Chavez Speech on Climate Change in Copenhagen

"Capitalism is the road to hell, the destruction of the world.”

Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, Excellencies, friends, I promise that I will not talk more than most have spoken this afternoon. 

Allow me an initial comment which I would have liked to make as part of the previous point which was expressed by the delegations of Brazil, China, India, and Bolivia. 

We were there asking to speak but it was not possible. Bolivia’s representative said, my salute of course to Comrade President Evo Morales, who is there, President of the Republic of Bolivia.

[Audience applause]

He said among other things the following, I noted it here, he said the text presented is not democratic, it is not inclusive.

I had hardly arrived and we were just sitting down when we heard the president of the previous session, the minister, saying that a document came about, but nobody knows, I’ve asked for the document, but we still don’t have it, I think nobody knows of that top secret document.

Now certainly, as the Bolivian comrade said, that is not democratic, it is not inclusive. 

Now, ladies and gentlemen, isn’t that just the reality of the world? 

Are we in a democratic world? 

Is the global system inclusive? 

Can we hope for something democratic, inclusive from the current global system?

What we are experiencing on this planet is an imperial dictatorship, and from here we continue denouncing it. 

Down with imperial dictatorship! 

And long live the people and democracy and equality on this planet!

[Audience applause]

And what we see here is a reflection of this: Exclusion.

There is a group of countries that consider themselves superior to us in the South, to us in the Third World, to us, the underdeveloped countries, or as a great friend Eduardo Galeano says, we, the crushed countries, as if a train ran over us in history.

In light of this, it’s no surprise that there is no democracy in the world and here we are again faced with powerful evidence of global imperial dictatorship. 

Then two youths got up protest, fortunately the enforcement officials were decent, some push around, and they collaborated alright? 

There are many people outside, you know? 

Of course, they do not fit in this room, they are too many people. 

I’ve read in the news that there were some arrests, some intense protests, here in the streets of Copenhagen, and I salute all those people out there, most of them youth.

[Audience applause]

Of course young people are concerned, I think rightly much more than we are, for the future of the world. 

We have – most of us here – the sun on our backs, and they have to face the sun and are very worried.

One could say, Mr. President, that a spectre is haunting Copenhagen, to paraphrase Karl Marx, the great Karl Marx, a spectre is haunting the streets of Copenhagen, and I think that spectre walks silently through this room, walking around among us, through the halls, out below, it rises, this spectre is a terrible spectre almost nobody wants to mention it: Capitalism is the spectre, almost nobody wants to mention it.

[Audience applause]

It’s Capitalism, the people roar, out there, hear them.

I have been reading some of the slogans painted on the streets, and I think those slogans of these youngsters, some of which I heard when I was young, and of the young woman there, two of which I noted. 

You can hear among others, two powerful slogans. One: Don’t change the climate, change the system.

[Audience applause]

And I take it onboard for us. 

Let’s not change the climate, let’s change the system! 

And consequently we will begin to save the planet. 

Capitalism is a destructive development model that is putting an end to life; it threatens to put a definitive end to the human species.

And another slogan calls for reflection. 

It is very in tune with the banking crisis that swept the world and still affects it, and of how the rich northern countries gave aid to bankers and the big banks. 

The U.S. alone gave, well, I lost the figure, but it is astronomical, to save the banks.

They say in the streets the following:

If the climate were a bank it would have been saved already. [Audience applause]

And I think that’s true. 

If the climate were one of the biggest capitalist banks, the rich governments would have saved it.

I think Obama has not arrived. 

He received the Nobel Peace Prize almost the same day that he sent 30 thousand soldiers to kill more innocents in Afghanistan, and now he comes to stand here with the Nobel Peace Prize, the president of the United States.

But the United States has the machine to print money, to make dollars, and has saved, well, they believe they have saved the banks and the capitalist system. 

Well, this is a side comment that I wanted to make previously. 

We were raising our hand to accompany Brazil, India, Bolivia, China, in their interesting position that Venezuela and the countries of the Bolivarian Alliance firmly share. 

But hey, they didn’t let us speak, so do not count these minutes please, Mr. President.

[Audience applause]

Look, over there, I had the pleasure of meeting this French author Hervé Kempf. 

Recommending this book, I recommend it, it is available in Spanish – there is Hervé – its also in French, and surely in English, How the Rich are Destroying the Planet.  

This is what Christ said: it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. This is what our lord Christ said. [Audience applause]

The rich are destroying the planet. 

Do they think the can go to another when they destroy this one? 

Do they have plans to go to another planet? 

So far there is none on the horizon of the galaxy.

This book has just reached me, Ignacio Ramonet gave it to me, and he is also around somewhere in this room. 

Finishing the prologue or the preamble this phrase is very important, Kempf says the following, I’ll read it:

“We can not reduce global material consumption if we don’t make the powerful go down several levels, and if we don’t combat inequality. It is necessary that to the ecological principle that is so useful at the time of becoming conscious, ‘think globally and act locally,’ we add the principle that the situation imposes: ‘Consume less and share better.’”

I think it is good advice that this French author Hervé Kempf gives us. [Audience applause]

Well then, Mr. President, climate change is undoubtedly the most devastating environmental problem of this century. 

Floods, droughts, severe storms, hurricanes, melting ice caps, rise in mean sea levels, ocean acidification and heat waves, all of that sharpens the impact of global crisis besetting us.

Current human activity exceeds the threshold of sustainability, endangering life on the planet, but also in this we are profoundly unequal.

I want to recall: the 500 million richest people, 500 million, this is seven percent, seven percent, seven percent of the world’s population. 

