Rising Phoenix Series #44: What Future Do We Choose?
Hello everysoul!
There has been a very positive and encouraging response to Ariel Ky proposal to co-write with other visionaries authors a "Visionary Blueprint For Our Common Future" - this is only a tentative title I suggested - featured in my last compilation - The Moment of Truth Series #15: The Turning Point is Now! - and she is preparing guidelines right now and a whole package of information that she will soon send out to all those who have manifested an interest in the exciting project. I sense a great potential for amazing breakthroughs thanks to this brilliantly inspired initiative. I'll keep you all posted when there will be significant developments to report on this.
Once again I have another very large compilation for your review and consideration. As usual you are welcomed to network anything you resonate with in it.
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SPECIAL INSPIRATIONAL FEATURE
Recommended by Zackoree (zackoree@hills.net) who wrote: "Michael has a great message, and a book he's working on similar to what Ariel spoke of. Also the man behind the counter at the local bakery said, when told he could keep the change, "Change occurs within"...
Right now we are living in a strange time when there are multiple potential timelines and versions of humanity's future overlapping during a unique window of opportunity that I have called The Deciding Point.
Currently there 'appears' to be three potentials that are having an effect on the mass consciousness. One of these is the future of complete planetary ascension, where the human race will make the evolutionary leap as one into an upward spiral of conscious evolution. This future is guiding us from beyond time and space. The other two potentials represent the kind of fear-based disempowering visions that a lot of people are talking about.
It is time for greater clarity about our personal power to choose the potential that is in the highest good for all. I am going to explain why there is nothing to fear, and why these fear potentials are just an illusion. Please take this in and hold this with me for the sake of all those who are still confused about where the story is going.
Part of the purpose of The Deciding Point is that it give humans the opportunity to choose the divine plan and take responsibility for our collective energy. These three timelines are actually resonance fields that have appeared inside humanity's collective DNA. For those who have not yet made a choice, or who don't know of their power to choose, the future might appear fearful, or it might appear that there is going to be a reality split where some make the leap and others don't. For those of us who have already chosen the Power of One and the coming revelation of humanity's oneness, there is only one future, and the other potentials are just fear based illusions helping people learn how to take responsibility for their focus.
How do I know this? Why am I not afraid? Several months ago there was not two but three such fear scenarios, affecting part of humanity's consciousness, but because of the incredible work of the forces of peace, love and light, the fear matrix that was creating one of these splits was dismantled. I actually watched that whole fear version of the future dissolve, which further weakened the control structures still feeding the fear that is creating the illusion of the other two. These alternative timelines only exist because of the presence of control structures that are attempting to hijack the future, and the power we give to them through our fears.
Allow me to share an example of how The Deciding Point works as an evolutionary tool. I was sitting with a group of people when I overheard a conversation between a woman and a man about the future. This man was talking all about the plan of the elite to reduce the human population, and the coming of martial law. He was spouting one disempowering fear vision after another, making it sound like our future was hopeless, and I could see that the fear was draining the energy of the woman. In that moment he represented the resonance field of the fear vision of the future, and I realized that I was in the position of representing the resonance field of the aligned world of oneness and planetary ascension.
I began to interject a few comments about the solutions to the world's problems that were awakening within us, and in that moment the woman broke her attachment to the man's energy and claimed back her power. Her whole aura brightened up as we began to talk about the new ideas, and she clearly felt more resonance with the future of oneness. In that moment the man sunk back in his chair and began to contemplate more deeply where he was focusing his attention. The woman had just experienced The Deciding Point, and the choice was clear. She entered the aligned world of oneness and cleared the fear from her DNA.
Only a few weeks ago, a meeting took place with the Ascended Masters on the inner plane in which a decision was made to begin transferring a greater level of manifestation power back into human consciousness. This level of creative power has not been on the planet since the times of the ancient mystery school of Egypt, and Atlantis. This came about because enough people chose to forgive the way such power was abused in the past, and to trust each other with the power. This new level of manifestation power can only be in our chakras when we are aligned with the Power of One, because it is collective power. We have to agree to share the power by holding a focus on empowering others unconditionally. Because of this shift, lightworkers are beginning to claim a level of divine power and manifestation energy that is shifting the balance of power in the world, causing the downfall of the organizations of greed and misplaced power that have tested us to make this evolutionary leap.
It is important to realize that even those who plot in greedy ways will use conspiracy theories and disempowering rumors to their advantage. I hear a lot about secret concentration camps being built, and martial law. Consider this. Just because I dig a grave for you, doesn't mean you have to choose to die, but if I wanted to steal your power and distract you from more empowering choices I might tell you that I am digging your grave so you will fear this potential enough to create it with your thoughts. I don't care how many secret bases are built, there are not enough people involved with any of these distorted plans to make them work. It is we who will challenge everyone to choose the world of oneness if they want to stay in the game. We are aligning now with the power of one, and we will remake the world with our oneness.
Beware of the illusion of an ominous and elusive force of control that feels disempowering. This is an illusion! There are a lot of people who are very emotional right now about fear based secretive things that are not being reported in the mainstream media, but what we also don't see in the main stream media is that the forces of peace, love and light have already achieved victory!!! What is coming is oneness, peace and abundance, and no one can stop it. It is natural for people to fear the change. The old system is coming to an end, but there is no reason to energize a fear vision by spreading rumors about secret concentration camps.
Start spreading the news that the revelation of humanity's oneness is awakening now. Tell people not to be distracted by fear potentials, because the Power of One is here now, and we are ending the fear with the love of one humanity. The Earth is going to be healed from the pollution of the past. The balance of nature is going to be restored. The end of debt is coming. The end of war is near. The angels are about to open a doorway that will allow a greater level of divine intervention than every before! Its true, we are in for a wild ride, but there is nothing to fear.
Angels be with you,
Michael White http://www.thepromisedkey.com
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THE QUOTES
"Dear Ones a high point has been achieved through the ongoing expectation of the arrival of the Forces of Light, and that is so important to the final outcome of First Contact. Having been presented with a firm announcement connected with the “Sighting” rather than a mere possibility; it has confronted many souls who were not ready for such an enormous event. The result has been a shock to their system, over and above the normal reaction to the many sightings that have been taking place with ever increasing regularity. With all of the confusion and chaos already making people tense and worried, yet another matter of mind wrenching capability has created a degree of tension that was not envisaged. In the interests of those people, the sighting has been curtailed for a short time until a more receptive response is registered."
"Every word you utter and every action you take affects the world around you. Even though there are many closed minds, there are still many open souls receptive to the waves of truth that emanate forth from your very presence. You can never be fully conscious of the full impact of the light you absorb, transform, and create, but you should know that your ripples extend in all directions into the waters of time further than you can possibly imagine."
"If Obama wins, he'll put a liberal spin on policy, just as Clinton did. Interventions will be 'humanitarian', and policies will be to 'help the little people'. If McCain wins, he'll put a conservative spin on policy, like a Bush or Reagan would do. Interventions will be a show of 'US strength', and policies will be to 'make America strong'. The underlying policies themselves will be decided for other reasons and by other people. A change of Presidents is like a change of advertising campaigns for a soft drink; the product itself still tastes the same, but it now has a new 'image'. "
"We can all work towards moving beyond the old paradigm of duality and polarization. By recognizing and working to see the place in all people that wants only to love and be loved, we open the doors to a more peaceful world, and to deep healing and more meaningful connection for all of us. Let us then join together to support a new paradigm of love, healing, and empowerment for all who inhabit our planet. Together, we can transform our lives and world by choosing to move beyond duality and polarization to the recognition of the common humanity we all share."
1. Fear and Change
2. Embracing Happiness
3. Meltdown Strategies: Financial Disaster and Climate Change
4. America Awake: A Declaration of Interdependence
5. Awakened Community and a New Earth
6. This is not a Fantasy World - Take Inspired Action
7. The Venus Project
8. This Is What Denial Does
9. ROLLING STONE: It's Already Stolen
10. Islamic finance rides the storm
11. Tape Blows Cover On True Treasury Intentions
12. EU Leaders Call for Global Currency
13. The Meltdown We Really Can't Afford
14. How Badly Can the 'Experts' Ruin the Planet?
15. World Watch: Deforestation: A partially manmade disaster
16. The October 14th Event
17. October 15 message from SaLuSa
Proof that the Gigantic UFO over Shanghai, is a hoax!! http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=1JH1BVjw5_o
Actually this video is a tricked version of a video shot on 31/05/07 of someone illegally scaling a skyscraper. Note from Jean: I've included at the very end of this compilation -after the October 15 message from SaLuSa- several related commentaries, news articles, as well as my own comments on this.
MOST SIGNIFICANT and UNDENIABLE UFO VIDEOS OF ALL TIME WERE CAUGHT ON TAPE in ISTANBUL!
(Note from Jean: Rather poor, shaky footage - but around 12 min 30 sec into it there's a relatively stable shot -- see for yourself!)
footagefootagehttp://www.faxonwashington.org/
On October 1st 2008 Paradigm Research Group (PRG) launched a new initiative with the aim of motivating 1 million letters, faxes, emails to the new President elect. Obama or McCain should: 1) demand and receive a full briefing by his military services and intelligence agencies regarding the extraterrestrial presence and related phenomena, 2) support convening congressional hearings to take testimony from scores of former military and agency employees regarding extraterrestrial phenomena, and 3) formally acknowledge to the American people the extraterrestrial presence - Disclosure. CLIP Check also Ongoing AOL News Poll (1 vote per IP address) Do you think Earth has been visited by aliens? Yes 81% (110,750) No 19% (25,979) Do you believe that life exists elsewhere in the universe? Yes 93% (129,065) No 7% (9,715)
Perceiving Reality - BRILLIANTLY PRODUCED VIDEO http://www.perceivingreality.com/
This is ultimately designed to introduce people to the Kabbalah. Just so that you know. Recommended by Gary Toth (gwtoth@yahoo.com) who wrote in the ERN guesbook: "Jean, I received this from a friend today and couldn't help but think of your newsletter. Hope it can add to the lives of those who see this. To see a concise 2 min. dramatization on how the senses limit our perception of reality click on the link above. They offer a different path than Buddhism, but it's interesting to see how different people have come up with a similar schematic." (NOTE: Actually it lasts about 5 minutes)
Director Kim Kindersley proudly announces the release of the long awaited film - Whaledreamers http://www.whaledreamers.com/
With the current concerns over global warming and the future of humanity seemingly hanging in the balance comes a story of hope, awakening and reconciliation.Whaledreamers is the heartfelt story of the return of an aboriginal whale dreaming tribe from the edge of extinction and the equally, long journey of the whales, not only to survive the slaughter by man, but to engage the human race into waking up in time. At a time when our collective consciousness is focused on issues pertaining to our indigenous ancestors and the fragile state of our environment, comes a powerful film, which unites four people from very different cultures. One a song man from a dispossessed aboriginal tribe, Bunna Lawrie; another, a filmmaker from a distant land, British director, Kim Kindersley; the third, musician and activist, Julian Lennon, and lastly acclaimed Australian actor and story teller, Jack Thompson.Over fifteen years in the making, across five continents and oceans, Whaledreamers is a personal odyssey for British filmmaker, Kim Kindersley in his quest to find his spiritual roots, while experiencing the extraordinary connection, both ancient and modern, between humanity and the cetaceans.“Indigenous wisdom has never been more relevant for humanity than now.” - Julian Lennon
Inspired Musical Messages Designed To "Inspire, Delight, Heal & Enlighten" http://lightparty.com/Artainment/MusicalGifts.html
LOTS of wonderful, soothing music for free - a gift from Da Vid (globalpeace999@aol.com)
The World Record http://www.one.org/international/standup08/?id=623-3936074-Y3VHtcx&t=2
43.7 million is the world record for the number of people standing up against poverty. Starting Friday, we’re going to try and break that record. October 17-19, activists from over 100 countries will Stand Up and Take Action against extreme poverty and hopefully set a new world record of 67 million people—or 1% of humanity—standing up against poverty. To be counted, please sign up to let us know you’ll be standing up... This vast number of people standing together is a powerful statement of our global commitment to end extreme poverty.
Forget impeachment - Try Bush for murder http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/395.html
Vincent Bugliosi lays it out -- You can make this happen. Charlotte Dennett is running for Attorney General of the State of Vermont. If she wins, she will use her office to indict George Bush for the murder of the citizens of Vermont who were killed in his fraudulent war. You can support her efforts here: http://www.charlottedennettforattorneygeneral.com Forget impeachment. Try Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld and all the rest for murder. Former LA Deputy District Attorney, who successfully prosecuted, dozens of murder cases, makes the case that George Bush is indictable for murder.Any state or city that had a citizen killed in the course of the Iraq War is eligible for pressing charges and bringing these lying psychopaths to justice. This is not a pipe dream. The law exists to indict Bush and his co-conspirators on murder charges the minute he is no longer president. Nothing could possibly be more important for the future of this country than to bring these criminals to justice.
Xiuhtezcatl for Obama http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wuWA7ma_5cA
8 year old Aztec boy speaks out for Obama and encourages families to vote for their children's future by voting for Obama. "We are VERY proud of our 8 year old grandson, Xiuhtezcatl, who is calling us all to take serious responsibility for the state of affairs of the planet and the well being of future generations. After seeing the movie, the Eleventh Hour, he was so impacted that he wanted to speak out and make a difference. His call is to support Obama and be the change we seek!!!!" - Katharine and Makasha Roske (katharine@globalfamily.net) - recommended by Jaiia Earthschild (jaiia_earthschild@yahoo.com)
EU takes a ¤2 trillion financial gamble (October 14 2008) http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/14/europe-europeanbanks
The governments of Europe yesterday embarked on their biggest financial gamble since the launch of the euro single currency with the boldest financial rescue scheme ever seen. They are pledging to buy up tottering banks, underwrite their lending, and flood the markets with liquidity in a package that could run to a staggering ¤2tn in total across the EU.In a closely coordinated rash of announcements and observing the same rules and similar conditions, Germany, France, Austria, and Spain unveiled packages worth hundreds of billions of euros aimed at shoring up their banks and financial systems, while Italy, Sweden, Poland, and Norway prepared parallel action.The radical and risky moves followed an emergency summit of the 15 single currency countries in Paris on Sunday night which agreed a set of rules and instruments for the unprecedented state interventions modelled on the British government's triple-pronged strategy unveiled last week.The scale, ambition and potential costs of the programmes announced yesterday suggested that European leaders such as Gordon Brown, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, were determined to rise to the challenge of the financial crisis through concerted action, displaying a degree of leadership that put Washington, the global economic leader, in the shade. CLIP
Europe stuns with ¤1.5 trillion bank rescue, as France plays role of saviour (October 14, 2008) http://tinyurl.com/4n66yd
Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Holland and Austria have joined forces to launch the greatest bank bail-out in history, offering over ¤1.5 trillion in guarantees and fresh capital in a "shock and awe" blitz to halt the credit panic.
Coming Soon: The 600 Trillion Derivatives Emergency Meeting (October 13, 2008) http://seekingalpha.com/article/99674-coming-soon-the-600-trillion-derivatives-emergency-meeting
Here is an update on the size of the derivatives market with the latest official figures from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Hold your breath, as we are not anymore talking paltry billions but TRILLIONS of whichever fiat currency.Current emergency meetings on banks and markets are still only in the stage where politicians and central bankers are bickering over how to create a few more hundred billions Euros and FRNs. But toxic MBS pale in comparison to the mushrooming growth of the derivatives market. According to figures released in the quarterly review of the BIS (pp A103) in September the total notional amount of outstanding derivatives in all categories rose 15% to a mindboggling $596 TRILLION as of December 2007. (...) Even when taking the lowest of these figures shudders run down my spine. All emergency talks have so far focused on a few hundred billions in fiat currencies, but the current nervousness demonstrated by hectic talks of finance ministers and central bankers all over the globe should give everybody a vague idea that something here may blow up any day. This pool of so far silent derivatives without a major bust can come to life any day with the failure of a multinational financial firm.The BIS review is a good way to grasp the dimensions long term monetary expansion has brought upon us. A net risk of $14 TRILLION compares with the annual GDP of the USA. Nobody, absolutely nobody can afford this tab in the case of an unorderly unwinding of this market that is roughly 12 times the size of the global economy. I conclude a lot more paper promises will be burnt in the coming derivatives tsunami. CLIP
Gates Predicts 'Significant Recession,' More Job Loss (October 13, 2008) http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aF20xiBJxvXc
Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates said the U.S. economy is headed for a "fairly significant recession,'' and that the unemployment rate may peak at more than 9 percent. Higher personal and governmental debt are contributing to the U.S. economic slowdown, Gates said today in comments at Harvard Business School in Boston. The U.S. unemployment rate climbed to 6.1 percent in August and stayed at that level in September. (...) The International Monetary Fund said last week in its World Economic Outlook that global growth will slow to 3 percent in 2009, from 3.9 percent this year and 5 percent in 2007. That would mean a world recession under the fund's informal definition -- growth of 3 percent or less. The U.S., where the 2 1/2 year-old nosedive in the housing market is damaging the rest of the economy, is the epicenter of that slump. Gross domestic product contracted in the third quarter and is set to shrink further in the fourth, according to a survey of 52 economists by Bloomberg News this month. CLIP
US Economy Collapsing http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=4dpJL6ANnV0
Recommended by Terri (seventhsister@mac.com) who wrote: "This 10 minute selection is about the fractional banking system even if you know how this works already. This is a very clear explanation of how the system works and why we are where we are today and where things may be going tomorrow. This is a must view." To which I replied after watching it: "I was aware of the fractional banking system but this simple video presentation makes it abundantly clear just how irrational and skewed in favor of the bankers this whole debt system is!" The following is the complementary info related to this video:
Over 90% of America did not want to passage of HR3997. The US Congress was held at "Executive Gun Point" and told: "you either pass this bill or we will declare martial law." The most painful part of HR3997 is the shift in the final bill. What was the shift? Unbeknownst to the American people, however, is that since September 20th, the $700 billion bailout bill signed into law by their President yesterday was expanded from its original 3 pages to a 451 page virtual novel of new laws virtually enslaving them to the foreign holders of their debt. In addition, there are reports circulating in the Kremlin today are stating that the first deployment of Chinas elite People's Armed Police (PAP) under an agreement signed between the United States and China, and US Homeowners Soon To Be Evicted By Chinese Police Under New Law HR3997. Even more disturbing, these reports continue, are that these new laws not only give Chinese and European banks control over the mortgage debt of the American people, they now include their credit card balances, and which virtually the entire US populace have indebtedness to. To how utterly chilling this new US law for the American people, titled the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, Russian legal experts point out in these reports that: Section 101 (a)(1) establishes what is termed the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to which substantial portions of what the American people currently owe to their banks and financial institutions is to be turned over the US Government for redistribution to foreign banks. Section 101(c)(3) Designates for the first time in American history these foreign banks as financial agents of Federal Government with full law enforcement authority over the citizens in the US. Section 3 (b) allows the US Secretary of the Treasury to put any kind of debt, including credit card, home loans, personal loans, automobile loans, etc., into the TARP programme. Section 112 allows the US Secretary of the Treasury to astoundingly extend financing to foreign banks to purchase the debt of the American people. Section 112 (1)(a) allows the US Government to hold stocks in companies for the first time in their history and which completely destroys the capitalist economy of their Nation. Section 119 (2)(a) gives the US Secretary of the Treasury dictatorial powers not reviewable by courts making this position the most powerful one in America. Section 122 increases the US public debt to the incredible amount of $11,315,000,000,000 (Trillion) Section 204 puts the United States under emergency economic rule and states, "all provisions of this Act are designated as an emergency requirement and necessary to meet emergency needs. The clip here is from the newest addition of Zeitgeist explaining the Federal Reserve. Money Mechanics, the document explained in this clip may be found at: http://landru.i-link-2.net/monques/mmm2.html - Clip from Zeitgeist Addendum at http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/
America Has Died - To Thunderous Applause (15 Oct 2008) http://market-ticker.denninger.net/archives/608-America-Has-Died-To-Thunderous-Applause.html
America's House and Senate, just a couple of short weeks ago, passed a law that was denounced by The American People, where representatives and senators were receiving calls 50:50 against - 50% "No" and 50% "Hell No".In response, Wall Street banks employed spam-call-banks to "counter" this outpouring of public opinion and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies broke the law by sending out emails and other communications that essentially threatened their employees with loss of their job if they did not lobby for this horrible bill to be passed.The bill passed after Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke threatened Congress with the imposition of Martial Law. Yeah. Tanks in the streets stuff. Literally. This was disclosed in the well of the house by a few brave representatives, including Representative Sherman. Were you told this was how Congress was browbeaten into passing this law? Were you told that Congress was essentially threatened that tanks would be deployed into our cities and towns if Congress did not pass this bad law that Paulson and Bernanke demanded?Well, yes you were. Representative Sherman disclosed this fact in an impassioned speech in the Well of the House. Did CNBC or CNN report that? No, but CSPAN did carry it. If you watched.
