Atheists at Fort Meade Seek Official Recognition

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Capt. Ryan Jean wanted to perform well on the Army’s psychological evaluation for soldiers. But he also wanted to answer the questions honestly. So when he was asked whether he believed his life had a lasting purpose, Jean, an atheist, saw no choice but to say no. Those and other responses, Jean says, won him a trip to see the post chaplain, who berated him for his lack of faith. “He basically told me that if I don’t get right with God, then I’m worthless,” said Jean, now an intelligence officer at Fort Meade. “That if I don’t believe in Jesus, why am I in uniform, because this is God’s army, and that I should resign my commission in order to stop disgracing the military.”

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Dorli Rainey, 84-Year-Old Occupy Seattle Protester, Pepper Sprayed In The Face

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Dorli Rainey, the 84-year-old, pictured in the photo [above], has been an activist since the 1960s and even ran for mayor of Seattle in 2009, according to the Atlantic Wire. . . Rainey was among a group of Seattle protesters scattered by police on Tuesday. A pregnant 19-year-old woman was also reportedly hit by pepper spray Tuesday, The Associated Press reported, though police haven’t confirmed the incident. . . A priest was also among those pepper sprayed during the protesters’ march from their camp at Seattle Central Community College to Westlake Park, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Police officers on bicycles attempted to block the protesters’ way. After tensions mounted, the police used pepper spray to disperse the crowd.

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Alec Baldwin: What Occupy Wall Street Has Taught Me

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Maintaining US corporate profitability is the single goal of this Congress. Because that is what the corporations who own the Congress paid for when they bought the Congress. . . Occupy Wall Street people understand that not only are more difficult times possibly around the corner, they know that the current government will likely do as it has historically done, which is to protect the rich and powerful at the expense of the long term interests of the middle class. Some of the most financially successful people in America continually remind us all that capitalism is a contest. There are winners and losers. And the winners want to enjoy their success and they want the losers to keep it down. The noise of the vanquished is spoiling the victors’ fun.

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Arundhati Roy: Occupy Wall Street is “So Important Because It is in the Heart of Empire”

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Renowned Indian writer and global justice activist Arundhati Roy is preparing to address Occupy Wall Street on Wednesday. She recently joined us in the studio to talk about the Occupy movement. “What they are doing becomes so important because it is in the heart of empire, or what used to be empire,” Roy said. “And to criticize and to protest against the model that the rest of the world is aspiring to is a very important and a very serious business. So…it makes me very, very hopeful that after a long time you’re seeing some nascent political, real political anger here.” She also discussed her new book, “Walking with the Comrades,” a chronicle of her time in the forests of India alongside rebel guerrillas who are resisting a brutal military campaign by the Indian government.

Watch interview video here . . . 

The struggle at the heart of our history

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Under feudalism, peasants were forced to hand over a portion of their crops to the lord–or they were obligated to work part of the time on the lord’s land. Under capitalism, the class relationship is disguised by the fact that there is a “free” exchange of goods on the market. Nevertheless, a handful of large corporations owns the means of production, and the vast majority of people are deprived of those means. Workers are therefore compelled (not by the whip, but by the economic whip of survival) to sell their ability to work–their labor power–to the bosses.

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‘Christian Bashing’ and Charity

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Recently a Christian commented on a forum that he was tired of all the “Christian basing” and that Christians do so much good in the world. He pointed out that Christians are often first on the scene of disasters . . . Christians are first on the scene to exploit people’s misfortune. This is because the Christian belief system advocates converting others at all costs. So when people are suffering, Christians are often the first to shove their Bibles in the faces of those in need.

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