This seven percent is responsible, these 500 million richest people are responsible for 50 percent of emissions, while the poorest 50 percent accounts for only seven percent of emissions.

So it strikes me as a bit strange to put the United States and China at the same level. 

The United States has just, well; it will soon reach 300 million people. 

China has nearly five times the U.S. population. 

The United Status consumes more than 20 million barrels of oil a day, China only reaches 5-6 million barrels a day, you can’t ask the same of the United States and China.

There are issues to discuss, hopefully we the heads of states and governments can sit down and discuss the truth, the truth about these issues.

So, Mr. President, 60 percent of the planet’s ecosystems are damaged, 20 percent of the earth’s crust is degraded, we have been impassive witnesses to deforestation, land conversion, desertification, deterioration of fresh water systems, overexploitation of marine resources, pollution and loss of biodiversity.

The overuse of the land exceeds by 30 percent the capacity to regenerate. 

The planet is losing what the technicians call the ability to regulate itself; the planet is losing this. 

Every day more waste than can be processed is released. The survival of our species hammers in the consciousness of humanity. 

Despite the urgency, it has taken two years of negotiations for a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol, and we attend this event without any real and meaningful agreement.

And indeed, on the text that comes from out of the blue, as some have called it, Venezuela says, and the ALBA countries, the Bolivarian Alliance say that we will not accept, since then we’ve said it, any other texts that do not come from working groups under the Kyoto Protocol and the Convention. 

They are the legitimate texts that we have been discussing so intensely over the years. [Audience applause]

And in these last few hours, I believe you have not slept, plus you have not eaten. It does not seem logical to me to come out now with a document from scratch, as you say.

The scientifically substantiated objective of reducing the emission of polluting gases and achieving an agreement on long-term cooperation clearly, today at this time, has apparently failed, for now.

What is the reason? 

We have no doubt.

The reason is the irresponsible attitude and lack of political will from the most powerful nations on the planet. 

No one should feel offended, I recall the great José Gervasio Artigas when he said: “With the truth, I neither offend nor fear.” 

But it is actually an irresponsible attitude of positions, of reversals, of exclusions, of elitist management of a problem that belongs to everyone and that we can only solve together.

The political conservatism and selfishness of the largest consumers, of the richest countries shows high insensitivity and lack of solidarity with the poor, the hungry, and the most vulnerable to disease, and to natural disasters. 

Mr. President, a new and single agreement is essential, applicable to absolutely unequal parties, according to the magnitude of their contributions and economic, financial and technological capabilities and based on unconditional respect for the principles contained in the Convention.

Developed countries should set binding, clear and concrete commitments for the substantial reduction of their emissions and assume obligations of financial and technological assistance to poor countries to cope with the destructive dangers of climate change. 

In this respect, the uniqueness of island states and least developed countries should be fully recognized.

Mr. President, climate change is not the only problem facing humanity today.

Other scourges and injustices beset us, the gap between rich and poor countries has continued to grow, despite all the millennium goals, the Monterrey financing summit, at all these summits as the President of Senegal said here, revealing a great truth, there are promises and unfulfilled promises and the world continues its destructive march.

The total income of the 500 richest individuals in the world is greater than the income of the 416 million poorest people. 

The 2.8 billion people living in poverty on less than $2 per day, representing 40 per percent of the global population, receive only 5 percent of world income.

Today each year about 9.2 million children die before reaching their fifth year and 99.9 percent of these deaths occur in poorer countries.

Infant mortality is 47 deaths per thousand live births, but is only 5 per thousand in rich countries. Life expectancy on the planet is 67 years, in rich countries it is 79, while in some poor nations is only 40 years.

Additionally, there are 1.1 billion people without access to drinking water, 2.6 billion without sanitation services, over 800 million illiterate and 1.02 billion hungry people, that’s the global scenario.

Now the cause, what is the cause?

Let’s talk about the cause, let’s not evade responsibilities, and let’s not evade the depth of this problem. 

The cause, undoubtedly, I return to the theme of this whole disastrous panorama, is the destructive metabolic system of capital and its embodied model: Capitalism.

Here’s a quote that I want to read briefly, from that great liberation theologian Leonardo Boff, as we know a Brazilian, our American. Leonardo Boff says on this subject as follows:

“What is the cause? Ah, the cause is the dream of seeking happiness through material accumulation and of endless progress, using for this science and technology with which they can exploit without limits all the resources of the earth.”

And he cites here Charles Darwin and his “natural selection”, the survival of the fittest, but we know that the strongest survive over the ashes of the weakest.

Jean Jacques Rousseau, we must always remember, said that between the strong and the weak, freedom is oppressed. 

That’s why the Empire speaks of freedom; it’s the freedom to oppress, to invade, to kill, to annihilate, and to exploit. 

That is their freedom, and Rousseau adds this saving phrase: “Only the law liberates.”

There are countries that are hoping that no document comes out of here precisely because they do not want a law, do not want a standard, because the absence of these norms allows them to play at their exploitative freedom, their crushing freedom.

We must make an effort and pressure here and in the streets, so that a commitment comes out of here, a document that commits the most powerful countries on earth. [Audience applause]

Well, Mr. President, Leonardo Boff asks… Have you met Boff? 

I do not know whether Leonardo might of come, I met him recently in Paraguay, I’ve always read him.

Can a finite earth support an infinite project? The thesis of capitalism, infinite development, is a destructive pattern, let’s face it.

Then Boff asks us, what might we expect from Copenhagen? 

At least this simple confession: 

( We can not continue like this. ) 

And a simple proposition: 

L.et’s change course. 

Let’s do it, but without cynicism, without lies, without double agendas, no documents out of the blue, with the truth out in the open.

