Larry and his Flask "call it what you will"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=903oVzMObak

Just my latest musical obsession

“The Money Masters” an alternative understanding of international banking and how it impacts our world

I find understanding and insight to be most valuable things.

I think it is important to educate one's self. No one else can improve your understanding for you. And an improved understanding is priceless.

So, what do you know about money?

Where does our money come from?

What causes inflation?

How does banking impact war, peace, prosperity and poverty?

What causes the booms and depressions we see in our economy? What if I told you this bipolar banking where they loan out a bunch of “money” in the form of credit and then suddenly dry up the money supply was sadistically intentional?

This piece on the history of banking is over three hours long and is being very thorough, and they do not even cover all of the information there is to digest on these topics. But I will post this one for now and post more in the future because you deserve the understanding and the insight.

The old link I had for this one stopped working. So here is a link that currently works. I should really back up all of these documentaries and articles one of these days, no? They really are priceless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfpO-WBz_mw

Life is your garden; dig it.

"The End of History?" and is there an alternative to the reality we have thus far created?

Fukuyama's “End of History?” suggests that “history” and the evolution of ideologies will come to an end with the culmination of all philosophy and the epitome of all possible conception of thought being liberalism.

Dictionary.com defines liberalism as:

a polotical or social philosophy advocating the freedom of the individual, parliamentary systems of government, nonviolent modification of political, social or economic institutions to assure unrestricted development in all spheres of human endeavor, and governmental guarantees of individual rights and civil liberties (Thankyou, Dictionary.com)

Fukuyama seems to be asserting that this ideology will prevail as the only one that works or makes any sense and that eventually we as a species might just stop questioning its legitimacy as the superior way of existing.

Fukuyama makes some interesting points with which I personally agree and/ or find to be evident/ fascinating. He asserts that ideologies are more than just superstructures that cater to and reaffirm the leading mode of subsistence. Rather, ideologies shape our view of the world and ultimately shape our actions and every last little thing that we manifest as individuals and as a human species as a whole. Ideologies shape the way we interact with one another, the way we fulfill desires, the way we even determine what is desirable. Ideas are the precursor to most actions men take and the blueprint to any structure we erect- be it physical (such as a football stadium) or conceptual (such as a form of government). “FAILURE to understand that the roots of economic behavior lie in the realm of consciousness and culture leads to the common mistake of attributing material causes to phenomena that are essentially ideal in nature.” (Fukuyama, pg4)

And, the fact that liberalism has been more supportive of economic prosperity... or, more specifically so supportive of production and consumerism..... is rather evident. And, that this consumer-driven culture is becoming popular in other nations and fueling the spread of liberal ideals is also evident. Fukuyama mentioned something of rock n roll and chain restuarants becoming popular all over the world. But, I didn't underline it because I was reading it on Microsoft Word instead of Open Office, and I don't own the right to edit on Word. And the document is so dense I can't find the passage now. But you know what I mean. Our ideals, our culture, our way of living is becoming trendy in other countries. Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats is just huge in Japan. So is Reel Big Fish- more so than here in the states (Fukuyama, pg?) And, it would seem that this point is being considered as a sort of validation for liberalism.

But, I'm honestly not completely sure if Fukuyama was being sincere. He comes across as rather serious as he dissects in detail why fascism and communism failed in the 20^th century. He goes into detail about their demise. Yes, they do not exactly work the way their proponents believed they would.

But does that mean that the path we are on now is the epitome of possible human accomplishment? I'm not saying liberalism is or is not the epitome of all possible concepts or philosophies of which we could ever possibly conceive. I do not pretend to know at this point in my silly little existence the most superior knowledge that our species could ever possibly possess. I am a girl. What do we know? But I am hardly impressed with or in awe of the results that free market capitalism and liberal idealism have fostered. Materialism is so shallow and void of any real meaning or value. It is void and empty and meaningless and wasteful. And Fukuyama's closing statement seems to echo these sentiments. That last paragraph really made the rest of the article for me. Really, the forty thousand years our species has been progressing (or not progressing or whatever we have been up to) is not that impressive in the grand scheme of things. We are rather juvenile... like when I moved out when I was eighteen and thought I was so grown up. Oh, we still have so much learning and growing to do. I would like to hope the we never stop trying to improve upon everything that we can. Is it far fetched or impossible to believe that we as a species are only in our infancy and that some other belief system that fosters enlightenment (rather than corporate servitude) could be dreamed up?

I woke up from an interesting dream one morning muttering the words “Fukuyama is being facetious.”

