Winter solstice is the longest night and shortest day of the year. A time of ending and new beginnings as now the days will slowly begin to lengthen again. For Pagans, Solstice is symbolically the night when the Sun Child is reborn out of the womb of Mother Night. For the Mayans, this year marks the end of a 30,000-year calendar cycle. For pop culture, somehow this has become the end of the world.
We might laugh at that idea, but then something stops us. This year, we’ve seen the skyline of New York grow dark. We’ve suffered record droughts, floods, enormous storms: all the predictions of the climate change scientists coming true. Deep inside we sense that we are, indeed, approaching some kind of end: the end of our current way of life, fueled by cheap oil and the illusion that we can endlessly and thoughtlessly exploit the living systems of the earth without dreadful consequences.
We desperately need to make an end of our destructive practices, lest we leave our children a world that is at best impoverished and at worst, uninhabitable. And yet we often seem paralyzed, knowing what we need to do and unable to marshal the will to do so. Maybe the Mayans can help? Read More
Showing posts with label Time of Change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Time of Change. Show all posts
Monday, January 7, 2013
Monday, November 19, 2012
Learning to Love Volatility
In a world that constantly throws big, unexpected events our way, we must learn to benefit from disorder, writes Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Several years before the financial crisis descended on us, I put forward the concept of "black swans": large events that are both unexpected and highly consequential. We never see black swans coming, but when they do arrive, they profoundly shape our world: Think of World War I, 9/11, the Internet, the rise of GoogleGOOG +2.02% .
In economic life and history more generally, just about everything of consequence comes from black swans; ordinary events have paltry effects in the long term. Still, through some mental bias, people think in hindsight that they "sort of" considered the possibility of such events; this gives them confidence in continuing to formulate predictions. But our tools for forecasting and risk measurement cannot begin to capture black swans. Indeed, our faith in these tools make it more likely that we will continue to take dangerous, uninformed risks.
Some made the mistake of thinking that I hoped to see us develop better methods for predicting black swans. Others asked if we should just give up and throw our hands in the air: If we could not measure the risks of potential blowups, what were we to do? The answer is simple: We should try to create institutions that won't fall apart when we encounter black swans—or that might even gain from these unexpected events.
Fragility is the quality of things that are vulnerable to volatility. Take the coffee cup on your desk: It wants peace and quiet because it incurs more harm than benefit from random events. The opposite of fragile, therefore, isn't robust or sturdy or resilient—things with these qualities are simply difficult to break. Read More
Several years before the financial crisis descended on us, I put forward the concept of "black swans": large events that are both unexpected and highly consequential. We never see black swans coming, but when they do arrive, they profoundly shape our world: Think of World War I, 9/11, the Internet, the rise of GoogleGOOG +2.02% .
In economic life and history more generally, just about everything of consequence comes from black swans; ordinary events have paltry effects in the long term. Still, through some mental bias, people think in hindsight that they "sort of" considered the possibility of such events; this gives them confidence in continuing to formulate predictions. But our tools for forecasting and risk measurement cannot begin to capture black swans. Indeed, our faith in these tools make it more likely that we will continue to take dangerous, uninformed risks.
Some made the mistake of thinking that I hoped to see us develop better methods for predicting black swans. Others asked if we should just give up and throw our hands in the air: If we could not measure the risks of potential blowups, what were we to do? The answer is simple: We should try to create institutions that won't fall apart when we encounter black swans—or that might even gain from these unexpected events.
Fragility is the quality of things that are vulnerable to volatility. Take the coffee cup on your desk: It wants peace and quiet because it incurs more harm than benefit from random events. The opposite of fragile, therefore, isn't robust or sturdy or resilient—things with these qualities are simply difficult to break. Read More
Sunday, July 15, 2012
‘Monsanto Rider’: Biotech companies to gain immunity from Federal law on 2013 Ag Bill
By Alexis Baden-Mayer and Ronnie Cummins
AlterNet
AlterNet
The Secretary of Agriculture would be required to grant a permit for the planting or cultivation of a genetically engineered crop, regardless of environmental impact.
While many Americans were firing up barbecues and breaking out the sparklers to celebrate Independence Day, biotech industry executives were more likely chilling champagne to celebrate another kind of independence: immunity from federal law.
A so-called “Monsanto rider,” quietly slipped into the multi-billion dollar FY 2013 Agricultural Appropriations bill, would require – not just allow, but require – the Secretary of Agriculture to grant a temporary permit for the planting or cultivation of a genetically engineered crop, even if a federal court has ordered the planting be halted until an Environmental Impact Statement is completed. All the farmer or the biotech producer has to do is ask, and the questionable crops could be released into the environment where they could potentially contaminate conventional or organic crops and, ultimately, the nation’s food supply.
Unless the Senate or a citizen’s army of farmers and consumers can stop them, the House of Representatives is likely to ram this dangerous rider through any day now. Read More
Unless the Senate or a citizen’s army of farmers and consumers can stop them, the House of Representatives is likely to ram this dangerous rider through any day now. Read More
The Ecology of Disease
(NY Times) THERE’S a term biologists and economists use these days — ecosystem services — which refers to the many ways nature supports the human endeavor. Forests filter the water we drink, for example, and birds and bees pollinate crops, both of which have substantial economic as well as biological value.
If we fail to understand and take care of the natural world, it can cause a breakdown of these systems and come back to haunt us in ways we know little about. A critical example is a developing model of infectious disease that shows that most epidemics — AIDS, Ebola, West Nile, SARS, Lyme disease and hundreds more that have occurred over the last several decades — don’t just happen. They are a result of things people do to nature.
Disease, it turns out, is largely an environmental issue. Sixty percent of emerging infectious diseases that affect humans are zoonotic — they originate in animals. And more than two-thirds of those originate in wildlife. Read More
If we fail to understand and take care of the natural world, it can cause a breakdown of these systems and come back to haunt us in ways we know little about. A critical example is a developing model of infectious disease that shows that most epidemics — AIDS, Ebola, West Nile, SARS, Lyme disease and hundreds more that have occurred over the last several decades — don’t just happen. They are a result of things people do to nature.
Disease, it turns out, is largely an environmental issue. Sixty percent of emerging infectious diseases that affect humans are zoonotic — they originate in animals. And more than two-thirds of those originate in wildlife. Read More
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
The Rise of the New Economy Movement
"One recent calculation is that 400 individuals at the top now own more wealth than the bottom 160 million."
Gar Alperovitz / 2012 What's the Real Truth?
The broad goal is democratized ownership of the economy for the “99 percent” in an ecologically sustainable and participatory community-building fashion. The name of the game is practical work in the here and now—and a hands-on process that is also informed by big picture theory and in-depth knowledge.
