i live on one hundred thirty three bucks a month so food i should try it because you know how fabulous i had luck i got so many i mean family and the town i know that i'm still really messed up. in the old story so personally. the. worst cheaper to live through the life out of a. regular guy and the minute. they want. to have you ever seen anything like that i'm still. happy monday guys i'm abby martin and this is breaking the set so it is surprising actually no it was enough because of the surprise it all it's a very un surprising update on the keystone pipeline debate the state department has just released a new report assessing the environmental impact of the pipeline according to them

transporting tar sands oil through america isn't dangerous and awful to the environment interesting because tar sand oil is one of the dirtiest and most carbon intensive of all the false hope fuels so let's get real this is ministration doesn't care about how the pipeline will tarnish the environment and even worse they're not worried in the least about what kind of effect this will have on human health it all comes down to big oil money folks and sadly unlike the voice of the people it's this kind of dirty money that really drives the empty suits in washington to move and that's what it's all about and that's why i'm breaking the set. right now i'd like to shift focus and explore an interesting topic religion and how religious fundamentalism might shape person's views on politics and humanity a topic that's always piqued my curiosity especially since i never grew up with any

sort of religious doctrine so i'm excited to talk to my next guest author of a brand new book charting his own journey from being a christian fundamentalist missionary to a minister to them rejecting their religion altogether and instead embracing what truth and spirituality means to him i guess is gabriel roberts writer for disinfo dot com and the author of born again to rebirth gabriel thanks so much for coming on the show thank you for having me i really appreciate it so you were brought up as a christian missionary and a former evangelical christian minister if you were to pick one moment when you turned away from christianity no that's a huge question but what would that moment be for you. i would have to say that one of the biggest moments came when i was going through the old testament and reading about. the things that god was asking the hebrews to do at that time and i came across a couple instances of genocide and infanticide which dealt quite

a big blow to me as a as a believer and you describe struggling with a lot of contradictions that are inherent in the bible in the teachings what would you say is one of those main contradictions that you couldn't really come to terms with. wasn't the primary contradiction to me is the idea of a loving and caring god coming in and having a personal relationship with you and then at the same time there's this slaughterhouse mentality that is kind of hidden in the background that you're not really told about and it isn't brought up very often only when maybe there is a war that needs to happen or when a political party or someone with motivations outside of your faith ones too. to use you and i found myself in that position and you also describe a lot of the us versus them mentality you kind of perpetuating through the doctrine you say this in your book that i want to quote you said while we accept that our

government is defending us then people of the world wake up to cluster bombs and i've come to realize that this mentality is extremely dangerous that keeps us separated when we should be unified it makes us enemies when we should be friends and we don't live in a black and white world that really stuck with me because i do think that that mentality really is very destructive a lot great on how this concept breeds the division necessary to perpetuate war. it's it's insane to me looking back at it now but when nine eleven happened and the president came out and said these people are evil doers and we're the good people and they're the bad people i looked at him as a christian i said oh well he's a christian president that means that he's the hand of god extended therefore whatever he calls on is is the call of god and. it may not have been explicit but that was what i heard and this is what most fundamentalists would hear

is this cry for us going in and destroying the evil doers and it didn't matter if they were women and children we didn't have to see it everything was set up in such a way that we didn't have to worry about that we just got to see the shock and awe the big explosions and we got to see how cool all of our military equipment was and how cool the hand of god is when when it's an f. sixteen or a big tank or a bunch of cool looking troops i always did think it was odd gabriel about how bush said you know god was talking to you in the mine it does sound a little bit ludicrous to say that that's why i gave you in these illegal and immoral wars because god is telling you to when god is going to be all loved. you know everyone but i wanted to also talk about your identity crisis that you went through i mean you went through a really major one that you describe in detail in the book really late in life how hard is it for people to step out of their religion when this is it's really all

they know and how does that relate to someone's political beliefs. well that's a great question when i went through when i left the christian faith i didn't just leave the christian faith i walked into a black hole i walked into nothing i didn't go to buddhism or hinduism or shintoism or some other faith system i just walked into nothing and i didn't know where to go and for a while i completely lost my identity because my entire identity was built in christ i mean in the new testament we talk about being a slave to christ and it is not christ who lives in me with these concepts you don't have an identity you are the you know a small version of the hand of god extended everything that you do is is supposed to be christ unfortunately that also means all of the all of the other darker stuff that isn't touched on quite as much when i came through it as far as politics were concerned i realized. how backwards i had become and how i had been alienating