How long, we ask from Venezuela, Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, how long are we going to allow such injustices and inequalities? 

How long are we going to tolerate the current international economic order and prevailing market mechanisms? 

How long are we going to allow huge epidemics like HIV/AIDS to ravage entire populations?

How long are we going to allow the hungry to not eat or to be able to feed their own children? 

How long are we going to allow millions of children to die from curable diseases? 

How long will we allow armed conflicts to massacre millions of innocent human beings in order for the powerful to seize the resources of other peoples?

Cease the aggressions and the wars! 

We the peoples of the world ask of the empires, to those who try to continue dominating the world and exploiting us. 

No more imperial military bases or military coups! 

Let’s build a more just and equitable economic and social order, let’s eradicate poverty, let’s immediately stop the high emission levels, let’s stop environmental degradation and avoid the great catastrophe of climate change, let’s integrate ourselves into the noble goal of everyone being more free and united.

Mr. President, almost two centuries ago, a universal Venezuelan, a liberator of nations and precursor of consciences left to posterity a full-willed maxim: 

(“If nature opposes us, let’s fight against it and make it obey us.”) That was Simón Bolívar, the Liberator.

From Bolivarian Venezuela, where a day like today some ten years ago, ten years exactly, we experienced the biggest climate tragedy in our history (the Vargas tragedy it is called), from this Venezuela whose revolution tries to win justice for all people, we say it is only possible through the path of socialism!

Socialism, the other spectre Karl Marx spoke about, which walks here too, rather it is like a counter-spectre. 

Socialism, this is the direction, this is the path to save the planet, I don’t have the least doubt. 

Capitalism is the road to hell, to the destruction of the world. 

We say this from Venezuela, which because of socialism faces threats from the U.S. Empire.

From the countries that comprise ALBA, the Bolivarian Alliance, we call, and I want to, with respect, but from my soul, call in the name of many on this planet, we say to governments and peoples of the Earth, to paraphrase Simón Bolívar, the Liberator: 

( If the destructive nature of capitalism opposes us, let’s fight against it and make it obey us, let’s not wait idly by for the death of humanity. History calls on us to unite and to fight.

If capitalism resists, we are obliged to take up a battle against capitalism and open the way for the salvation of the human species. ) 

It’s up to us, raising the banners of Christ, Mohammed, equality, love, justice, humanity, the true and most profound humanism. 

If we don’t do it, the most wonderful creation of the universe, the human being, will disappear, it will disappear.

This planet is billions of years old, and this planet existed for billions of years without us, the human species, i.e. it doesn’t need us to exist.

Now, without the Earth we will not exist, and we are destroying Pachamama as Evo says, as our indigenous brothers from South America say.

Finally, Mr. President, and to finish, let’s listen to Fidel Castro when he said: 

(“One species is in danger of extinction: Humanity.”)

Let’s listen to Rosa Luxemburg when she said: 

(“Socialism or Barbarism.”)

Let us listen to Christ the Redeemer when he said: 

“Blessed are the poor for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, we are capable of not making this Earth the tomb of humanity. 

Let us make this earth a heaven, a heaven of life, of peace, peace and brotherhood for all humanity, for the human species.

Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much.

WHO REALY RULES THE WORLD ; BEHIND THE SCENES OF "Manipulating Groups"

"Who controls the past, controls the future: who controls the present, controls the past." (from '1984') George Orwell

From the moment our senses first register the presence of our parents we are being shown the way that life apparently is. 

Through no fault of ours or theirs, our parents begin the programming process as their views of life, shaped by their education, employment and the media are imposed on us. 

Formal education through schools, colleges and universities continues the systematic indoctrination where the 'correct' views and interpretations of science, history and society result in exam passes and the ability to 'get on' in life. 

Alternative views and the rejection of establishment education lead to supposedly lesser jobs and a struggle against economic poverty. 

Our entire understanding of the world and current affairs is filtered through the mass media, interpreted by journalists and so-called experts. 

Their views become our views simply because we are not offered any alternatives. 

To overcome daily problems within society we turn to elected representatives of our community. 

We give our decision-making abilities to these few people who are increasingly remote, as local council power is removed to national government .

Our experience of life is determined by the framework around our society. 

The basic premise is that the goal of each individual should be to become a minute part in the global machine of consumerism led by Western multinational corporations and banks. 

Every other consideration is subordinate to the prime motivation of profit. 

Obviously, those in the positions of influence – politicians, bankers, corporate executives, media moguls – have been, according to their own definition, 'successful' within the System, so have an interest in maintaining the status quo at all costs. 

This framework shapes every aspect of our life through education, the media, health care, cultural and sporting events, religion etc.

With these framing conditions in place, the System regulates itself: individuals with attitudes that suit the perpetuation of the System achieve status and influence within it; those who accept the establishment rules soon find ways to impose those rules; those who are blind to the exploitative realities of consumerism attain positions to promote it. 

Regardless of how the framework came to be imposed, the truth is that the same attitudes control education, media, governments and banks and therefore exert an irrepressible influence over every aspect of our lives, our thoughts and opinions.

The vast majority of the world's population are merely sheep happily following the herd. 

Whatever is broadcast in the media as being desirable to the masses suddenly and miraculously becomes desired by the masses. 

Whatever our neighbour owns or achieves becomes the object of great envy and we lust to acquire what we believe to be ours by right. 

Thus, when we are shown a solution to a problem, any old solution to anything which interferes with our need to follow the latest trends, we accept it without question and cease to seek any further for ourselves. 