Thousands of real world projects — from solar-powered businesses to worker-owned cooperatives and state-owned banks — are underway across the country. Many are self-consciously understood as attempts to develop working prototypes in state and local “laboratories of democracy” that may be applied at regional and national scale when the right political moment occurs.
The movement includes young and old, “Occupy” people, student activists, and what one older participant describes as thousands of “people in their 60s from the ’60s” rolling up their sleeves to apply some of the lessons of an earlier movement.
Explosion of Energy
A powerful trend of hands-on activity includes a range of economic models that change both ownership and ecological outcomes. Co-ops, for instance, are very much on target—especially those which emphasize participation and green concerns. The Evergreen Cooperatives in a desperately poor, predominantly black neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio are a leading example. They include a worker-owned solar installation and weatherization co-op; a state-of-the-art, industrial-scale commercial laundry in a LEED-Gold certified building that uses—and therefore has to heat—only around a third of the water of other laundries; and a soon-to-open large scale hydroponic greenhouse capable of producing three million head of lettuce and 300,000 pounds of herbs a year. Hospitals and universities in the area have agreed to use the co-ops’ services, and several cities—including Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Washington, DC and Amarillo, Texas are now exploring similar efforts. Read More
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Connecting More Dots to See the Invisible
Jen Jerndal
We are four months into the emblematic year 2012. Let’s look back to the build-up during 2011 and recall the following events and trends:
The Arab Spring revolutions spreading from Tunisia to Egypt, from Libya to Syria, and from Bahrain to Yemen;
The Spanish INDIGNADOS movement that spread to other countries in Europe and to the US.
Unprecedented riots and looting in London, Manchester and Birmingham and other places;
Luxury cars being burnt in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and other German cities;
The biggest protests ever in Israel, with nearly half a million people taking to the streets in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, demanding social justice;
Students and teachers in Chile claiming free higher education in masssive anti-government demonstrations were met with massive confrontations by riot police;
A major grass-root protest campaign in India against corruption;
During labour riots in China, police and fire vehicles were set on fire;
The “Occupy Wall Street” movement in New York and across the United States has been spreading over the Atlantic into Europe, Asia and Oceania, with cascading consequences.
Riots in Greece against the “austerity measures” imposed by the International Monetary Fund and the former Goldman Sachs executives turned “saviours” of the Euro. Read More
We are four months into the emblematic year 2012. Let’s look back to the build-up during 2011 and recall the following events and trends:
The Arab Spring revolutions spreading from Tunisia to Egypt, from Libya to Syria, and from Bahrain to Yemen;
The Spanish INDIGNADOS movement that spread to other countries in Europe and to the US.
Unprecedented riots and looting in London, Manchester and Birmingham and other places;
Luxury cars being burnt in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and other German cities;
The biggest protests ever in Israel, with nearly half a million people taking to the streets in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, demanding social justice;
Students and teachers in Chile claiming free higher education in masssive anti-government demonstrations were met with massive confrontations by riot police;
A major grass-root protest campaign in India against corruption;
During labour riots in China, police and fire vehicles were set on fire;
The “Occupy Wall Street” movement in New York and across the United States has been spreading over the Atlantic into Europe, Asia and Oceania, with cascading consequences.
Riots in Greece against the “austerity measures” imposed by the International Monetary Fund and the former Goldman Sachs executives turned “saviours” of the Euro. Read More
Monday, March 26, 2012
Venus Visible in Daytime Sky Today
(Discovery News) The planet Venus has been dominating the nighttime sky recently, but did you know it's possible to see the bright world in the daytime? Today (March 26), Venus can be spotted in the afternoon if you know where and when to look.
In fact, a daytime apparition of Venus in the sky was famously spotted by none other than President Abraham Lincoln in 1865.
It was March 4, 1865, and the streets of Washington DC were packed with crowds watching the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln for his second term as president. Suddenly someone in the crowd spotted something strange in the sky: a tiny brilliant point of light. Excitement swelled through the crowd as each person pointed it out to their neighbor. The commotion even reached as far as the Lincoln himself, and soon he too was pointing at the brilliant point in the sky.
One of Lincoln's bodyguards, Sergeant Smith Stimmellater, described it this way: "Soon after the President concluded his address, he entered his carriage, and the procession started up Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, the escort from our Company following next to his carriage. Shortly after we turned onto Pennsylvania Avenue, west of the Capitol, I noticed the crowd along the street looking intently, and some were pointing to something in the heavens toward the south.[Great Skywatcher Photos of Venus and Jupiter]
"I glanced up in that direction, and there in plain view, shining out in all her star-like beauty, was the planet Venus. It was a little after midday at the time I saw it, possibly near one o'clock; the sun seemed to be a little west of the median, the star a little east. It was a strange sight. I never saw a star at that time in the day before or since. The superstitious had had many strange notions about it, but of course it was simply owing to the peculiarly clear condition of the atmosphere and the favorable position of the planet at that time. The President and those who were with him in the carriage noticed the star at the same time."
This week, nearly a century and a half later, you can duplicate this famous observation. The sky map of Venus in daylight for this story shows where Venus and the moon will appear at 4 p.m. relative to the sun.
Venus is quite easy to see in a clear blue daylight sky, if you know exactly where to look, and if you can focus your eyes on it. What makes today's Venus appearance special is that the waxing crescent moon will be right next to Venus in the sky, showing you exactly where to look, and giving your eyes something to focus on.
Here's how to see it:
Go out around 4 p.m. local time on Monday, and position yourself so that the sun is behind a chimney or rooftop to your right. Blocking the sun is always essential if you're looking anywhere close to the sun. WARNING:Never look directly at the sun with your unaided eye or through binoculars or telescopes without special light filters. Severe eye damage can result. Read More
Venus and the Mayan Calendar: "The serpent depicted on the building was a representation of the Mayan deity Kukulcan, known by the Aztecs as Quetzlecoatl, which is also identified with the planet Venus." The good news?The world is not going to end on Dec. 21, 2012.
So says Dr. Jonathan E. Reyman, Curator of Anthropology for the Illinois State Museum, who presented "The End of Time: Maya, Aztec, Skidi-Pawnee, and Pueblo Views of the End of the World" Tuesday, March 6, at the Illinois Valley Archeological Society lecture at Dickson Mounds.
Dr. Reyman, who is responsible for the inventory and curation of Native American artifacts for the state museum, received his degree from Southern Illinois University, specializing in the American southwest. He also has experience with Native American cultures and artifacts from the eastern and midwestern portions of the U.S., as well as from Mexico and Ecuador. Read More
In fact, a daytime apparition of Venus in the sky was famously spotted by none other than President Abraham Lincoln in 1865.