other people from myself how i wasn't acting with real compassion because despite what was being said there was two things being said there was still the those guys are unbelievers or in other faiths those guys are the infidels or other faiths those are the gentiles. in the way that we were separated we ended up making that us versus them mentality and so. in many ways i minimized the or lessened the value of the people that were not in the know in the way that i was so when i stepped out of that i was honestly i was appalled and horrified at my own behavior and it took some time for me to really find who i was and it took some time for me to. to make some apologies to some people that i've mistreated. you know to me i never grew up religious gabriel but i. just institutionalize religion

as another form of control over society but you know and i respect all religions all creeds all belief systems as long as they're peaceful and loving in their fundamental basis but i mean religion has existed as long as humanity do you think we can ever evolve past religious doctrine that really doesn't apply to humanity's evolution in the future anymore. well i think that the key to this is to understand there's a difference between critical thinking and having your own personal mystic beliefs i believe that mysticism has its place if you look at young in psychology and all of these ideas about archetypes these are deep seeded animistic things that go back to to our earliest human ancestors they have their place in their relevance but we have to understand that that is different then the day to day facts and figures way of caring about our life and one thing that we can learn from from science is our

interconnectedness through entanglement and things like this and we find that in the mystical sense for instance in buddhist ideas they talk about everyone being connected and if you're connected to everyone that means you're in a brotherhood sisterhood of humanity indeed we are interconnected i love i have to say about dimethyl tryptamine d.m.t. in the book gave you a lot to get back on to talk more about that thank you so much for your time for your insight born again into rebirth everyone check it out. thank you. so i know i always tell you guys to write me in with your comments and concerns for the show so i want to take a little moment to reply to some of them on twitter eric. says you should run for congress abbi thanks for the suggestion but with my past i have already said on

record i don't think i'd be cleared through the first leg of the paperwork to register to run i wanted you to learn response to my commentary about chuck hagel this cable writes it's official you're an idiot apac did not take a position on this why are you blaming israel the jewish lobby for the republicans hard line partisanship big time fail i don't know if you're aware but there are many other groups other than a pac that constitute the jewish lobby emergency committee for israel is the one that fun of the attack ads against a goal see for yourself. president obama says all options are on the table for presenting your iraq equal service military action is not viable he should be responsible watch the funders of that smear campaign the political action committee and thus a lobby effort and sorry but why would there be a groundbreaking filibuster of a candidate if it had nothing to do with said lobbying effort and point out the

obvious backed up facts by analysis is bigoted and it's official you my friend are the worst kind of idiot. when response of the many assassin drones segments said the segment about the drone seemed a little over the top but like you want to be rather scared sorry rather than informed you're right i don't ever want to come across as a fear monger you know the video did legitimately scare me we can't be afraid of the surveillance state we must live life fearless and. against these things with optimism that we can and we will and act change to facebook's simon. suggests i think breaking a set to develop a list that all people anywhere in the world could do in order to fight the system thanks for the suggestions simon you yourself offered some great solutions of what people everywhere can do you said number one record injustices you see in catalog them through writing photography or online video or to start your own garden if you

don't have a yard work on a community garden or start one in an empty plot in your neighborhood number three identify and learn about any existing or future potentially dangerous facilities in your area and educate yourself about what their purpose is and what rights you have to sum it up on you tube yeah sure hunter has a complaint you guys have some really crazy an interesting news but you guys are constantly flooding my subscription page like about videos not sure if i should unsubscribe or watch everything bush i do you should watch them all and so much seriously just a heads up one is the whole show and the others are simply the individual segments making it easier for you to share if you don't want to share the whole show that's all for now thanks so much everyone for the awesome amazing feedback that i have been able to read the show wouldn't be anything without you guys caring and watching. and if you like what you see you can check us out on the new dot coms like breaking the set there you can watch the latest episode of breaking the set

like last friday's which featured prison slavery and sure rights also scroll through and watch every show since about the middle of december so favor us and comment on how we're doing at hulu dot com breaking the set i take a break from my preaching but stay tuned here but the cozy relationship between the u.s. and israel next. old. technology innovation all the developments around russia. the future. and the mission free accreditation free zones for charges free. range month three risk free studio time free. download free broadcast quality video for your media projects a free media. tom you. see

