Imagine

Let us try to be optimistic today, let us try to imagine a better world. Few people have put it in better words than John Lennon in his Imagine song. He was definitely in favor of change. And his song clearly tells us that we can abolishing slavery and oppressions by abolishing religions, countries and consumerism. He is so right.

Merry ...

On this special day let me wish you A Merry Crisis and a Happy New Fear. Joke aside, this shows you what times we live in. Merry Crisis photos and Merry Crisis videos are here to stay until we have resolved our social imbalance and abuse of nature.

Public Defaults

Will any country go into default? What are the candidates? What are the countries least likely to go into default? Many alternative economists foresee that the US will default on its debt as a country. The US might do it on purpose to maintain its current power while reducing its staggering debt.

But let's leave the US aside for a moment. In the Euro zone, there are several countries that are in danger. There is even an acronym for them: PIIGS or PIGS. One might also add Austria to that list. Have a look a public debt as percentage of GDP. Italy has a debt-to-GDP ratio at over 105%. Greece is around the 91% mark. Portugal around 67%, Germany around 67%. Austria around 60%. Switzerland is around 45%. Spain around 40%. The US is expected to go from 61% to 108%. Source: GDPs, external (public+private) debt, public debt.

How come Spain is in the PIGS list? How come Austria is about to join the PIGS list? Is it because the data is from 2008 and there was a big shift in 2009? I understand that the real-estate bubble burst in Spain in 2009 and that Austria has high risk with its financial deals in Eastern European countries. Still I am not sure. Here I found that Spanish debt is climbing from 40% to 60% in just 2 years (2009 and 2010). That would partially explain Spain being part of PIGS, but why is Germany not part of the PIGS? It has a public debt similar to Spain or Portugal (as percentage of GDP).

Germany is bigger, but does that make it less risky? What am I missing?

Peak Phosphorus

Peak what? Peak Oil. Peak Gold. And now Peak Phosphorus! Or Peak P for those who love shortcuts. It is no joke though. Have a look at these articles on Peak Phosphorus and Monsanto's Phosphorus Theft. Once again Monsanto, and once again we see double-talk. This pesticide-producing mine is called "sustaining, ..., and protecting our environment" by the press. Form your own opinion. This cartoon showing the Monsanto Claus got it right.

Wrong Signal Again

In article "Wrong Signal" I commented on the poor choice made by the Nobel Peace Prize committee electing President Obama. Today another wrong signal was sent. Time magazine elected the Fed chairman Ben Bernanke as Person of the Year 2009 for prevented an economic catastrophe, so they say. The FED is one of the most enslaving organizations on our planet. It uses debt to enslave the regular people while making a few rich bankers even richer. How can the chairman of such an organization, actually a private company, be selected for Person of the Year? And how can one be so short sighted to not see that whatever he has done (create trillions of debt) is going to cause an economic catastrophe in the long run? But main stream media clearly does not care about ethics, transparency, and long term effects. We should not be surprised, last years choice wasn't any better: Obama was Time's Person of the Year 2008.

Visual Images of Good and Bad

If you are a visual person and prefer to view than to read, than look at these images:

• The Bad: Man's Greatest Crimes Against the Earth
• The Good: Man's Greatest Environmental Successes

The Wrong Signal

I could not believe it when my wife told me. Obama was selected for the Nobel Peace Prize. Incredible and a slam in the face of many people working hard on peace. According to the office Nobel site and press release Obama he was awarded the prize for a) strengthening international institutions and b) his vision of reducing nuclear arms.

He is a smooth talker. That is to his credit. He has good speech writers and a good public relations team. That is also evident in his humble acceptance speech. But behind his outstanding rhetoric is little positive action. On the internal politics side it is business as usual, high-risk near fraudulent behavior of the big banks was and is rewarded and supported at the cost of the biggest bailouts funded by public money. Special powers and rights are given to special interest groups run by a few. On the foreign policy side the selfish profit-driven wars continue. Just days before being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize he sent 30,000 new troops to the unfair and unjustified war in Afghanistan.

The international cooperation mentioned is still based on a few organizations like the UN, IMF, the World Bank, etc. where the largest vote is held by the US and hence the US has most of the power to control any decisions and outcomes.

It is hard to understand how any US president can be selected as recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize, even harder one who just ordered more troops to Afghanistan. There are many individuals out there that work hard and unselfishly on peace in their surroundings. Giving the Nobel Peace Prize to Obama is sending the wrong message.