It was March 4, 1865, and the streets of Washington DC were packed with crowds watching the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln for his second term as president. Suddenly someone in the crowd spotted something strange in the sky: a tiny brilliant point of light. Excitement swelled through the crowd as each person pointed it out to their neighbor. The commotion even reached as far as the Lincoln himself, and soon he too was pointing at the brilliant point in the sky.
One of Lincoln's bodyguards, Sergeant Smith Stimmellater, described it this way: "Soon after the President concluded his address, he entered his carriage, and the procession started up Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, the escort from our Company following next to his carriage. Shortly after we turned onto Pennsylvania Avenue, west of the Capitol, I noticed the crowd along the street looking intently, and some were pointing to something in the heavens toward the south.[Great Skywatcher Photos of Venus and Jupiter]
"I glanced up in that direction, and there in plain view, shining out in all her star-like beauty, was the planet Venus. It was a little after midday at the time I saw it, possibly near one o'clock; the sun seemed to be a little west of the median, the star a little east. It was a strange sight. I never saw a star at that time in the day before or since. The superstitious had had many strange notions about it, but of course it was simply owing to the peculiarly clear condition of the atmosphere and the favorable position of the planet at that time. The President and those who were with him in the carriage noticed the star at the same time."
This week, nearly a century and a half later, you can duplicate this famous observation. The sky map of Venus in daylight for this story shows where Venus and the moon will appear at 4 p.m. relative to the sun.
Venus is quite easy to see in a clear blue daylight sky, if you know exactly where to look, and if you can focus your eyes on it. What makes today's Venus appearance special is that the waxing crescent moon will be right next to Venus in the sky, showing you exactly where to look, and giving your eyes something to focus on.
Here's how to see it:
Go out around 4 p.m. local time on Monday, and position yourself so that the sun is behind a chimney or rooftop to your right. Blocking the sun is always essential if you're looking anywhere close to the sun. WARNING:Never look directly at the sun with your unaided eye or through binoculars or telescopes without special light filters. Severe eye damage can result. Read More
Venus and the Mayan Calendar: "The serpent depicted on the building was a representation of the Mayan deity Kukulcan, known by the Aztecs as Quetzlecoatl, which is also identified with the planet Venus." The good news?The world is not going to end on Dec. 21, 2012.
So says Dr. Jonathan E. Reyman, Curator of Anthropology for the Illinois State Museum, who presented "The End of Time: Maya, Aztec, Skidi-Pawnee, and Pueblo Views of the End of the World" Tuesday, March 6, at the Illinois Valley Archeological Society lecture at Dickson Mounds.
Dr. Reyman, who is responsible for the inventory and curation of Native American artifacts for the state museum, received his degree from Southern Illinois University, specializing in the American southwest. He also has experience with Native American cultures and artifacts from the eastern and midwestern portions of the U.S., as well as from Mexico and Ecuador. Read More
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Earth Changes, Safe Havens and Golden Cities on Conscious Living Radio
More than 20 years after publication of the I AM America Earth Changes Map, which delineated the physical changes in the geography of our country, Lori Toye continues her work with more in-depth information relevant to what is occurring now.
The map was published before public awareness of the effects of global warming and climate change, and it incorporated the locations of Golden Cities - or safe havens - sustainable places to live during a time of upheaval.
Her work has progressed into a series of books regarding the Golden Cities. These new publications correlate and expand on the information provided in the first “I AM America Map.”
Her research continues to guide and enrich our spiritual growth and understanding of these beginning times, prophesied to begin in the 21st century, more than 6000 year ago.
You can check the I AM America website for more information on the Golden Cities. Listen to Interview
Monday, February 20, 2012
Vedic Astrologer James Kelleher's Predictions beyond 2012
Saturn in Libra
November 14, 2011- November 2, 2014
One of the most dramatic events in Vedic Astrology is Saturn's movement into a new sign. Occurring only about every 2 1/2 years, this event signifies a completely new frequency of subtle energy generated by this spectacular ringed planet. As it crosses the junction point between two signs, Saturn frequently stimulates dramatic changes for individuals and even countries. On November 14th, it moves into Libra. If you notice any significant upheavals, changes, improvements or challenges in the couple of months on either side of November 14th, it is quite possible that Saturn is the reason. Saturn affects everyone differently. It can be positive or negative, depending on the horoscope of the individual, company, organization, or country.
In Libra, Saturn is exalted. That means that is generally strong and positive. A strong Saturn is quite helpful for actualizing the things you want to achieve in life. Saturn is the planet of structure and form, so its influence is incredibly important for making your plans happen in the material world. Saturn helps people ground their lives.
On the global level this transit may present certain difficulties. This is partially due to the fact that Saturn will be joined by Rahu during part of its transit in Libra. Rahu will be in conjunction with Saturn during the period from January 14, 2013 to July 13, 2014. The exact conjunction of these two planets takes place on September 17, 2013. I have talked extensively about the negative impact of this conjunction in the past few years. It signifies a significant increase in world tension, political conflict, and natural disasters. If you would like to hear more about this conjunction click on the video on the left side bar. And if you would like to find out about the two-hour slide show on the 2013 Saturn-Rahu Conjunction click here. Read More
One of the most dramatic events in Vedic Astrology is Saturn's movement into a new sign. Occurring only about every 2 1/2 years, this event signifies a completely new frequency of subtle energy generated by this spectacular ringed planet. As it crosses the junction point between two signs, Saturn frequently stimulates dramatic changes for individuals and even countries. On November 14th, it moves into Libra. If you notice any significant upheavals, changes, improvements or challenges in the couple of months on either side of November 14th, it is quite possible that Saturn is the reason. Saturn affects everyone differently. It can be positive or negative, depending on the horoscope of the individual, company, organization, or country.
In Libra, Saturn is exalted. That means that is generally strong and positive. A strong Saturn is quite helpful for actualizing the things you want to achieve in life. Saturn is the planet of structure and form, so its influence is incredibly important for making your plans happen in the material world. Saturn helps people ground their lives.
On the global level this transit may present certain difficulties. This is partially due to the fact that Saturn will be joined by Rahu during part of its transit in Libra. Rahu will be in conjunction with Saturn during the period from January 14, 2013 to July 13, 2014. The exact conjunction of these two planets takes place on September 17, 2013. I have talked extensively about the negative impact of this conjunction in the past few years. It signifies a significant increase in world tension, political conflict, and natural disasters. If you would like to hear more about this conjunction click on the video on the left side bar. And if you would like to find out about the two-hour slide show on the 2013 Saturn-Rahu Conjunction click here. Read More
What the Mormons Know About Welfare
[The building is designed to withstand a 7.5 earthquake near Salt Lake City.--Lori]
by Naomi Schaffer Riley
Salt Lake City
Ever since Mitt Romney said he was "not concerned about the very poor" but would fix America's social safety net "if it needs repair," conservatives and liberals have been frantically making suggestions. Gov. Romney says he would consider options like restructuring Medicaid. But if he wants to see a welfare system that lets almost no one fall through the cracks while at the same time ensuring that its beneficiaries don't become lifelong dependents, he could look to his own church.
