I believe there are more, but they are oh so very scarce.
I can't say the same for the present occupier of the role, nor the political party in charge or its opposition.
The three parties that have governed Portugal since the late 70s have not only served Neo-Liberal wishes and dismantled what gave us economic health (especially from the 80s on) They served the purpose of making German economy grow at the expense of the other European nations. They are the cause, as are their counter parts - whether from larger economies or smaller ones, of the demise of the European dream. The "European Social State" we've all payed taxes for is ripe to bleed of its money and hand over to those which collectively bully all, stealing the future of our children, our children's children, our children's children's children.
This weekend I was so pleased to see a theatre packed with citizens in Lisbon, all of them interested in discussing the necessity of a Public Audit, but there is a horrifying underlying truth.......... it almost paralyzes any belief that such things as regaining sovereignty, democracy and such would ever be possible....
I'm far to hurt by it to presently denounce it, but I tell you this, ruling political parties and there alternating opposition manipulate and spoil Democracy.. they tolerate it not...
Back to the subject of the Neo-Liberal, the Postmodern perspective (A trend that came to full Adulthood in the 80s and 90s, Reaganomics/THatcheronomics..., and that as with any other trend comes gradually from before and gradually gives way to others afterward)
LINK to another past article in this blog written in October of 2007
em breve / coming soon - Reality
At the time many were the voices that said - Oh my!! Now they're going to stick it to the people.... let others be punished for said fraudulent actions - some said we would start to witness that which has happened.
Plus we were all familiar with the fact that at least since the 70's entities such as the Federal Reserve in the US
were told that if there's not enough cash around, "make more", all going down as the fight between both sides of the Warsaw Pact (Cold War) reached for the heavens LITERALLY speaking.
(This is just to name one institution in one country, and especially from the time of Pres. Ronald Reagan during the 80s and on, + Maggie Thatcher, + the construction of a Europe meant to have all other nations thereof import German items thus strengthening German growth at the cost of others...... 1986 and on.. although it truly seems to come from the beginning of the decade - ie. in Portugal the dismantling of "Lisnave" by Prime Minister Balsemão in 1982 for instance............)
( the absolutely incompetent economic policies that were employed by the nation from 1986 and on as we "sailed using the EU flag - selling and privatizing banks, depleting fishing & agricultural industries and so forth - as enabling and even promoting EU turning us into a gigantic beach resort...
Oddly this weekend's event made all too evident that there is no political will on the part of any, thus showing either a lack of courage and a will to perpetuate the certainty people have that those in public office shall never to be held accountable..
Parties that have ruled alternately, PS/PSD & CDS since then, all seem to be suspiciously frightened to promote an audit of government budgets from 1986 and on. It seems to me of utmost importance if we are to prove the existence of "bad debt" Especially since nobody asked its citizens wanted things that would crucially affect their livelihood and future since Maastricht and on... ) I will speak of this in a latter article. For now I'm too angered by the attempt to control such things as the will to have a public audit on the part of political parties. They only prove beyond a shadow of a doubt just how undemocratic they are. I repeat I shall speak of it later, as I shall mention two other things I found odd........
Here is an article (in POrtuguese this time - at a time the country under the current opposition's rule first began to contact the IMF... and Presidential Elections were held 23 de Janeiro - Estamos quase a celebrar mais um dia de todos os santos.. pois Coitadinha dela, da democracia, que 'jaz morta e arrefece'..
Tivemos de Abril 1974 a Nov. de 1975 um cheiro dela, mas foi alvejada.. e mortalmente ferida. E sobre a presidência..
- where I explain some of the main reasons that Democracy in my opinion has been agonizing in the West.
In this case it is regarding one of our prime enablers (written in Portuguese)
He is however not alone....... he is one in a long line of enablers from over the past 3 decades.
All have enabled a
"laundering" of toxic assets (from private sectors) into public debt
A prime sample is Banks that brought to the world recession are not only being pardoned but they are given even more of OUR assets, and helped to profit with the deal.......
This is truly insane and ever more present and the latest fad (royally screwing thus their taxpayers - in Portugal BPN for instance, a major fraud ridden hole from a Bank, and a small bank compared to others present in the country),
- Through this enabling all creating an exponentially growing public debt at the sake of such policy -
They continually put "healthy" tax-paid monies into TOXIC assets (bad debt)
weather they are mandated by their people to do so or not.
In Portugal public sectors are being sold, privatized at an astonishing rate, such as Public Health, Transportation, Water, Electricity (all being sensitive and strategic to the nation, as it is with any other country)
Governments keep purchasing (injecting) our money into private sectors, purposely sold at a minimum after rating agencies days prior lowering so their clients can buy, then those who took our money in the first place
(coincidentally? out of incompetence? corruption? ..many or some of all these reasons are perhaps at work.)
Said public sectors are sold for beans I repeat (and always ironically after some rating agency lowering stock value so as serve their clients well, the same clients that around the planet profit from said crisis they created, the same ones that taxpayers constantly bail out everywhere..
it is so fiendish + wrong a deed and in so many ways so, that I'm rendered
speachless....... !)
This is truly vivid in Portugal for instance, and I'm very sad to admit proof being far too easily found at hand for any one with half a mind to do so..........
Ok I'll just bring one, a prime example out of mo many we hear every day, from the end of this past October ( LINK ). The state sold a public hospital for 11 million (to private owners) who inturn on the very SAME DAY sold it for more than double the profit .. for 21 million to be more specific.
I wish to come back to speak of "default" and the democratic tool put to us "Public Audit" at a later date.
I thought I would not come back to this blog for a lengthy period, and such shall most likely occur after I post a follow up of this article as I have mentioned.
The reason is that more than not believing my opinion to matter or have any importance whatsoever to anyone, this I admit to feel most of the time and can cope with, it is because I sincerely doubt anything I say has impact on anything.
I care for people and believe I always shall, it is part of my genome, thus the reason I write, but I feel I must go back to other forms of using my energy to aid my fellow Man.
I also wish to make clear that I maintain what I say at the beginning of this article.
THank you for reading.
Sincerely
Margarida Costa
I give you my name so as to make myself accountable for what I say and do
(I would thus never fit in a political party..........)
in an age that all prudence would have me mask myself.
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