100 Days to Restore the Constitution http://ccrjustice.org/100days
Over the last eight years, the Bush administration has systematically dismantled some of the most important rights and protections in the United States Constitution. In the first 100 days of office, the next president can, often with the stroke of a pen, restore, protect, and expand the fundamental rights on which our nation was founded. It is up to all of us to see that he does. The Center for Constitutional Rights' 100 Days Campaign focuses on the harm done by previous administrations and the hopes we have for making the country a better place for all. Join us in telling the next administration what you want to see in the first 100 days. Look for a series of white papers, videos, speaking tours and online activism that will bring these issues front and center in the public debate. CLIP Check also Watch CCR in Naomi Wolf film, THE END OF AMERICA We are excited to announce the web release of "THE END OF AMERICA" - a feature-length documentary based on Naomi Wolf's bestselling book of the same name - this coming Tuesday, October 21. (...) Naomi Wolf, a long-time supporter and ally of CCR, set out on a national tour over the past year to discuss the evolution of America from a functional democracy into a closed, fear-driven society with a terrifying absence of due process. She lays out what she calls the 10 steps necessary to end a democracy and shows us just how close we are to completing them: - Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy. - Create secret prisons where torture takes place. - Develop a thug caste or paramilitary force not answerable to citizens. - Set up an internal surveillance system. - Harass citizens' groups. - Engage in arbitrary detention and release. - Target key individuals. - Control the press. - Treat all political dissents as traitors. - Suspend the rule of law. In her film, Naomi Wolf makes a plea for Americans to stand up and fight for our most cherished rights. CLIP
Dear Conservatives, Will You Help Save the Republic from Military Takeover? By Naomi Wolf, (October 18, 2008) http://www.alternet.org/rights/103554/dear_conservatives%2C_will_you_help_save_the_republic_from_military_takeover/
Dear Conservative America: I am reaching out with a warning to you that is as heartfelt as the one I have been bringing my fellow citizens for months. But you are the most important audience of all for this, because you hold the key to whether or not we can save our republic in time.I have been arguing that we are seeing the classic building blocks being laid for a police state: My thesis in The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot is that we are seeing the classic 10 steps being set in place that always underlie a violent police state. My argument in its sequel, Give Me Liberty, is that we must rise up as tactically and effectively as patriots to stop this suppression of freedom. I hope to persuade you of the profound moral repugnance a true conservative should feel for the plans that are afoot in this nation. CLIP
Seven Steps to Transform the Global Financial "Crisis" by Alfred Lambremont Webre (Oct. 6, 2008) http://peaceinspace.blogs.com/911/2008/10/cap-policies-solution-to-global-financial-crisis.html
(...) The current Globalist Financial Crisis is a Financial False Flag operation. It is a controlled collapse of the globalist economic system, engineered by an international war crimes racketeering organization. The globalist financial system is being intentionally destabilized with the same technologies that the government of Salvador Allende was destabilized in Chile by Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon on behalf of David Rockefeller and the Rothschilds, resulting in Allende's assassination on September 11, 1973. The Financial False Flag designed to accelerate the deterioration of First World economies, democracies, and prosperity, in aid of a larger program of global depopulation. The same powers who control the Federal Reserve Bank are intent on depopulating between 1/3 and 2/3 of the current human population, in service to a grotesque covert elite plan.Solution to the "Crisis"There is no crisis. The "crisis" is a False Flag economic destabilization, a False Flag attack. Therefore, eliminate the enemy that created the False Flag attack - the Federal Reserve Bank - as a first step. CLIP
Curbing Social Protest in America: Microwave "Non-lethal" Weapons to be used for "Crowd Control" (October 14, 2008) http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10564
Just in Time for the Capitalist Meltdown: Army, Justice Department to Field 'Pain Ray'. (...) With the American automative industry in a death-spiral as a result of capital's historic credit crunch, what better means to "rescue" the industry than buying a fleet of Ford 550's for "crowd control."Particularly handy for deployment in American cities should "rioters" object to a stolen presidential election or the state moves to terminate what little is left of the social "safety net" (in the interest of kick-starting the "recovery," of course) Silent Guardian is a product whose time has come!(...) The Active Denial System (ADS) produces a beam of electromagnetic millimetre waves; such radiation is absorbed in the upper 0.4 mm of skin. The beam stays approximately 2 m wide out to many hundreds of metres. With a power of 100 kilowatts, the beam can heat the skin of target subjects to pain-producing temperature levels within seconds. With a prototype weapon, mounted in a military multi-purpose vehicle, the effects have been tested on hundreds of volunteers. In order to produce pain while preventing burn injury, the power and duration of emission for one trigger event is controlled by a software program. Model calculations show that with the highest power setting, second- and third-degree burns with complete dermal necrosis will occur after less than 2 seconds. Even with a lower setting of power or duration there is the possibility for the operator to re-trigger immediately. (...) Yes, you did read that correctly: "to avoid vilification" it was recommended that the pain beam "should be used on crowds in the US first." Dr. Altmann continues, As a consequence, the ADS provides the technical possibility to produce burns of second and third degree. Because the beam of diameter 2 m and above is wider than human size, such burns would occur over considerable parts of the body, up to 50% of its surface. Second- and third-degree burns covering more than 20% of the body surface are potentially life-threatening--due to toxic tissue-decay products and increased sensitivity to infection--and require intensive care in a specialised unit. Without a technical device that reliably prevents re-triggering on the same target subject, the ADS has a potential to produce permanent injury or death. (...) Yet despite these risks, the National Institute of Justice in a cool "risk-benefit" analysis worthy of Dr. Mengele, is very much interested in a "hand-held, probably rifle-sized, short range weapon that could be effective at tens of feet for law enforcement officials."As global capitalism enters a new and potentially "terminal" phase of its disintegration, the U.S. ruling class and their European "partners" will increasingly resort to escalating levels of violence--from the criminalization of dissent to martial law--should "domestic terrorist" threats "get out of hand." A general deployment of "non-lethal weapons" for use in "homeland" cities clearly has a prominent role to play along this repressive continuum. As Durham University geographer Stephen Graham avers, Those experiencing frequent 'terrorist' labelling by national governments or sympathetic media since 9/11 include anti-war dissenters, critical researchers, anti-globalization protestors, anti-arms-trade campaigners, ecological and freedom of speech lobbyists, and pro-independence campaigners within nations like Indonesia allied to the US. Protagonists of such a wide spectrum of opposition to transnational US dominance are thus all too easily dehumanized or demonized. Above all, they become radically delegitimized. Who, after all, will speak out in favour of 'terrorists' and their sympathizers? CLIP
FEMA sources confirm coming martial law (October 9, 2008) http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10504
WMR has learned from knowledgeable Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sources that the Bush administration is putting the final touches on a plan that would see martial law declared in the United States with various scenarios anticipated as triggers. The triggers include a continuing economic collapse with massive social unrest, bank closures resulting in violence against financial institutions, and another fraudulent presidential election that would result in rioting in major cities and campuses around the country. In addition, Army Corps of Engineer sources report that the assignment of the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT) to the Northern Command's U.S. Army North is to augment FEMA and federal law enforcement in the imposition of traffic controls, crowd control, curfews, enhanced border and port security, and neighborhood patrols in the event a national emergency being declared. The BCT was assigned to duties in Iraq before being assigned to the Northern Command. On April 3, 2008, WMR reported on a highly-classified document regarding the martial law scenario: WMR has learned from knowledgeable sources within the US financial community that an alarming confidential and limited distribution document is circulating among senior members of Congress and their senior staff members that is warning of a bleak future for the United States if it does not quickly get its financial house in order. CLIP
WORLD BANK UNDER CYBER SIEGE IN 'UNPRECEDENTED CRISIS!' (October 15, 2008) http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,435681,00.html
The World Bank Group's computer network, one of the largest repositories of sensitive data about the economies of every nation, has been raided repeatedly by outsiders for more than a year, FOX News has learned. It is still not known how much information was stolen. But sources inside the bank confirm that servers in the institution's highly restricted treasury unit were deeply penetrated with spy software last April. Invaders also had full access to the rest of the bank's network for nearly a month in June and July.
Pentagon Wants $450 Billion Increase Over Next Five Years - HOW ABOUT SLASHING THIS BY 90% INSTEAD! http://www.truthout.org/101108Z
Josh Rogin, Congressional Quarterly: "Pentagon officials have prepared a new estimate for defense spending that is $450 billion more over the next five years than previously announced figures. The new estimate, which the Pentagon plans to release shortly before President Bush leaves office, would serve as a marker for the new president and is meant to place pressure on him to either drastically increase the size of the defense budget or defend any reluctance to do so, according to several former senior budget officials who are close to the discussions."
Private Military Contractors Writing the News? The Pentagon's Propaganda at Its Worst http://www.truthout.org/101708T
Liliana Segura, AlterNet: "Less than a week after the Washington Post reported that the Department of Defense will pay private contractors $300 million over the next three years to 'produce news stories, entertainment programs and public service advertisements for the Iraqi media in an effort to "engage and inspire" the local population to support US objectives and the Iraqi government,' Virginia Sen. Jim Webb wrote a strongly worded letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates."
Iraqis stage mass anti-US rally ( 18 October 2008) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7677551.stm
Supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr have staged a mass demonstration in Baghdad in protest against plans to extend the US mandate in Iraq.An estimated 50,000 protesters chanted slogans such as "Get out occupier!".Iraqi and US negotiators drafted the deal after months of talks but it still needs approval from Iraq's government.Under the agreement US troops would withdraw by 2011, and Iraq would have the right to prosecute Americans who commit crimes while off-duty.The UN mandate for US-led coalition forces expires at the end of this year. About 144,000 of the 152,000 foreign troops deployed there are US military personnel. CLIP
The Coming Collapse of Globalization by Curtis Lang (February 8, 2008) Please note the date this was released! ERN long-time subscriber Curtis Lang had correctly predicted what is happening! http://www.satyacenter.com/coming-collapse-of-globalization
(...) This month, the stars are impelling me to devote this newsletter primarily to an analysis of the impending global financial storm, centered in the United States.I believe we are witnessing the slow motion collapse of the current financial system, known as “globalization”, which is shorthand for a whole range of political, economic and social policies, including laissez-faire Utopian capitalism and its trickle-down economics, Reaganomics, free trade and the leveling down of global wages, human rights and environmental protection, financial deregulation and corporate oligarchy. For over a decade social reformers have waged an intermittent but high-profile mass movement protesting the current system, and anti-globalization protests have become a common occurrence from Washington to Europe to Japan. But now it looks like this mass campaign will not be necessary to topple the neo-liberal economic ideology that has had the world in its fevered grip for the last twenty-five years – the system is toppling of its own weight in a slow-motion collapse that will make the chaos that accompanied the unraveling of the Soviet Empire look like a Boy Scout jamboree. Isn’t that just a little bit excessive, you may ask. Could I be hyper-ventilating? Perhaps too much pranayama has fried my brain. Well, unfortunately, the more pranayama I do the sharper I get and the more this looks like a major financial meltdown of historical proportions. CLIP -- Now CHECK his MOST comprehensive and interesting October 2008 Financial Meltdown Newsletter at http://www.satyacenter.com/financial-meltdown-newsletter - Here is a brief excerpt: "Now is the time to demand reforms that level the financial playing field, and to create new laws, rules and regulations that will guarantee transparency and accountability on the part of Wall Street financiers and Washington political wizards.It has become clear that the entire political system in America is geared toward meeting the needs of the financiers at the expense of the productive economy, the middle class, all taxpayers, and the rest of the world. If Washington can find $700 billion in one day to bail out Wall Street bankers, then we can surely find the money to provide the middle class with affordable mortgages, affordable health care, affordable education, and good jobs with good pay. In fact the future success of the entire financial system depends upon providing the middle class with these rights and benefits. If there is no middle class, there will be no market for the products and services provided by big business, and thus there will be no future profits for the financiers.If Washington can spend $700 billion in one day to bail out Henry Paulson’s friends and associates, we DO have the money to protect the environment and to jump-start a Green Technology industry in this country that could be the envy of the world. We do have the money to reset mortgages to lower, affordable prices that reflect reality and to keep millions of Americans in their homes. We have the ability to rewrite the rules of the political and financial games we play so they are more democratic, more equitable, and more beneficial to the society as a whole, while protecting the environment and the future of our children."
Canada rated world's soundest bank system: survey (Oct 9, 2008) http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4981X220081009?sp=true
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Canada has the world's soundest banking system, closely followed by Sweden, Luxembourg and Australia, a survey by the World Economic Forum has found as financial crisis and bank failures shake world markets. But Britain, which once ranked in the top five, has slipped to 44th place behind El Salvador and Peru, after a 50 billion pound ($86.5 billion) pledge this week by the government to bolster bank balance sheets. The United States, where some of Wall Street's biggest financial names have collapsed in recent weeks, rated only 40, just behind Germany at 39, and smaller states such as Barbados, Estonia and even Namibia, in southern Africa. The United States was on Thursday considering buying a slice of debt-laden banks to inject trust back into lending between financial institutions now too wary of one another to lend. The World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report based its findings on opinions of executives, and handed banks a score between 1.0 (insolvent and possibly requiring a government bailout) and 7.0 (healthy, with sound balance sheets). Canadian banks received 6.8, just ahead of Sweden (6.7), Luxembourg (6.7), Australia (6.7) and Denmark (6.7). CLIP
Obama Talks Tough About Afghanistan; Here's What He's Really in For (October 10, 2008) http://www.alternet.org/audits/102340/obama_talks_tough_about_afghanistan%3B_here%27s_what_he%27s_really_in_for/
(...) Seldom mentioned here, however, is a grotesque irony: as the U.S. seems to be experiencing the beginning stages of its imperial implosion, it is also -- as the Soviet Union was in the 1980s -- mired in a war without end in Afghanistan against a ragtag army of Afghan insurgents supported by foreign jihadist volunteers. One difference, of course: The Soviets were, in part, brought to the edge of bankruptcy and collapse by a war supported to the hilt, and to the tune of billions of dollars as well as massive infusions of weaponry, by the other superpower. The U.S. is heading for its analogous moment without an enemy superpower in sight. If anything, a single man -- Osama bin Laden -- might be said to have filled the former superpower role, which, were the results less grim, would be little short of farcical. That this has come to pass is, of course, partly the result of the Bush administration's many imperial blunders, including its invasion of Iraq and its urge to garrison the oil lands of the planet from the Middle East to Central Asia. Like all historical analogies, the Afghan one may be less than exact, but it does stare us in the face and, eerie as it is, it's hard to account for its absence from discussion here in the U.S. If you want to grasp just how deeply the United States is now entangled in its own catastrophic Afghan War, you need only read the following report. For obvious reasons, it's rare for TomDispatch to have on-the-spot reporting. So consider this an exceptional exception. Anand Gopal is a superb young journalist who writes regularly for the Christian Science Monitor. Here, he considers the failed U.S. surge in Afghanistan -- yes, there was one back in 2007 -- as well as the costs for Afghan civilians and the increasingly powerful Taliban insurgency that has emerged from it. His report could not be more vivid or more sobering for a country readying itself, under a new president, to pour yet more troops into Afghanistan. CLIP
Civilian dead are a trade-off in Nato's war of barbarity (October 16 2008) http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/16/afghanistan-nato
The killing of innocent Afghans by US bombs is the result of a calculation, not just a mistake. And it is fuelling resistance -- While the eyes of the western world have been fixed on the global financial crisis, the military campaign that launched the war on terror has been spinning out of control. Seven years after the US and Britain began their onslaught on Afghanistan to oust the Taliban and capture Osama bin Laden, the Taliban surround the capital, al-Qaida is flourishing in Pakistan and the war's sponsors have publicly fallen out about whether it has already been lost.As the US joint chiefs of staff chairman Admiral Mike Mullen concedes that the country is locked into a "downward spiral" of corruption, lawlessness and insurgency, Britain's ambassador in Kabul, Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, is quoted in a leaked briefing as declaring that "American strategy is destined to fail". The same diplomat who told us last year that British forces would be in Afghanistan for decades now believes foreign troops are "part of the problem, not the solution". The British commander Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith was last week even blunter. "We're not going to win this war," he said, adding that if the Taliban were prepared to "talk about a political settlement", that was "precisely the sort of progress that concludes insurgencies like this". The double-barrelled duo were duly slapped down by US defence secretary Robert Gates for defeatism. But even Gates now publicly backs talks with the Taliban, which are in fact already taking place under Saudi sponsorship. This is the conflict western politicians and media continue to urge their reluctant populations to support as a war for civilisation. In reality, it is a war of barbarity, whose contempt for the value of Afghan life has fuelled the very resistance that western military and political leaders are now unable to contain.In this year alone, for every occupation soldier killed, at least three Afghan civilians have died at the hands of occupation forces. CLIP
Former McCain Supporter: McCain Is "Unleashing the Monster of American Prejudice" By Amy Goodman (October 13, 2008) http://www.alternet.org/rights/102837/former_mccain_supporter%3A_mccain_is_%22unleashing_the_monster_of_american_prejudice%22/
(...) "John McCain: If your campaign does not stop equating Sen. Barack Obama with terrorism, questioning his patriotism and portraying Mr. Obama as 'not one of us,' I accuse you of deliberately feeding the most unhinged elements of our society the red meat of hate, and therefore of potentially instigating violence. At a Sarah Palin rally, someone called out, 'Kill him!' At one of your rallies, someone called out, 'Terrorist!' Neither was answered or denounced by you or your running mate, as the crowd laughed and cheered. At your campaign event Wednesday in Bethlehem, Pa., the crowd was seething with hatred for the Democratic nominee -- an attitude encouraged in speeches there by you, your running mate, your wife and the local Republican chairman. Shame! John McCain: In 2000, as a lifelong Republican, I worked to get you elected instead of George W. Bush. In return, you wrote an endorsement of one of my books about military service. You seemed to be a man who put principle ahead of mere political gain. You have changed. You have a choice: Go down in history as a decent senator and an honorable military man with many successes, or go down in history as the latest abettor of right-wing extremist hate. John McCain, you are no fool, and you understand the depths of hatred that [surround] the issue of race in this country. You also know that, post-9/11, to call someone a friend of a terrorist is a very serious matter. You also know we are [a bitterly divided country] on many other issues. You know that, sadly, in America, violence is always just a moment away. You know that there are plenty of crazy people out there. Stop! Think! Your rallies are beginning to look, sound, feel and smell like lynch mobs. John McCain, you're walking a perilous line. If you do not stand up for all that is good in America and declare that Senator Obama is a patriot, fit for office, and denounce your hate-filled supporters when they scream out 'Terrorist' or 'Kill him,' history will hold you responsible for all that follows. John McCain and Sarah Palin, you are playing with fire, and you know it. You are unleashing the monster of American hatred and prejudice, to the peril of all of us. You are doing this in wartime. You are doing this as our economy collapses. You are doing this in a country with a history of assassinations. Change the atmosphere of your campaign. Talk about the issues at hand. Make your case. But stop stirring up the lunatic fringe of haters, or risk suffering the judgment of history and the loathing of the American people -- forever. We will hold you responsible."
So that was the piece, and it got quite a response, actually. I've been swamped with email, and encouragingly, most of it favorable. CLIP
GOP Attacks on ACORN Are Based on the Fear of 1.3 Million New Voters (October 13, 2008) http://www.alternet.org/democracy/102685/gop_attacks_on_acorn_are_based_on_the_fear_of_1.3_million_new_voters/
The Republicans tried to make fun of Barack Obama as a community organizer at their national convention in Minnesota, which I guess just goes to show how little Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have to fear from right-wing "humor."Now they've gone further: Now they're attacking ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), one of the strongest, hardest-working, most dedicated community organizations in both Chicago and in 40 states across the U.S. Why are they after ACORN? Well, I'm sure they're going to come up with a lot of "reasons" in the coming days. But the real reason is obvious: Because ACORN, along with Project Vote, just announced that they had successfully registered 1.3 million poor people this year.Get that? 1.3 million, including 148,000 in Pennsylvania, 152,000 in Florida, 217,000 in Michigan, and 238,000 in Ohio. No wonder the GOP is up in arms. They're scared of too many poor people preparing to vote this year.In the last week, the right wing has tried to blame ACORN for the collapse of the globalized financial system--yeah, that's a viable argument. They got excited because they found a some possible fake registration forms in Florida, which predictably led to a bunch of whining from the party that stole an entire presidency from Al Gore by blocking vote counts, mischaracterizing voters as felons, refusing to recount entire counties, sending congressional staff down to riot and intimidate volunteer vote-counters, and topped it all off with the most partisan, badly-reasoned, illegitimate Supreme Court decision since Plessy v. Ferguson. A decision so illegitimate that the partisan majority, to their eternal discredit, themselves damned by writing into their own decision that it should never be used as a precedent for any other court ruling. This week, the right-wing is hyperventilating because apparently Democratic election officials raided an ACORN office after they found the names of some Dallas Cowboy football players among the 80,000 new registration forms that ACORN helped to get done in Nevada. CLIP
Groups: ACORN Attacks Meant to Suppress Vote http://www.truthout.org/101608M
Chris Good, The Hill: "Left-leaning groups Wednesday came to the defense of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), accusing Republicans of seeking to suppress voter turnout by attacking the group. 'This latest attack on ACORN follows a sorry pattern, played out in election after election,' said Julian Bond, chairman of the NAACP, outlining what he called a history of voter suppression tactics by the Republican Party."
ACORN Responds to Senator McCain’s Desperate Attack (October 15, 2008) http://www.acorn.org/index.php?id=12439&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=22392&tx_ttnews[backPid]=12387&cHash=cde29e8614
"We appreciate Senator McCain's effort to stir up the Republican base by attacking a community organization working to increase public participation in our democratic process. However, these attacks reflect an increasingly panicked candidate. Unfortunately, the Senator McCain we saw tonight is very different than the Senator McCain who stood shoulder to shoulder with ACORN at a February 20, 2006 immigration reform event.It is clear for us to see that John McCain was for ACORN before he was against ACORN; he was for reform before he was against reform; and he was a maverick before he became erratic. What is really going on here is that Senator McCain and his allies are part of a coordinated effort to engage in what appears to be an unprecedented effort to suppress voter turnout. Repeating a lie doesn't make it true, and the McCain campaign has resorted to the worst type of deceptions in regards to ACORN." The Facts: ACORN has helped 1.3 million citizens from all parties and all walks of life apply for voter registration. In most states, ACORN is required by law to turn in every voter registration card - even in cases where the cards are not valid. It is ACORN that has reported almost all of the issues regarding voter registration cards to elections officials, and flagged the suspicious cards. Invalid voter registration cards do NOT constitute voter fraud. Even RNC General Counsel Sean Cairncross has recently acknowledged he is not aware of a single improper vote cast as a result of bad cards submitted in the course of an organized voter registration effort. ACORN hired 13,000 field workers to register people to vote. In any endeavor of this size, some people will engage in inappropriate conduct. ACORN has a zero tolerance policy and terminated any field workers caught engaging in questionable activity. At the end of the day, as ACORN is paying these people to register voters, it is ACORN that is defrauded.
Video: McCain Attended ACORN Convention Two Years Ago http://newsone.blackplanet.com/elections/mccain-attended-acorn-convention/
As of recently FOX News, Right Wing talk radio and the right wing blogosphere have made a concerted effort to discredit and demonize ACORN (Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now). They have accused ACORN of voter fraud and of changing voter logs and made ACORN to seem like a radical untrustworthy organization. However, McCain attended an ACORN convention just two years ago. If ACORN was such a bad organization, why did McCain attend their convention?
A More Aggressive McCain Lacked Game Changer http://www.truthout.org/101608J
Cathleen Decker, The Los Angeles Times: "John McCain came into the third and final presidential debate needing to somehow wrestle the campaign out of Barack Obama's arms. He did not do it. There was no single moment that was likely to reverberate in the minds of American voters and change the course of an election that has moved dramatically toward Obama in the last several weeks."
ELECTION ALERT: Pass this on to everyone you know who is voting in November:
1. If your state has a straight party vote option, DO NOT CHOOSE IT. Voting machines in several states have been shown to flip the vote to the opposite party. When you vote a straight ticket, it alerts the computer software of your party. Because there are more registered Democrats, the 'flip' goes to Republicans. Instead, vote each person/issue separately. Voters in the following states should be especially careful: Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin. For more information, go to http://www.blackboxvoting.org/ and read post for October 11.
2. The McCain campaign (read Karl Rove) has sent hundreds of thousands of absentee ballots to registered Democrats in all the swing states. In all instances, incorrect instructions or addresses are given that automatically disqualify the voter. For example, people in Pennsylvania received absentee ballots to send to Columbus, Ohio. Ditto for voters in Iowa. Do not fill out any absentee ballot that you did not request through your local elections board.
NOTE: There is much more coverage on the coming US elections and the risks of widespread Republican shenanigans in ROLLING STONE: It's Already Stolen (Item #9 below)
The Presidential Debates Are a Scam (October 15, 2008) AND US DEMOCRACY IS A SHAM! http://www.alternet.org/democracy/102829/the_presidential_debates_are_a_scam/
Every four years, the two parties and news media collude in this PR spectacle. It's time for citizens to reclaim control. -- Have you wondered why the presidential debates don't present any serious ideas or encourage any substantive exchanges about policy and political philosophy? Have you noticed that the events resemble a whirring jukebox of familiar sound bites -- a highly produced, tightly scripted affair with with no surprises and little passion? There's a reason. Both candidates and their political parties want it this way. The debates are not the production of some independent third party like the League of Women Voters, the host university or news organizations. They are co-produced by the Democratic and Republican Parties themselves, who have ingeniously disguised their actual roles by nominally delegating control to the Commission on Presidential Debates (...) The truth is, no one can really learn much about the candidates or their ideas when the format has such rigid time limits on answers and predictable questions from mainstream news anchors. The moderators are constrained from asking tough follow-up questions, and the audience is forced to sit like zombies in a funeral parlor. Even with the so-called "town hall meeting" format, there is no genuine back-and-forth dialogue between candidates and citizens. Nor are there any direct candidate-to-candidate exchanges. Third-party candidates have been summarily excluded, so there are no disruptive questions that might expose the limited vision of the two major parties. In short, the presidential debates are shams if they are to be considered debates. They are meant to simulate honest, spontaneous exchanges of ideas but in fact, their real goal is to prevent any spontaneity, depth, complexity or worrisome surprises.