Problems abound and so do solutions; but it is the easiest and most profitable proffered option which is seized by the majority whilst the minority are trampled underfoot in the stampede to acquire the latest object of idolatry. 

And just like sheep who follow blindly and without question the direction of the herd, we are led through the gates of a pen to be confined at the shepherds convenience until it is time for the final journey, once again without hesitation and happy in the knowledge that we are with the 'in-crowd', through the gates of the slaughterhouse

However, this framework has not been constructed by chance or appeared by accident. 

It is a deliberate policy which has been implemented over the centuries and continues with ever more sinister repercussions today. 

It is the identities of these shepherds, their methods and motivation with which the following, is concerned.

Since Biblical times, the esoteric knowledge, has been largely withheld from the majority of people throughout the world.

 

Initially, this information was the remnant of LOST knowledge but was gradually dispersed and further diluted by cataclysmic events such as the Great Flood. 

Throughout the ages, lost information has been returned to the collective consciousness of mankind via prophets and channellers. 

Great Mystery Schools, such as the Essene order, set themselves apart in order to carry forward this knowledge via carefully selected initiates. 

These initiates were the mystics and magi as well as the scholars, healers and philosophers, such as Pythagoras, who, it is said, was very much influenced by the Druid culture.

Secrecy was maintained by these orders to avoid persecution and to prevent the very powerful information from falling into the hands of those who would use it for imbalanced reasons. 

Knowledge was concealed within myth and fable, often passed between generations by word of mouth alone, as in the case of the Celtic Druids. 

Any written documents were careful ciphered, with the keys to the code known only to selected initiates. 

Covens formed throughout the world and maintained secrecy through secret signals and codes which would reveal their meeting places. 

This practice persists today amongst secret orders such as occultists and Freemasons etc..

Eventually, a large number of sects, which were initially sub-divisions of essentially the same orders, began to lose sight of the original purity of their doctrines. 

Gradual misinterpretation of codes and myths as well as the uprising of egotistical desires caused many of the groups to become separated in their intent; some of these have developed into cult organisations and religions. 

Luciferic influence has seen to it that most dogmatic religion owes more to misunderstanding of basic truths than anything else. 

Differences are amplified and seen as more important to followers of such creeds than the common ties between them – all due to misinterpretation of the same fundamental knowledge. 

All of the world's major religions share a pagan origin but have gradually moved their sights further and further to the left of the centre where Truth inevitably lies.

Despite this, some of the purer mystery schools have survived through the ages in areas all over the world. 

The ancient Egyptian magicians, the ancient Greek philosophers, the Celtic Druids, American Indian shamen, Australian aboriginal shaman and oriental magicians have all possessed arcane knowledge pertaining to the true nature of Creation. 

Initiates were often revered as holy men by the laity and were spared the distractions of daily life in order to keep alive the flames of the inherent magic of life. 

However, within certain of the more secretive societies, the Luciferic consciousness has managed to take hold with disastrous consequences for mankind.

For millennia, human history has been a chronicle of the power struggle of man against man and of man against nature. 

In his over, physical, five sense, perception state, that which man could acquire for himself as an individual has been the main motivating factor, often seen as essential for survival. 

Survival has been perceived as for the fittest, the most powerful, the wealthiest and this has perpetuated imbalance all the way to its most bitter conclusions which are war, bondage and persecution. 

Domination through conflict and might over meekness has seen aeons of feudalism and social hierarchy in the worst possible expressions.

To perpetuate their claim of deserved superiority over the masses, the rulers of the past have explored innumerable ways to achieve their goals, both subtle and violent. 

One method has been recognised as being the most effective and has been employed by the ruling aristocracy throughout the world since pre-history right up to the present day through governments, businesses and religion. 

That is, by keeping the masses in ignorance of their true potential and power; to keep them at a low level of education, preoccupying their minds away from who they truly are from birth; to manipulate them via a systematic education programme, in all areas of their existence, into channelling their lives in pursuit of handing over power to their rulers. 

If this can be done in such a way that the masses have no recourse and believe this condition to be the only way to live, then they will be highly unlikely to challenge the status quo.

The present System has been engineered throughout the ages by these imbalanced secret societies in order to perpetuate their wealth and power. 

It is they who designed the System and it is only they who know every individual link in the chains which have kept us in bondage for millennia. 

Today we have a global network of secret societies, initiates into the 'Mysteries', whose only motivation is to serve the Luciferic consciousness. 

How many times have we heard such phrases as 'It's the money men who really rule the world', but how many of us realise the accuracy of this sentiment and its full implications?

Armed with vast amounts of wealth and esoteric knowledge, the negative secret society network has flourished as the aristocracy of the world. 

Power, wealth and information has been gained and maintained via warfare, exploitation, and especially in the last two century, through control of the world's economic systems. 

Collectively these organisations, led by the self-appointed global Elite, have become known as the 'Brotherhood'.

These days, initiation into the various secret societies which form the Brotherhood is relatively easy. 

Potential initiates are hand picked and invited to join certain exclusive clubs, such as the Freemasons and certain mutually beneficial business cartels which are all merely Brotherhood. 

Candidates are tempted with the promise that, once accepted into the organisation, many personal advantages would be on offer: improved career prospects with promotion easier to achieve, more prosperous lifestyles and obstacles to success would be made to disappear. 

In other words this mutually beneficial 'old-boy network' would take care of its own.

The only way for the Brotherhood to prosper is to keep the world in ignorance of who they really are. 

By convincing people that they are little more than robots, they can use those robots to perpetuate their power base. 

Power always seeks power and will never stop until all power is focused solely in the hands of the most ambitious.

