what to do?

So how does one protest anymore, and why bother?

I attended the main march with thousands of others, at the U.N. in New York in '91, against the now-mostly-forgotten Gulf War. It was obviously futile: like most rallies, there were a lot of people standing around chanting slogans that only they would hear. With cops on horseback closing in around the edges, I took off before people started getting arrested. It got about five seconds coverage at the back end of the evening news, and had no effect on anything.

I attended rallies in New Mexico, along with tens of millions of people around the world, against the invasion of Iraq in '03. The entire world knew the case for war was based on lies. I felt solidarity with the world's peaceniks--a million in Berlin, another million in Rome, and similar numbers in major cities around the world. Mainstream media coverage was still rather minimal, and nothing changed politically.

The lack of effect should be no surprise. Like it or not, the world has been dominated by the shadow government in control of the U.S. since the year I was born, 1963. One could of course argue for the corruption of things as far back as one would like--witness the genocide and slavery this country is rooted in. I would certainly agree.

But the deal was sealed in '63. With the murder of JFK, and the collaboration of the media, the last hope of political reform was lost, and the legitimacy of the fourth estate ended. Kennedy had directly challenged: 1.) the war machine's plans for Vietnam; 2.) Israel's illegal development of nuclear weapons; 3.) the ascendancy of the CIA's covert operations; and above all 4.) the banking system funding it all. With him gone, these forces have grown unchecked for 36 years.

And what have they done? The military-industrial complex has launched several more wars around the world, all based on lies. And it has now developed the ultimate concept: a perpetual "war on terror" without a clear strategy or enemy. Al-Qaeda you say? Al-Qaeda is Arabic for the base, referring to the CIA database of covert operatives. It is actually a branch of the CIA--do the homework if you don't believe me, and decide for yourself. And all of it is funded by the same international banking system currently thieving the last of the wealth of the U.S., by way of so-called bailouts along with the final destruction of the dollar. Without this ("fractional reserve") banking system, there would not be the money to develop the weaponry necessary for the untold violence on millions of innocent people around the world.

And these, by the way, are the forces behind September 11.

Today an al-Qaeda group claimed responsibility for the suicide-bombing of a high-level Iranian meeting, killing at least 29 political and tribal leaders. This occurs just as Iran has stopped using the dollar for its oil sales, and much of the world moves to discontinue the use of the dollar as a reserve currency. Israel is right in the mix in recent months, threatening Iranian nuclear development, while its own nuclear status goes unquestioned. It's the same players, folks.

JFK saw the writing on the wall 36 years ago.

It is daunting enough that dollars are about to go poof. Although my German ancestors did shovel around wheelbarrows of worthless money, I've never lived through an economic depression. As shitty as that's going to be, especially for clowns like me without skills or land, what bothers me most these days is being a silent collaborator within the empire.

So tell me, you activists out there:

what is there to do?