Russia test-fires ballistic missile to mid-Pacific (October 11, 2008) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/11/AR2008101100246.html
MURMANSK, Russia (Reuters) - Russia test-launched a strategic missile to the equatorial part of the Pacific Ocean for the first time on Saturday, at a time when Moscow's growing assertiveness is fuelling tension with the West.President Dmitry Medvedev, who watched the launch from the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, has said problems caused by global financial turmoil would not hurt Russian plans to revive its armed forces, a symbol for Moscow's resurgence.Russia's newest missile, the Sineva, was launched by the nuclear-powered submarine Tula from an underwater position in the Arctic Barents Sea, and hit an unspecified area near the equator in the Pacific Ocean, a navy spokesman said. (...) Russia's commitment to modernize its armed forces has grown as its ties with the West reached their lowest point since the Cold War after Russian troops crushed Georgia's attempt to retake a pro-Moscow separatist region.On Saturday, Medvedev said Russia would start building aircraft carriers, a type of vessel once derided by the Soviet military as an instrument of imperialism unbecoming of Moscow's defensive military posture.He said Russia should "not scrimp" on its armed forced and called for government spending to improve living condition for its armed forces as well as new weapons systems.Russia, which saw eight years of strong economic growth under Putin, has adopted the goal of becoming one of the world's leading economies by 2020. Medvedev says the economy has enough resources to survive the global turmoil and achieve its goals.Putin, now Russia's prime minister, has said the next year's budges will see another 30-percent growth in defense spending. CLIP
The Sounds of Silence: Isolation and Solitary Confinement of Palestinians Prisoners in Israeli Detention (12 Oct 2008) HORRIFIC TREATMENT - ANOTHER UNCONSCIONABLE ISRAELI ABOMINATION ! http://www.phr.org.il/phr/article.asp?articleid=621&catid=58&pcat=-1&lang=ENG
A report by Physicians for Humans Rights-Israel and A-Damir - Tens of prisoners are held in isolation in Israeli prisons each year on grounds of state, prison or prisoners' security. Isolated prisoners are held alone in a separate cell or with another prisoner who also requires isolation. Some of the Palestinian prisoners are isolated on grounds related to state security, whereas others suffer from mental or social difficulties that complicate their being with other prisoners. Much research has been conducted on the effects of isolation on mental health, all of which indicate the severe long term mental damage and sometimes irreversible damages it inflicts upon the isolated person, whether on those suffering from prior mental problems or not. The grave consequences of isolation have also been recognized by the Israel Prison Service (IPS), which stated: "There is no doubt that there exists a limited time limit, after which most people will find that solitary confinement is intolerable and will suffer from long term effects as a result". The condition of the Palestinian prisoners held in isolation is much worse. The report shows that isolated Palestinians are held in isolation for long periods of time, sometimes for more than twenty years, in harsher conditions in comparison to isolated Jewish prisoners. They are held alone in their cells for 23 hours a day with minimal means of passing the time, and like non-isolated Palestinian prisoners, they are not entitled hold telephone conversations and are sometimes denied visits for long periods of time due to "security" reasons. CLIP
THE FOOD ISSUE: Farmer in Chief (October 9, 2008) Recommended by Susan Boland (stboland@comcast.net) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12policy-t.html
(...) After cars, the food system uses more fossil fuel than any other sector of the economy - 19 percent. And while the experts disagree about the exact amount, the way we feed ourselves contributes more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere than anything else we do - as much as 37 percent, according to one study. Whenever farmers clear land for crops and till the soil, large quantities of carbon are released into the air. But the 20th-century industrialization of agriculture has increased the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the food system by an order of magnitude; chemical fertilizers (made from natural gas), pesticides (made from petroleum), farm machinery, modern food processing and packaging and transportation have together transformed a system that in 1940 produced 2.3 calories of food energy for every calorie of fossil-fuel energy it used into one that now takes 10 calories of fossil-fuel energy to produce a single calorie of modern supermarket food. Put another way, when we eat from the industrial-food system, we are eating oil and spewing greenhouse gases. This state of affairs appears all the more absurd when you recall that every calorie we eat is ultimately the product of photosynthesis - a process based on making food energy from sunshine. There is hope and possibility in that simple fact. (...) But what about here in America, where we have only about two million farmers left to feed a population of 300 million? And where farmland is being lost to development at the rate of 2,880 acres a day? Post-oil agriculture will need a lot more people engaged in food production - as farmers and probably also as gardeners. The sun-food agenda must include programs to train a new generation of farmers and then help put them on the land. The average American farmer today is 55 years old; we shouldn't expect these farmers to embrace the sort of complex ecological approach to agriculture that is called for. Our focus should be on teaching ecological farming systems to students entering land-grant colleges today. For decades now, it has been federal policy to shrink the number of farmers in America by promoting capital-intensive monoculture and consolidation. As a society, we devalued farming as an occupation and encouraged the best students to leave the farm for “better” jobs in the city. We emptied America's rural counties in order to supply workers to urban factories. To put it bluntly, we now need to reverse course. We need more highly skilled small farmers in more places all across America - not as a matter of nostalgia for the agrarian past but as a matter of national security. For nations that lose the ability to substantially feed themselves will find themselves as gravely compromised in their international dealings as nations that depend on foreign sources of oil presently do. But while there are alternatives to oil, there are no alternatives to food. National security also argues for preserving every acre of farmland we can and then making it available to new farmers. We simply will not be able to depend on distant sources of food, and therefore need to preserve every acre of good farmland within a day's drive of our cities. In the same way that when we came to recognize the supreme ecological value of wetlands we erected high bars to their development, we need to recognize the value of farmland to our national security and require real-estate developers to do “food-system impact statements” before development begins. CLIP
FAO: Financial Crash Could Deepen Food Crisis (10/16/2008) http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Content.asp?ContentID=260837
Governments should avoid reducing aid to developing countries' agriculture and introducing protectionist trade measures in response to the unfolding global financial crisis, FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf cautioned today.In a statement marking the 34th Session of FAO's Committee on World Food Security (CFS) from October 14-17, Diouf warned that such steps could increase the risk of another food crisis occurring next year. That could happen despite the record 2008 cereal harvest which is now expected. According to the latest issue of FAO's Crop Prospects and Food Situation report, production this year is forecast to increase 4.9 percent to a record 2 232 million tonnes. However some 36 countries around the world are still in need of external assistance as a result of crop failures, conflict or insecurity, or continuing local high prices, the report noted. "The great uncertainty now enveloping international markets and the threat of global recession may tempt countries towards protectionism and towards reassessing their commitments to international development aid," Diouf said. "It would be unfortunate if this were to be the case and the recently mobilized political will towards enhanced international support for developing country agriculture were to evaporate," he added. Diouf noted that the financial crisis, following hard on the heels of the soaring food price crisis which threw an additional 75 million people into hunger and poverty in 2007 alone, may well deepen the plight of the poor in developing countries. "Last year it was the pan," Diouf said. " Next year could be the fire". CLIP
On World Food Day, UN urges donors to honour aid pledge (October 16, 2008) http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081016/hl_afp/unfoodhungerworld_081016182751
ROME (AFP) - Millions more are going hungry across the world as governments fail to deliver on promised aid, officials warned Thursday on World Food Day.Only a tenth of the some 22 billion euros in assistance for food and agriculture pledged for 2008 has reached the UN food agency, its chief Jacques Diouf said Thursday."Despite enthusiastic speeches and financial commitments, we have received only a tiny part of what was pledged," Diouf said as he marked World Food Day at the Rome headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).His comments came as an expert warned that soaring food prices had pushed up the number of people in the world classed as hungry to 925 million, while more than 100 million had been driven into extreme poverty.Olivier De Schutter, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, said in a statement in Geneva that the whole system of food production needed to be radically overhauled to ensure an equitable outcome."The violation on a daily basis of the right to food for hundreds of millions of people worldwide has its roots in an outdated and inadequate production system, rather than in the actual quantity of food available," he said.In Dublin former UN secretary general Kofi Annan said aid for the world's hungry must not be hit by the global financial crisis which cannot be "an excuse for inaction" at a "critical juncture"."We must maintain our resolve. We can end hunger and poverty. Doing so is critical to Africa and to a healthy and resilient global food system," he told a conference Thursday aimed at highlighting global hunger and advocating better ways to combat it.To underline his point FAO figures revealed Thursday that about a million Burundian children under the age of five suffered chronic malnutrition, while in Ethiopia World Food Programme officials said that 84,000 children were suffering from malnutrition in famine-hit regions of Ethiopia. CLIP
Bleak scenes as Ethiopia puts war before famine (17 Oct 2008) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/ethiopia/3219159/Bleak-scenes-as-Ethiopia-puts-war-before-famine.html
On the front line of an invisible Ethiopian famine, government forces stand between the dying tribes scattered across a closed hinterland and outside aid. -- The restrictive Ethiopian security regime hiding the worsening crisis in the country's southern Somali region has infuriated important donors. Western officials privately warn that a damaging stand-off with the country is unfolding.International relief agencies should be celebrating notable breakthroughs in the rush to stop a fresh wave of mass starvation in Ethiopia. Addis Ababa this week conceded that 6.4 million people were on the brink of death and agreed to open up the worst hit parts of the country to shipments of outside assistance. But hard-won access to the bleak garrison town of Kebri Dehar in the Somali region, also known as the Ogaden, has unveiled the harsh realities of a regime determined to crush a rebel army. (...) Oxfam reported this week that two million people are on the brink of starvation in Ethiopia's Somali region and that the long-term prospects of recovery were blighted by the loss of 60 per cent of cattle and 50 per cent of goats. CLIP
Pa. man chews through belly-busting, 15-lb. burger (Oct 17) http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081017/ap_on_fe_st/odd_big_burger;_ylt=AghaBnfe8ke6K_I7F61DHnGs0NUE
CLEARFIELD, Pa. - It took Brad Sciullo 4 hours and 39 minutes to finish a marathon. A meat marathon, that is. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound western Pennsylvania chef is the first person to eat a monstrosity called the Beer Barrel Belly Bruiser: a 15-pound burger with toppings and a bun that brought the total weight to 20.2 pounds. (...) For completing the challenge in the under-five-hour time limit, Sciullo won $400, three T-shirts, a certificate "and a burger hangover, as I call it," Liegey said.
As the Violence Soars, Mexico Signals It's Had Enough of America's Stupid War on Drugs (October 14, 2008) http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/102857/as_the_violence_soars%2C_mexico_signals_it%27s_had_enough_of_america%27s_stupid_war_on_drugs/
The U.S.-financed War on Drugs has had savage results in Mexico, and now its president wants to decriminalize pot, cocaine and heroin possession. (...) To be more specific, Calderón's proposed legislation, supported by the Mexican attorney general's office, is intended to address a different kind of drug crisis on Mexican soil: a growing number of addicts. Cocaine once solely destined from Colombia and other Andean nations toward the U.S. is still flowing in such great supply that it has ended up attracting more users -- and abusers. In addition, meth lab crackdowns in the U.S. have allowed narco-cartels to step in and fill the void, so that speed is now more readily available in Mexico, as well. The impact has been dramatic: according to the government's own statistics, the number of drug addicts in Mexico is estimated to have doubled in just six years to 307,000, while the number of people who have tried drugs at some point rose from 3.5 million to 4.5 million. (...) "President Calderón's proposal to decriminalize personal possession of illicit drugs is consistent with the broader trend throughout Western Europe, Canada, and other parts of Latin America to stop treating drug use and possession as a criminal problem," says Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, a national drug policy reform organization. But it contrasts sharply with [the approach taken in] the United States [the U.S. government] should think twice before criticizing a foreign government for its drug policy, much less holding out the U.S. as a model. Looking to the U.S. as a role model for drug control is like looking to apartheid South Africa for how to deal with race."
Progressive Voter Guide to Drug Issues (October 10, 2008) http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/102058/progressive_voter_guide_to_drug_issues/
Find out how Obama and McCain compare on everything from drug sentencing laws to drug use in politicians' personal lives. -- Twelve states now have medical marijuana laws on the rolls, and hardly a week goes by without the announcement of a medical study touting the healing effects of cannabis. Yet the drug war in the United States keeps on rolling: More than 870,000 people were arrested on charges relating to marijuana last year, and Congress approves larger budgets each year for the White House drug czar. What can we expect from Obama on drug issues if he's elected? "Bottom line," marijuana policy expert Paul Armentano recently wrote, "no administration since Jimmy Carter's has proactively taken steps to liberalize federal drug penalties, and there's little indication that Obama and Biden will possess either the desire or the political will to buck this long-running trend." We can expect even less from John McCain, given his history of statements on issues relating to the war on drugs. CLIP
LSD Cured My Headache (October 10, 2008) http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/features/lsd-cured-my-headache-953406.html
Cluster headaches cause such severe pain that some sufferers are driven to suicide. Now one man believes he's found a surprising cure. -- This is the story of a man known online as Flash -- a man driven to the brink of suicide by the debilitating effects of cluster headaches. After years of ineffectual treatments, Flash stumbled on what he declared was a new treatment, as controversial as it was, he claimed, effective: hallucinogenic drugs. Flash was ridiculed by the cluster headache community for his "miracle cure". But when a survey of fellow sufferers who self-medicated with hallucinogens was published in the mainstream journal Neurology, the results gave weight to his claims. The Harvard Medical School scientists who conducted the survey have now applied for a preliminary clinical trial on the subject. Cluster headache (CH) remains an enigma to the medical profession. First chronicled in 1745, and frequently misdiagnosed as migraine, the condition is hardly a household name. Yet cluster headache affects as many as one in a thousand people -- 60,000 people in the UK alone, almost matching the prevalence of cystic fibrosis. Diagnosis of the condition is hampered by the fact that there are two forms: episodic and chronic. Sufferers of episodic CH are struck by headaches for one or two months of the year, often when the seasons change; the attacks can arrive at the same time each day and night. The symptoms then die down for up to 11 months before the cycle starts again. Sufferers of chronic CH, however, enjoy no respite at all. They are plagued by up to nine attacks per day, every day; untreated, each attack can last up to two hours. CH is characterized by a pain so severe that it makes the most debilitating migraine look like a mild hangover. Many chronic CH sufferers eventually take their own lives -- earning CH the gruesome moniker "suicide headaches". Flash says the pain is virtually indescribable. "You go through a point when it's too sore to scream and all you can do is whimper, begging God over and over and over again. I've fantasized about blowing my brains out so many times you wouldn't believe it." CLIP
Warm welcome for house powered by hydrogen fuel cell (October 10 2008) http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/oct/10/greenbuilding-greentech
(...) Today the house in Lye, near Stourbridge in the West Midlands, will be opened as the first permanent hydrogen-powered home connected to the national grid. The refrigerator-sized fuel cell unit will produce 1.5kW of electricity and 3kW of heat for the occupants of the house, with any excess power being fed into the national grid. (...) For the typical house, the unit is capable of providing 65% of the power on average and about 75% of total energy demand, both electricity and heat."There is no way yet to pipe hydrogen directly into homes, so the demonstration house will use natural gas that comes in via the existing mains supply. This is first passed through a steam reformer that generates hydrogen. The hydrogen is then combined with oxygen in a fuel cell unit, made by German company Baxi Innotech, that produces both electricity and heat and without producing carbon dioxide. Although creating the hydrogen from gas does produce some carbon dioxide, using the fuel cell cuts overall household emissions by 40% compared with running on gas alone. CLIP
Melting of Arctic ice 'fascinating ... alarming' (October 02, 2008) http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=40174ff0-4bc6-4b09-853b-7a3a55868f3d
(...) The U.S. National Ice and Snow Data Center is expected to issue its wrap-up report Thursday, which will confirm 2008's Arctic retreat as the second worst on record after 2007's stunning loss. But the ice that survived is in precarious shape heading into the winter.Most of it is first-year ice less than a metre thick, says Walt Meier, a research scientist at the U.S.-based centre, which tracks the ice by satellite as it waxes and wanes through the year. Thick, multi-year ice used to cover much of the Arctic Ocean year-round. All that is left of that cement-like ice is now jammed up in a strip against Canada's Arctic islands and northern Greenland. The rest of the old, hard ice either melted this summer or was flushed down into the Atlantic Ocean, where it disintegrated.(...) The iconic ice cap has topped the planet for eons. But in the last two years the sea ice retreated by summer's end by more than half, to well below five million square kilometres. Both years it retreated to more than 30 per cent below the average minimum seen between 1979 to 2000. CLIP
Seas Turn to Acid as They Soak Up CO2 (October 5, 2008) http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/10/05-0
The Bay of Naples is renowned for its breathtaking beauty and glittering clear waters. For centuries, tourists have flocked to the region to experience its glories.In Ischia's highly acidic water Algae vital for binding coral reefs have been wiped out. But beneath the waves, scientists have uncovered an alarming secret. They have found streams of gas bubbling up from the seabed around the island of Ischia. 'The waters are like a Jacuzzi - there is so much carbon dioxide fizzing up from the seabed,' said Dr Jason Hall-Spencer, of Plymouth University. 'Millions of litres of gas bubble up every day.' The gas streams have turned Ischia's waters into acid, and this has had a major impact on sea life and aquatic plants. Now marine biologists fear that the world's seas could follow suit.'Every day the oceans absorb more than 25m tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,' said Hall-Spencer. 'If it were not for the oceans, levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere would be far higher than they are today and the impact of climate change would be far worse. However, there is a downside: it is called ocean acidification.'Scientists calculate that the seas are absorbing so much carbon dioxide that they are 30 per cent more acidic than they were at the start of the Industrial Revolution. The change is three times greater and has happened 100 times faster than at any other time during the past 20 million years. Tomorrow hundreds of scientists will gather in Monaco for the 'Second International Symposium on the Ocean in a High CO2 World'. One focus of debate is likely to be the Plymouth study. The seas off Ischia - which are affected by carbon dioxide from volcanic activity - offer a first-class opportunity to investigate what might happen in the next few decades.Scientists found that in Ischia's highly acidic water: • Biodiversity of plants and fish has dropped by 30 per cent • Algae vital for binding coral reefs have been wiped out • Invasive 'alien' species, such as sea-grasses, are thriving • Coral and sea urchins have been destroyed, while mussels and clams are failing to grow shells. The conference will also tackle the dangers posed to fish larvae, which are sensitive to high levels of acid, as well as the threat to commercial fish stocks. 'Many developing countries have seafood as their prime source of food,' said Dr Carol Turley, of the Plymouth Marine Laboratory. 'If they lose that, the result could be famine.'
SSC to Produce World’s Fastest Electric Car - Could Run ‘Several Years Between Charging’ (October 1st, 2008) http://gas2.org/2008/10/01/ssc-to-produce-worlds-fastest-electric-car-could-run-several-years-between-charging/
SSC, the producers of the world’s fastest production car, the Ultimate Aero, has announced plans for an all-electric version of the record breaking model. The Ultimate Aero EV (Electric Vehicle) is currently in development, with a 500 bhp version slated for release as early as late 2009 and a 1000 bhp 4WD EV also under consideration.Sounds impressive huh? However, that’s not all… the press release also states “the drive train under development will feature a revolutionary power source allowing for extended time between charging intervals with the possibility of several years between charging.” If you think this sounds perhaps a little over-ambitious, it might be worth suspending your disbelief at least for a short while. Remember, this is the same company that is capable of producing a car with a top speed of 256 mph and a track record of living up to past claims. According to SSC founder Jerod Shelby, “I think we can do it faster, leaner and cleaner than any other manufacturer.” SSC hasn’t yet released any more details, other than that it expects to roll out a prototype in February 2009. Prepare for something pretty awesome, maybe there’ll be a mini nuclear power plant or some weird alien technology in there…
Cell Phones Raise Children's Risk of Brain Cancer 500 Percent http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/10/11/cell-phones-raise-children-s-risk-of-brain-cancer-500-percent.aspx?source=nl
Alarming new research indicates that children and teenagers are five times more likely to get brain cancer if they use cell phones. The study is raising fears that today's young people may suffer an epidemic of the disease in later life.The Swedish research was reported this month at the first international conference on cell phones and health. It came from a further analysis of data from one of the biggest studies carried out on the cell phone/cancer link, headed by Professor Lennart Hardell. Professor Hardell told the conference that "people who started mobile phone use before the age of 20" had more than five-fold increase in glioma, a cancer of the glial cells that support the central nervous system. The risk to young people from household cordless phones was almost as great. Cordless phones caused a fourfold increase in risk. Young cell phone users were also five times more likely to get acoustic neuromas, disabling tumors of the auditory nerve that often cause deafness.
So much fear being brought up to the surface. a big movie script playing out is "martial law is being declared in the USA, we are losing our rights, the boogie man is out to get us, etc etc. They are ramping up their propaganda machine, and all it is doing to me now is getting me to feel and see more and more of what really feels like the truth to me. I see that the soldiers/army-peace-keeping forces, isn't that what they are called? police-officer of the peace - why can't it really mean that in the highest meaning of the words? OK - so no one really wants total death and destruction. Let me rephrase that: some individual egos that haven't realized their oneness may have desires of self destruction they are still purging that they are projecting out onto the seemingly external reality, but the group mind soul does not want self-destruction, we want conscious co-creation. So, dramas are being played out all over, and their vibration is still shaking many beings who have not locked into the vibration of knowing their divinity and walking their truth. I am working right now on locking that knowing of my oneness into place, of creating myself as a new being, free of fear, free of illusion, one with Creator and in tune with the song of my soul. I am asking for my mission to be fully revealed, as I really believe in my core essence that I have a mission to achieve/complete on this planet. Sometimes I feel like my soul being is not from this place, that I was sent here with "work" to do.
Back to a point I was trying to make about martial law and that whole scenario. I don't think that any major horrible-ness is coming or is going to happen. I do however know that great change is on the way. Things that have been in place for many cycles in order to assist humanity in their awakening are no longer serving that purpose, so they need to be cleared and cleansed in order for new creations to come forward. One job that the peace keeping forces may have in store for them is coming to the streets of America while our financial system hits bottom. The reason is, when that kind of massive change happens, there are still many individual egos that do not know connection fully to source, and are still purging the fear vibration from their being, so they are the kind of people that are more likely to cause panic, riots, destruction of property, and various actions that are very disruptive to the rest of society that is in various stages of awakening.
I believe in my heart that most of humanity wants peace, love, understanding, harmony and abundance. One new awareness coming online is the full knowing and understanding that we are infinite, that the Earth is infinitely able to supply all of our needs, desires, and wishes of material plane thought-form. There is no limit to the Source, and we are creatures of the Source, for in the Source do we have our being. So, we are the source of all we desire. We are the source of all we create. We are the source of all that is, and how could we possibly deplete ourselves of ourselves? There is no way that we can. Some of the elements of our individuated consciousness being have not shaken the fear of separation from their essences and it is up to those of us that have to shine our lights even brighter so that we can be a beacon for those who are going through various stages of "what the fuck is going on!!" type reactions. There are many of us here who are remembering very quickly what our core essence is, and that we are all united and all part of the same Creator being, and we can be aware of our other selves who may be having a tough time coming online into this new awareness.
We are purging thousands of years of habitual and trained and propagandized scarcity scripts that have been repeated over and over in an endless loop of self delusion. When we give our attention to lack, we receive lack, and that loop is about to wear out. We are on the verge and in the process of one of our most major breakthroughs as a species we have ever experienced. We are about to emerge from the cocoon of self-protection we have created around our being in order to immerse ourselves in the act of transmutation - in a very real way we are about to graduate from pupa to butterfly, metaphorically speaking. We are humans about to become our full selves, what our Creator had in plan for us, which is a process that we are very intimately involved with, since we are given choice as to what we would like to do with our collective co-creation. We are fully enabled by Creator to freely choose to follow our destiny, and what is happening is that we are beginning to realize that the only choice that we want to make is to follow the Creator's intention of fully allowing the Creator's desires and intentions to manifest through us, within us and in our essence...and since the energy momentum of the Creator's original intention to be fully present in freedom within His creation (our collective Gaia spirit) is pulling creation towards Creator's intention at an ever increasing speed, via the laws of vibratory attraction, for the Creator when realizing awareness that Creator intends to be united with His Creation, becomes more fully awake and aware that we are creating ourselves from within our self-generated program of awakening. Creator's intention is to be fully present and fully free to create within his Creation, while allowing his Creation to be fully present to create new creation with and through the power of Creator. we are coming to the merging of the matrix with itself. We are becoming what we are, and always have been. Yet we are growing and developing and becoming new all at once.