One Step Closer to Democracy

I have doubts on whether democracy is the ideal political system or not. I see good things but also negative things in democracy and one can always create a worst-case scenario that is far from ideal, at least for some. I think it is good to see democracy for what it is and think critical about it. If you need food for thought have a look at the video mentioned here before: The American Form of Government.

While I am not sure if democracy is the ideal political system, I am sure of the fact that what is sold to us as democracy really isn't democracy, but a neo-classical oligarchy where corporations and special interest groups decide everything while making the citizen believe he has a voting right. Did you decide on whether the US goes to war in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.? Did you decide on torturing war participants in Guantanamo or Iraq? Did you decide on the bailouts and handing trillions to banks that lost in their speculative gamble?

Here is an article that shows us how the system can be moved to a truer democracy as implemented in Switzerland. The article is entitled "Why Switzerland Is Still Free and America Is Not". A friend pointed out that in today's digital online world we could implement this approach to democracy via an open-source electronic voting system that makes it both transparent and easy to bring an issue to vote and to execute the vote if enough votes are collected in the initial round of the petition. This would certainly put the power closer to the people and place the people on top of politicians in a certain way.

Permaculture Video Blog

I had a closer look at this video channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/flashtoons. I found it to be very high quality with lots of interesting short videos on a range of topics related to permaculture. The owner of the channel seems to be working closely with the Australian Permaculture Research Institute (PRI Australia) and EcoFilms.

Libertarianism

This video explains libertarianism in 8 minutes. I heard people argue that libertarianism creates equality, equality on all levels.

I am challenged to see how pure libertarianism without any complements can achieve social equality. I believe in rights feverishly defended by libertarianism: right to life, freedom and property. I also see the implications thereof: taxes are a violation of property rights, etc.

At the same time I am convinced we live in a time and a world where we sustainably can provide food and shelter to all persons on our planet. I see it as a desirable goal to reach this objective for the reasons of a) equality = social justice, b) liberty = freedom from slavery under pressure to work for food and c) life = protecting people from starvation.

I see libertarianism as a methodology, as a tool, as a car if you will. I see my feed-the-world scenario (as an example) as a possible destination, a place we should drive too. My question is now: How do we use our car (libertarianism) to drive to the village Feed-the-World? The challenge I have is to see how to connect these two points.

How can rights to unlimited property and the fact that your life is protected lead to a situation where we protect the life of other people (such as starving people on another continent)? Voluntary donations. Sure. But as we see this is very little, only a drop in the bucket. Are starving millions a price worth paying for liberty?

As you see I have tons of open, unresolved questions in my head.

Isms

Discussing various forms of -isms such as Socialism, Capitalism, Libertarianism, etc. with a friend it was brought to my attention that one key measure for the quality of the system might be the amount of government power and regulation.

Could we define Libertarianism as a system where the government executes only the right to life, freedom and property?

Could we define Socialism as a system where the government executes the right to life, freedom, property, health care and internet access?

Could we define Communism as a system where the government executes the right to life, freedom, property, health care, internet access, work, food and shelter?

A video that explains government power and uses it as a dimension to define political systems is The American Form of Government. The video is not perfect and free from mistakes but it gets a general message across: for any political system ask yourself where the power lies.

Proper Use for Dollar

Dollars are just pieces of paper, worth less every week due to TARP and other government programs. Soon to be worthless. Here is a good way to put use to all this paper: Dollar Origami. Check out these sites: Won Park Origami, Money Origami, Dollar Origami with Instructions. And right now for the Xmas season: a lovely little green Xmas Tree.

Numbers to Think About

According to US Treasure Department data, as of November 2009, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, hold 120 trillion dollars worth of derivatives contracts.

US GDP is 14 trillion $.
The whole world's GDP is 65 trillion $.
The worth of everything in the world is 200 trillion $.

How is it possible that just two banks hold derivatives that match 60% of the total wealth of the entire planet? Something is clearly wrong here. Think about it. Watch the Still Report on the Economy and specifically this video.

We have a long way to fall I am afraid to say.

Greenhouse for $50

Well the greenhouse ended up costing $140, but this is not the point. It is great to see how to build a cheap greenhouse yourself without sophisticated tools. Interesting reading for any permaculturist: How to build My 50 Dollar Greenhouse.