In the last century, with the acceleration in technological development, particularly in terms of communication, the Elite have sought to realise their ambitions more swiftly with more blatant and definable aims: the creation of a World Government; a world currency and bank; a world army; the control of public opinion culminating in a microchipped population connected to a central computer; the destruction of any alternatives to their System; and to make huge amounts of money in the process. 

This sinister plan by the Elite has become popularly known by researchers as the New World Order.

The situation within the hierarchy of the Elite is necessarily complex as the activities are concealed behind a large number of front organisations of varying degrees of secrecy. 

Everything is based upon the pyramid principle with the very few Elite at the apex as the ( All-Seeing-Eye ) and ultimate controllers right down to those at the bottom who, in the largest numbers, have no idea about the true agenda which is being ministered to them from above. 

Through the levels of initiation from the bottom to the top, only the most ambitious and ruthless are filtered out to occupy more and more select positions of power and knowledge of the ultimate agenda. 

This is further enforced at each step of the pyramid by the process of COMPARTMENTALISATION which is the operation of the 'need to know' principle; this way even those upon the same level of the pyramid know very little of their fellow initiate's business and role within the overall plan. 

The vast majority of people working to further the Elite's aims of a New World Order, do so unknowingly but others whose names constantly recur will have a pretty good idea of what is happening.

The USA was founded by the Elite for the very reason of executing the plan to control the world. 

It is this nation which is the hub of its wheel of influence. 

Christopher Columbus and his voyage was backed and financed by the Brotherhood, with his ships' sails bearing a red cross on a white background, the symbol of the Knights Templar (the chivalric order who went on to become the Freemasons etc., whose symbol is the red rose or cross upon a white background which represents blood and semen in Satanic ritual). 

Almost a century before Columbus, the Templars had reached North America and had already begun trading with and exploiting the native nations there. 

Since its 'discovery', the history of the USA has been the history of ethnic cleansing, imposition of power, slavery, mass exploitation and the worship of wealth. 

The U.S. president, generally accepted as the most powerful man in the world, is a slave to his prime allegiance, that of the Brotherhood. 

Even he is probably not a top-level member as it is wiser to hide behind the tools of corruption in anonymity and to pull the strings in this way.

No one should seek to condemn these people for their beliefs – everyone should be free to develop their own belief system – but the reality is that they are seriously misguided in the ways they seek to impose them on the majority and conceal the truth. 

They have allowed themselves to become slaves to and also the major implementers the Luciferic consciousness which has taken this planet to the brink of destruction.

Presenting the information concisely is a difficult operation due to the complexity of the interconnections between people, organisations and events. 

It should be remembered that nothing is black and white, no one is 'good' or 'evil' – such simple distinctions are part of the manipulation which encourages us to judge our neighbours in order to create conflict.

Freemasonry

The basic recruitment of members to further the Elite's plans is through the secret society network of Freemasonry which is the latest incarnation of the Christian/military order known as the Knights Templars who gained staggering riches and a wealth of esoteric knowledge during the Crusades, in which the 'righteous' Christians were dispatched to the Holy Land with free reign to slaughter the Jews and Moslems in a series of campaigns between the 11th and 13th Centuries.

The vast majority of members are on the first three rungs of the thirty-three level hierarchy and have no idea of the hidden agenda.

Once initiated into the lowest level – the first of thirty three degrees – vows are taken to pledge allegiance to the society above all else. 

Most initiates are willing to do this as the temptation of power, wealth and knowledge is hard to refuse. 

It is hinted that there are penalties to pay for betraying their society and revealing its secrets but at this level the organisation is viewed by its members as little more than a secretive social club with a morality based upon chivalry. 

Certain of what appear to be esoteric secrets are revealed to them upon initiation as a 'taster' for what is to come as long as the initiate remains faithful to the order. 

Money is then paid by the initiate in order to progress to the second degree through a ceremony involving the revelation of yet further secret knowledge with the promise of more to come at each stage.

Initiation into higher degrees requires increasingly larger sums of money and still the clues keep coming; promises of wonderful arcane knowledge are continual yet the actual knowledge revealed remains encoded and only serves to whet the appetite. 

No one is ever given the full scenario, only pieces of what appears to be a picture of the most awesome significance. 

As more and more is revealed and the higher up the ladder the initiate is allowed, the greater are the personal perks provided and doorways opened in terms of career and social status. 

Moreover, the warnings against transgression of the secret society's rules become blatant and more sinister at each step.

It is impossible to achieve high levels of initiation within Freemasonry unless one is hand picked by those of the higher degrees. 

In order to do this, one must meet their criteria of wealth, status, social class and character type. 

By the time the twentieth degree is reached a minimum of professional level income is required to fund progression through the system. 

The result of this financially dependent progression is that the top level members of the Brotherhood elite are among the richest, and most powerfully influential people in the world. 

They are also responsible, directly and indirectly for most of the money/power based crime such as the illegal drugs industry, political assassinations, Satanism and mind control which goes on every day, all round the world.

At the apex of the pyramid of the Brotherhood are the select few who actually know the full agenda of the organisation. 

These privileged elite have become known as the 'Illuminati', which is Latin for 'illuminated ones'. 

All other members (nearly five million world-wide) are ignorant of the true purpose of their individual organisation as a front for the Illuminati. 

Only the most suitable are selected to rise in the ranks, those recognised as being wealthy, ambitious and corrupt enough to perpetuate the ultimate goal which is world domination. 

No one but the Illuminati actually knows anything of importance and therefore cannot betray the game plan. 

Everyone else provides a front, a smoke screen of ignorance and misinformation and all must offer complete obedience to the will of their organisation or be banished (or worse). 