The vibration is raising in frequency, along with the ability of higher vibrational perception. Fear, your time has come. I release you, and thank you for your stay here, you have done such a good job in pushing the evolution of our species. I thank you, honor your presence, and with all due love and respect, release you from my being, so you can be realized for what you are. You are not needed any longer in this experience, I am ready to take over with full power of awareness. I do not need to be scared into loving any more, I do not need to be scared into awakening any more. I do not have need for fear of death any longer. I am ready to take my place as conscious co-creator of this collective experience called reality. Here we are, take a deep breath, this is real, and I love it. I love you Creator, and your Love reflects back to me when I look into a mirror, pure essence of intention with purpose : over-unity, the being sustains itself from within its own awakened essence. There is nothing outside of itself, for all exists within the mind of Creator. Here we go again, the fun part is just starting. Where should we take this vehicle?
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter" (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)
2.
I LOVE THIS!
From: David Fiske (fiskedavid@hotmail.com)
Subject: Embracing Happiness
Date: 19 Oct 2008
Embracing Happiness
In my lovely part of this beautiful earth the sun rose this morning on the other side of Eel Bay, still sleeping, wraithed in mist and surrounded by trees in splendid Fall colours, the green grass soon sparkled with the frost and I had my cup of Sencha enriched with Matcha. A spectacular morning.
Of course I am truly blessed, or lucky, whichever you prefer for much of the world is darkened by misery and many people awake in fear and foreboding. A tour of the Web will easily light on hosts of fearful stories, many of them economic.
I am amazed that there is so much talk of supporting the system. It seems very obvious that capitalism which has fueled the industrial revolution and all that incredible growth has run its course and has now alienated humans from humans and humanity from the rest of this planet. Of course it has to fail under the weight of its own voraciousness. Didn’t Karl Marx precisely predict that? Good riddance to all that greed and corruption.
When society is on the cusp of a paradigm shift, and it takes catastrophe to make these changes, the natural tendency is to try to hold on, to preserve our way of life. But what a cost our way of life has demanded. Ask the soil and the vanishing species!
I ask myself what sort of person would I like to be. The sort of person who surfs the web and discovers legions of horror and quickly passes them on, spreading the misery like cheap fertiliser; or the person who everyone seeks out because they are made to feel happy.
We are a world in transition and it is a dark, dangerous and mysterious future we enter, something unknown. and hurrah for that! The known has produced considerable suffering for so much of the earth. It is in the Unknown our salvation lies.
At the risk of compounding fears I give two links that pretty much sum up everything else you will have read and need not have.
We live in an ocean of energy. It surrounds us. We breathe it in. It fuels all life and it is evolving. Nothing lasts forever and change is disruptive. The price for this change will be suffering and this hasn’t started to be felt yet. But the goal is a new way of living and a balance that seemed to be tragically lost. Embrace that life force and feel its surge moving towards splendour.
You might have lost money but frankly the warnings and predictions have been around for years. Even my website (http://www.esotericarts.org), in my essays and my book have, in a modest way, warned of this. Precautions should have been taken. The Taoist internal arts teach flexibility in the finding of balance in a dynamic and unpredictable world, not of standing rigid to maintain the status quo, of embracing the unknown joyfully, of being, like the Dalai Lama, not unconnected with the sadness but still a fun person to know.
What sort of future do you want? What sort of people do you wish to know? Be joyous in the change and spread that joy and you will meet happy people
After my tea I lit the cookstove so my wife, when she awoke, would come down to a warm kitchen. Outside I played my forms and then harvested more carrots and beetroot for my root cellar. Little chickadees sang to me from the sunflower heads and I greeted them back. It is a wonderful world. I have recently awoken during the night so happy I had trouble going back to sleep, so lay there in a cocoon of warm Light Energy.
It is there if one opens one’s heart to it. The happiness of our future, after all the turbulence, depends on your doing precisely that.
Meltdown Strategies: Financial Disaster and Climate Change
October 14, 2008
by Starhawk
The Environment is NOT an Afterthought
While the financial markets have been melting down around us, another sort of meltdown has been occurring, one even more frightening and dangerous.
Climate change has been progressing, more quickly than anticipated, fueled even more rapidly by methane bubbles released from a warming Arctic sea, in just one of the self-reinforcing cycles that will trigger unstoppable cascades of devastation unless we act now.
None of the presidential debates have addressed the central question of our time: can we transform our energy, our economy, our food systems and our culture rapidly enough to forestall complete global meltdown?
The present economic woes are frightening, but the environmental crisis is truly terrifying. With all the furor about falling markets and frozen credit, nothing real has changed in the economy. Granted, the repercussions will be that many of us have less money in our pockets and fewer opportunities. But we still have the natural resources we had a month ago. We still have our skills, our knowledge, and our productive capacity. What we’ve lost is a towering edifice of icing with no cake underneath.
But environmental meltdown means we lose the real basis of economy and survival. We will see more and more devastation like we’ve seen in the Gulf Coast. We’ll see droughts, floods, lowered food supplies, huge losses in biodiversity and ecological resilience, rising seas that will take out major cities around the world, and all the associated problems of poverty, starvation, refugees and resource wars. Time is not running out—it’s out! What we do now and in the next ten years is absolutely crucial.
The good news is, we don’t have to take the path to disaster. We have the knowledge and technology we need to make the change. But our politicians, even the best of them, won’t do it unless we make it a top priority.
To do that, it helps to know what the solutions are.
In November, I’ll be presenting at an interfaith conference on climate change called by the archbishop of Sweden. In preparation, I started writing a Climate Change Primer, trying to briefly list the most important technologies and approaches. It kept growing, and eventually became too big to send out as an email. But go to the link below and you can read it or download it as a PDF. If you want to better understand the issue and the spectrum of solutions we need to put into place, it’s a good introduction. If you are a policy maker or an activist who likes to hound and harass policy makers to do the right thing, it’s a good guide. And if you’re thinking about how to invest your own time and energy and/or such dwindling funds as you might have, it will suggest fruitful avenues and new approaches. And here’s the link.
And below are a few short, short, short lists to help get us thinking about what priorities we should push for:
Things we can do right away in a lousy economy:
--Conserve. Obama almost said the ‘C’ word in the debate—and you would think this is something radicals, liberals and conservatives would all agree on, as it requires no funding or investment and can produce huge rewards. If we had continued to conserve energy at the rate we did in the 1970s, we would be energy independent today!
--Pass tax credits for renewables.
--Enact fuel efficiency standards for new cars, trucks, etc. and for all big users of fossil fuels.
--Require energy efficiency in new construction, and white or reflective roofs, porous paving, etc.
--Put caps on carbon emissions for big users that will decline over time to zero by 2050 or sooner. (There’s a longer discussion of this in the Primer.)
--Take up Al Gore’s challenge to generate 100 per cent of our energy from renewables within ten years.
--Sequester carbon by building healthy soil through organic farming, no-till techniques, and planned rotational grazing. (More on this on the website.)
--Localize economies and food systems—farmers’ markets, CSAs, city farms and community gardens. Support barter systems and local currencies.
--End subsidies for nuclear energy, coal and oil.
--Bring the troops home—war has a carbon cost as well as a human cost and a financial cost. Employ diplomacy, not troops.
--Ratify Kyoto—no, it’s not nearly enough but gosh, if we can’t even do that, how are we going to have any global credibility on this issue?
Low Hanging Fruit: (Technologies and solutions that are already up and running, or nearly so, that have the best Energy Return on Energy Investment, will meet the least resistance and will give the biggest bang for the buck in the short run.)
--Onshore and offshore wind—already up and running.
--Photovoltaics—larger scale production to bring down costs, tax credits, rebates and cost-share programs for new construction and retrofitting.
--Concentrated Solar Power and solar thermal on both large scale and home scale.
--Electric cars and plug-in hybrids—in production or on the verge.
-- Economies of scale —government purchasing agreements, tax credits, rebates or cost-shares or loan guarantees for purchasers can help replace our current transport fleet. Mandates for energy efficiency and requirements for zero-carbon vehicles, as were once in place in California, can support their production and adoption.
--Biofuels from waste and recycled materials and algae.
--White roofs. (A study from the Lawrence Berkeley labs suggest that white roofs not only save cooling costs but radiate heat outward and on a large scale, could have a major impact.)
--Regenerative farming and grazing that build soil organic carbon.
--Forest protection—a moratorium on the logging of old growth. Tree planting and restoration.
--Localization—building local food economies, sense of place, encouraging famers’ markets, urban agriculture, local small businesses, walkable neighborhoods,
--Pedestrian zones, bike paths, good interface with bikes and public transport—safe parking areas, allowing bikes on subways and busses.
Vital Investments: Even in a lousy economy, we absolutely need to do these things, and they will provide jobs and a vital economic stimulus:
--The national grid needs to be upgraded to be able to handle distributed sources of energy and Vehicle to Grid technology.
--Infrastructure for renewables needs to be built on the large scale.
--Technical help to developing countries: It’s only fair, equitable and good long-term security to help developing countries skip the 19th and 20th centuries and leap into the 21st with renewable energy sources. Offer to replace Iran’s nuclear plants with solar infrastructure, China’s coal plants with wind.
--Cost share programs and rebates for retrofitting existing homes for energy efficiency.
--Training programs and green jobs in the inner city.
--Job training for the unemployed in green industries and regenerative agriculture.
Long term investments: (Things we need to invest in now for the long term future. If we’re going to borrow billions, let’s spend them on:)
--Public transportation in and around cities. Making it efficient, cheap, easy and fun.
--Trains, busses, and other forms of transport to get people out of their cars.
--Research on all the promising technologies: new batteries and forms of energy storage, wave and tidal power, hydrogen from renewables—as a store for energy and as a replacement fuel for air travel. Aquaculture to produce biofuels. And so many more…(see that website for the full list!)
--Public infrastructure.
--Retrofitting of existing buildings for energy efficiency.
--Forest and wildland protection in large blocks to allow plants and animals room to migrate in response to climate change. Habitat protection and restoration.
--Quality education at every level on the environment.
Really Stupid Ideas We Should Oppose:
--Nuclear Power: It’s not quick to build or license safely, it’s not safe—low level radiation is proven to cause cancer and other diseases. We still don’t know how to safely store the wastes. To build a plant we actually produce huge amounts of carbon emissions as cement is one of the big carbon hogs.
--Nuclear power plants provide new targets for terrorists and makes it difficult to prevent proliferation of nuclear weapons. And—we don’t need it!
--Offshore drilling and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—The U.S. has 3% of the world’s oil reserves and uses 25% of the energy. We can’t drill our way into energy independence, and drilling that compromises the safety of fragile ecosystems can cause irreparable damage for small, short-term gains.
We need to wean ourselves off fossil fuels, not drill for more. And new oil fields won’t come on line for over a decade and require huge energy investments to develop.
--“Clean” coal: There is no such thing.
--Cutting down rainforests to produce corn or palm oil for biofuels
And if there’s one important message we send, make it this:
The environment is not an afterthought: it’s the ground of economy, security and survival. Environmental protection, environmental justice and regeneration must be our top priorities, because they are the only sound foundation for every other endeavor.
---
Copyright (2008) by Starhawk. All rights reserved.
This copyright protects Starhawk's right to future publication of her work. Nonprofit, activist, and educational groups may circulate this essay (forward it, reprint it, translate it, post it, or reproduce it) for nonprofit uses. Please do not change any part of it without permission. Please keep this notice with it.
NOTE from Jean: At the webpage I originally found this article, the following was also included:
Starhawk, a longtime progressive political activist and prolific writer located in San Francisco, is committed to the marriage of spiritual work and political activism. She is the author of "The Spiral Dance", "Dreaming the Dark", "The Pagan Book of Living and Dying", and other works of nonfiction and fiction. Her work as a modern day pagan, or earth-based spiritual leader, is driven by a love of Life and the desire to bring the “creative power of spirituality to political activism”. She has organized, trained protestors and has been in the front lines of global peace and justice movements around the world.
From: Martin Greenhut (martyg@bcn.net)
Date: 16 Oct 2008
Subject: America Awake: A Declaration of Interdependence
I would like to bring to your attention a most extraordinary book titled "America Awake/A Declaration of Interdependence" soon to be published by Daynal Press
The author, August Jaccaci, " works with leaders throughout the world who want to envision and build an ideal future for themselves and their enterprises. He is a gifted speaker, a respected visionary and one of the world's foremost social inventors."
In the summer of 2007, Mr. Jaccaci was prompted to write a series of letters whom he believes are authored by the historical figure, Thomas Jefferson.
Thomas Jefferson, in these letters to Americans and the citizens of the world, is as always a radical and visionary idealist. He is also outraged at contemporary America. Yet, his assertions are in the end even more shocking for their spiritual optimism. On matters of the human soul and spirit, his thinking has evolved well beyond where he is remembered historically. He is also writing to us cognizant of our future as follows:
America means love.
The word America means love.
It is time, at last, for Americans to know that meaning,
and not a moment too soon.
Mr. Jefferson has returned for this critical time of decision to reawaken and revive the ailing soul of America. The soul of every human, every community and every nation is that unique inner consciousness which serves to navigate the living vessel of each life back to the safe harbor of reunion with the divine love which sent it forth.
Mr. Jefferson as the author of the Declaration of Independence and the social architect of the Bill of Rights is a primary guardian of the American soul. Under the terrible pressure of losing the American experiment in self-governance to the forces of fear trending toward fascism, Mr. Jefferson has returned to empower individual Americans to rise up to their full responsibility to protect their souls and their personal and community potential for fulfillment in truth, beauty and goodness which together express love, the meaning and destiny of America.
Mr. Jefferson’s writings received at various moments on and after July 4th within the year 2007 are meant to be letters to all humanity. They are, however, focused on aspects of the American soul lest it journey farther from planetary potential toward planetary problem.
Reviews
"Read this amazing text, please do so. There is nothing quite like it in all of the literature of this sort. It is a prophetic cry for change that must be heard now, and attended to now. I cite for the moment this amazing quote (see below) from Letter XX, but it is just one of many like it. Enjoy this book--and use it!"
—Byron Belitsos
"First by far in profiteering in the war and death industry, America yet is still the global seat of benevolence and idealism. Such a soul-wrenching struggle for clarity and purity of purpose human life has never seen before. The depth of the mystery of how good and evil could so inhabit a single soul seems to have rolled in like a thick fog from the ocean of human evolution. The American soul is desperate for the burning power and purity of sunlight, the sunlight of spiritual transcendence.
"It feels like an endless hopeless night of blinding murder among you. Yet, dawn is inevitable. There are those Americans among you still, first alone and then in small villages and towns and city neighborhoods who are rising early in courage to be bringers of the dawn. "I am reminded of the midnight ride of Paul Revere calling our country to the fight for freedom which today has begun again. If money is your purpose, early death to all life is your certain end. This time you fight the forces of eternal extinction.
Rise up. The dawn is at your door
Other Titles by Author:
General Periodicity
Soulcircling: The Journey to the Who
CEO: Chief Evolutionary Officer
NOTE from Jean: I've downloaded this book - for free - through http://d.scribd.com/docs/1sm1o7dqsxagau8ngord.pdf and believe the following excerpt is worth your attention - especially if you live in the Unites States of America...
Letter XIX
I have no right to speak to you of excess. All my adult life I lived beyond my means ending my years so deeply in debt as to be powerless to pass on anything of consequence to my progeny. Most importantly, I lost ownership of my slaves so that if I wanted to free them I could not.
Perhaps it is the shame of my final years, however, that qualifies me to warn you of excess, you whose lifestyles and whose transnational corporations are so compulsively gluttonous. For by military might, not right, and business cleverness, not kindness, you control and consume five to ten times every day more than your share, by your percentage of world population, of the world’s riches.
Americans are less than five percent of the world’s people. You consume twenty to fifty percent of its riches daily. Most of the world’s people live on less for a year than some of you spend in an hour. Even just among yourselves, your corporate leaders now earn more in an hour than their own workers do in a year.
There is nothing more shocking in our nation’s history than my own ownership of slaves. Yet today, Americans suffer the rest of the world’s people and all other life forms to live enslaved to the thoughtless gluttony of a very few whom you glorify for their excesses in your magazines and media. Monetary wealth has so captivated the hearts, souls and dreams of Americans as to totally disassociate your lives from worthy membership with all other lives and life itself on your planet. It is estimated that it would take four planet Earths to provide all of humanity what Americans consume daily.
Freedom, that priceless American ideal and virtue for some has now become freedom from you, not with you. Freedom from American and similar gluttony is now the life and death struggle of all life on Earth. For it is said by thoughtful scientists among you that at the rate of ruination of the planetary environment accelerating as it is, half the species here present today will be extinct by the end of this twenty-first century. Almost all the world’s largest corporations that are these ravenous killers are American. Of course, there are many others and other rich persons worldwide. Yet America is leading the charge of global gluttons marching toward human extinction. Human extinction is now emerging as a possibility, as an image in the mirror of planetary nature. America has begun the act of human suicide without knowing it.
The struggle for freedom from England’s tyranny in our nation’s founding is an important moment in human history. Yet, it is as naught compared to the founding of a new planetary civilization for the salvation of life itself on Earth.
America is a comeback people. Comeback is the archetypal action defining American character. If there ever was a moment in the long several million year history of humanity now right for a comeback to salvation, you, America, are living in that moment. You, America, are the world’s problem; so you are the world’s solution. I am sorry to speak so harshly and with such spiritual excess. Yet, I feel there is no other choice if I am to awaken you to leadership in the creation of a planetary life renaissance so fulfilling of your natural destiny.
NOTE from Jean: In these turbulent times when more and more people are faced with the need to adopt a lifestyle that is more balanced - environmentally, economically, socially and spiritually - and more in line with their awakening sense of Oneness with All That Is, many are seeking ways to join forces with other like-minded people to cooperatively manifest the kind of life they want to live and the kind of world they want to see. In continuance with the exploration of possible solutions to the growing global crisis featured in my October 3, 2008 compilation The Perfect Storm Series #18: Time to Take a Whole New Direction, I'm offering you below a fairly large excerpt from a spiritually stimulating document "Awakened Community and a New Earth" written by Alex Kochkin last November 2007. I especially love what he wrote about the core values of trust, caring and service which are so vital in all spheres of life and certainly not merely when it comes to co-creating an intentional community, which is basically the subject of his document. I've been living here in Quebec in such an intentional community for the past 29 years - Les Plateaux Commun'ô'Terre is one of the oldest such communities in Canada and certainly one of the oldest French-speaking ecovillages in the world. With this background experience, I can assure you that each person participating in such an endeavor should indeed strive to embody these 3 core values which are the foundation of any healthy human relationship with other humans and with all Life on Earth. The topic of ecospiritual communities is a vast one to explore and if you are inclined to do so I cannot think of a better place to start than through viewing the following most inspiring video...
Findhorn Now - a new video http://www.findhorn.org/video/
A new video about the Findhorn Foundation and community. Ten minutes to connect with the spirit of Findhorn - inspire yourself with a new vision for the future.
... and then take time to explore their resource-rich website. Here are some other excellent websites and resources to explore:
Near-future events will cause many to seek and form new relationships and community. Why wait for circumstances to impose themselves? Why not begin to choose differently now?
About this Guide: “The What and the How”
This guide describes basic principles for awakened conscious community and simple ways that can be readily incorporated into weekly and daily activities and that do not require elaborate organizing efforts with meetings.
In discussing the process of forming community with various people, there has been the question of “finding enough time” as well as whatever localized “issues” there may be in a given area. Of course, there really is no barrier caused by a “lack” of time. It is all about awareness and intention as we go about our daily lives. From this we can attend to community, starting by simple acts in daily life. The result is a new type of community. When enough people are consciously so engaged, there naturally will be interest to gather and create the time needed. Concerning issues, there will always be “issues”. Issues are never primary, although may at times catalyze people into coming together in a new way.
Wherever and however it starts, it is absolutely essential for people to address building awakened community in the geographic area they live. As you reach out and seek to address specific needs in your area, this all takes commitment and time.
Awakened Conscious Community and A New Earth
This is about new ways of being with one another and with oneself as well as our “host” planet. This is about people creating and discovering new relationships between and within themselves. Those who choose this now will become islands of inspiration and light for countless numbers of people. This is all about a direct person to person community, and not virtual Internet-based substitutions –although the principles apply regardless of type of situation.
The principles described here are universal to individuals, communities, organizations, entire national societies and bridge levels of social strata.
As we pay attention in our daily lives to principles of trust, caring, service, and a greater spiritual context for our existence, we cultivate a new basis for being --for humanity and for our own self. In our actions in this regard, we all become, in effect, “leaders”. As we become more aware and find more nurturing ways to exist, naturally there will be others who will be “infected” in a good way. As more people find cause to turn away from what no longer works in society, they will be looking for something that serves a meaningful future. …And there you will be for them.
This is about creating something, not about opposing anything. What fails to nurture us in our humanity and in our nature as spiritual beings, will gradually become less an influence in our lives and a new freedom of many forms of personal energy will be available where before it seemed limited.
Basic Concepts to Use Now
Connection, Service, Spirituality -- A simple set of principles that makes commonsense –and that is solidly based on present-day core values. It reveals a story of insight into ways to bridge differences: for some people connection is primary - connection to others, humanity, nature, earth, cosmos, Creation, God, etc - for others service is primary - service to others, humanity, nature, earth, cosmos, Creation, God, etc. and for others, spirituality is primary – awareness and connection to higher consciousness – regardless of whether they are religious or not. For some it is important to relate through some combination of these, and certain people it is important for all three to be in combination. To support personal, social, and political positive change, a major social science research project (IOOW-2000) demonstrates that these values bridge roughly 84% of the adult population in the U.S.
In creating awakened conscious community, Trust, Caring, and Service can be used as guiding principles. These are within a greater context of spiritual awakening. These four principles are fundamental building blocks of Creation –ones that are clear of the dark influences that have so plagued humanity. You are invited to use these spiritually-derived principles in daily life and in finding conscious community.
How?
It is simple: first think about the people around you –home, neighborhood, school, workplace, stores, and people with whom you choose to associate. All it requires is to pay attention and begin looking at your relationship with others. Not in a harshly judgmental manner of “good or bad”, but in a manner of simple honesty.
These factors cannot be taken in isolation from one another. It is not enough to simply trust that your neighbor can be counted on to help you fix your car and you in turn can fix their plumbing. Circumstances today demand more than mere material aid out of mutual self-interest. So let’s look more closely at some guiding principles…
Trust
Consider the meaning of “trust”. It is essential to the durability of any positive relationship. There are many levels to this. At the simplest is an exchange – a monetary or voluntary agreement – between people to do something in a certain way within a certain time. Who is “trustable” at this level? It is here that basic issues arise in society. A common one concerns monetary relationships. Someone is paid to do something for another that they appear to be qualified for. Yet today, too many people who accept money for goods and services do not want to be accountable for the outcome of their work.
Consider those who you are in relationship with daily outside your home. Who is “trustable”? Is there mutual trust to be open and honest with another --even when there is disagreement? Can openness and honesty be exchanged that respects personal integrity? Or is the relationship merely on agreement of ideas and when there is disagreement, there is a lack of trust? Is there a larger context in which differences can exist but not be antagonistic? This is all about a deeper and more meaningful form of respectful relationships.