As I ride in a golf cart through a new 15-acre warehouse on the outskirts of Utah's capital, I can't help but wonder: How many Wal-Marts would fit in here? How many burgers can you make from 4,400 industrial pallets of frozen meat? And how do they keep this place cleaner than my kitchen floor?
Dedicated last month, the Bishops Central Storehouse contains a two-year supply of food to support the Mormon church's welfare system in the U.S. and Canada (primarily for church members in need) and its humanitarian program, which sends food, medical supplies and other necessities to the needy (of all faiths) world-wide.
In addition to goods from canned peaches to emergency generators, the facility also houses the church's own trucking company, complete with 43 tractors and 98 trailers, as well as a one-year supply of fuel, parts and tires for the vehicles. Just in case.
The storehouse is not only a kind of physical marvel—it has been built to withstand an earthquake with a magnitude as high as 7.5—but also a symbol of strength and self-sufficiency.
Launched during the Great Depression, the Mormon welfare system was designed by church leaders as a way to match the armies of the unemployed faithful with some of the nearby farms that needed temporary labor. As storehouse manager Richard Humpherys explains, goods and services were traded so that if a father needed food for his family he could get some in exchange for, say, repairing the fence of a widow down the road.
In 1936, Heber Grant, one of the church leaders, reported the reasoning behind this effort: "Our primary purpose was to set up insofar as it might be possible, a system under which the curse of idleness would be done away with, the evils of a dole abolished and independence, industry, thrift and self respect be once more established among our people. The aim of the Church is help the people to help themselves. Work is to be re-enthroned as the ruling principle of the lives of our Church membership."
Over the ensuing decades, the church acquired farms and ranches of its own. It built grain silos and dairies and canneries to store and process the food. By the end of World War II, church leaders had enough in the way of reserves that they contacted President Truman to ask if they might assist in feeding and clothing the destitute across Europe. The president readily agreed.
Because it has members on the ground around the world, the church continues to be an important force in bringing food and supplies to the impoverished and victims of natural disasters. Local church leaders contact the central headquarters in Salt Lake City to tell them what is needed—gauze pads, school supplies, wheelchairs—and the church does its best to accommodate.
The Department of Defense recently visited the new storehouse to find out how the Mormons are able to mobilize so quickly, and there is an almost military sense of efficiency and strategy to the church's efforts. When Hurricane Katrina struck, for instance, the church had positioned its fully loaded trucks in a kind of semicircle from South Carolina to Texas because no one knew how the storm was going to move. The church used reserves of fuel that it has placed around the country, and drivers were able to bring full tanker trucks into New Orleans, powering rescue vehicles and even chain saws to remove tree limbs.
Most of the inventory in the central storehouse, though, goes to supply more than 100 smaller storehouses around the country, plus hundreds of soup kitchens and homeless shelters of other religious communities around North America. Members of the Mormon church who find themselves in difficult circumstances can go to their local bishop and ask for aid.
The bishop then fills out an order allowing them to go and receive food from the local storehouse. Seventy percent of the items on the shelves are produced by the church itself and the remainder are purchased at steep wholesale discounts. According to Rick Foster, who oversees a smaller storehouse in Salt Lake City along with the cannery and dairy at Welfare Square (the original site of all the church's welfare services), people depend on the food at the storehouse for an average of three to six months.
That's because the church's goal is to help them get back on their feet as soon as possible. And the storehouse is only one of the tools at the disposal of local bishops, who may also refer members to other church programs, including employment counseling or family services. The bishop may even use money from a fund at his disposal to help pay for education, housing or utilities.
The labor behind the farming, food production, counseling and even cattle ranching is provided almost entirely by volunteers. Some are retired folks who come in every day. Other times an entire ward, or congregation, will come for the day, each of the members standing on an industrial assembly line packaging bread, processing cheese or sealing jars of apple sauce.
Regular tithing by church members helps pay for the facilities, but the primary source of capital support is the Mormons' monthly fast, as church members are asked to contribute what they would have spent on two meals. Many give much more, says Mr. Foster.
It is safe to assume that Mr. Romney is among them. The tens of millions of dollars he has given the church over the years have raised suspicion in some quarters. What does the church do with all that cash? Wouldn't that money have been better spent paying a higher income-tax rate? But his donations are supporting the kind of safety net that government can never hope to create. Jesus may have said the poor will always be with you, but he didn't say Medicaid would.
by Naomi Schaffer Riley
Salt Lake City
Ever since Mitt Romney said he was "not concerned about the very poor" but would fix America's social safety net "if it needs repair," conservatives and liberals have been frantically making suggestions. Gov. Romney says he would consider options like restructuring Medicaid. But if he wants to see a welfare system that lets almost no one fall through the cracks while at the same time ensuring that its beneficiaries don't become lifelong dependents, he could look to his own church.
As I ride in a golf cart through a new 15-acre warehouse on the outskirts of Utah's capital, I can't help but wonder: How many Wal-Marts would fit in here? How many burgers can you make from 4,400 industrial pallets of frozen meat? And how do they keep this place cleaner than my kitchen floor?
Dedicated last month, the Bishops Central Storehouse contains a two-year supply of food to support the Mormon church's welfare system in the U.S. and Canada (primarily for church members in need) and its humanitarian program, which sends food, medical supplies and other necessities to the needy (of all faiths) world-wide.
In addition to goods from canned peaches to emergency generators, the facility also houses the church's own trucking company, complete with 43 tractors and 98 trailers, as well as a one-year supply of fuel, parts and tires for the vehicles. Just in case.
The storehouse is not only a kind of physical marvel—it has been built to withstand an earthquake with a magnitude as high as 7.5—but also a symbol of strength and self-sufficiency.
Launched during the Great Depression, the Mormon welfare system was designed by church leaders as a way to match the armies of the unemployed faithful with some of the nearby farms that needed temporary labor. As storehouse manager Richard Humpherys explains, goods and services were traded so that if a father needed food for his family he could get some in exchange for, say, repairing the fence of a widow down the road.
In 1936, Heber Grant, one of the church leaders, reported the reasoning behind this effort: "Our primary purpose was to set up insofar as it might be possible, a system under which the curse of idleness would be done away with, the evils of a dole abolished and independence, industry, thrift and self respect be once more established among our people. The aim of the Church is help the people to help themselves. Work is to be re-enthroned as the ruling principle of the lives of our Church membership."