The same thing also happens in our universities whereby particularly talented scholars are approached with magnificent offers of wealth and status in order to follow unofficial secret research programs into such topics as UFOs, psychic warfare and advanced energy sources.

Betrayal of the Brotherhood is the worst crime possible in the eyes of its members and is ultimately punishable by death. 

The Brotherhood is all powerful: all top level members of the police and military forces around the world are placed there through the Brotherhood as Brotherhood tools. 

Judges and lawyers, media moguls, businessmen and politicians are recruited so that no member of the Brotherhood elite is ever in danger of being held accountable by the System for any crime or misdemeanour. 

The Brotherhood can, and quite literally does, get away with murder because it is also the law which opposes it. 

If a non-Brotherhood member should slip through the net and achieve high status then there are ways to ensure that such people are unable to achieve their full potential. 

For example, Prince Charles will never fulfil his right of kingship as he has publicly refused to enrol with the Freemasons. 

It infiltrates every area of our society at all levels, but at the top, in the highest social and monetary bracket, the Brotherhood prevails almost in total. 

It is the single largest vehicle for the perpetuation of the Luciferic consciousness on Earth.

One of the ways by which the faithfulness of members is ensured, especially in the higher levels is by the insistence that the initiated give details of their most intimate secrets to the organisation, so that if any transgression of the rules were to occur then this information would be revealed and used to publicly destroy the individual concerned. 

As an example of this, one Masonic branch, the Skull and Bones Society, centered around the Harvard and Yale universities, was founded on opium money, is blatantly racist, has some particularly bizarre rituals including an initiation which includes lying in a coffin with a ribbon tied around the genitalia whilst masturbating and shouting out one's greatest sexual fantasies. 

It boasts amongst its members (who, swear complete allegiance to the society above all other commitments) George Bush, Percy Rockefeller, Winston Lord (one time CFR chairman) and nine members of the board of the Morgan Guaranty Trust (O).

Also associated with Freemasonry within the Elite's own hierarchy are other esoteric societies such as the Grand Orient Lodges, the Knights of Malta, the Knights Templar and the Black Nobility.

The Brotherhood owns the law, they own the military, they own the oil companies, pharmaceutical companies and just about everything which provides fuel for the status quo. 

It sets the standards for education, it sets the curriculum, it plants seeds via the media and education systems of what will later become, through tender nurturing, power hungry, dissatisfied, spiritually unaware slaves to their System. 

If it was not so sinister it would be purely perfect in its all encompassing design.

While the first three degree Masons and Round Table members are raising money for charity and enjoying relatively harmless social events, their superiors in the Craft are organising wars, drug pushing, co-ordinating assassinations, mind-control, raping and murdering young children in Satanic abuse and formulating plans for world domination.

History has shown that it is possible to get away with virtually any crime as long as it is on a large enough scale.

The U.S. presidents, also thirty-third degree Masons, are financed into the position not as leaders of men but as a tool of the Brotherhood. 

All allegiance come secondary to the bonds within their secret society, on pain of death. 

Political systems are also a front for the Brotherhood elite. 

Not as representatives of the people, elected by the people, for the people, but as tools of and for the Brotherhood. 

Science is controlled to the benefit of the elite, wars are created and manipulated to the benefit of the elite. 

Every time a bomb is dropped or a tank built, ultimately it is the multi-national businesses who profit, especially the oil industries and world bankers. 

All is Brotherhood controlled. 

The scale of the manipulation in all areas of the status quo is almost immeasurable and for this reason virtually unbelievable to most prisoners of the System.

The Round Table

The Round Table was established in the 1891 as a Masonic-like secret society to manipulate events to lead to a centralised global government. 

The leading lights were Cecil Rhodes, whose wealth largely derived from the exploitation of South African diamond reserves, and Alfred Milner, a Rothschild agent who took over after the death of Rhodes. 

Financial backing also came from the Rockefellers. 

Groups were established throughout the world, working behind the scenes through a co-ordination of world banks in order to bring pressure on governments to promote the New World Order.

As well as Milner, who effectively controlled Lloyd George's War Cabinet during the Great War, members in the first half of the twentieth century included Arthur Balfour (then Foreign Secretary, later Prime Minister and whose Balfour Declaration created the State of Israel); Lord Astor who owned The Times; and Nathan Rothschild, Governor of the Bank of England. 

After WW1, the Round Table was instrumental in the formation of the League Of Nations, the forerunner of the Elite-controlled United Nations.

Rhodes' legacy includes a bequeathal of funds for the financial sponsorship of selected overseas students who attended Oxford University to be sold the New World Order. 

These 'Rhodes Scholars' include Bill Clinton.

The influence of the Round Table and that of the various groups it has spawned is prevalent today, although the majority of members will have no idea of what they are involved in.

Royal Institute of International Affairs (RIIA)

One of the more public Round Table creations is the Royal Institute of International Affairs which is based at Chatham House in London and was formed in 1920 by the Anglo/American delegations from the Treaty of Versailles meetings. 

Prominent in the British delegation was Alfred Milner. The RIIA's patron is the Queen of England.

Supposedly, the RIIA is a 'think tank' but in effect it determines British policy. 

And yet, its membership list is never divulged and it is shrouded in secrecy.

Information obtained reveals that at one point, its joint presidents were Lord Carrington (former Foreign Secretary, director-general of NATO and close business partner of Henry Kissinger), Lord James Callaghan (former Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister) and Lord Roy Jenkins (former Chancellor of the Exchequer and president of the European Commission).

Funding is derived from its corporate members which is a vast list including government departments, petrochemical companies (who also fund its Environment Programme!), merchant and high street banks, newspapers, television stations, the Church of England, Amnesty International ...etc..

Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)

In 1921, funded by the Rockefellers, the RIIA founded its American wing – known as the Council on Foreign Relations. 

As its membership is marginally more public than its British counterpart it is clearly seen that anyone who has had any influence on American or global politics ever since has been a member of the CFR. 

This includes 14 of the last 18 US Secretaries of State; the previous eight CIA directors; the majority of presidential and vice-presidential candidates including Eisenhower, Nixon, Carter, Mondale, Ford, Nelson Rockefeller, Bush and Clinton.

The Bilderberg Group (Bil)

This was convened for the first time in May 1954 by Polish socialist Joseph Retinger, a major voice behind the European Union. 

Also instrumental in its creation was Prince Bernhard of the House of Orange in the Netherlands (former German SS officer and spy via chemical company I.G. Farben and who later became chairman of Shell Oil). 

It was to be a group of leading politicians and their advisors, executives from media, banking and multinational corporations, educationalists and military leaders who would meet to discuss the global future by addressing matters of critical importance in an off-the-record manner so that the distractions of politics could be kept out of the way.. 

The group has since met annually in strict secrecy and despite the considerable high level media representation in the group the meetings are never reported.

Leading the group is an unelected steering committee. 

Members outside this committee probably do not know the agenda towards which the group is working and are merely invited to be sold the public face of the New World Order for them to expound its virtues in their areas of influence.

The Trilateral Commission (TC)

Also known as the 'Child of Bilderberg', this group was founded by David Rockefeller in 1972-73 to covertly unify the policies of the US, Europe and Japan. 

Jimmy Carter's presidency was their first major coup with the president and many members of his administration being Trilateralists, including Zbigniew Brzezinski, his national security advisor and the first director of the Trilateral Commission.

Is religion humanity's deadliest invention?

By David Hoffman

If there is one tragic reality about human existence, it is the reality that human beings seem infinitely and insanely capable of inventing "reasons" to kill their fellow human beings.

Throughout history, and continuing to the present day, differences in race, ethnicity, nationality, tribal allegiance, political belief, economic status, language, and gender have been used to rationalize a myriad of human rights abuses, oftentimes on a massive scale.

When examined objectively and unemotionally, none of these "reasons" are adequate justifications to take the life of another. But perhaps the most ludicrous and inexplicable excuse used to oppress and murder others is religion.*

*(To the Reader Please Note : While religion divides, even those living with in the same boarders, spirituality can and will unit to the far reaches of the earth.)

Two Supreme Court decisions, Town of Greece vs. Galloway and Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby Stores, coupled with world events, both past and present, have led me to wonder if religion is not the most divisive, destructive, and deadliest invention of humankind.

Before proceeding further, a few facts regarding this article need to be clarified.

First, unlike the journalistic practices of the corporate-controlled media (where the lust for ratings and profit incessantly trump ethics and integrity), this article was not written to generate controversy simply for the sake of controversy. It was written to provoke thought, dialogue, and questions about human nature and societies, and religion's role in them.

 

Second, this article does not equate religion with God. In fact, the author fully understands how, when science was in its infancy, so many of the universe's and earth's mysteries could not be explained by anything other than faith in a Higher Power. And, even to this day, science has been unable to answer the greatest question of all: What is the meaning of life?

If there is one cogent argument in favor of the existence of a Higher Power, it is that human existence is so illogical. Regardless of the extent of one's worldly success, regardless of the political or economic power one obtains, and regardless of all the material possessions one acquires, death is inevitable.

        

The dilemma arises when people acquire or maintain worldly success, power, and possessions through the abuse, exploitation, and, oftentimes, the murder of their fellow human beings.

If they are never brought to justice during their lifetimes (and those who exploit, abuse, torture, murder, and instigate torture and murder for political reasons rarely are), and if there is nothing beyond this realm of existence, then these exploiters, abusers, torturers, and murderers are essentially the "wise" ones, because they did not let values like justice, fairness, decency, honesty, and respect for the rights of others prevent them from acquiring all the necessities and luxuries to live comfortable and successful lives.

In fact, if subscribing to these values creates lives replete with failure, injustice, suffering, deprivation, and exploitation by others, clearly one would be foolish to do so.

Since life is illogical, it seems logical to assume that, at some point, everything will make sense. Perhaps the very purpose of mortality is to ensure that people who achieve power and success through the exploitation and abuse of humans, animals, and/or the environment will not enjoy the benefits of their ill-gotten gains forever. 

Maybe DEATH is nothing more than a "balancing of the scales."

Finally, the author has the greatest respect for the founder of the world's greatest religion. Having studied the origins, it is evident that the founder was conscientiously and courageously driven by faith, because of the sufferring immensely of his faith.

What this article does take issue with is the charlatans, exploiters, hypocrites, demagogues, and opportunists who took or (take) the words and deeds of these founders, and used or (use) them as a way to manipulate, control, and exploit others by preying upon human ignorance.

Note I said ignorance, not stupidity. Stupidity is a condition where an individual is incapable, due to a mental or physical malady, of understanding certain concepts, whereas ignorance is created by apathy or credulity that causes people to blindly accept what a so-called "religious" leader says, instead of questioning and researching the issue themselves.

For example, I recently saw a sign on a Christian church that said, "God wants obedience, not questions." 

This immediately conjured up images of the Middle Ages, when the populace was not allowed to read, and Bibles were chained to pulpits so nobody but the religious hierarchy could access them. And, thanks to this knowledge, I realized how hypocritical this sign really was, given that the Christian faith was inspired by a Man who dared to question many of the religious rituals and practices of His day.