Where is there trust between people to aid one another when dealing with difficult personal and private matters? Who can you turn to? Do they respond honestly and truthfully? Or do they always “take your side” or speak in platitudes? One example of a stronger level of trust is when people are sharing some of the most profound personal challenges in their lives. Without trust, such intimacy can be potentially threatening. So this is yet another level up the trust scale.
Please bear in mind, this is not intended to foster avoidance or judgment others, it is mostly a matter of developing community by finding ways that trust can bridge differences and diversity.
So in your daily life as you carry on with your activities, be discerning as to the qualities of trust in your relations with others. Without trust, there can be no durable relationship or community. At times there can be “broken trust” and this needs to be addresses directly and honestly whenever possible and as your true heart directs.
To help connect and reinforce trust at any level, find ways to acknowledge this to one another. It is done through a simple expression of words of appreciation or gratitude to another for living and being the quality of “trust”. For those meeting to develop community in a more organized way, cultivating higher qualities of trust will be one of many factors to attend to.
Caring
It is easy to say to someone in parting, to “take care”. Consider all the ways we do not “take care” in our lives: What we eat, how we act with others, how we treat our natural environment, how we treat our personal home environment, how we treat our partners, children, elderly, etc. Multiplied by more than six billion people, the situation can seem hopeless. Public agencies fail to take care of social and environmental concerns they are charged with. Private agencies (especially business) too often fail to take care of ethical obligations.
“Taking care”, means paying attention and then attending to what matters. What matters to you that is truly essential to your existence as a spiritual being that is having a human experience? As you take care in this manner, you begin noticing more what you may have not noticed and reflected on before. Your life becomes more real, more meaningful, and less frenetic and excessively busy with “busy-ness”.
Except in rural communities and close neighborhood enclaves in cities, people are so separated from one another and their activities, there is always the expectation for someone else to “take care” of everything not in their immediate domain. In modern most of the world virtually no one has any personal motivation to truly “take care” to do they work honestly and thoughtfully with regard to the end outcomes. As a result the entirely of society fails to “take care”. When things go wrong, it is expected that there is some outside entity paid to “take care” and fix things right enough. As human social-economy continues to break down, these private and public entities will fail more, and then what?
So, why live like this when it is possible to help one another to take care of where you live, work, trade? It is both possible and necessary to reclaim and take charge of our own lives and develop networks of awakened conscious communities.
To help connect and reinforce caring at any level, find ways to acknowledge to one another with simple appreciation or gratitude for living the quality of truly “taking care”. This is in itself a form of caring and paying attention that builds further trust.
For those meeting together to develop new community where they live, consideration to the higher qualities of caring will be as important as the basic acts of service that you will likely be undertaking.
Service
Do you live and work in a way that primarily serves self-interest (perhaps under an illusion of “survival”) --or in a way that is about a larger goodness and serves others, the planet, and greater creation?
When you do something for someone, is there expectation by either party of reciprocity? If you offer someone lunch or a ride home or some other manner of help, is it given with any expectation of something, anything, in return? Is the gesture of care accepted --or rejected due to a fear of being unable to “return the favor”? Rather, this is about generosity of ones very being and faith in relationships that are based upon trust and caring, and thus reciprocity never enters your consideration.
Engaging in a form of service helps to connect people to something greater than their own selves and personal concerns. Groups of people engaging in tangible service to others, their community, nature, etc. provides a common context for diversity to be bridged and for new forms of trust and care to be created. For those of you who are meeting to develop new community where you live, consider ways mutual practice around important material concerns can be used to connect people of diverse perspectives and beliefs.
A common ground of trust and care is vital to the existence of humanity. Serving the greater good by ones actions from the simplest acts and considerations to more involved acts of serving others and the planet, also serves our higher nature as spiritual beings.
The Larger Context
At first, it may be tempting to think it would be a great achievement for more of humanity to just live the principles of trust, care, and service. At one level that may be true. But there is much more.
Surrounding and permeating these three principles that represent our “ground, air and water”, there is a fourth and greater bond/connection: Faith in our own connection and relationship in a “process of Creation” –a process that is about elevating form and consciousness to new levels of awareness and existence. This is at the center of our very nature of being.
A bond of trust in this process of creation provides a basis for self-integrity, no matter what. It provides supreme faith of the integrity of our origins as spiritual beings and in so doing further connects us all to our higher destinies. Awakened spirituality offers the greatest over-arching context for new community and a new earth –a context that offers each individual direct connection to higher consciousness. As energies based upon our fundamental goodness and nature as beings of spirit are shared, they actually multiply in their beneficial force and help increase our spiritual capacity further.
Awakened Conscious Community
As you connect in this manner, you will be forming a new fabric, a new warp and weft, one that is visible and accessible to all. Awakened conscious communities of people will be like “islands” that stand above the overall level of humanity. The presence of these “islands” will be easier for more people to shift to a new way of being. This is a vital part of a transition process that makes a greater transformation ever more possible. As the capacity for this process grows, the higher the overall vibrational state of your being. The stronger and higher the vibrational state, the greater your capacity for transformation. There is of course always the benefit of mutual material and spiritual support.
As you help develop a group in this manner, it will be important to examine the concerns of material life such as economy and livelihood, energy, natural environment, food production and distribution, neighbors connecting to and helping one another, culture, housing, governance, spirituality, and more.
There is no teaching, methodology, or gurus here, and certainly no fee to be paid! It is between you and your higher nature –and in your connection with others at the highest commonality possible in any given situation.
Through common practice, whether in meetings or in service with others in the general community, new spiritual energy is freed up and can flow. This in turn raises the spiritual energy available to more people over a larger area.
Conclusion
We have offered here some basic guidelines and principles to building awakened conscious community. Consider this a call to form new patterns of connecting with one another (like new molecular bonds) based on trust, caring, service to the greater good, and a faith in the process of Creation –all serving to uplift us to higher consciousness.
Whether the “old world” falls apart quickly or slowly, what will be the values and beliefs and practices of those who choose to live in a new way? What will be their highest vision?
There is a powerful commonality that embraces demonstrated core values shared by many people of diverse persuasions. These values include: universal connection to humanity, nature, Earth, the Cosmos, to higher consciousness; qualities of tolerance and reconciliation that permits difference to coexist without conflict; a sense of service to other people and to Earth; and spiritual values that are nearly universal. More than 80% of US adults agreed that whether we recognize it or not, we all just want to connect to God or higher consciousness. Let us give expression to this in our daily lives.
From Moments to Episodes
From your own moments of reflection on all this you begin to build personal capacity. As you reach out through acknowledging goodness in others and in actions that serve a greater good, there begins to build a shared energy. Eventually it becomes important to take care, to attend to, and to actually create time for shared moments to flow into episodes, that in turn continue to flow.
It may be tempting to sit back and simply enjoy a moment of being inspired by Ferdinand's article. Then the moment passes, right?
As a being of integrity you could also use your moment of inspiration to commit yourself to taking inspired actions, actions that may continue beyond the period of being inspired. Perhaps the actions will involve your entire life. But what a great life! What else were you born for? To be gullible? To be a sheeple?
Clarity does not vanish. Ferdinand has provided some clarity here. What would happen if you were to make actual use of it?
"There really is no going back to a life of ignorance. Every bit of information you have assimilated has changed you forever."
Start where you are in this inspired moment and go forward. Take actions like Naomi Wolf is taking actions. Read her book Give Me Liberty. Do you think she planned out what she is doing right now? No she did not. http://www.myamericaproject.org. She is making it up as she goes along out of raw passion for the clarity she is creating. She takes one step after another, the step that is before her, not knowing what the next step will be. And her actions are making a difference. Yours could too, if you would only take those actions and not just fantasize about it. Cool it with the Yoda movie quotes. This is your life.
"Part of your power is your infectiousness. Every word you utter and every action you take affects the world around you. Even though there are many closed minds, there are still many open souls receptive to the waves of truth that emanate forth from your very presence. "
So stop sleepwalking - it only puts the world to sleep. Instead have a Wake Up Meeting at your house each week. Meet in the name of finding out what you truly want to create, of living how your heart truly wants to live. Visit http://www.just-stop.org for more inspiring ideas.
Read Radiant Joy Brilliant Love by Clinton Callahan http://www.radiant-joy.com for how to make love happen in your life. This is all new territory, far beyond the thought limits of mainstream culture. They did not teach this stuff to you in school because the teachers do not know about it. The politicians and government officials do not know. The bankers do not know. The door is wide open right now in front of you, but only you can take the actions to go through the door.
Start regular weekly meetings no matter who shows up. I am doing it. It is fantastic! I never know what we will do together. Sometimes it is only two of us. One time it was 19 people! I just announce every where I go that the meeting is happening at my house at 4:30 EVERY Wednesday! Amazingly it works each time. And it is so inspiring!
Don't argue at your meetings. No one has to be right. Don't try to create answers. Just ask dangerous questions. No drugs. No alcohol. Just enjoy each other's intelligence creatively at play.
---
NOTE: THIS BELOW IS THE ARTICLE THIS COMMENT ABOVE WAS REFERRING TO:
You are needed in this tumultuous time. There is suffering, tragedy, and despair all around you, but you must see past it all. When you do, you will realize that we are winning.
Do not think that there is not enough time, that there simply aren’t enough of us, or that “they” are just too powerful. This is all rubbish. The rulers control the banking system, but their “money” is printed on cotton and created out of thin air; it means nothing. They control the media, but once you have learned the truth, you become immune to falsehoods, distortions, and propaganda. There really is no going back to a life of ignorance. Every bit of information you have assimilated has changed you forever.
You know the path is difficult and fraught with danger. You should never underestimate the power of the Dark Side, especially in times like these. The practitioners of black magic are working tirelessly to push you toward fear, hatred, jealousy, anger, aggression and any emotion that brings you into lower states of being, away from the love of the universe. Be not attached to the material world around you, as it all falls to dust in the end. If you desire nothing and love all, then you cannot be corrupted by the Dark Side.
There is no reason to be afraid. The "powerful" people of this world have no power over you. You are a sovereign being shining brightly, illuminating the darkness that tries to creep in around you. "Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter." You cede your power to others when you fear death, which drives all other fears. However, it is completely illogical and counterintuitive as death is the only certainty there is in life. “Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not."
Part of your power is your infectiousness. Every word you utter and every action you take affects the world around you. Even though there are many closed minds, there are still many open souls receptive to the waves of truth that emanate forth from your very presence. You can never be fully conscious of the full impact of the light you absorb, transform, and create, but you should know that your ripples extend in all directions into the waters of time further than you can possibly imagine.
Understand that you are the only you. There has never been, and will never be, another you. You are unique. And the entire world and all that you consider “reality” exists within you just as you exist within the world. You are connected with everything that exists and are one in the same. Your power and extent are limited only by your ego. Take from this what you will, but take only what you need.
Amazingly, there are others like you. Although it might seem like it sometimes, you are not alone in this world. There are currently more enlightened, spiritually evolved people on this planet than there have been for quite some time, if ever. And the numbers are continuously increasing despite the rampant materialism and consumerism of our culture, the poisoning of our food and water, and an educational system and media that discourage real critical thinking. It is also hard to see the reality because the awakened ones are spread out across the globe in a thin layer. This distribution is in direct opposition to the centralization of power that is occurring with the Dark Side of the Force. So whenever you start feel pessimistic, realize that you have allies all over, the most powerful of which is the Force itself.
You know there is hope. But this hope lies not within any man, group, or ideology. It lies within you. This is the turning of the tide and humanity needs you. "Always in motion is the future." Go and create your reality.
May the Force be with you,
X
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AND THE FOLLOWING IS FROM THE WEBSITE RECOMMENDED IN THIS GUESTBOOK ENTRY ABOVE:
What can you do at a grass-roots level to sustain human life on earth?
There is evidence to suggest that we are already too late to preserve modern civilization. Modern nations war with genocidal nuclear weapons over declining oil reserves, while global warming exceeds the methane hydrates tipping point. In these disheartening circumstances what you can do is consciously choose from among your four options:
1. Continue your lifestyle as usual and assume that the modern-culture leaders will take care of you somehow. Most people will choose this option, largely by default, because most of the 6.5 billion people on the planet have never heard of global warming.
2. Try to implement political and/or technical solutions so as to maintain modern-culture lifestyles. This is the choice of corporocratic elites who don’t understand that Western consumerism is unsustainable in a closed ecology (a planet).
3. Prepare for the predictable lowland flooding, desertification, storms, droughts, diseases, and the disintegration of modern societies, while preserving the few parts of civilization that prove to be truly valuable. Those few who make this choice orient towards survivalism or monkhood.
4. Just Stop supporting the unsustainable old culture and, in the laboratory of your own personal life, invent sustainable new culture. A very few people will have the aptitude and tenacity to do this. These small groups will become the seed crystals for sustainable cultures of the future.
The view of this website is that modern Western consumer corporocracy has already failed us. Choices one or two equate to suicide. The purpose of this website is to support the individuals and small groups around the world who choose options three or four, nonviolent noncompliance with unsustainability. Stated in the barest minimum of terms this means: JUST STOP. BUILD AN ARK.
Individual experimenting is crucial. Each effort cuts totally new forms of consciousness that others can then more easily follow. This site is a nexus for new-culture experimenters.
The purpose of this website is to provide information that supports individuals and groups to take responsible actions in the clear eyed-vision of what is really going on and the clear hearted experience of what it is to live well.
Talk is cheap. Your choice will show up in what you actually do. After studying this website, it’s your move.
We wish you all the best with your decision,
Clinton Callahan and the Pullach, Germany Just Stop Team
ideas(AT)arkbuilder.org
PS There are many pages of essential information on this site. My suggestion is to set aside a reasonable amount of time to learn what you need to know to make an intelligent choice about your future. Studying this material is greatly enhanced if you do it in a weekly Just Stop Team meeting. I encourage you to print out single pages and work them over closely together.
7.
THE FOLLOWING IS WORTH CONSIDERING BY EVERYONE INTERESTED IN THE BLUEPRINT FOR THE FUTURE BOOK PROJECT PROPOSED BY ARIEL KY AND FEATURED IN MY LAST COMPILATION
Message posted in the ERN guestbook on October 13, 2008 about the Venus Project
Dearest Brother Jean,
Firstly, let me thank you from the deepest recesses of my heart and spirit for bringing to light for me the most frightening AND spiritually uplifting information available in one place. I've been an ERN subscriber for a couple of years now but i've been following your site for about 4 years now and i think it's now long overdue for me to make a few contributions. the site i'd like to bring to the attention of all right now is the Venus Project - http://www.thevenusproject.com/ -as it offers one of the clearest visions for a sustainable and spiritually enlightened future civilization i have found so far. Please take a look and decide for yourself.
Peace, Love and Light to all, especially to the dark ones as they are the ones most in need.
Jon (jonnydreadz@yahoo.co.uk)
United Kingdom
Note from Jean: Many interesting ideas at this site which features the ideas and visions of Jacque Fresco, born March 13, 1916, who is an industrial engineer, architectural designer, social engineer and futurist based in Florida - and his assistant Roxanne Meadows. I've spent about 30 minutes exploring a couple related Web resources on the work and ideas of this man and found the following 2 articles of immediate relevance to today's situation. But I have a word of caution though: in a world of finite resources and nearly 7 billion human beings and with the current fossil fuel based and other antiquated ecocide technologies, his forward-thinking vision of a resource-based economy as opposed to the current monetary based economy (built around the scarcity paradigm inherited from the past) may hopefully come to be one day but all the visionary, energy and resource-efficient technologies that he envisions will have first to be made available and a profound spiritual revolution must also take place - something he alludes to only with regard to changing our outmoded belief systems - to eliminate the cacophony of dysfunctional religious and other beliefs that exist and replace them with a spiritually enlightened understanding of our Oneness with All That Is and of our true divine/omniversal nature.... something which we are currently applying ourselves to manifest in synch with the dimensional shift at hand.
Future by Design - William Gazecki has produced and directed a documentary based on him and his ideas... http://www.futurebydesignthemovie.com/
Imagine a world where war is outdated, there is no shortage of resources, and every human being enjoys a high standard of living. THIS IS THE STORY OF JACQUE FRESCO -- A MODERN-DAY DA VINCI
Future by Design is a documentary film by Academy Award nominated filmmaker William Gazecki, sharing the life and far-reaching vision of Jacque Fresco, a modern day Da Vinci. Peer to Einstein and Buckminster Fuller, Jacque is a self-taught futurist who describes himself most often as a multi-disciplinarian or “generalist” -- a student of many inter-related fields. He is a prolific inventor, having spent his entire life (he is now 90 years old) conceiving of and devising inventions on various scales which entail the use of innovative technology. The film explores Fresco’s world of the future, where scientific method, not politics, rules world operations, and all human activities and efforts are directed towards achieving dynamic equilibrium between man and nature. Future by Design is a visually and intellectually engaging exploration of one man’s vision of a future where war is outdated, there is no shortage of any necessary resource, and our focus as a species is sustainability. But far from presenting a vision of Utopia, this documentary demonstrates a “possible future” -- with real and viable alternatives to our current paradigm of militarism and commercialism. Jacque Fresco is an outspoken and immediately likable character who’s radical and sometimes irreverent ideas are sure to draw both praise and controversy.
In all of his dealings with the public, Jacque attempts to illuminate the causes of our current social ills and outline a wide range of constructive alternatives. He does this by presenting a redesign of our culture, one that would emphasize the intelligent use of science and technology to enhance the lives of all people. Infused within everything he does is his desire to share his global vision of hope for the future of humankind in our technological age.
CLIP
Jacque’s vision of a Resource-based Economy is a society where automation and technology replace servitude and menial labor, and where resources are distributed on a whole basis according to the needs of the population, balanced with the carrying capacity of the natural environment. Much of the technology Jacque has developed over the years is designed to support and implement the cybernated culture he envisions. In Fresco’s world of the future, all activities and efforts are directed towards productive solutions to real and physical problems. It is a society which utilizes energy, materials and human potential in the most organized and efficient manner possible. In Jacque’s perspective, professions and industries which do not contribute to the physical wellbeing of the population are deemed inconsequential. He also feels that environmental restoration and the elimination of human-caused environmental decay is essential for long-term survival.
Jacque’s concept of a society of the future integrates intra- and inter-personal needs, psychological and sociological functioning with the macro-scale mechanisms of governance, social stratification, commerce and spiritual needs. It is not a society based upon a moral philosophy. His long study of human and animal behavior has greatly influenced his thinking with regard to psychology and sociology. Jacque’s idea is that our actions are determined by our values, and our values are in turn determined by our beliefs. What he has observed is that, in general, human social evolution throughout history has been cyclic – war, poverty, aggression, territoriality, violence and crime are all indications of aberrant human behavior. Given that these kinds of behavior are consistently demonstrated over time, it is Jacque’s consensus that there is some underlying cause. In his opinion, the source of all aberrant behavior is the operating belief systems with which we determine our values.
Jacque’s research has led him to the conclusion that one of the most harmful beliefs carried by the majority of people is the general assumption that there is “not enough to go around” for everyone. Jacque calls this tendency or belief “scarcity”. The perception of scarcity on a mass scale throughout history has led to the accumulation of wealth, the gross obsession for power, and the tendency to manipulate people in order to protect one’s resources or belongings (property). All of these mechanisms can be seen to function on a personal as well as an international scale. In Fresco’s projection of a functional future, where each individual’s needs are met, the tendency to want to accumulate material things or exercise power will become minimal or unnecessary.
In a Resource-based Economy, the use of resources is balanced with the needs of the population. This is done through the gathering of information and the use of artificial intelligence and automated technology to apportion resources on a fair and equitable basis based on physical needs rather than other factors, such as perceived threat or the domination of central power structures. In the Future by Design, governance is maintained by the cybernated system, which depends wholly upon information derived from the physical environment. This information is derived from physical measurement and the input of data by the general population. Beliefs, biases, prejudices, class systems, religions, nation-states and their priorities play no role in determining “who gets what” in the future. In Jacque’s synthesis of elements, he firmly believes that equitable use of physical resources combined with a dramatic shift in elevating the level of education of the public will create a functional, equitable world capable of long-term sustainability. A highly educated population can articulate their needs intelligently, make informed decisions.
He believes that when people are born into a system where it is understood and assumed that all physical needs will be met and that access to resources will be unfettered, that the majority of individuals will grow up psychologically healthy. His feeling is that aberrant behavior which results in crime or in some kind of overt harm is not the result of any moral crisis or ethical violation, but is really determined by one’s environment. If an individual’s needs are met, in an environment of non-violence and comprehensive education, the tendency to explore or institute harmful behavior is eliminated.
In the Future by Design, all systems work together. The personal, social, economic, industrial and governance arenas are all interconnected and balanced into one functional system. The Future by Design is a true participatory democracy, where each member of the society has the opportunity to input their needs, opinions and preferences into the central computer, which then assesses and analyzes all information to determine the use of resources in distribution of goods and services.
As a futurist, Jacque is not only a conceptualist and a theoretician, but he is also an engineer and a designer. Each one of his concepts and ideas has a firm foundation in the physical world. Whether through his study of animal and human behavior, science and the methodologies of science, or physical engineering principles, everything he has conceived of is rooted in practical reality. The basic overall concept of the Future by Design is the application of the scientific method to social systems, wherein all processes are based upon measurable factors rather than beliefs and opinions. Everything Jacque has conceived of can be designed and built as envisioned.
Jacque is not a Utopianist. In his paradigm, all social systems are evolutionary. Jacque has always based his work on the processes of nature and how organisms and systems function in a natural eco-balance. In Jacque’s estimation, there is no such thing as a Utopia, as Utopias are generally conceived of as a status-quo or end-result, never to be surpassed. In Jacque’s estimation, once our basic needs are met and we have eliminated usurious and superfluous inefficient efforts (i.e., militarism, commercialism, etc.), we can then focus the whole of human effort on an endless cycle of constant improvement and endless evolution.
The Venus Project is a educational think tank operating out of a 25-acre Research Center located in Venus, Florida.
When one considers the enormity of the challenges facing society today, we can safely conclude that the time is long overdue for us to reexamine our values, and to reflect upon and evaluate some of the underlying issues and assumptions we have as a society. This self-analysis calls into question the very nature of what it means to be human, what it means to be a member of a "civilization," and what choices we can make today to ensure a prosperous future for all the world's people.
At present we are left with very few alternatives. The answers of yesterday are no longer relevant. Either we continue as we have been with our outmoded social customs and habits of thought, in which case our future will be threatened, or we can apply a more appropriate set of values that are relevant to an emergent society.
Experience tells us that human behavior can be modified, either toward constructive or destructive activity. This is what The Venus Project is all about - directing our technology and resources toward the positive, for the maximum benefit of people and planet and seeking out new ways of thinking and living that emphasize and celebrate the vast potential of the human spirit. We have the tools at hand to design - and build - a future that is worthy of the human potential. The Venus Project presents a bold, new direction for humanity that entails nothing less than the total redesign of our culture. What follows is not an attempt to predict what will be done - only what could be done. The responsibility for our future is in our hands, and depends on the decisions that we make today. The greatest resource that is available today is our own ingenuity.
While social reformers and think tanks formulate strategies that treat only superficial symptoms, without touching the basic social operation, The Venus Project approaches these problems somewhat differently. We feel we cannot eliminate these problems within the framework of the present political and monetary establishment. It would take too many years to accomplish any significant change. Most likely they would be watered down and thinned out to such an extent that the changes would be indistinguishable
The Venus Project advocates an alternative vision for a sustainable new world civilization unlike any social system that has gone before. Although this description is highly condensed, it is based upon years of study and experimental research by many, many people from many scientific disciplines.
The Venus Project proposes a fresh approach--one that is dedicated to human and environmental concerns. It is an attainable vision of a bright and better future, one that is appropriate to the times in which we live, and both practical and feasible for a positive future for all the world's people.