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markets. can. find out what's really happening to the global economy. for a no holds barred global financial headlines to kaiser report on. the to. the good of you never seen anything like the trouble. so if you're privy to the politics and lobbying that finds d.c. than you by known that right now the israel israeli lobbies gears are in full effect today marks the third day of the american israel public affairs committee or a packed annual conference one of washington's largest gathering of lawmakers each year it attracts over ten thousand attendees from across the country its growth in

membership is so large in fact that the new york times has called it quote the most important organization affecting america's relationship with israel relationship obama has referred to as an unbreakable bond as we now at the bond he's worked hard to solidify take for example one of his campaign ads during the two thousand and twelve elections. when i touch my head against the western wall and place my prayer between its age and stones i thought of all the centuries the children of israel the law to return to their interim homeland because we understand the challenges israel faces. in my administration have made the security of israel. a priority america's commitment and my commitment to israel and israel's security is unshakeable. it isn't chicle. but his pronounced allegiance to israel was not just a commitment of the past commitment to the future as well take

a look at vice president biden had to say at the conference just this morning. this one from the moment the president took office he has acted swiftly and decisively to make clear to the whole world and to our israel that even if circumstances have changed one thing has not our deep commitment to the security of the state of israel that has not changed that will guide change as long as i am the our president and vice pres non-state. you know our. self. found. however despite the administration's open display of affection and outright promise to stand by the country through thick and thin a shocking new poll reveals that voters think obama isn't doing enough yes thirty nine percent of voters that obama is not supporting israel enough only thirteen

percent say it's policies quote to support it so what to talk about this unwavering bonamy influence that really has over politics and foreign affairs i'm joined by robert naiman also director for just a former policy thank you so much for coming on so it's the fiftieth year since a packed formation how did it grow into this super lobby well partly. educating organizing people organizing their first amendment rights partly by raising a lot of money and partly by the confluence of. supporting policies that were convenient for a rising faction of the military industrial complex the united states and when israel invaded egypt and defeated their countries nine sixty seven this is a time when the united states was wrestling with the impending defeat in vietnam and there was a faction in washington that said wow we can we can have

a comeback by you know look at this this is the way forward so this was that was after the seven war that became really power over because of this confluence of interests between the right wing media but it offered to differ and that moment. you know i spoke to a guest a little bit ago on the show who said that apex influence over washington is almost total i mean it is that exaggeration here i don't much influence do you see really that they have over politics. a crucial thing to look at is what is opposing them so you have a lot of. people organize motivated focused a lot of money and nobody is opposing them yeah they're going to have a lot of influence so i mean there hasn't been a palestinian lobbying the united states it hasn't been organized effect a focus group of people saying hey let's organize for palestinian rights united states nothing nothing like a back but no

a package set its sights on war with iran now we start to have a real contest because there are power centers in the united states that don't want to. don't have a war with iraq and we saw some of these dynamics in the hague confirmation after all the the there was a tremendous push against nomination and confirmation but that push was defeated because there are other people that were that understood what this fight was a proxy for this is a proxy fight for u.s. policy in the middle east going forward so apec can lose if there is power on the other side and that's the question going forward is there going to be power on the other side if the pact for example this week is pushing in congress pushing in the senate for an explicit endorsement of an israeli attack on iran pushing in the house for a total trade embargo on iran pushing in the house and the senate to try to exempt the u.s. cede to israel from the sequester from the across the board budget cuts these are

real things that maybe the women maybe they'll lose depends on what happens on the other side all but you brought up a good point is the chuck hagel nomination where you know you saw these attack ads attacking him for simply offering a peaceful diplomatic solution instead of saying let's let let's let's employ really harsh sanctions i mean he was saying that really nothing's off the table but let's try peaceful strategies first i mean how do we what what does this peace through bombing in peace through force mentality really do mean to us look you have a billion dollars you can have any you want there are there are clear. really people in united states with huge amounts of money to spend like show the nails and for example they can say it's free country they can say whatever they want they lost. but let's be clear they were just attacking this was they were attacking barak obama this is and there are people in the obama administration who want to have a different direction in u.s.