Over the ensuing decades, the church acquired farms and ranches of its own. It built grain silos and dairies and canneries to store and process the food. By the end of World War II, church leaders had enough in the way of reserves that they contacted President Truman to ask if they might assist in feeding and clothing the destitute across Europe. The president readily agreed.
Because it has members on the ground around the world, the church continues to be an important force in bringing food and supplies to the impoverished and victims of natural disasters. Local church leaders contact the central headquarters in Salt Lake City to tell them what is needed—gauze pads, school supplies, wheelchairs—and the church does its best to accommodate.
The Department of Defense recently visited the new storehouse to find out how the Mormons are able to mobilize so quickly, and there is an almost military sense of efficiency and strategy to the church's efforts. When Hurricane Katrina struck, for instance, the church had positioned its fully loaded trucks in a kind of semicircle from South Carolina to Texas because no one knew how the storm was going to move. The church used reserves of fuel that it has placed around the country, and drivers were able to bring full tanker trucks into New Orleans, powering rescue vehicles and even chain saws to remove tree limbs.
Most of the inventory in the central storehouse, though, goes to supply more than 100 smaller storehouses around the country, plus hundreds of soup kitchens and homeless shelters of other religious communities around North America. Members of the Mormon church who find themselves in difficult circumstances can go to their local bishop and ask for aid.
The bishop then fills out an order allowing them to go and receive food from the local storehouse. Seventy percent of the items on the shelves are produced by the church itself and the remainder are purchased at steep wholesale discounts. According to Rick Foster, who oversees a smaller storehouse in Salt Lake City along with the cannery and dairy at Welfare Square (the original site of all the church's welfare services), people depend on the food at the storehouse for an average of three to six months.
That's because the church's goal is to help them get back on their feet as soon as possible. And the storehouse is only one of the tools at the disposal of local bishops, who may also refer members to other church programs, including employment counseling or family services. The bishop may even use money from a fund at his disposal to help pay for education, housing or utilities.
The labor behind the farming, food production, counseling and even cattle ranching is provided almost entirely by volunteers. Some are retired folks who come in every day. Other times an entire ward, or congregation, will come for the day, each of the members standing on an industrial assembly line packaging bread, processing cheese or sealing jars of apple sauce.
Regular tithing by church members helps pay for the facilities, but the primary source of capital support is the Mormons' monthly fast, as church members are asked to contribute what they would have spent on two meals. Many give much more, says Mr. Foster.
It is safe to assume that Mr. Romney is among them. The tens of millions of dollars he has given the church over the years have raised suspicion in some quarters. What does the church do with all that cash? Wouldn't that money have been better spent paying a higher income-tax rate? But his donations are supporting the kind of safety net that government can never hope to create. Jesus may have said the poor will always be with you, but he didn't say Medicaid would.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Monsanto & Cancer Milk: FOX NEWS KILLS STORY & FIRES Reporters.
This is an older story, but worth watching again.--Lori
Friday, December 23, 2011
Occupy the Global Financial System: The 99% Activating the New
This article, posted at Benjamin’s blog, is about Local Exchange Trading Systems (LETS), new currencies, and more. The article does not name the writer, but seems to be related to “Intention One Earth Foundation” (http://www.intentiononeearth.com/).
The first historic trades within the new financial system have taken place!
The many global, independent trading networks all over the planet are rapidly connecting with each other, forming an infinitely expanding web of local and international commerce, exchange and trade.
People have woken up to the fact: for most of what we spend WE DO NOT NEED GOVERNMENT ISSUED MONEY. In fact, so many different groups have been abusing the money system, it can no longer fulfill its original purposes, which were:
a) as a medium of exchange
b) as a unit of account, and
c) as a store of value
It is the last of these that has led to systemic abuse and criminality, along with usury – the charging of interest. Money stopped merely facilitating things (a job it can do supremely well) and started to be seen as value in itself – which is one reason why so much is out of circulation! The ‘value’ is being hoarded, availability manipulated, markets distorted. No wonder the older religions all forbade usury – for they knew that the usurer and his schemes means that he always ends up owning everything, and tends to manipulate ruthlessly to that end.
There have been some interesting clues as to how this controlling and enslaving global finance system might be broken up. In the 1980’s, in Canada, a man called Michael Linton named the first Local Exchange Trading systems (LETS), from which a number were established. They then spread around the planet, but were largely ignored by anyone even remotely mainstream. The system, in brief, means that you have a local, non-interest bearing currency, and members of the system trade together for all sorts of goods and services: up to 70% of everything you need can be acquired this way in a properly run system with enough members. See definition at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_exchange_trading_system
Then there were time banks, e-currencies…and many other innovations. Over thirty years the expertise has spread to everywhere. For Time Bank description, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_banking
One of the most sophisticated, just coming into full operation, is Liverpool, England-based TGL: see: http://www.tgl.tv/
The first big clue to how these generic system types might be deployed was when Argentina got into trouble with the banksters, and threw out the IMF. Read More
The first historic trades within the new financial system have taken place!
The many global, independent trading networks all over the planet are rapidly connecting with each other, forming an infinitely expanding web of local and international commerce, exchange and trade.
People have woken up to the fact: for most of what we spend WE DO NOT NEED GOVERNMENT ISSUED MONEY. In fact, so many different groups have been abusing the money system, it can no longer fulfill its original purposes, which were:
a) as a medium of exchange
b) as a unit of account, and
c) as a store of value
It is the last of these that has led to systemic abuse and criminality, along with usury – the charging of interest. Money stopped merely facilitating things (a job it can do supremely well) and started to be seen as value in itself – which is one reason why so much is out of circulation! The ‘value’ is being hoarded, availability manipulated, markets distorted. No wonder the older religions all forbade usury – for they knew that the usurer and his schemes means that he always ends up owning everything, and tends to manipulate ruthlessly to that end.
There have been some interesting clues as to how this controlling and enslaving global finance system might be broken up. In the 1980’s, in Canada, a man called Michael Linton named the first Local Exchange Trading systems (LETS), from which a number were established. They then spread around the planet, but were largely ignored by anyone even remotely mainstream. The system, in brief, means that you have a local, non-interest bearing currency, and members of the system trade together for all sorts of goods and services: up to 70% of everything you need can be acquired this way in a properly run system with enough members. See definition at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_exchange_trading_system
Then there were time banks, e-currencies…and many other innovations. Over thirty years the expertise has spread to everywhere. For Time Bank description, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_banking
One of the most sophisticated, just coming into full operation, is Liverpool, England-based TGL: see: http://www.tgl.tv/
The first big clue to how these generic system types might be deployed was when Argentina got into trouble with the banksters, and threw out the IMF. Read More
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Demand change: an open letter to Japan's rising generations
By STEPHEN HESSE from the Japan Times Online
If you're like my 17-year-old, then you probably already know just about everything there is to know, and reading this column you'll likely just say: "Yeah, right, whatever," or "So?"