The Venus Project calls for a straightforward approach to the redesign of a culture, in which the age-old inadequacies of war, poverty, hunger, debt, environmental degradation and unnecessary human suffering are viewed not only as avoidable, but totally unacceptable.
One of the basic premises of The Venus Project is that we work towards having all of the Earth's resources as the common heritage of all the world's people. Anything less will simply result in a continuation of the same catalog of problems inherent in the present system.
Throughout history, change has been slow. Successive groups of incompetent leaders have replaced those that preceded them, but the underlying social and economic problems remain because the basic value systems have gone unaltered. The problems we are faced with today cannot be solved politically or financially because they are highly technical in nature. There may not even be enough money available to pay for the required changes, but there are more than enough resources. This is why The Venus Project advocates the transition from a monetary-based society to the eventual realization of a resource-based global economy.
We realize to make the transition from our present culture, which is politically incompetent, scarcity-oriented and obsolete, to this new, more humane society will require a quantum leap in both thought and action.
An Obsolete Monetary System
The money-based system evolved centuries ago. All of the world's economic systems - socialism, communism, fascism, and even the vaunted free enterprise system - perpetuate social stratification, elitism, nationalism, and racism, primarily based on economic disparity. As long as a social system uses money or barter, people and nations will seek to maintain the economic competitive edge or, if they cannot do so by means of commerce they will by military intervention. We still utilize these same outmoded methods.
Our current monetary system is not capable of providing a high standard of living for everyone, nor can it ensure the protection of the environment because the major motive is profit. Strategies such as downsizing and toxic dumping increase the profit margin. With the advent of automation, cybernation, artificial intelligence and out-sourcing, there will be an ever-increasing replacement of people by machines. As a result, fewer people will be able to purchase goods and services even though our capability to produce an abundance will continue to exist.
Our present, outmoded political and economic systems are unable to apply the real benefits of today's innovative technology to achieve the greatest good for all people, and to overcome the inequities imposed upon so many. Our technology is racing forward yet our social designs have remained relatively static. In other words cultural change has not kept pace with technological change. We now have the means to produce goods and services in abundance for everyone.
Unfortunately, today science and technology have been diverted from achieving the greatest good for reasons of self-interest and monetary gain through planned obsolescence sometimes referred to as the conscious withdrawal of efficiency. For example, the U. S. Department of Agriculture, whose function is presumed to be conducting research into ways of achieving higher crop yields per acre, actually pays farmers not to produce at full-capacity. The monetary system tends to hold back the application of these methods that we know would best serve the interests of people and the environment.
In a monetary system purchasing power is not related to our capacity to produce goods and services. For example, during a depression, there are computers and DVD's on store shelves and automobiles in car lots, but most people do not have the purchasing power to buy them. The earth is still the same place; it is just the rules of the game that are obsolete and create strife, deprivation and unnecessary human suffering.
A monetary system developed years ago as a device to control human behavior in an environment with limited resources. Today money is used to regulate the economy not for the benefit of the general populace, but for those who control the financial wealth of nations.
Resource Based Economy
All social systems, regardless of political philosophy, religious beliefs, or social customs, ultimately depend upon natural resources, i.e. clean air and water, arable land and the necessary technology and personnel to maintain a high standard of living.
Simply stated, a Resource-Based Economy utilizes existing resources rather than money and provides an equitable method of distributing these resources in the most efficient manner for the entire population. It is a system in which all goods and services are available without the use of money, credits, barter, or any other form of debt or servitude.
Earth is abundant with plentiful resources; today our practice of rationing resources through monetary methods is irrelevant and counter productive to our survival. Modern society has access to highly advanced technologies and can make available food, clothing, housing, medical care, a relevant educational system, and develop a limitless supply of renewable, non-contaminating energy such as geothermal, solar, wind, tidal, etc. It is now possible to have everyone enjoy a very high standard of living with all of the amenities that a prosperous civilization can provide. This can be accomplished through the intelligent and humane application of science and technology.
A Resource-Based Economy would make it possible to use technology to overcome scarce resources by applying renewable sources of energy, computerizing and automating manufacturing and inventory, designing safe energy-efficient cities and advanced transportation systems, providing universal health care and more relevant education, and most of all by generating a new incentive system based on human and environmental concern.
Many people believe that there is too much technology in the world today, and that technology is the major cause of our environmental pollution. This is not the case. It is the abuse and misuse of technology that should be our major concern. In a more humane civilization, instead of machines displacing people they would shorten the workday, increase the availability of goods and services, and lengthen vacation time. If we utilize new technology to raise the standard of living for all people, then the infusion of machine technology would no longer be a threat.
To better understand the meaning of a Resource Based Economy consider this: if all the money in the world were destroyed, as long as topsoil, factories, and other resources were left intact, we could build anything we choose to build and fulfill any human need. It is not money that people need; rather, it is free access to the necessities of life. In a Resource Based Economy , money would be irrelevant. All that would be required are the resources and the manufacturing and distribution of the products.
When education and resources are made available to all people without a price tag, there would be no limit to the human potential. Although this is difficult to imagine, even the wealthiest person today would be far better off in a resource based society as proposed by The Venus Project. Today the middle classes live better than kings of times past. In a Resource Based Economy everyone would live better than the wealthiest of today.
In such a society, the measure of success would be based on the fulfillment of one's individual pursuits rather than the acquisition of wealth, property and power.
The Choice Is Ours To Make
Human behavior is subject to the same laws as any other natural phenomenon. Our customs, behaviors, and values are byproducts of our culture. No one is born with greed, prejudice, bigotry, patriotism and hatred; these are all learned behavior patterns. If the environment is unaltered, similar behavior will reoccur.
Today, much of the technology needed to bring about a global Resource-Based Economy exists. If we choose to conform to the limitations of our present monetary-based economy, then it is likely that we will continue to live with its inevitable results: war, poverty, hunger, deprivation, crime, ignorance, stress, fear, and inequity. On the other hand, if we embrace the concept of a global Resource Based Economy, learn more about it, and share our understanding with our friends, this will help humanity evolve out of its present state.
The only limitations are those we impose upon ourselves. The Venus Project is neither utopian nor Orwellian, nor does it reflect the dreams of impractical idealists. Instead, it presents attainable goals requiring only the intelligent application of what we already know.
The economic crisis is petty by comparison to the nature crunch. But they have the same cause.
By George Monbiot. Published in the Guardian 14th October 2008
This is nothing. Well, nothing by comparison to what’s coming. The financial crisis for which we must now pay so heavily prefigures the real collapse, when humanity bumps against its ecological limits.
As we goggle at the fluttering financial figures, a different set of numbers passes us by. On Friday, Pavan Sukhdev, the Deutsche Bank economist leading a European study on ecosystems, reported that we are losing natural capital worth between $2 trillion and $5 trillion every year, as a result of deforestation alone(1). The losses incurred so far by the financial sector amount to between $1 trillion and $1.5 trillion. Sukhdev arrived at his figure by estimating the value of the services - such as locking up carbon and providing freshwater - that forests perform, and calculating the cost of either replacing them or living without them. The credit crunch is petty when compared to the nature crunch.
The two crises have the same cause. In both cases, those who exploit the resource have demanded impossible rates of return and invoked debts that can never be repaid. In both cases we denied the likely consequences. I used to believe that collective denial was peculiar to climate change. Now I know that it’s the first response to every impending dislocation.
Gordon Brown, for example, was as much in denial about financial realities as any toxic debt trader. In June last year, during his Mansion House speech, he boasted that 40 per cent of the world’s foreign equities are now traded here. “I congratulate you Lord Mayor and the City of London on these remarkable achievements, an era that history will record as the beginning of a new golden age for the City of London.”(2) The financial sector’s success had come about, he said, partly because the government had taken “a risk-based regulatory approach”. In the same hall three years before, he pledged that “in budget after budget I want us to do even more to encourage the risk takers”(3). Can anyone, surveying this mess, now doubt the value of the precautionary principle?
Ecology and economy are both derived from the Greek word oikos - a house or dwelling. Our survival depends upon the rational management of this home: the space in which life can be sustained. The rules are the same in both cases. If you extract resources at a rate beyond the level of replenishment, your stock will collapse. That’s another noun which reminds us of the connection. The OED gives 69 definitions of stock. When it means a fund or store, the word evokes the trunk - or stock - of a tree, “from which the gains are an outgrowth”(4). Collapse occurs when you prune the tree so heavily that it dies. Ecology is the stock from which all wealth grows.
The two crises feed each other. As a result of Iceland’s financial collapse, it is now contemplating joining the European Union, which means surrendering its fishing grounds to the Common Fisheries Policy. Already the prime minister Geir Haarde has suggested that his countrymen concentrate on exploiting the ocean(5). The economic disaster will cause an ecological disaster.
Normally it’s the other way around. In his book Collapse, Jared Diamond shows how ecological crisis is often the prelude to social catatrosphe(6). The obvious example is Easter Island, where society disintegrated soon after the population reached its highest historical numbers, the last trees were cut down and the construction of stone monuments peaked. The island chiefs had competed to erect ever bigger statues. These required wood and rope (made from bark) for transport and extra food for the labourers. As the trees and soils on which the islanders depended disappeared, the population crashed and the survivors turned to cannibalism. (Let’s hope Iceland doesn’t go the same way.) Diamond wonders what the Easter islander who cut down the last palm tree might have thought. “Like modern loggers, did he shout ‘Jobs, not trees!’? Or: ‘Technology will solve our problems, never fear, we’ll find a substitute for wood.’? Or: ‘We don’t have proof that there aren’t palms somewhere else on Easter … your proposed ban on logging is premature and driven by fear-mongering’?”(7).
Ecological collapse, Diamond shows, is as likely to be the result of economic success as of economic failure. The Maya of Central America, for example, were among the most advanced and successful people of their time. But a combination of population growth, extravagant construction projects and poor land management wiped out between 90 and 99% of the population. The Mayan collapse was accelerated by “the competition among kings and nobles that led to a chronic emphasis on war and erecting monuments rather than on solving underlying problems”(8). Does any of this sound familiar?
Again, the largest monuments were erected just before the ecosystem crashed. Again, this extravagance was partly responsible for the collapse: trees were used for making plaster with which to decorate their temples. The plaster became thicker and thicker as the kings sought to outdo each other’s conspicuous consumption.
Here are some of the reasons why people fail to prevent ecological collapse. Their resources appear at first to be inexhaustible; a long-term trend of depletion is concealed by short-term fluctuations; small numbers of powerful people advance their interests by damaging those of everyone else; short-term profits trump long-term survival. The same, in all cases, can be said of the collapse of financial systems. Is this how human beings are destined to behave? If we cannot act until stocks - of either kind - start sliding towards oblivion, we’re knackered.
But one of the benefits of modernity is our ability to spot trends and predict results. If fish in a depleted ecosystem grow by 5% a year and the catch expands by 10% a year, the fishery will collapse. If the global economy keeps growing at 3% a year (or 1700% a century) it too will hit the wall.
I’m not going to suggest, as some scoundrel who shares a name with me did on these pages last year(9), that we should welcome a recession. But the financial crisis provides us with an opportunity to rethink this trajectory; an opportunity which is not available during periods of economic success. Governments restructuring their economies should read Herman Daly’s book Steady-State Economics(10).
As usual I haven’t left enough space to discuss this, so the details will have to wait for another column. Or you can read the summary published by the Sustainable Development Commission(11). But what Daly suggests is that nations which are already rich should replace growth (”more of the same stuff”) with development (”the same amount of better stuff”). A steady state economy has a constant stock of capital maintained by a rate of throughput no higher than the ecosystem can absorb. The use of resources is capped and the right to exploit them is auctioned. Poverty is addressed through the redistribution of wealth. The banks can lend only as much money as they possess.
Alternatively, we can persist in the magical thinking whose results have just come crashing home. The financial crisis shows what happens when we try to make the facts fit our desires. Now we must learn to live in the real world.
Nature loss 'dwarfs bank crisis (10 October 2008) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7662565.stm
The global economy is losing more money from the disappearance of forests than through the current banking crisis, according to an EU-commissioned study. It puts the annual cost of forest loss at between $2 trillion and $5 trillion. The figure comes from adding the value of the various services that forests perform, such as providing clean water and absorbing carbon dioxide. The study, headed by a Deutsche Bank economist, parallels the Stern Review into the economics of climate change. It has been discussed during many sessions here at the World Conservation Congress. Some conservationists see it as a new way of persuading policymakers to fund nature protection rather than allowing the decline in ecosystems and species, highlighted in the release on Monday of the Red List of Threatened Species, to continue. CLIP
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man: How the U.S.Uses Globalization to Cheat Poor Countries Out of Trillions of Dollars - by John Perkins http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/11/09/1526251
Preface: Economic Hit Men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. They funnel money from the World Bank, U.S. Agency for International Development, and other foreign “aid” organizations into the coffers of huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet's natural resources. Their tools include fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder. They play a game as old as empire, but one that has taken on new and terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization. CLIP
9.
Forwarded by Nattanya (nattanya@telus.net)
From: "Greg Palast" (palast@gregpalast.net)
Date: Oct 16, 2008
Subject: ROLLING STONE: It's Already Stolen
ROLLING STONE: IT'S ALREADY STOLEN
Investigation by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Greg Palast released today
Don’t worry about Mickey Mouse or ACORN stealing the election. According to an investigative report out today in Rolling Stone magazine, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Greg Palast, after a year-long investigation, reveal a systematic program of "GOP vote tampering" on a massive scale.
- Republican Secretaries of State of swing-state Colorado have quietly purged one in six names from their voter rolls.
Over several months, the GOP politicos in Colorado stonewalled every attempt by Rolling Stone to get an answer to the massive purge - ten times the average state's rate of removal.
- While Obama dreams of riding to the White House on a wave of new voters, more then 2.7 million have had their registrations REJECTED under new procedures signed into law by George Bush.
Kennedy, a voting rights lawyer, charges this is a resurgence of 'Jim Crow' tactics to wrongly block Black and Hispanic voters.
- A fired US prosecutor levels new charges - accusing leaders of his own party, Republicans, with criminal acts in an attempt to block legal voters as "fraudulent."
- Digging through government records, the Kennedy-Palast team discovered that, in 2004, a GOP scheme called "caging” ultimately took away the rights of 1.1 million voters. The Rolling Stone duo predict that, this November 4, it will be far worse.
There's more:
- Since the last presidential race, "States used dubious 'list management' rules to scrub at least 10 million voters from their rolls."
Among those was Paul Maez of Las Vegas, New Mexico - a victim of an unreported but devastating purge of voters in that state that left as many as one in nine Democrats without a vote. For Maez, the state's purging his registration was particularly shocking - he's the county elections supervisor.
The Kennedy-Palast revelations go far beyond the sum of questionably purged voters recently reported by the New York Times.
"Republican operatives - the party's elite commandos of bare-knuckle politics," report Kennedy and Palast, under the cover of fighting fraudulent voting, are "systematically disenfranchis[ing] Democrats."
The investigators level a deadly serious charge:
"If Democrats are to win the 2008 election, they must not simply beat McCain at the polls - they must beat him by a margin that exceeds the level of GOP vote tampering."
Block the Vote by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. & Greg Palast in the current issue (#1064) of Rolling Stone. [Media enquiries - Dave Falkenstein, Sunshine Sachs & Assoc, via interviews@gregpalast.com.]
Note - Kennedy and Palast are releasing, simultaneously with the Rolling Stone investigative report what they call, the vote-theft 'antidote': a 24-page full-color comic book, Steal Back Your Vote, which can be downloaded or obtained in print from their non-partisan website, StealBackYourVote.org
For updates and video reports, go to RollingStone.com, www.GregPalast.com and StealBackYourVote.org.
Exclusive Interview: Voting Experts Bobby Kennedy and Greg Palast on How to "Steal Back Your Vote!" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/m.s.-bellows/voting-experts-bobby-kenn_b_134920.html
(...) Suppression efforts can appear innocuous, such as requiring voters to show photo I.D.s - a requirement that excludes a surprising number of poor, minority, very young and very old voters and kept several elderly nuns from voting in Indiana's Democratic primary this year.
"Set up to steal it again." Is 2008 already fixed? http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10522
"A lot of Europeans wonder: Why are Americans so crazy, they keep reelecting this guy?" Well the answer is, we don't! They keep stealing these elections! And they stole it in 2000, they stole it in 2004,and they're all set up to steal it again!" - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on BBC Television Newsnight.
US Supreme Court Rules Against Ohio G.O.P. in Voting Case http://www.truthout.org/101708R
Adam Liptak and Ian Urbina, The New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Friday overturned a lower court's order requiring state officials in Ohio to supply information that would have made it easier to challenge prospective voters. The decision was a setback for Ohio Republicans, who had sued to force the Ohio secretary of state, a Democrat, to provide information about database mismatches to county officials."
GOP attacks on American voters turn desperate, ugly and dangerous (October 13, 2008) http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10553
The GOP assault on American voters has hit full stride as the economy and John McCain tank in synch. With just over three weeks until election day, the Republicans have mounted an all-out attack against newly registered voters and the organizations working to sign them up. As many as 75% of these new voters are expected to vote Democratic, but the attacks have also spread to long-established voters as well. Recent calculations show more than a million more newly registered Democrats in Ohio than Republicans. The usual drumbeat claiming massive voter fraud has become ceaseless at Fox "News" and other right wing media mouthpieces. As expected, the assault centers in Ohio, which once again could decide the presidency, but has manifested throughout the nation: CLIP
Elections Irregularities Reported in Major Media Raise Serious Questions http://www.WantToKnow.info/008/081014_elections_irregularities Many highly revealing excerpts of important elections articles from the mainstream media. These articles present key, little-known information showing that the U.S. elections system is filled with irregularities which have not been adequately investigated.
A thriving financial sector sounds like an oxymoron these days. Even Australia's banks - among the most profitable in the world - kept a fifth of this week's interest rate cut to cushion their margins. But there is one sector that has tongues wagging in the hubs of commerce: Islamic finance.
While the Western world's financial system has been imploding, this small but rapidly growing share of world capital has weathered the storm.
Sharemarkets in London and New York are a third off their peaks. Dow Jones's Islamic financials index, in contrast, rose 4.75 per cent in the most recent September quarter and lost a modest 7 per cent in the previous year.
Not only has the industry been resilient; it's also on the cusp of serious expansion. It is growing faster than any other subset of world banking, at 15 to 20 per cent a year. The Economist estimates Islamic assets under management are worth $US700 billion ($1000 billion). This figure could hit $US1 trillion - about the Australian sharemarket's current value - by 2010.
What's more, all this growth has come from a model of lending that rejects interest payments and shuns speculation and heavy borrowing.
In short, Islamic finance bans some of the excess that has brought the West's financial system to its knees, and is looking wise indeed, or at least lucky.
Islamic finance takes its guidance from sharia.
The biggest markets are in the Middle East and Muslim countries, but global banks have opened sharia-compliant branches. Locally, the Muslim Community Co-operative is one of a few lenders offering the service.
Justice, partnership and opposition to excessive risk are the main principles guiding Islamic banks. Outright speculation and dealing with any party that has a balance sheet more than a third of which is debt are forbidden, as are investments deemed unethical by Islamic scholars, such as casinos.
But if these rules sound tough, the biggest difference is a ban on interest.
Charging interest is immoral because it does not take into account how changes in the value of the loan's security can affect the borrower, sharia says. Home owners who bought near the peak are now experiencing this harsh reality: interest gives banks a steady payment from the borrower, regardless of the property market's state.
However, profit is fine, and Islamic banks have devised ways to make money from lending. Instead of demanding interest, they buy the asset outright on behalf of the borrower. The borrower pays off the loan (the principle) and a fee for using the asset (rent, for example) until the amount is repaid and ownership transfers to the borrower.
Just like mortgage-backed securities, the rights to loan repayments can be sold as an Islamic bond, or sukuk. But instead of a yield, the bondholder receives repayments on the loan, and some rent. As a result, Islamic lenders have not had to venture into money markets that have recently blown up.
For depositors, putting your money with an Islamic bank is more like being a shareholder. Rather than interest, depositors get a cut of any profits.
Understandably, Western governments are casting around for ideas on how to run a more robust financial system. But what could they possibly learn from such a different approach?
Islamic finance's more prudent rules on debt look attractive in hindsight. But more fundamentally, proponents say it provides a better way to link the financial system to the "real" economy.
Because Islamic banks keep ownership of the asset until the loan is repaid, they have a greater incentive to make sure borrowers do not bite off more than they can chew. The bank shares in the risks of the entrepreneur but also its failures, the argument goes.
I am not suggesting we switch to a lending system without interest payments. But a big gripe emerging in recent weeks is that finance has become out of whack with the needs of the rest of the economy.
In the most extreme cases, it seems investment bankers devoted themselves to developing inventive ways to get higher bonuses rather than facilitating productive investment. Islamic finance shows one way of ensuring savings are put to more useful ends.
Some even say banning short selling of shares reflects sharia thinking, because it stops traders dealing with assets they don't own. "Banning short selling is one of the decisive elements in Islamic finance, so it seems almost that the conventional markets are looking at the Islamic techniques, which so far did not play any role in conventional markets," a financial journalist from Dubai, Gerard Al-Fil, told ABC radio last month.
Sceptics say Islamic finance just dresses up Western finance with different titles. It is also worth noting that the system is not immune from creating bubbles, although the method of lending makes it harder for investors to pile in through debt. A conflict between its religious goals and the goal of turning a profit is another tension, The Economist notes.
Nevertheless, it is booming. High oil prices have filled the coffers of Gulf states, and the region is crammed with capital works projects in need of funding. Muslims account for 20 per cent of the world's population, but Islamic finance makes up less than 1 per cent of world capital, suggesting huge room for growth.
The Islamic bond market has tapered off in the credit crunch, but this appears to be a blip. About $US14 billion in Islamic bonds were issued in the eight months to August, down from $US23 billion in the same time last year, but Standard & Poor's expects issuance to hit $US25 billion next year.
This potential has not crept past Western banks unnoticed, and many have fast-growing sharia-compliant arms. London is vying to capture the market and has changed its laws to allow the different property transfers required for the lending. British media report growing interest even among non-Muslims because of perceptions that it is a more ethical approach to finance.
So expect to see more Islamic banks in years ahead as global banks try to cash in on this growing field. Given the present financial mess, the industry's resilience only makes it harder to ignore.
Tape Blows Cover On True Treasury Intentions October 11, 2008
The new kid at the Treasury hasn't quite learned you really can't talk in public about what you are really up to at Treasury. New Interim Assistant Secretary of the Office of Stability, Neel Kashkari, has been caught on tape providing the true details of what Treasury is up to. This will get him muzzled pretty fast, but it provides us the opportunity to see the scheming going on at Treasury.
Kashkari's statements were posted on YouTube, and now appear to have been removed.
WSJ reviewed the tapes and reports first on the fact that Kashkari considers the executive pay caps demanded by Congress a joke:
As the biggest market intervention in U.S. history made its way through Congress, Neel Kashkari, the Treasury official named this week to run the program, offered assurances to 800 financial-industry players.
Attempts by Congress to make beneficiaries pay for their mistakes, such as placing caps on executive pay, were "quite reasonable" and "a pretty modest hindrance to you," he told them, according to a recording of the Sept. 28 conference call made public on video-sharing Web site YouTube.
Kashkari told participants in the call that lawmakers' interest in limiting executive compensation was "emotional" and "probably the most difficult part of the negotiation" with Congress.
When one industry participant said the caps might discourage participation, Kashkari noted their limited scope, which he called "a pretty modest hindrance to you coming into the program," WSJ reports.
WSJ also reports that the conference call took place the night before the House rejected the rescue plan, on September 28. The plan passed days later on October 3.
The dates are important because Kashkari, according to WSJ, also reported to the financial insiders that, "Our preference would be to try to help healthy banks become even healthier." (My emphasis.)