foreign policy so you know will they they lost that battle where they lose the battles ahead that depends what people do this was a relatively easy fight for obama to win because there is a certain deference to the president in naming his people and the fight that happened is something that was easy for americans understand well these mean people are picking on this republican war hero because in the past he said sympathetic things about the palestinians and negative things about war with iran that the battles on this race settlements in the west bank is about is about iran's nuclear program then you know it might be a different fight so that's the question going forward do we have the same victor on those issues as we had on the. well i remember how in two thousand and four when you speak in a paki said that iraq was was really the threat was not to us it was to israel i mean when you have public officials saying that we are primarily getting our foreign policy decisions to protect the security of israel i mean how much of that

is still happening i mean are we do you hear all this rhetoric about iran here primarily because of israel's lobbying efforts or is it really more about strategy militarily for us there are multiple interests clearly there is a long term contest for power and influence in the region which is not only about israel like the saudi government doesn't need the israeli government to tell them that they don't like the iranian government however. look at this bill in the senate you know the top lobbying demand of a pac this week which already has twenty one senate. sponsors including barbara boxer and ron wyden and sure brown saying explicitly if israel attacks iran the united states should support israel militarily and diplomatically which is the opposite of current united states policy so is there still discussion about attacking and you know that means that would mean israel the israeli government

having the power to determine when the united states goes to war so is is there still a discussion about attacking iran for israel twenty one senators have already signed a bill and more will in the next week as these thousands of apac activists descend on washington again how many depends if there's a response from the other side but is that part of the discussion no question about it really disturbing facts that you just said and let's talk about aid in general i mean last year the u.s. up its military aid to israel by and just claim today obama's been the most supportive president to the country in the last thirty years at the same time he was just awarded this medal distinction a first for any sitting president taking all this into account why do you think it is that thirty nine percent of voters don't think obama supportive enough to israel there is this you know people see the ad in the new york times you can see all this there is all this money being spent to attack obama on exactly this question and

all of this discussion is happening at this vague abstract rhetorical thing about security of israel what is that mean does it mean the security of the israeli people to live in peace inside the nine hundred sixty seven borders who has a problem with that not the arab countries not the palestinian leadership not the islamic world the arab peace plan is about two state solution on the nine hundred sixty seven borders there. the attacks on obama are about not supporting the greater israel agenda of keeping the west bank forever having the ability to attack lebanon any time they want to attack iran and so on and so forth that's what the fight about that when they say that obama is not supportive enough of israel it's the same mentality as in the senate bill support of israel means that if israel attacks iran the us asked to support that. the bar's been raised very high in terms

of why they were turned over israel really i mean they are trying to raise the right are right and the question is whether they'll succeed. so far you know that's not yet determined and the question is whether americans can see through the rhetoric and really see the truth thank you so much for coming on shedding some light on this very crucial issue robert naiman just for your time. i remember learning about the civil rights struggle in america where white and black people couldn't sit together in a bus seems like a long time ago i mean open racial segregation would never happen in a first world democracy now all right well unfortunately in the case of palestine racial segregation is nothing new starting today certain bus lines running from the west bank and israel have separate segregated bus lines both for arabs and jews last year haaretz reported that israel's transportation ministry was looking to

alleviate concerns residents had about feeling in danger from their fellow human beings so buses are now invoking the strategy to prevent palestinians from boarding buses with jewish passengers because apparently now if you just look arab you're quote security risk of course transportation representatives are not calling these buses officially segregated but rather the lines are intended to help the distress of the palestinian workers yet that makes a whole lot of sense making it harder for people who already have to go through dozens of checkpoints to get where they need to go is alleviating their distress when i read news like this it's no surprise to me that an estimated forty percent of palestinians are clinically depressed according to forbes magazine their depression rate is unmatched anywhere in the world more than triple not of the us.

truthfully it's a wonder that the rate isn't higher considering what the palestinians live through on a daily basis threats intimidation humanization harassment imprisonment the list goes on and on but largely third nord that's why i read the news to ignore them. potentially deadly blizzard taking aim for the northeast it's expected to hit

starting in a few hours from new york to maine we have team coverage of the storm. but what we're watching is the very heavy snow moving into boston proper earlier today it was very sticky you can see it start to become much more powdery down to the bottom line there is still a lot of snow out here a good place for snowball fight. jason it is going to be pretty incredible day there and even record snowfall throughout much of it might still be a slug three driving lessons some emergency vehicles are exceptional. he used to. be free. to teach.