But if you have a few minutes, younger readers especially, please bear with me.
As a father, professor and environment journalist, I am seriously concerned about our use and abuse of our planet Earth, soon to be your planet Earth.
With the human population growing, marine resources dwindling and every inch of our planet touched by human-made chemicals and waste, I'm less than optimistic about the state of the world you will soon inherit.
From a different perspective, however, we can say that your generation is facing the most exciting challenges of any generation in history. We are on the cusp of dramatic changes environmentally, politically, socially and economically, with the effects of climate change multiplying, the Arab Spring phenomenon and Occupy Wall Street protests gaining traction, and developing nations rushing headlong forward while developed countries grind to a crawl.
In your lifetime, you have a chance to recalibrate the way we do things on this planet: to create a society that prioritizes justice, human rights and the quality of human life; to harness safe energy for all; and to introduce global, sustainable resource use.
Of course, there is a distinct possibility that we will fail to deal with such pressing issues as shrinking fresh-water supplies, loss of critical biological diversity and the effects of climate change feeding back upon itself. Then all hell will break loose.
To help you visualize how quickly things are changing, take a look at the website Worldometers (http://www.worldometers.info/).
Seeing the numbers click over faster than a high-speed gasoline pump, births and deaths, expenditure on military, CO2 emissions in tons, and energy use from non-renewable sources — to name a few — helps make stunningly clear how much and how fast your world is transforming, and in many ways not for the better. Humans have never faced so many challenges and the stakes have never been higher: Human society and our planet as we know them are on the line. The good news is that solutions are as endless as human creativity. The bad news is that the problems are global and they are entrenched in our systems of governance and business. And the clock is ticking. So, on a recent splendid day of blue skies and fiery foliage, I asked fellow educators in Japan who share some of my optimism regarding this country's university students for words of encouragement to share with the next generation of planet-keepers. No doubt you will disagree with some of my and their thoughts, but don't dismiss us completely. We have decades of experience teaching in Japan and perhaps even taught your parents — though we don't take responsibility for how they turned out!
One of my colleagues, a professor from the Chuo University Law School, offers advice for students who are job-hunting or trying to decide what to do with their lives. "The first step is not the last step. Setting goals is worthwhile, but ambitious goals are rarely achieved all at once. This applies to careers as well as social movements. What's important is to keep at it, to scan the surroundings for opportune moments and to be ready when the time is right," he suggests. From Sophia University, a professor urges young people to take action in the face of discouragement. "Sometimes a bleak situation can motivate you to act in ways you would not have the courage to do in good times. Today, with a bad job market and disconnected politicians, it is time for young people to act up, to speak out, to protest injustice, to dance in the streets and to sing at the top of your lungs. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain," he explains. A long-time friend and professor at Japan Women's University sent me two quotes from the Buddha focusing on the spiritual aspects of one's personal growth and life work, and explained why she chose them. The first quote is: "Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared." "You've probably wondered at times how much difference you can really make, but there's so much that can be achieved through the efforts of one person," she notes. "It's easy to get into a mind-set where you feel that if you help others, your own energy and happiness will be depleted. But it actually works the opposite way!" The second quote: "Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it." "I've included the second quotation," she explains, "because it's so important to devote yourself heart and soul to what you feel passionate about. This is how we can bring the greatest benefit to ourselves and society."
An environmental educator in Kyoto focuses on the issue of production and waste.
"For a sustainable future, it is time to 'look back and move forward' to the old adage 'waste not, want not,' and to show that truly advanced countries can use their wealth and know-how to develop technologies that reuse everything. Then, like in the rest of nature, waste will once again become a resource in a closed-loop cycle, giving sustenance to the future."
Another educator from Kansai focused on the Internet's potential for political change.
" 'The System' has always been that the rich give lots of money to politicians and tell them what to say and do. Once in a while we can replace these politicians with new politicians who perpetuate this false democracy. But now we have Internet democracy. Millions of people uniting every day can make politicians think and act for ecological sustainability, instead of unsustainable economic 'growth'. "
Finally, a colleague at Aoyama Gakuin University who teaches environmental politics sent several quotes that inspire him. "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." (Often attributed to non-violent peace activist Mahatma Gandhi [1869-1948].) "Idealists foolish enough to throw caution to the winds have advanced humankind and enriched the world." (Lithuanian-American anarchist Emma Goldman [1869-1940].) And another he sent that is an old favorite of mine from Gandhi: "You must be the change you want to see in the world."
Which brings me to some suggestions of my own.
First and foremost, demand change. Political, social and economic changes are all urgently needed, and all are inherently part of conserving the global environment. You might not get what you demand, but you certainly won't get what you don't ask for.
Second, stay informed. The great British war leader Winston Churchill (1874-1965) once stated, "It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried." However, he also wryly noted, "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." So don't be that average voter, because what you don't know can hurt you. Imagine what Tepco (operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant) and the government would never have told us if the media and civil society had not asked questions, again and again, and demanded answers.
Of course, average is fine, but don't be average if it means being ignorant. Demand transparency and accountability in politics, in your universities and companies. Olympus might still have a rosy future if someone had demanded these things years ago. And when your politicians, universities and companies do wrong, be indignant, especially about injustice. Demand justice, demand equality — and demand fairness.
Finally, don't be afraid to take chances. One of the greatest obstacles to positive change is fear of the unknown; fear that what happens next may be worse than what we have. The world is changing environmentally, socially, politically and economically, and society must change to respond. Yesterday's solutions are, by definition, out of date.
Of course, change simply for the sake of change can be wasteful, but I can't count how many times I've heard decision-makers in Japan insist that something should not be done because it has never been done before. Solutions come in myriad forms, from purebred to hybrid, so if something has never been done before, that may be one of the best reasons to give it a try.
The truth is, human society needs change and needs it desperately. Most of us will not find a cure for disease or invent a pollution-free energy system, but we all contribute to society and our planet, for better or worse. So, be someone who contributes for the better.
No matter what you do with your life, however large or small your contribution to society, begin by acting for those around you: your family, your neighbors, your fellow students, your workmates, your community. You might not be the next Bill Gates or Mahatma Gandhi, but the ripples from your good works and kindness will spread — and carry you with them.
If you're like my 17-year-old, then you probably already know just about everything there is to know, and reading this column you'll likely just say: "Yeah, right, whatever," or "So?"
But if you have a few minutes, younger readers especially, please bear with me.
As a father, professor and environment journalist, I am seriously concerned about our use and abuse of our planet Earth, soon to be your planet Earth.