You can decide for yourself. Here is the famous article for you, if you please

  http://www.kropfpolisci.com/exceptionalism.fukuyama.pdf

It is interesting to ponder it.

Wishing you everything that is wonderful in this brilliantly beautiful universe.

Take care.

this one is just for fun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhiWc99KrLg

“A Class Divided” an alternative way to view humanity

One of the most enlightening documentaries I have ever seen. It really makes you realize what an impact our assumptions have on the world around us. If you treat people like you believe they are brilliant, they will flourish in your presence. If you consciously make a point to believe in the absolute best in people, cherish their best qualities, love and genuinely adore them, you will bring out the best in them. They may even become capable of things of which they were not previously capable. If you do not believe me, suspend your disbelief just long enough to give this experiment a wholehearted attempt. Do not doubt it while you are attempting it. Just try the thing for a minute or two and see what you can accomplish. It is a beautiful thing.

Conversely, when you are not believing the best about people, the effects can be detrimental to their performance.

This documentary really lays bare the truth. Discrimination is an ugly thing.

When we realize we are all one, the impact on our interactions, our thinking, our facial expressions, body language and mannerisms can have a profound affect on the world around us.

We only have racial issues because some people (not we as a species, just some people) created this concept of “race” or “ethnicity” and I for one am calling bullshit. I do not believe in those racial categories like when you are asked to check a box to indicate your ethnicity. Bullishit. That is all it is . Bullshit and anachronistic cultural constructs. They are imaginary. They do not really exist except in the minds of people who believe in them. There is only one race, and that is the human race.

I do think we are closer and closer to that place where racism discussed this film is less and less applicable.

I happily anticipate a day when discussion on this topic will be completely obsolete and people will have completely forgotten the nonsense of racism.

In the meantime here is the link to the film

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/view.html

I really wish that this film did not even need to exist, but it was made because of these cultural constructs (whether it be black and white or hutu and tutsi it is all just a bunch of imaginary crap that has caused way too much destructive bullshit) do exist even to some extent at present day. It would be nice if every illinformed person, young or old, could see this film and weigh the information unbiasedly for themselves.

Then additionally, regardless of the “race” discussion, there are valuable lessons that can be taken from this experiment that was conducted in this film. When the children were told to consider themselves more brilliant and they were treated as if they were more brilliant, their performance on varrious tasks improved relative to what it had been prior to the experiment. These results- this increase in ability, this improvement in mental function and ability- these amazing results were consistent, pronounced and continued even weeks after the experiment.

Here is what I take from that- the way we treat people, the way we think about them, it impacts the way we interact with them. It impacts the way we talk to them. It impacts or body language and our posture. It impacts our tone of voice. It impacts our facial expressions. And all this is a very integral part of the interaction. And these things can influence and impact those with whom we interact. And it can impact them profoundly for the better. We have an opportunity inherent in every interaction to make that person's life just a little better, or maybe even much better. And, in doing so we are making the world a better place.

Okay, I am done rambling now. Enjoy the film and have an awesome day.

Life is your garden; dig it.

Take care.

(There is another version of this film- well there are several. But somewhere there is one where they show pictures of the students on the different days of the experiment and how much more lovely they looked when they were being treated with elevated respect contrasted by the days they were not. The way these things impact our world is so profound.)

“the Collapse of the American Dream Explained in Animation” a little piece on an alternative view of the American banking system

I do think it is important that I address this now. It is not a simple matter. It is rather complex. Where does money come from?

To what extent does money impact your life?

To what extent does money impact the world around us?

Is this impact positive or negative?

Who controls the monetary system?

If you have never asked these questions before and never given it a moment's consideration, then it might be time that you do so. These are important questions worth consideration.

This half-hour cartoon I am posting is just the initial little introduction into a discussion of some more complex issues.

Who controls the banking system? What is the federal reserve?

This cartoon simplifies a lot of the information, and it comes in a cutesy, more easy to digest cartoon format. This is really just a tiny little appetizer. I will be serving up a more comprehensive three and a half hour documentary on the matter next Wednesday. And then there will still be more about this topic to consider after that. There will be other great documentaries on this topic to ponder. It is a topic I feel people should be informed and knowledgeable about and comfortable conversing about. It is a facet that greatly impacts our lives and the lives of many people on this planet. To just remain ignorant to it makes no sense to me. Knowledge, wisdom, understanding... these things are valuable. They are desirable. They are empowering. Unfortunately this never will get discussed by our mainstream media and it is very rarely alluded to in classrooms. But, there is information out there. Cheers to all my friends who have educated themselves. Love you!