So below are five reasons why religion may be humanity's most divisive, destructive, and deadly invention:

1). Religion cannot be proven. If faith could be proven, it would be called fact.

Many so-called "religious" leaders are fond of saying that faith is a necessity because science alone has been incapable of answering many relevant questions. While this is true, science, unlike religion, acknowledges its shortcomings and continues to seek answers, instead of simply accepting things on faith alone.

And they are wise for doing so.

Why? Because even religion cannot accept religion on faith alone. All of the world's major religions have split into different sects, and these sects have often split again and again. Joseph Gaer's book How the Great Religions Began states that there are over two hundred different versions of Christianity in America alone. And I'm certain that each version is convinced their particular view of Christianity is the "truth."

Since religion cannot be proven, it clearly cannot be argued, at least in the traditional sense. Arguments are built upon facts, evidence, and reason, which are habitually absent in matters of faith. Granted, some individuals will argue that the principal text underpinning their particular religious beliefs establishes such facts, evidence, and reason. But if these facts, evidence, and reason were indeed absolutes, then religious divisions would never have occurred in the first place.

If religion cannot be proven, then only two options are available: A society where all believers (and even nonbelievers) are embraced or a society where the dominant religion is imposed upon others. As evidenced by the Town of Greece and Hobby Lobby decisions, societies that embrace all beliefs are more fictitious than real. And the atrocities committed by those seeking to impose their religious beliefs upon others continue to this day.

2). Religious selflessness has become religious selfishness. While, as with most matters of religion, there may be some disagreement on this point, many religious scholars, like Huston Smith in his book The Religions of Man, contend that the power of faith resides in its ability to suppress the selfish urges and capriciousness of the human ego so a person can have a more inclusive, tolerant, and loving view of the world.

Unfortunately, the opposite has occurred: The human ego has transformed religion into a cesspool of persecution, intolerance, and hate. Clearly the incentive to impose, by law or by force, religious beliefs upon others is driven by the egoistical notion that "my religion is superior to your religion."

Sadly, even those who remain selfless often transform it into a gullibility that makes them easy prey for self-serving "religious" leaders. For example, a relative of mine continued to send money to a prominent televangelist even after it had been revealed that most of the "offerings" he received were paying for his lavish lifestyle. She rationalized this by claiming her motives for sending the money were pure, regardless of how this televangelist spent it.

This thinking, of course, not only took money from people and/or organizations more deserving of it, it also demonstrated how those who exploit religion for personal gain often have flocks of faithful followers duped into believing they can "buy their way into heaven."

3). Religion cannot lose. In developing this reason, two thoughts came to mind: The machinations of the late "psychic" Sylvia Browne and the classic movie Amadeus.

Browne's popularity and staying power were, like many so-called "psychics," created by the fact that she always had an "out." When she was correct, her "psychic" abilities were the reason, and when she was wrong (as she was in claiming that two kidnapping victims, Shawn Hornbeck and Amanda Berry, were dead), her routine answer was "Only God is right all the time."

In Amadeus, a mediocre composer was driven to madness trying to understand why all his hard work, dedication, religious faith, and sacrifice went unrewarded by a God who instead favored the vulgar, irreligious Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart by blessing him with prodigious musical talent.

These realities are present in the religious arena. If someone's prayers are answered, it is because their faith has been rewarded. If someone's prayers are not answered, it is because they did not have enough faith, or they gave up too soon. If somebody who prays for a healing is cured, God healed him/her. If that person dies, then he/she is "in a better place." If a person survives horrendous and/or catastrophic events, it is a "miracle." If a person dies during those same horrendous and/or catastrophic events, it is "God's will."

The purpose of the above paragraph is not to question or mock the existence of a Higher Power. It is to demonstrate how religion can be so easily exploited, manipulated, and distorted. After all, one cannot lose if one can never be wrong. The problem is there is an abundance of so-called "religious" people who believe they can never be wrong, who believe they are favored by God, and who are willing to kill to prove it.

4). Religious ritual has replaced religious substance. As stated above, it is ironic that religions created by those who questioned the merit of religious rituals eventually came to be controlled by individuals who demanded unquestioning and obsequious obedience to such rituals.

The primary problem with religious rituals is they entice people into believing they are being "religious," regardless of how they treat others. It is, after all, much easier to kneel and worship the founder of a religion, or to quote his teachings, than it is to emulate the founder of a religion, or follow his teachings. Thus, dropping a dollar into the collection plate on Sunday means one can lie and cheat the remainder of the week, and failure to adhere to certain dietary restrictions, dress codes, or sexual mores is viewed with more severity than killing others.

5). Religion is the great insulator for evil men. Most of humanity's struggles are less between good and evil, and more between which forms of evil are acceptable and which are not. Leaders with political and/or economic power, for example, are often just as sadistic, sociopathic, and mendacious as criminals without such power, yet they consistently go unpunished, and are sometimes even rewarded, because their criminality serves the power structure.

And, like common criminals, those with political and/or economic power routinely rely on insulators-rationalizations used to minimize or evade culpability for their crimes. If these insulators are exposed as lies, many of those in power habitually turn to the ultimate insulator: The declaration that they were simply "doing God's will." Tragically, throughout history and up to the present day, this "will" has resulted in countless wars causing millions of deaths, and/or support for repressive and murderous regimes that have tortured and murdered millions more. And while many countries have "blasphemy" laws that make it a crime to ridicule religion, somehow it is not blasphemy to invoke a Higher Power to sanction the most egregious crimes against humanity.

So while many religious-minded people await the apocalypse, the irony is that religion itself might be the spark that ignites it.