With the human population growing, marine resources dwindling and every inch of our planet touched by human-made chemicals and waste, I'm less than optimistic about the state of the world you will soon inherit.
From a different perspective, however, we can say that your generation is facing the most exciting challenges of any generation in history. We are on the cusp of dramatic changes environmentally, politically, socially and economically, with the effects of climate change multiplying, the Arab Spring phenomenon and Occupy Wall Street protests gaining traction, and developing nations rushing headlong forward while developed countries grind to a crawl.
In your lifetime, you have a chance to recalibrate the way we do things on this planet: to create a society that prioritizes justice, human rights and the quality of human life; to harness safe energy for all; and to introduce global, sustainable resource use.
Of course, there is a distinct possibility that we will fail to deal with such pressing issues as shrinking fresh-water supplies, loss of critical biological diversity and the effects of climate change feeding back upon itself. Then all hell will break loose.
To help you visualize how quickly things are changing, take a look at the website Worldometers (http://www.worldometers.info/).
Seeing the numbers click over faster than a high-speed gasoline pump, births and deaths, expenditure on military, CO2 emissions in tons, and energy use from non-renewable sources — to name a few — helps make stunningly clear how much and how fast your world is transforming, and in many ways not for the better. Humans have never faced so many challenges and the stakes have never been higher: Human society and our planet as we know them are on the line. The good news is that solutions are as endless as human creativity. The bad news is that the problems are global and they are entrenched in our systems of governance and business. And the clock is ticking. So, on a recent splendid day of blue skies and fiery foliage, I asked fellow educators in Japan who share some of my optimism regarding this country's university students for words of encouragement to share with the next generation of planet-keepers. No doubt you will disagree with some of my and their thoughts, but don't dismiss us completely. We have decades of experience teaching in Japan and perhaps even taught your parents — though we don't take responsibility for how they turned out!
One of my colleagues, a professor from the Chuo University Law School, offers advice for students who are job-hunting or trying to decide what to do with their lives. "The first step is not the last step. Setting goals is worthwhile, but ambitious goals are rarely achieved all at once. This applies to careers as well as social movements. What's important is to keep at it, to scan the surroundings for opportune moments and to be ready when the time is right," he suggests. From Sophia University, a professor urges young people to take action in the face of discouragement. "Sometimes a bleak situation can motivate you to act in ways you would not have the courage to do in good times. Today, with a bad job market and disconnected politicians, it is time for young people to act up, to speak out, to protest injustice, to dance in the streets and to sing at the top of your lungs. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain," he explains. A long-time friend and professor at Japan Women's University sent me two quotes from the Buddha focusing on the spiritual aspects of one's personal growth and life work, and explained why she chose them. The first quote is: "Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared." "You've probably wondered at times how much difference you can really make, but there's so much that can be achieved through the efforts of one person," she notes. "It's easy to get into a mind-set where you feel that if you help others, your own energy and happiness will be depleted. But it actually works the opposite way!" The second quote: "Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it." "I've included the second quotation," she explains, "because it's so important to devote yourself heart and soul to what you feel passionate about. This is how we can bring the greatest benefit to ourselves and society."
An environmental educator in Kyoto focuses on the issue of production and waste.
"For a sustainable future, it is time to 'look back and move forward' to the old adage 'waste not, want not,' and to show that truly advanced countries can use their wealth and know-how to develop technologies that reuse everything. Then, like in the rest of nature, waste will once again become a resource in a closed-loop cycle, giving sustenance to the future."
Another educator from Kansai focused on the Internet's potential for political change.
" 'The System' has always been that the rich give lots of money to politicians and tell them what to say and do. Once in a while we can replace these politicians with new politicians who perpetuate this false democracy. But now we have Internet democracy. Millions of people uniting every day can make politicians think and act for ecological sustainability, instead of unsustainable economic 'growth'. "
Finally, a colleague at Aoyama Gakuin University who teaches environmental politics sent several quotes that inspire him. "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." (Often attributed to non-violent peace activist Mahatma Gandhi [1869-1948].) "Idealists foolish enough to throw caution to the winds have advanced humankind and enriched the world." (Lithuanian-American anarchist Emma Goldman [1869-1940].) And another he sent that is an old favorite of mine from Gandhi: "You must be the change you want to see in the world."
Which brings me to some suggestions of my own.
First and foremost, demand change. Political, social and economic changes are all urgently needed, and all are inherently part of conserving the global environment. You might not get what you demand, but you certainly won't get what you don't ask for.
Second, stay informed. The great British war leader Winston Churchill (1874-1965) once stated, "It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried." However, he also wryly noted, "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." So don't be that average voter, because what you don't know can hurt you. Imagine what Tepco (operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant) and the government would never have told us if the media and civil society had not asked questions, again and again, and demanded answers.
Of course, average is fine, but don't be average if it means being ignorant. Demand transparency and accountability in politics, in your universities and companies. Olympus might still have a rosy future if someone had demanded these things years ago. And when your politicians, universities and companies do wrong, be indignant, especially about injustice. Demand justice, demand equality — and demand fairness.
Finally, don't be afraid to take chances. One of the greatest obstacles to positive change is fear of the unknown; fear that what happens next may be worse than what we have. The world is changing environmentally, socially, politically and economically, and society must change to respond. Yesterday's solutions are, by definition, out of date.
Of course, change simply for the sake of change can be wasteful, but I can't count how many times I've heard decision-makers in Japan insist that something should not be done because it has never been done before. Solutions come in myriad forms, from purebred to hybrid, so if something has never been done before, that may be one of the best reasons to give it a try.
The truth is, human society needs change and needs it desperately. Most of us will not find a cure for disease or invent a pollution-free energy system, but we all contribute to society and our planet, for better or worse. So, be someone who contributes for the better.
No matter what you do with your life, however large or small your contribution to society, begin by acting for those around you: your family, your neighbors, your fellow students, your workmates, your community. You might not be the next Bill Gates or Mahatma Gandhi, but the ripples from your good works and kindness will spread — and carry you with them.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
The Beginning of the Beginning
Before Occupy Wall Street began, Saint Germain shared his insights regarding the stumbling blocks of greed and fear in the MP3 lesson: Luminous Light, from the Twilight Series. A complimentary copy of this lesson is available for anyone in financial need. Please e-mail orders at iamamerica.com for the download link. "Many are not ready to hear this message, while others will hear it and awaken, even in the Twilight Hours." ~ Saint Germain
On November 17th, tens of thousands of people peacefully gathered in Foley Square in solidarity with #OWS. It was a powerful night of music, chant, and protest. We marched across the Brooklyn Bridge finding strength in our numbers and inspiration in our shared resolve to challenge the neoliberal economic system that controls our government and destroys our communities. As we marched a beautiful light appeared in downtown Manhattan.......Read More
On November 17th, tens of thousands of people peacefully gathered in Foley Square in solidarity with #OWS. It was a powerful night of music, chant, and protest. We marched across the Brooklyn Bridge finding strength in our numbers and inspiration in our shared resolve to challenge the neoliberal economic system that controls our government and destroys our communities. As we marched a beautiful light appeared in downtown Manhattan.......Read More
Safecast Draws on Power of the Crowd to Map Japan's Radiation
Eight months after a tsunami caused a nuclear accident in Japan, ordinary people are using new technology and the power of crowdsourcing to find radiation hotspots.