Here is the link for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mII9NZ8MMVM

Wishing you everything that is wonderful in this immensely lovely universe.

Take care.

Two Examples of Approaches to Environmental Concerns

There are an infinite number of ways to approach an issue. Here this piece seeks to discuss two countries and the effectiveness of the approaches they have taken to lessen their detrimental impact on the ecosystem. One of the most important factors when determining whether or not policies will be effective is whether or not the objectives and initiatives address importance of the role the suprastructure, the cultural beliefs, norms and values when attempting to accomplish change.

China has been working industriously toward economic growth for decades. They have greatly increased their GPD through substantial industrialization and increase in manufacture and exports. (2) As with any industrialized nation, the Chinese have seen a major increase in pollution in correlation with their increase in industry. According to the World Bank, 16 of the 20 most polluted cities on the planet are located in China. (1) The major increase in environmental pollutants has had effects on the ecosystem. Acid rain is a problem in 40 percent of the country. Desertification is effecting more than a quarter of the country's land area. The water is so polluted that is can hardly support marine life or be used in irrigation. (2)

The impact of rampant industrialization has been destructive to the Chinese people. If one does not even consider the fact that the factory workers in China are working under less regulated conditions and are exposed to harmful and deadly chemicals in the factories which will lead to cancer, painful illnesses and premature death (3), the impact the environmental pollution is having on the wellbeing of the general population is still very substantial. The air pollution alone is responsible for thousands of premature deaths every year and is responsible for damaging the fertility in 20 to 30 percent of the male polulation. 500 million people are lacking access to safe drinking water. (2)(4) Children who are the weakest are most likely to be effected by the environmental pollution, and they are the least able to do anything about the problem and the least to blame.

The environmental impact of China's industrialization has implications beyond just China's territories and population. The energy used to fuel the production is for the most part generated using coal. (5) According to many climate change annalists and experts there is a correlation between carbon dioxide and planetary effects in climate change. If there is any possibility that there is an increased threat to the ecosystem as a result of increased emissions of Co2, which many experts are agreeing there is, regultation of Co2 should be considered of eminent importance. (6)

The Chinese government has made many references to the environmental concerns in numerous speeches and addresses over the recent years. The government occasionally implements new policies such as having days when no one is supposed to drive a car, caps on industry emissions, regulations on pollution and the closing of factories that are responsible for pollution. However, these policies are not often well enforced. The government has subsidized gas prices which increases the pollutants from automobile travel. Local officials are still more likely to be revered and rewarded for stimulating local economic growth growth than for enforcing environmental policies. Factories that are closed down often very shortly reopen in new locations.

The traditional Chinese mentality of the individual's obligation to the community coupled with the desire for economic growth has fostered a mindset in the Chinese people that will take some time and effort to alter. According to an ethnography China's Urban Villagers; Life in a Beijing Commune by Norman Chance, the most desirable position to the Chinese villager is a position working in a factory. There is this mentality that factory work is the height of progress to which to aspire. Sadly, these factories are also the most potentially harmful to the wellbeing of these Chinese villagers.

A change in priorities and mentality will have to take place on a fundamental level before any of the government regulations will be effectively implicated.

(graph depicting intensity of global air pollution) (12)

Conversely, nations that have made it a major priority to reduce their industrial pollution and reverse the negative impact of previous decades have been very successful in doing so. Rather than work in broad generalizations, the focus of this portion will be on a single nation. I began my research for this project in 2005, and now many of the sources for my research have become hard to find. In 2005 I was sitting on the floor in a library in San Diego reading out of an actual physical encyclopedia which is just how people accomplished research for projects back then. So while I can not cite the actual physical source I will paraphrase what spiked the curiosity for this project. I was studying the impact of industrialization and urbanization on the traditional Romanian diet and I came across a few paragraphs addressing how water and air pollution had increased in Romania since the country had industrialized. The exact statistics of the increased pollution and the impacts they caused were striking, but I can not exactly recall them. An even more striking bit of information was that at that time Romania was working to reduce all of their levels of pollution in order to be accepted into the European Union. This was particularly interesting because at the time I was closely working with a group to raise money to support lobbyists who would push for a cap on every company's emissions in the state of California, and here were these people on the other side of the globe doing the exact same thing kinda. I was completely intrigued, so I started following their progress.