Remember, the entire focus, at the time, was on buying up bad mortgages and there was no news out publicly about Treasury helping "healthy banks"?
Indeed, I just did a search of the New York Times database and the first time the words "healthy bank" come up in a search is on October 9, where NYT reports that as Part of a NEW "Plan B" that Treasury may take positions in banks, even healthy ones.
Having tried without success to unlock frozen credit markets, the Treasury Department is considering taking ownership stakes in many United States banks to try to restore confidence in the financial system, according to government officials...
The American recapitalization plan, officials say, has emerged as one of the most favored new options being discussed in Washington and on Wall Street. The appeal is that it would directly address the worries that banks have about lending to one another and to other customers.
Treasury officials say the just-passed $700 billion bailout bill gives them the authority to inject cash directly into banks that request it...including healthy ones.
This new interest in direct investment in banks comes after yet another tumultuous day in which the Federal Reserve and five other central banks marshaled their combined firepower to cut interest rates but failed to stanch the global financial panic.
As Bob Murphy has pointed out, they haven't even bought one mortgage yet, so how could they have failed at attempting to unlock the supposed frozen market?
"New interest"? "New options" "After yet another tumultuous day"? Then why was Kashkari talking about these details to the securities industry, even BEFORE the first House vote?
A database search of WSJ pretty much shows the same thing, the first time "healthy bank" is used with regard to the takeover of banks is October 10. The only other relevant search that comes up is an Op-Ed piece on 9-26 by John Paulson , a respected Wall Street investment manager--not the Treasury Secretary--, who discusses the Treasury's plan to buy mortgages from all banks. And he would certainly be shocked to hear that two days after his Op-Ed that Kashkari said the Treasury's preference was to help healthy banks, given that John Paulson wrote in his Op-Ed:
By allowing all banks to sell their worst assets to Treasury at inflated prices, taxpayers would be subsidizing healthy banks which have access to private capital (Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America, for example) as well as banks that don't have a private alternative. But under a Preferred plan, only banks that don't have a private alternative will be given federal assistance. This would reduce the outlay otherwise required to solve the crisis.
Folks, we have a smoking gone here, you would have to be blind not to see that the Bernanke-induced crisis is being used by Paulson to funnel money to Goldman Sachs and his other crony favorites. The plan all along was to help out "healthy banks". It's on tape from the interim Assistant Secretary of Stability. Yeah, crisis and fear alright. Every time they utter those words, they move more of the $700 billion closer towards Goldman Sachs' vault.
UPDATE: There is a poor quality audio tape of the conference call on YouTube. Here is Part 3 where at the 9:00 minute mark the mention is made that healthy banks will be preferred. Thanks, Anthony.
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Related article:
Government moves again to unclog credit lines (October 14, 2008) http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081014/ap_on_bi_ge/financial_meltdown;_ylt=A0wNcwgDAfVIn4ABdhqs0NUE
WASHINGTON - The government put itself four-square into the country's banking business Tuesday, resorting to what President Bush conceded was the unwelcome choice of buying into the system to loosen paralyzed channels of credit. The president said the decision to buy shares in the nation's leading banks - a kind of federal intervention not seen since the Depression era - was "not intended to take over the free market but to preserve it."But the administration was clearly conflicted by the action. Said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson: "We regret having to take these actions. Today's actions are not what we ever wanted to do - but today's actions are what we must do to restore confidence to our financial system." (...) Nine major banks will participate initially, including all of the country's largest institutions. The first bank to take advantage of the new program was Bank of New York Mellon which announced Tuesday that it would sell $3 billion in preferred shares to the Treasury. Some of the nation's largest banks had to be pressured by to participate by Paulson, who wanted healthy institutions that did not necessarily need capital from the government to go first as a way of removing any stigma that might be associated with banks getting bailouts (YEAH! RIGHT... SURE WHATEVER!). It was the latest in a long series of moves taken by the administration and the Federal Reserve over the past several weeks to prop up a weakening financial industry. (...) The administration plans to spend $250 billion this year on the stock purchases and the president certified Tuesday that another $100 billion would be needed in connection with covering bad assets. That would leave $350 billion of the $700 billion program, presumably to be spent by the next president. The action represents a remarkable turnaround for a rescue program that was already the largest bailout in U.S. history. As the plan sped through Congress, the administration said the money was needed to purchase bad mortgage-related assets that are weighing on the books of financial institutions, never mentioning direct stock purchases. However, as the financial crisis gained new intensity last week, sending U.S. stocks down by a record amount, the administration decided to shift focus and adopt a bolder program modeled more along the lines of bank rescue efforts being put together in Britain and other European countries. (...) After the purchase of preferred stock in nine large banks, the new program is expected to be expanded to many others and in fact thousands of banks and savings and loans will be eligible to participate. The nine initial banks participating are Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America Corp, including the soon-to-acquired Merrill Lynch, Citgroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co, Bank of New York Mellon and State Street Corp. At a briefing, Treasury officials said that the first purchases of stock from the nine major banks will begin within days and will total $125 billion. (...) Paulson said companies which sell stock to the government will be required to accept restrictions on executive compensation including a ban on golden parachutes for the period in which Treasury holds the banks' stock. Worried about the slumping U.S. economy only three weeks from the elections, House Republicans and Democrats on Monday pushed for fresh action to prevent a serious downturn. Democrats scheduled hearings to consider a postelection stimulus package that could cost as much as $150 billion. Republicans called for more tax cuts and energy exploration.
If we are to believe the Washington Post, French president and current EU leader Nicolas Sarkozy has pledged to save us from nameless "freewheeling bankers and traders" who get the blame for the current economic crisis.
Sarkozy, Gordon Brown, and EU honcho José Manuel Barroso are talking up an international summit to discuss an "urgent overhaul of the world's financial architecture," that is to say a new Bretton Woods to establish a brand spanking new international economic order. Sarkozy has managed to grab George Bush's ear and he will travel to Washington on Saturday to lay the groundwork for a conference.
In 1944, 44 allied nations met at a resort in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, to fiddle with monetary standards, fix exchange rates, and create the IMF and World Bank. "Launching a remake of this old model - particularly in such a short time, with so many new participants - would represent a daunting challenge at any time, but particularly during the twilight of the Bush presidency and the crisis that is still jolting banks and stock markets around the world," reports the Post.
Sarkozy and the EU leaders would have us believe this new Bretton Woods will call for "globally coordinated regulation of the financial industry, elimination of tax havens and a compensation system in which traders are not rewarded for dangerous risk-taking," among other things.
It was the demise of Bretton Woods in 1971, insists European Central Bank president Jean- Claude Trichet, that led to the abandonment of regulation and subsequent market turmoil. "The explosion of the first Bretton Woods in a way could be interpreted as a rejection of discipline," said Trichet, reports Bloomberg.
Gordon Brown, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, wants to fix that turmoil with a new spate of regulations aimed at international finance. On October 13 in London, Brown said "we must devise new rules for a world of global capital flows" just as the founders of Bretton Woods "devised rules for a world of limited capital flows."
"We now have global financial markets but what we do not have is anything other than national and regional regulation and supervision," Brown lamented from Brussels.
All of this is nonsense. It should be obvious by now the bankers engineered the current crisis in order to consolidate their hold on the global economy and all the talk about rogue traders, tax havens, and over-compensated executives is merely that - talk, or more specifically a sales pitch, a slick parlor trick devised to fool the commoners.
Glossed over in all the corporate media coverage is the global elite demand that a global currency be established. "Europe wants to present a blueprint for a new worldwide currency system," reports the AFP in the video here.
"Another subject in tomorrow's world is that of the great currencies," Reuters reported Sarkozy musing on October 16. "How many should there be? What should the agreement between these great currencies be? Should we organize a discussion?"
Any discussion would be purely academic, as the ruling elite long ago decided to force a global currency down our throats. In fact, a global currency is at the very core of their plan to dominate the world. Control money and you control the destiny of states, you eliminate national sovereignty. "The control of money and credit strikes at the very heart of national sovereignty," A.W. Clausen, president of Bank of America once observed.
As Georgetown professor and CFR historian Carroll Quigley noted, the goal of the banking families and their minions consists of "nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole… controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements arrived at in frequent private meetings and conferences."
It remains to be seen if the EU will realize its "solution" to the world economic crisis. In 2007, Robert Mundell, "the father of the euro," noted that "international monetary reform usually becomes possible only in response to a felt need and the threat of a global crisis."
Certainly, the elite cooked up an appropriate global crisis, now they will engage in a full court press to establish a global currency and eventually a global government.
Spending Surge Pushing Deficit Toward $1 Trillion (Oct 18, 2008) http://www.prisonplanet.com/spending-surge-pushing-deficit-toward-1-trillion.html
Congressional leaders and both presidential candidates are proposing billions of dollars in tax breaks and other measures to stoke economic growth, a surge in spending that could send the federal deficit soaring toward $1 trillion this year, creating the deepest well of red ink since the end of World War II.The government already has embarked on an unprecedented spending spree to halt the implosion of the U.S. financial system and is borrowing money at levels that some economists fear could undermine the nation's economic security for years to come. Congress could consider additional spending as soon as next month, potentially digging the nation's hole even deeper."We're going to make Ronald Reagan look like a piker in terms of deficit creation, I think," said Rudolph Penner, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute who served as director of the Congressional Budget Office during the Reagan administration. The numbers are adding up fast. Since President Bush signed an economic stimulus package in February, authorizing billions of dollars in rebates for American taxpayers, the government has pledged as much as $1.5 trillion to prop up the teetering economy. It has approved new mortgages for struggling homeowners, salvage operations for faltering financial institutions and a historic $700 billion bailout plan to pump money into banks paralyzed by the financial crisis.The Treasury Department so far has borrowed nearly $500 billion from pension plans, foreign governments and other investors to replenish the coffers of the Federal Reserve. Since the end of August, the national debt has jumped from $9.6 trillion to $10.3 trillion, with borrowing for the bank bailout yet to come. CLIP
How Wall Street's Scam Artists Turned Home Mortgages Into Economic WMDs (October 18, 2008) http://www.alternet.org/workplace/103514/how_wall_street%27s_scam_artists_turned_home_mortgages_into_economic_wmds/
The titans of high finance are trying desperately to shift blame for the crisis onto others, but this dead cat lies squarely on their doorstep. -- If the ABCs of the financial meltdown leave your head spinning -- if "default swaps" and "collateralized debt obligations" and "high-rated tranches" are all just so much gobbledygook -- don't worry. You're not alone.The alphabet soup of exotic investments that represent the immediate cause of the banking mess is so complex that many of those "innovative" financiers responsible for bringing the global economy to the brink of collapse are now making a fortune in consulting fees explaining just what the hell it is that they created. According to the Financial Times, Robert Reoch, the London banker who may be responsible for creating the first of the now-infamous debt-based securities, is now "swamped by investors who want to extricate themselves from derivatives-linked messes, or simply to understand the products that came out of the past few years of intense financial innovation." The Washington Post reported that Joe Cassano, the financial products manager "whose complex investments led to (AIG's) near collapse," is raking in $1 million per month in consulting fees from the ailing financial giant to help sort out the toxic sludge on (and off) the bank's books. CLIP
Dr. Paulson's Magic Potion Is Pure Poison for Us (October 17, 2008) http://www.alternet.org/story/103397/dr._paulson%27s_magic_potion_is_pure_poison_for_us/
The Treasury Secretary's infusion of cash is a tonic for the bad boys of Wall Street. For a cure, we'll have to wait for a new president. (...) Nationalization is the "shock therapy." We may yet see it before this turmoil is ended. Naturally, it is ideologically offensive to the Bush administration, and especially to Paulson's old colleagues and rivals on Wall Street. Taking control would impose on the government the daunting challenge of reshaping these large and overbearing institutions, winnowing out banks that deserve to die and instilling in the survivors formal obligations to serve the national interest they have willfully betrayed for a generation. That task will probably be left to Paulson's successors.Without taking explicit control, the government is simply betting the bankers will cooperate in exchange for rescue. Maybe they will start lending again, but maybe not: banks are in a deep hole of their own making, having lost more than a trillion. Typically, they apply tightfisted lending tactics to heal balance sheets -- the opposite of what the country needs from them now. The $125 billion or so targeted for the nine biggest banks will not be enough to heal them all. Institutional Risk Analytics, a bank monitoring firm, says $250 billion in capital injections "will be just the down payment to get through the wave of loan losses headed for some of the larger players in the US banking sector." Meanwhile, the money provides a feel-good tonic for the club -- the relatively small congregation of financial institutions that exert such oppressive influence over business and society, not to mention politics. Paulson is handing them cheap money (ours) that will initially earn only 5 percent, even as Warren Buffett gets 10 percent dividends on the capital he provided Goldman Sachs. Nor does the public get a controlling interest, or even seats on the board, for its generosity. The choices Paulson makes as he hands out the public money will effectively design the future -- making the big boys even bigger and more arrogant, since they know the government will not let them fail. CLIP
Banks borrow record $437.5 billion per day from Fed (October 17, 2008) http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE49F97920081017
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Financial institutions ran to their lender of last resort for record amounts of cash in the latest week, under extreme pressure from the worst global financial crisis in a generation, Federal Reserve data showed on Thursday.Banks and dealers' overall direct borrowings from the Fed averaged a record $437.53 billion per day in the week ended October 15, topping the previous week's $420.16 billion per day.Some analysts are concerned that banks' dependence on Fed lending might become long term and difficult to change."The banking system is going to become addicted to this very cheap money. Unwinding it will be very difficult," said Howard Simons, strategist with Bianco Research in Chicago."We have effectively allowed the central banks to disintermediate the banking system. Why would I want to borrow from you if I could do it with the central bank, because they can always print it up and say 'here'...and they are in the business now of making sure I stay in business," Simons said. CLIP
We are in danger of passing an extremely dangerous tipping point, with the frightening discovery of massive deposits of sub-sea methane in the Arctic.
Hey, ho, where's the cash flow? Wasn't the bailout supposed to get those streams of credit flowing again? But while the titans of trickle-down and the free-reign rainmakers pray for new rivers of revenue to float their boats, some venerable bodies of water beyond the canyons of Wall Street are in danger of literally evaporating -- and all the money in the world won't bring them back once we pass that terrible tipping point.
London Bridge isn't falling down, but the river it spans may be drying up, according to the Guardian:
Britain's rivers could nearly run dry because long hot summers caused by climate change will not be sufficiently compensated by wetter winters ... the overall average trend is toward drastically reduced river flows across the country.
And, to get truly biblical, the BBC reports that years of drought have helped decimate the Sea of Galilee. Should Jesus decide to revisit his old stomping grounds any time soon (as Sarah Palin reportedly expects him to), the miracle worker who fed the multitudes will be hard-pressed to find even two fish in the dregs of this ancient sea, doggone it.
But while rivers and lakes all over the world are simply vanishing into the ether, something really insidious is bubbling up from the Arctic seabed. Scientists have just discovered that "massive deposits of sub-sea methane are bubbling to the surface as the Arctic region becomes warmer and its ice retreats." This could speed up climate change to an unprecedented degree, as the Independent reports:
Methane is about 20 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide and many scientists fear that its release could accelerate global warming in a giant positive feedback where more atmospheric methane causes higher temperatures, leading to further permafrost melting and the release of yet more methane.
Never mind the "negative feedback loop" that's strangling Wall Street. If we don't get a handle on this positive feedback loop -- which, let's be clear, is not a positive development -- it's going to hang us all, and the future of our financial markets won't matter one molecule.
Yes, it's awful that our nation's debt has ballooned so badly that, on Sept. 30, we passed the $10 trillion mark and the National Debt Clock ran out of room. The Durst Organization, which maintains the billboard, had to bump the dollar sign to accommodate all those zeroes.
But the figure we need to focus on now is not measured in trillions, or billions -- it's parts per million (ppm), the way we measure the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. If we had a billboard tracking that figure (maybe the Durst Organization would care to donate one?), it would currently read "385 ppm." Unfortunately, James Hansen and his climatologist colleagues have concluded that if we hope to escape catastrophic climate change, we've got to get back to 350 ppm ASAP.
By Robin Broad and John Cavanagh, October 10, 2008
Look no further than the World Bank to see how many economic, social and environmental problems so-called experts can make worse.
Remember the World Bank, that global "development" institution based in Washington, D.C., that dispenses billions of dollars a year to poorer nations with the declared intent of ending global poverty? We -- and many of you -- spent decades protesting the World Bank and documenting the bank's projects and policies that exacerbated economic, social and environmental problems. In the United States, thousands of protesters took to the streets in the years prior to 9/11 to condemn the financial behemoth. Across the Third World, where the impacts of World Bank lending are felt on the ground every day, such protests began even earlier.
This weekend, World Bank President Robert Zoellick will use the occasion of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund's annual meetings in Washington, D.C., to announce that critics like us were oh so wrong and that we should look to the World Bank to play a key role in solving the world's food, climate, poverty and other crises. Were we indeed wrong? Could millions of our allies in developing countries, including so-called beneficiaries of the development mega-agency, have possibly been so wrong? Is it a time for a mea culpa? Having taken a close look at the World Bank past and present in our recently published book, Development Redefined: How the Market Met Its Match, we'd say it's not. But in the great tradition established by David Letterman, we now offer 10 reasons why we progressives can stop our worrying about poverty, food and climate crises and leave such problems to the World Bank:
10. The U.S. government chooses the World Bank president and has a superb track record in picking great ones, like war architects Robert McNamara and Paul Wolfowitz.
Remember Paul Wolfowitz, the first president tapped by George W. Bush for the top World Bank job? Wolfowitz had demonstrated his smarts at the Pentagon by launching "shock and awe" on Iraq. We all know how well that went. At the World Bank, he proved so good at steering six-figure salaries to his friends and girlfriend that he got an early retirement. And Wolfowitz was simply following the footsteps of the World Bank's most famous president, Robert McNamara, a former secretary of Defense who likewise paved his way to the presidency by waging war on a poor nation, in his case Vietnam.
9. The current World Bank president, Robert Zoellick, also knows how to get the job done, as demonstrated by his key role in helping George Bush steal Florida in the 2000 election.
A high-priced lawyer in the Bush campaign in 2000, Zoellick was dispatched by the Republican Party to Florida to help sort out hanging chads and butterfly ballots in W's favor. He was a crucial figure in prolonging the negotiations over who won the state until the Supreme Court could hand the presidency to George Bush. Zoellick subsequently was appointed as Bush's trade representative and helped ensure the demise of the World Trade Organization's so-called "Development Round" by pushing a U.S. agenda that had everything to do with advancing corporate interests rather than those of the marginalized and dispossessed.
8. The World Bank has proven expertise on one of today's major challenges: climate change. After all, it spent billions of dollars helping countries increase their emissions of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change.
When the Institute for Policy Studies started monitoring World Bank greenhouse gas emissions in 1997, the Bank was investing roughly 100 times more in fossil fuel energy projects than in clean energy. Tens of billions of dollars of dirty energy lending later, the Bank certainly has demonstrated its ability to contribute to climate chaos. As to its willingness to change course? Well, when an expert outside panel chosen by the World Bank to look into the impact of its fossil fuel lending counseled it to end its oil, gas and coal lending, Bank management simply said: thanks, but no thanks.
7. Likewise, on food, the Bank has tons of expertise -- going back to the "green revolution" of the 1960s -- pushing agricultural "development" models that hooked farmers on costly petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides.
Such agricultural "modernization" proved a boon for those (including giant export-oriented agribusiness firms) who could afford the inputs, while small farmers lost their land or went bankrupt. (Inequality increased. And, as for the environment, well ...) Many politicians are now calling for a second "green revolution" as food prices rise around the globe and are looking to the World Bank to stand center-stage in such an initiative. Why spend time learning the lessons from a first "green revolution" gone wrong when the World Bank stands ready to repeat the mistakes?
6. For those who worry that the World Bank is increasing the divide between rich and poor through unfettered "free trade," have no fear: The World Bank has embraced what Zoellick calls "inclusive globalization."
Here, Zoellick is onto a truth of some sorts. If you really get down to the basics, over the course of its history, the World Bank has been all about "inclusive globalization." For example, over the past two decades, the economic-globalization free-market model it pushed on its borrowing countries has propelled the total number of billionaires in the world from around 100 to 1,125, with a far more inclusive group of countries being home to the billionaires today. So too does the World Bank now acknowledge that its math was wrong and the number of people living in poverty today is actually much higher than the Bank's prior calculations asserted. In other words, "inclusive globalization" has helped create a larger, more inclusive class of poor people. Way to go, World Bank.
5. For those of you who worry that the poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa have fallen off the map, Zoellick argues that the Bank understands that it needs to continue to focus on that region.
Indeed, who better positioned to deal with this than the World Bank, which has loaned tens of billions of dollars to Africa since the Bank set up shop right after World War II? The fact that poverty and inequality have risen in most African countries over that same period is surely pure coincidence.
Consider the case of Malawi, where the government explicitly rejected the World Bank's advice on how to deal with a crisis in domestic corn production that threatened widespread famine. The result of ignoring the Bank's expertise? By late 2007, Malawi was not only feeding its own population, but also exporting corn. Dare we suggest that if Zoellick really cares about sub-Saharan Africa, he would encourage other countries to follow Malawi's example and ignore the Bank's advice?
4. For those of you who worry that the World Bank has displayed zealous reliance on the private sector and "free" markets to solve problems over the past two decades, the World Bank now acknowledges that governments do have a role to play. So what if such acknowledgments are in speeches and publications rather than in actions?
Indeed, check out the Bank's preferred solution to climate change. It's to get governments out of the picture and let the invisible hand of "carbon markets" prevail. Talk about ingenuity regarding an appropriate role for the public sector: The Bank has devised a way to make hundreds of millions of dollars off carbon markets by charging a hefty commission on trades.
Or take the food crisis. By pressing countries to follow a set of policies geared to shift farmers from subsistence food crops (rice and corn, for instance, that the grower could eat) to export crops (cut flowers, ornamental plants, gourmet veggies -- that either can't be eaten or aren't meant for local stomachs), the Bank has created a "freer" global market for farm products grown largely by or for big agribusiness companies. Southern countries get to be more vulnerable to and dependent upon the whims of an unfair and volatile global market. And, now there's a role for governments to play in quelling the ensuing "food riots."
3. Bank officials have talked the talk on poverty for decades. So what if they haven't walked the walk?
Who could better grasp the challenges faced by people who make less than $2 a day than people who make hundreds of dollars a day, often tax-free? Who could better understand the needs of poor people than experts who zip in and out of poorer countries and stay in five-star hotels? And, as for those World Bank staff who do live in-country, who could better comprehend the realities of the average poor person there than Bank staff who typically live in mansions with chauffeurs and gardeners?
2. The World Bank is, in its own terms, a "knowledge bank." It houses the world's largest development research outfit, and therefore has the research base and expertise needed to meet today's development challenges. So what if it stifles dissent?
Indeed, even a team of mainstream evaluators the Bank commissioned expressed "substantial criticisms of the way that (Bank) research was used to proselytize on behalf of bank policy, often without taking view of the evidence, and without expressing appropriate skepticism." The evaluators found "unfavorable research ignored" and researchers to be "under pressure from the Bank presidency and elsewhere not to say things that go directly against the broad policy line that the Bank is espousing."
1. Whatever you think of the World Bank, as Margaret Thatcher used to say, "There is no alternative."
Who else is there to turn to? Institutions like the Nobel prize-winning Grameen Bank, which lends tiny sums to millions of small entrepreneurs? United Nations bodies that specialize in helping small farmers? Programs that turn forests and fishing resources over to local communities to be managed sustainably? Small-scale institutions that encourage food sustainability and sovereignty? Popular organizations of the dispossessed and marginalized themselves? Why look across the South to discover the literally millions of alternatives when we have a global institution in Washington, D.C., with the kind of expertise we have just outlined?