TRANSCRIPT
JEFFREY BROWN: Now, tracking the spread of radiation in Japan eight months after the tsunami caused a nuclear accident.
Japanese people are using new technology and the power of crowdsourcing to find hotspots.
NewsHour science correspondent Miles O'Brien has the second in a series of stories from Japan.
MILES O'BRIEN: In Japan, these days, you never know where you're going to find a hotspot. We are at a highway rest stop halfway between Tokyo and Fukushima, and we are looking for the kind of hotspot you would just as soon avoid.
PIETER FRANKEN, Safecast Japan: On the roof, the cesium didn't really stick very well, so it all flushed down and when it hit the concrete or the stone here, it bonded. So this is like a micro hotspot. Read More
SafeCast.Org
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Wolf: The people versus the police
We May Be Witnessing the First Large Global Conflict Where People Are Aligned by Consciousness and Not Nation State or Religion
"They're fighting a "corporatocracy" that has bought governments, created armed enforcers, engaged in systemic economic fraud, and plundered treasuries and ecosystems."
by Naomi Wolf
America 's politicians, it seems, have had their fill of democracy. Across the country, police, acting under orders from local officials, are breaking up protest encampments set up by supporters of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement - sometimes with shocking and utterly gratuitous violence.
In the worst incident so far, hundreds of police, dressed in riot gear, surrounded Occupy Oakland's encampment and fired rubber bullets (which can be fatal), flash grenades and tear-gas canisters - with some officers taking aim directly at demonstrators. The Occupy Oakland Twitter feed read like a report from Cairo 's Tahrir Square : "they are surrounding us"; "hundreds and hundreds of police"; "there are armoured vehicles and Hummers". There were 170 arrests.
My own recent arrest, while obeying the terms of a permit and standing peacefully on a street in lower Manhattan , brought the reality of this crackdown close to home. America is waking up to what was built while it slept: Private companies have hired away its police (JPMorgan Chase gave $4.6m to the New York City Police Foundation); the federal Department of Homeland Security has given small municipal police forces military-grade weapons systems; citizens' rights to freedom of speech and assembly have been stealthily undermined by opaque permit requirements.
Suddenly, the United States looks like the rest of the furious, protesting, not-completely-free world. Indeed, most commentators have not fully grasped that a world war is occurring. But it is unlike any previous war in human history: for the first time, people around the world are not identifying and organising themselves along national or religious lines, but rather in terms of a global consciousness and demands for a peaceful life, a sustainable future, economic justice and basic democracy. Their enemy is a global "corporatocracy" that has purchased governments and legislatures, created its own armed enforcers, engaged in systemic economic fraud, and plundered treasuries and ecosystems.
Around the world, peaceful protesters are being demonised for being disruptive. But democracy is disruptive. Martin Luther King, Jr argued that peaceful disruption of "business as usual" is healthy, because it exposes buried injustice, which can then be addressed. Protesters ideally should dedicate themselves to disciplined, nonviolent disruption in this spirit - especially disruption of traffic. This serves to keep provocateurs at bay, while highlighting the unjust militarisation of the police response.
Moreover, protest movements do not succeed in hours or days; they typically involve sitting down or "occupying" areas for the long hauls. That is one reason why protesters should raise their own money and hire their own lawyers. The corporatocracy is terrified that citizens will reclaim the rule of law. In every country, protesters should field an army of attorneys.
Protesters should also make their own media, rather than relying on mainstream outlets to cover them. They should blog, tweet, write editorials and press releases, as well as log and document cases of police abuse (and the abusers).
There are, unfortunately, many documented cases of violent provocateurs infiltrating demonstrations in places like Toronto , Pittsburgh , London and Athens - people whom one Greek described to me as "known unknowns". Provocateurs, too, need to be photographed and logged, which is why it is important not to cover one's face while protesting.
Protesters in democracies should create email lists locally, combine the lists nationally and start registering voters. They should tell their representatives how many voters they have registered in each district - and they should organise to oust politicians who are brutal or repressive. And they should support those - as in Albany , New York , for instance, where police and the local prosecutor refused to crack down on protesters - who respect the rights to free speech and assembly. Read More
Project Syndicate
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Are Humans Still Evolving?
A recent study suggests that humans aren't exempt from evolutionary pressures. Despite using culture and technology as ways of adapting to new environments, humans, like all other living things on Earth, undergo genetic changes as a response to conditions around them -- or in this case, favorable traits in their genes.
In other words, we're all still evolving.
Most discussion about our evolutionary history focuses on macroevolution, or changes occurring over long periods of time, including why our teeth are smaller when compared with our ancestors' and how our species may have interacted with Neanderthals.
NEWS: What's Punctuated Equilibrium?
Instead, the study's authors provide an example of microevolution, or changes tracked in a few generations. The team, led by Canadian researchers, studied the small island town of Ile aux Coudres, located in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in Quebec.
Researchers looked at church records from 1799 to 1940, which provided detailed accounts of marriages, births and deaths. Because the vast majority of families have remained on the island with few newcomers arriving, it was possible to build extensive family trees from the demographic data. The team studied the age at which women are capable of giving birth, a trait that's heritable between generations. Read More
In other words, we're all still evolving.
Most discussion about our evolutionary history focuses on macroevolution, or changes occurring over long periods of time, including why our teeth are smaller when compared with our ancestors' and how our species may have interacted with Neanderthals.
NEWS: What's Punctuated Equilibrium?
Instead, the study's authors provide an example of microevolution, or changes tracked in a few generations. The team, led by Canadian researchers, studied the small island town of Ile aux Coudres, located in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in Quebec.
Researchers looked at church records from 1799 to 1940, which provided detailed accounts of marriages, births and deaths. Because the vast majority of families have remained on the island with few newcomers arriving, it was possible to build extensive family trees from the demographic data. The team studied the age at which women are capable of giving birth, a trait that's heritable between generations. Read More
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Joseph Chilton Pearce: The Biology of Transcendence
This is a terrific interview and explains the link between biology and the Ascension Process. Enjoy! ~ Lori
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)