Here is what people who are actually trying to make a difference can accomplish. Just thinking about it is soothing and generates hope. According to information garnered from the United Nations Development Programme specifically regarding Romania's environmental policies and progress, Romania became a full member of the EU in 2007. Between 1995 and now Romania has passed numerous policies and set up requirements and regulations that are enforced by an environmental protection agency at three distinctly important levels. Officials at national, regional and local levels have worked in unison to address environmental concerns. One of the most interesting factors is the emphasis the initiatives placed on generating informative literature and programs to generate individual awareness of their objectives. The program implemented cited lack of awareness and lack of understanding as something to be addressed. They considered cultural awareness an important aspect of the program. The Rio Conventions were cited and the decision to “mainstream” the concepts of the Rio Conventions along with “strengthening systemic, institutional and individual capacity to integrate Rio Conventions themes into national, regional and local decision making” were some of the objectives set forth. Other objectives that were stated by the Romanian Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) included “management of resources and industrial affairs...to provide a sustainable future” and also “the development of Romanian environmental policies and the transposition of European Union legislation into Romanian laws and norms” (9) The emphasis on the integration and evolution of the suprastructure is integral to the success of the reforms Romania has achieved.

The success that Romania has had can be clearly evidenced in the reduction of carbon dioxide omissions over the last twenty years. They have actively reduced their country's omissions to less than half of what it was twenty years ago. Other EU countries have reduced their emissions to some extent, but the results achieved by Romania are some of the most impressive. The graph below represents Romania's Co2 emissions over the last twenty years as indexed to the emissions in 1990. The data is taken from a table that was generated using “Data on greenhouse gas emissions are officially reported under the United Nations framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC)” (10)

(14)

The data used to generate this graph came from a table that indexes the Co2 emissions of each of the EU's twenty-seven counties to what their Co2 emissions were in 1990. (11)

While many other countries are seeing an increase in Co2 emissions as well as other harmful pollutants, Romania has been able to generate awareness and effectively implement initiatives to improve the living environment of their populations. Through strategic and determined effort they have actively pursued a better quality of life for future generations. Through continued efforts of this nature Romania can continue to preserve their natural environment and possibly even improve the quality of air and water and preserve their rich forests and wildlife.

If there is any positively desirable position to be taken in these pressing matters of environmental preservation, it is that education will be the most effective means in actually implementing environmental initiatives. There is no more effective means than that. If we as a species wish to persist on this planet, we must change our mindset. Rampant consumerism and the sorts of ideals we have allowed corporations to impose upon our population have been nothing but detrimental to our collective wellbeing and the wellbeing of the future generations that will have to address the problems we have created while depleting the earths resources and needlessly generating waste, pollution, garbage and not much progress. It was a set of ideals that got us here. It will be a different set of ideals that will be necessary to set us on a different course and make an actual difference in our collective future. If I were to adopt a stance and suggest a course of action, I would suggest that the UN support world wide enlightened education in environmental issues and in general to ensure a better future on this planet. Nothing short of this will do the trick.

Indoctrinating future generations to value family, knowledge, fairness, justice, wisdom, enlightnment and love over cellphones, sneakers, sportscars and ipads is the best way to ensure the continued preservation and flourishing of our species.

Works Cited and Drawn From

1. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10221268
2. Jonathan Liu, Howard Viney and Diane Holt Environmental issues in China. European Business Journal. June 1^st, 2004. pages 59-69 (SCC article database)
3. http://www.pbs.org/tradesecrets/program/program.html
4. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/world/asia/26china.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0
5. Ploberger, Christian China's Multidimensional Environmental Issues a Fundamental Challenge for China's Future Development - a Critical Assessment. East Asia: An International Quarterly. 28.1 March 2011. pages 1-20 (SCC article database)

6. Richard Muller. Conversion of a Climate Change Skeptic

7. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/30/world/asia/cost-of-environmental-degradation-in-china-is-growing.html
8. Norman A. Chance China's Urban Villagers; Life in a Beijing Commune Holt 1984
9. I can no longer find this info online but my notes from my research listed “UNDP Rom CB-2 TE FINAL 30/Aug12” and I originally was able to find this rather extesive and wonderfully informative document on the UNDP website. Oddly, one of the main ideas for making sure successful endeavors of this nature were continued in Romania was to ensure that these documents would be available online for those who were looking for them. The document said that. And, now I can not find it anywhere for the life of me.
10. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Climate_change_statistics
11. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tsdcc100&plugin=0

http://earthhabitat.wordpress.com/2010/02/23/air-pollution-hotspots-world-map/

13.http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SCIAMACHY_pollution_europe.jpg

14. Graph created by Shawn Smith and Jacqueline Coffin utilizing data produced by UNFCCC. 2013