World Watch: Deforestation: A partially manmade disaster
By ABDELKADER ABBADI, Ph.D 10/14/2008
The forest will answer you in the way you call to it.
--Finish proverb
WE ARE IN THE MIDST of many crises, including the environment crisis. These days, as one travels along the small roads of Columbia County, one can clearly see how much wood has been cut in preparation for heating houses in the coming cold season. Lots of trees have been cut. Given the high price of home heating oil, can we blame anyone?
Deforestation is a worldwide phenomenon. Half of the Amazon forest in Brazil has been cut, including 300 hectares in August 2008 alone. That represents a 225% increase. Logging has become unsustainable.
Forests cover one-third of our planet's land. They provide raw materials, maintain biodiversity, protect land and water resources, affect our climate and provide us with fresh air.
Deforestation continues at an alarmingly high rate, but there is good news. The Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005 (FRA 2005) constitutes the most comprehensive assessment of forests and forestry to date. It covers 229 countries and territories. FRA 2005 says that at the global level, the world's forest resources appear to be doing fine, but the assessment includes both positive and negative trends.
Some of the negatives include these: deforestation is not slowing down globally; the area of primary forest is decreasing by about 6 million hectares each year; in some regions, the area affected by fires, insects and diseases is increasing; the areas of wood removal is also growing; and the level of employment in forest management and conservation is decreasing.
The good news is that forests are increasingly being conserved and managed. When forests are managed well, they contribute significantly to local and national economies and to the well being of current and future generations.
Some countries have effected excessive deforestation, and as a result, they have suffered the consequences. An example is Haiti. One-third of the country was deforested. And when the recent hurricane hit the country, it inflicted a heavy damage.
There are signs of hope however. A number of countries are at the forefront in the preservation of forests. The Brazilian government has pledged to end deforestation by 2015. By that time, more trees would be planted than cut. This objective would be achieved through an aggressive program of restoring native forests, cracking down on illegal logging, providing incentives to improve energy efficiency and encouraging energy renewal and energy sources.
At the global level, the "Billion Tree Campaign" was launched in 2007 to challenge governments, business, local communities and individuals to plant a billion trees in the year and to raise awareness about climate change and environmental protection. By December that year, the goal was achieved. The executive director of the UN Environment Program could not contain his enthusiasm.
"I am delighted to say that an initiative to catalyze the pledging and the planting of one billion trees has been achieved and indeed surpassed," he said. "It is a further sign of breathtaking momentum witnessed this year on the challenge for this generation--climate change", he added. "Citizens after citizens, community after community and country after country have proved the doubters wrong and demonstrated an abiding truth in 2007, namely that given a focus and the chance to act, millions if not billions of people around the world want an end to pollution and environmental deterioration and have rolled up their sleeves and got their hands dirty to prove the point."
There is hope for humanity.
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Related article:
The Earth Charter: A Declaration of Interdependence (October 10, 2008) http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/10/10-2
Communities around the world will come together this Saturday to celebrate this year's Earth Charter International Summit. Global climate change is the theme of this year's Earth Charter International Summit, in keeping with the United Nations designation of 2008 as the International Year of Planet Earth.The Earth Charter - a declaration of interdependence - articulates the shared responsibility we have to one another and to the planet itself. It is an expression of hope and a call to help create a global partnership at a critical juncture in history. Created by the largest global collaborative process ever associated with an international declaration, the Earth Charter was drafted over a 10-year period by thousands from 77 countries.It was launched at The Hague Peace Palace in 2000. It was subsequently endorsed by thousands of organizations representing millions of individuals worldwide. Ventura County, California is the first U.S. county to have endorsed the charter.The principle areas of the Earth Charter include: - Respect and care for the community of life - Ecological integrity - Social and economic justice - Democracy, nonviolence and peace. (...) The Earth Charter concludes with a challenge called "The Way Forward": "Let ours be a time remembered for the awakening of a new reverence for life, the firm resolve to achieve sustainability, the quickening of the struggle for justice and peace, and the joyful celebration of life." We invite you to join us in this effort. For more information on the Earth Charter Community Summits in your community, or the Earth Charter itself, contact: http://www.earthcharterus.org or http://www.earthcharter.org.
The October 14th Event - Channeled by Kathleen Long (kathleenl_22@hotmail.com)
September 28, 2008
Can you tell me about an 'event' that is suppose to take place on October 14th?
Those who have channeled and announced information about this event feel certain of it, yet their perception is not quite correct. Your 3D reality is based in linear time and on your five senses, including, of course, what you can see with your physical eyes. It is difficult to convey an 'event' to you in terms outside of that 3D framework--translating it into 'time', a physical 'view' or picture of what will happen. In our non-physical reality, the 'result' of the event is the important thing. The collective consciousness seeks the emotional impact or result of that prophesied event (the lightship sighting).
The event itself is not required for the desired emotional impact and result. It is through and within emotion that the human race will change the world, change their consciousness and the REALITY of their lives, individually and collectively. The upshot of this prediction, which will come to pass in other terms, is that of paradigm shattering--the world will be viewed within a brand new framework. For IF such a huge ship were to appear, the whole basis of current 3D reality, for the mass of humanity, would quite literally crumble. Their fears would explode, their emotional bodies would become catatonic and they would lose their very will to live, to maintain or try to maintain the only reality they have ever known.
So NO a spaceship of immense proportions will not appear per se in the skies over 'anywhere' on October 14th. But again, something is coming up that will AFFECT many millions of the population AS IF IT HAD transpired. All those emotions will begin to be felt by humanity because you are vibrating at a rate and in a frequency that is literally calling for the relinquishment of an old reality, and this will manifest as various probable events. Again, imagine how humanity would FEEL if that event took place. It would affect everyone on the planet, although each would perceive it according to their own consciousness. Imagine that without the literal event itself, the results OF THAT EVENT will manifest in your emotional bodies. That is what humanity is really calling for--not the prophesied event itself. Within your skies are many, many 'ships' that hover and move about, assisting in the greatest movement of the planet EVER--A MOVEMENT OF CONSCIOUSNESS. Those ships are invisible unto most eyes. They are not 'physical' in your 3D terms.
As each 'body' rises in vibration, fear is released from the cells. As the body rises it changes dramatically. The shifting that will take place around October 14th is a direct result of the assistance of the ships as they respond to the collective consciousness that is crying out: I DO NOT WANT THIS FEAR THAT LIVES WITHIN MY BODY. In response to that call, the emotional body is being 'hit with a vibration' that will assist in the releasing of that fear, and this requires that the body become enlivened to FEEL those oft-denied "difficult" emotions. That fear has been part and parcel of the emotional body of each person. The emotional body is the key to consciousness; the key to creating, to empowerment, for all CREATE THROUGH EMOTION.
The emotional bodies of humanity are being recalibrated into a higher consciousness as they collectively are about to experience a level of fearfulness that would be equivalent to the result of the predicted event. So, although this lightship sighting will not take place LITERALLY, there will be events that will lead to upliftment, but which initially will bring up much fear to be released, and that will collapse the prevailing understanding of reality. Throughout the last few decades, the energies that have been moving into the force field of the planet have been felt by many--of course some more than others--but each time those of you who were capable of it 'rose to the occasion' of a certain energetic 'invitation' it brought up surges of angst, fear, discouragement, depression, and the like. This 'time' with the opportunity of immense transmutation, there will be an explosive release of those emotions.
This 'event' could not have taken place even a few months ago because the energies of those called 'lightworkers' were not in place to assist in calming the fears. They are now holding greater understanding and fearlessness--qualities they came to develop so that they could assist at this crucial time. You will come to see that there are MANY in the world whose life's mission has been to make themselves available at this very 'time' to stand in peace as 'all hell breaks loose.' This will transpire in so many ways that it does no good to speak of any specific scenarios.
We tell you whatever you 'think' will happen, you might as well forget it, for it is nothing of your history, nothing of your memory. You are all in your perfect position. Your concern is to hold the hands of the fearful, calm the hearts of the anxious and express love unto the unlovable. For many, it would be fearful to view such a predicted sight, but it is even more fearful to hold fear without a 'reason' per se.
Now this fear will obviously CAUSE as well as be the RESULT of events--it's the "chicken or the egg" proposition--but the ignition of this fear on a global scale will take place through a collective inner tsunami, and in knowing this, know as well that any and every event, seen or unseen, has been called forth by the prevailing consciousness to bring to the planet an expansion of the power within love. This requires the release of fear and that in turn requires the magnification of fear to its demise. So then our most beloved, we speak to your heart as we remind you of your mission on Earth--to simply hold your light, your peace, your calm, and your joy no matter what is happening around you, as you will build a bridge with others of the same vibration and upon that bridge you will welcome many whose fears will be diminished within your light.
October 14th - The Higher Good Served - By Devin through Jelaila Starr, Written October 13, 2008
(...) As time travelers/healers we know that as you make more evolved and compassionate choices, you heal the past events from the many ancient timelines currently being replayed and to which you are connected. Healing the past allows new timelines to occur and thus, a new future.
The possible ship sighting is not a new event. In fact, this scenario has been replayed countless times on other worlds with both positive and negative agendas behind it. Regardless of the intent, the outcome will always serve the highest good because the Dark, the great teacher always serves the Light. Allow me to explain.
As we mentioned in our previous message, there are those from ancient worlds reincarnated on your world today that are currently in control. Once again, their objective is to enslave humanity. You could say they represent the Dark in this grand game of polarity integration. They can only enslave you if you give your power to them. As part of their role they will utilize any and all means to achieve their objective. Creating cause for continuous anxiety and fear is the most effective means. Continuous anxiety and fear generate an extreme need for safety and security. When humans are in this state, they will give up any and everything to fulfill those needs. Additionally, those in power know that heightening the fear in incremental levels over a period of time is especially effective. Once humans are at the proper level of fear, those in power will implement their plan, offering their solution. Of course, that solution will require some sacrifice of power on the humans' part, but the humans will gladly give it. They will even fight those within their ranks who resist bringing them into alignment with the rescue plan.
During the time that the fear is being escalated those in power will as you say, test the waters in order to gauge the level of fear. These tests will usually involve minor implementations of their plan; test runs if you will. The degree to which humanity clamors and the level of conflict with resisters tells those in power how much longer it will take to implement their plan.
We share this information with you because we are aware that a plan for supposed Galactic Federation contact is one of the plans being implemented on your world today. Once again, it is nothing new. So how can you discern a real contact with us from a fake contact? As members of the head council overseeing the Grand Experiment for the Galactic Federation of Worlds, we once again give you the protocols for a true first contact.
1. Contact must be initiated at a time when humanity has achieved a level of spiritual growth sufficient to maintain a state of peace.
2. Contact must be initiated in a location in which the locals are most open to the experience.
3. Contact must be for the purpose of establishing intergalactic relations only. It must not be initiated in order to intercede in humanity's social, political, religious or environmental affairs.
Per our original intentions for this message, though the October 14th contact does not fulfill the requirements for an authentic contact, nevertheless it has served a higher purpose. That purpose is that more people have been awakened to the idea of ET contact, as well as, the knowledge of a plan to use an ET contact to enslave humanity.
Dear Ones a high point has been achieved through the ongoing expectation of the arrival of the Forces of Light, and that is so important to the final outcome of First Contact. Having been presented with a firm announcement connected with the “Sighting” rather than a mere possibility; it has confronted many souls who were not ready for such an enormous event. The result has been a shock to their system, over and above the normal reaction to the many sightings that have been taking place with ever increasing regularity. With all of the confusion and chaos already making people tense and worried, yet another matter of mind wrenching capability has created a degree of tension that was not envisaged. In the interests of those people, the sighting has been curtailed for a short time until a more receptive response is registered.
The Lightworkers will understand that people’s wellbeing has always been first and uppermost in our consideration. As with other proposed major events that have been held back, the whole process of Ascension still moves forward. It will certainly be unaffected in any way by the change of course. Overall the Light has grown, and brought the facts of what is transpiring on and off Earth, to more people’s attention than ever before. In that respect there has been a gain for the Light, however it was never intended that an event planned with so much love and good intentions, should heighten people’s fears and confusion. Our decisions are always for the good of all, and it still remains true that there is a divine decree in place regarding the manner in which the end times are played out.
Now the focus returns for the time being on the next few months, during which many major and extremely important events are drawing to a conclusion. This is in accordance with the long held plan to remove the last cabal. Then, the mass consciousness will be even more receptive to the possibility of First Contact. What has been happening over the last few weeks, is that dear souls who have not previously given much thought to the existence of their Space Family, have felt compelled to wrestle with what it would mean to them. For some it has been extremely unsettling, and they clearly need yet more time to contemplate such an important issue. However, the seeds are sown and as further changes occur on Earth, so the possibility of contact with us will become more acceptable.
There is a fine line between our desire to contact you openly, and the reluctance of some of you to accept our presence and place in your lives, and indeed in your future. Our ways are not to force issues, but to try with immense patience to guide people’s thoughts into a new way of thinking. For quite some time messages of love and great encouragement have been presented to you. Their goal is to awaken you to the truth of your reality that you have created, and lift your consciousness to a much higher level of understanding. In that the messages have been remarkably successful, yet so many of Humankind have remained bogged down by the lower vibrations. Our desire would be to lift every single soul up, but we know that some are not ready to take such a step. That is as always a freewill choice, which will always be honoured.
It is not so much as you would say “back to the drawing board” but simply an adjustment to part of the plan to acquaint you with our presence, Bear in mind that at this stage, the “Sighting” was intended to make a final move that proved beyond doubt our existence. Whilst millions of you have seen our craft, and even Extraterrestrials a considerable number of times, these have been the ongoing contacts that have gradually brought a large degree of acceptance of us. To present a sighting such as was planned would leave little way out for those full of fear. Of course there is always going to be a certain degree of opposition to such an event, as the uninformed and dark forces will use every way possible to defeat our intentions. They cannot however achieve but only a temporary respite from our presence, and in the long run the plan for Man will manifest.
Nothing has really changed, and there is always a need to reappraise what we are planning. We do in fact constantly review our input into earthly affairs, and our caution is sometimes seen as inaction on our part. A few more days or weeks are really unimportant after thousands of years in duality. The most important factor above all else is the result of our presence, and our gentle nudging towards the path of Ascension. Our craft will continue to make their way across your skies as before, and that will remain as part of our ongoing plan to familiarise you with them and accept that they offer you no threat.
We would encourage you to look at the positive side of any event that seems on the face of it to be a failure. The “Sighting” has not gone ahead as planned, but because of the intent to prove our presence beyond doubt, it has opened more people’s minds and hearts. It signals the coming together of your civilisation and others that are truly your brothers and sisters from the stars. As always we keep tabs on what your dark forces are doing, and they continue to fall down the slippery path to oblivion. Their time is up, although they refuse to recognise it and obstinately hold onto their waning power.
A look at what is happening on your world shows that there have been great advancements for your release from the hold of the dark. Suddenly the plan for the initial changes that will start a whole ream of them is there to see. Allow for matters to play out, and then you will notice that our allies have managed to set the scene for a massive change in the way your financial set up works. Soon the abundance program will be able to commence, and your immediate worries will be short lived. It will be only the start of a whole series of changes that will not be able to be thwarted by the outgoing and defeated cabal.
I am SaLuSa from Sirius, and the Galactic Federation ask that you try to see what has happened where the “Sighting” has been concerned, and put it into perspective with everything else. Your future is assured, and although it may not be apparent, there has been much gain from the upliftment in people’s consciousness as a result of it. Please accept and feel our love for you all.
Thank you SaLuSa
Mike Quinsey
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Related message, comments and articles:
Atmos 13-October-2008 http://www.treeofthegoldenlight.com/First_Contact/mike_quinsey/channeled%20messages/October%202008/10.13.08Atmos.htm
The excitement mounts as the prospect of the 14th October Sighting is upon you. The news of it has spread far and wide, and it has caused people to take a serious view about the consequences of such an important event. Some naturally feel uneasy about the possible outcome, but by far the majority are relieved that some form of help is coming to Earth. They may not all be aware of the nature of it, but in your present turmoil they look to any source that can offer a way out. Those who have followed the various messages coming through many different channels, have at least an idea as to what may happen. One fact that is absolutely certain is that you are at a stage in your evolution where you must prepare to move on. The end of this cycle has allowed for different options over the course of time, but many have chosen to ascend and have accordingly raised their vibrations. Ascension is a process that you have been involved in for quite some time, and by Divine Decree it must take place. (...) October the 14th will be a monumental day when at last you see irrefutable evidence of our presence. It will sweep away the deliberate policy of most governments to hide the facts of our existence. Not only that but also our contact with their officials offering to bring peace to Earth, which has repeatedly been rejected. Our help has been extended to you since you first split the atom, as it was seen that this would lead to the development of nuclear weapons with the power to destroy your Earth. We shall eventually prove to you beyond doubt, that on more than one occasion you were intending to bring about a nuclear war. We shall also show you proof that your actions could have destroyed your Earth. We wish you to be aware that we have acted as your guardians for many thousands of years, and you would not have been where you are now without our help, indeed you would not have reached this high point in evolution. CLIP
NOTE from Jean: Obviously the decision about the change of plans must have been swift and made at the last minute. Perhaps there were not enough of us actually seriously believing in this show of their presence. One thing sure the whole planetary focus on the manufactured financial crisis would have left little media attention for covering this. Bad timing! On the other hand, others will say that the Light workers jumped too quickly on this bandwagon and that this is yet another escapism strategy based on the "vain hope" that others will clean up our mess for us - which certainly holds a kernel of truth in the sense that we ought to take responsibility for making the right choices and walking our talk and thus take a leadership role in this - as a matter of fact, this is the whole point of our souls' choice to experience life here at this point in time and any real benevolent heavenly guided beings are certainly not about to deny us the benefit of the learning experiences we have devised for our own evolutionary progress and intervene inappropriately UNLESS there is an immediate planetary threat justifying such a move. And besides, who would like to get stuck with the responsibility of taking care of a bunch of dysfunctional immature beings not yet ready for a true first contact and for moving out of their planetary nest?
Other considerations worth examining... This whole episode may also shed a shadow of discredit over those who have too enthusiastically supported Blossom's claim and some may now conclude that all their various claims should now be taken with a pinch of salt... which would be an unfortunate outcome IMHO. In truth, how can we know for sure that there actually was or was not such an plan for a large ship to appear in the sky as a show of benevolent ET presence and that this plan had indeed to be postponed because, as Matthew would say, the field of potentials showed that it would be counter productive at this point in time because so many people still have a deep potential for fearful reactions after being shown countless examples of movies and books associating the ET phenomenon with bad things for humanity? I know it can be frustrating to be left hanging high and dry after another lofty promise gone unfulfilled. But just as for our own political leaders who often have to change their plans once elected despite their own lofty promises, simply because the reality on the ground calls for a different course of action, those who are responsible for monitoring and fostering (usually in a very subtle manner as with the crop formations phenomenon -- which the media deliberately fail to report because it would counter the dangerous ET propaganda foisted on us all by their overlords) our spiritual progress towards the next stage of our planetary evolution (dimensional shift, etc.) must act very carefully and so we must remain ever so patient and just keep doing what we came here to do, no matter what... and that's my 5 cents worth on this whole thing.
Prediction - No Spaceship On October 14th By Michael Goodspeed (10-13-8) http://www.rense.com/general83/pred.htm
(...) Up until a couple of weeks ago, I had never heard of Blossom Goodchild, and I still know little about her background. What is known is this: Ms. Goodchild claims to be a channeling medium who receives telepathic messages from an agency of "Cosmic Beings" that she identifies as "The Federation of Light." She asserts that this agency has informed her that on October 14th of 2008, "a craft of great size shall be visible within your skies. It shall be in the south of your hemisphere and it shall scan over many of your states." The"Federation" supposedly elaborated, "We give to you the name of Alabama." (View Ms. Goodchild's latest YouTube video/monologue on the subject, http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=SFyK2N4RG_o). For reasons that aren't clear to me, this highly specific "prophecy" has become something of an Internet phenomenon. The above YouTube video has been seen well over 100,000 times, and countless blogs and forums that discuss the "paranormal" are heavily focused on the prediction. As justifiably jaundiced as I am toward these types of prophecies and "channeled" material, I see no need to comment on Ms.Goodchild's personal credibility at this time (and again, I know very little about her background). But I would like to make a couple of points that should resonate with anyone who actually cares about the UFO question and other ongoing "paranormal" inquiries.First and perhaps most important, as strange as it might seem, some people in the general public take these types of predictions quite seriously. (...) Now coming back to Ms. Blossom Goodchild and her prediction of a major UFO sighting on October 14, 2008, I reiterate that I know little about her, and I have no interest in condemning her personally. Although I think her prediction is at best irresponsible, everyone has the right to stake his or her credibility in easily verifiable terms (which Ms. Goodchild has done). I'm going to go out on the world's tiniest limb and predict that no spaceship will appear on October 14. I would love nothing more than to be wrong, and I'm sure every serious UFO inquirer feels these same way. But assuming I'm not wrong, my second predictionis certain to be true: The world's pseudo-skeptics will gleefully parade Ms. Goodchild as an alleged demonstration of UFOlogy's absurdity. And when this happens, mark it up as another "victory" for disingenuousness, arrogance, meanness and zealotry over reason, dispassion, objectivity and truthfulness.
Oct. 14 arrives! Humans ready for UFO insight (October 14, 2008) http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/77800
The claim by Australian author, performer and alleged psychic Blossom Goodchild that a large UFO will make itself visible to the public and TV cameras today and for 72 hours has many people wondering. Some people wonder if this might really take place. Some people apparently wonder how others can be so gullible and stupid to believe such a story.S ome might wonder if this is going to damage the reputation of legitimate research into the topic of extraterrestrial and/or extra-dimensional visitation to Earth. We might also ask how this prediction by Goodchild might affect the overall "acclimation" or preparedness of people about the possibility of ET visitation to Earth, whether anything unusual happens today or not.After all, even if nothing happens in the next 72 hours along these lines, it certainly seems possible that some day there might be more open and overt developments regarding the UFO situation. CLIP More through http://jointreconstudygroup.blogspot.com/ and through http://news.google.com/news?ned=ca&hl=en&ned=ca&nolr=1&q=October+14+UFO&btnG=Search
$2 Million Gamble, that Aliens are coming http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/3944/48/
As if the financial crisis was not bad enough, bookmakers William Hill report that a Wiltshire man will collect $2 million from them this week if a prediction that massive UFO's will appear next week comes to pass. Lawrence Tout has staked $2000 at odds of 1000/1 that George Bush or Gordon Brown will officially confirm the appearance of alien UFOs, after websites carried details of predicted UFO activity on October 14." Mr Tout's stake is the biggest UFO wager we have ever taken but he is not alone in believing the prediction that we will be visited by aliens next week, and we face a massive, 2 million dollar plus payout if it happens." said William Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe. Dozens of very influential UFO researchers and psychics have all set October 14 as the date when a massive spaceship seen by millions would show up and stay in Earth's atmosphere for more than two days. The people who claim to be in contact with these aliens say the extra terrestrial's aim is to prove to the humans that they have brothers and sisters outside of Earth who look just like them, thus putting an end to more than 2 thousands years of religious, historical and scientific manipulation of earth governments over people.
Aliens to save our economy? (13/10/2008) http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2008/10/13/aliens-to-save-our-economy-115875-20799094/
Help with the credit crunch could be on the way... from outer space.Internet rumours that aliens will land tomorrow and save us from global economic meltdown led bookies William Hill to yesterday suspend betting on the arrival of an inter-galactic spaceship.One punter wanted to wager £3,000 that the existence of intelligent extra-terrestrials will be confirmed by Gordon Brown.William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams said: "This is the first time an internet phenomenon has affected our business."We now have seven-figure liabilities if the ship does appear and we have decided to duck any more big bets until October 14 has passed, hopefully without incident."
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