Religion and Sustainability

It just dawned on me today that religions play a role in our sustainability thinking. Religions like Christianity believe that their life will end here on earth and that they will go to heaven (or hell) after death. Religions like Hinduism and Buddhism believe in reincarnation or rebirth, whereby one returns to the earth many times over. I'd say anyone who believes that he will return to this earth is more interested in maintaining the planet, than someone who believes that he will leave this earth in a few years and never return thereafter. That would align Hindus and Buddhists more closely with sustainable thinking. While Christians would have less incentive for sustainability.

Could there be a hidden link between religion and sustainability? Just some food for thought.

Terminology: Libertarianism, Socialism, Onenessism

In article Slaves and Forms of Slavery I spoke about socialism and capitalism, indicating that both can lead to slavery but that if executed well socialism has better chances of avoiding it.

A friend brought to my attention that it is not so much of importance to discuss socialism and capitalism. Both terms have been used throughout decades and have gained a lot of connotations. Most people already have a fixed (and inflexible) image of socialism and capitalism in their mind.

He argues that a more crucial parameter is the level of liberalism provided. In simplified terms, the amount of government involvement plays a bigger role and hence we should talk about government involvement rather than socialism vs. capitalism. True, socialism is very, very broad and includes political directions such as Marxism, libertarian socialism, democratic socialism, and social democracy. The same for capitalism. We can have socialism with little or a lot government involvement. We can have capitalism with little or a lot government involvement. The capitalism found today in the western world (US, EU) is a capitalism with a high degree of government regulation, government monopoly, government involvement, ...

I see the currently implemented capitalism as an uneven playing field, rigged by the government and corporation, in which we as individuals work against each other. We label it competition, but in reality the competition we have is war, war on all levels: military war (Iraq, Afghanistan), the economy is nothing but war between corporations with weapons such as IP rights, patents, lawyers, advertising, public relations, poaching key human resources, corporate espionage, price fixing, monopolies, and so on. At the individual level too. The phrase "competing with the Joneses" was not created out of nothing. We frequently see the Joneses as rivals and not as neighbors.

Fair competition is a positive force, we need to voice our ideas, discuss them freely and let the best ideas win. We can let various manufacturing processes compete to see which one is most beneficial. We must compete with each other as team members, not compete against each other as rivals. Competition should not be a fight for resources or money by all means possible. Competition should only be a means to evaluate and compare various possibilities.

First we must do away with monopolistic rights to correct and level the uneven playing field. We need more libertarianism. That means we need to do away with the monopoly of printing money, the monopoly of patents, and the monopoly of so many other government regulations.

I wonder if pure libertarianism is sufficient though. I am afraid that it is not "social" enough. How do we avoid the "working against each other"? How can we encourage the working together? We need competition at the level of ideas, and coordinated acting. What I mean is that we need to strive for solutions that benefit all of mankind in a sustainable way. We need to work towards a sustainable society in a sustainable environment with sustainable food sources. We need to use the best ideas and produce the best products possible using the best methodology. The best for mankind, not the best for an individual or corporation. The starting point is to find the best ideas. Here all ideas must be shared freely, discussed freely, publicly and transparently. We need to with each other to find the best ideas together. I see it as a "social" act as all of the society should participate or at least it is open to all of society. The good should be for society, mankind. It should be "open" (as in open-source). It should be "free" (as in free speech, or free as in a truly free market).

How do I describe this? What is an appropriate name for the goal of finding the best solution for mankind through an open and free process?

• Is it socialism? Yes and no. There is a social aspect. It tries to achieve the best for society as a whole. But it is not socialism in the sense of a legislation that enforces a take-from-the-rich-give-to-the-poor.
• Is it capitalism? Yes and no. Mostly no. It says "free" and that sounds like capitalism. But the truth is that our capitalism is far away from a free market. Capital and money should not be in the center of everything. It is not about capital and profits.
• Is it libertarianism? Yes and no. Libertarianism is part of it, but it is not the complete picture. Libertarianism provides us the freedom required but it does not cover the aspect of us being one, that we need to strive for solutions for the whole of the planet.

So, what shall I call it then? Libertarian Socialism? Social Libertarianism? Maybe. I even created the term "Sustainable Oneness Thinking" which tries to summarize the fact that we should see all of mankind as one being. As a matter of fact we should see the planet with all plants, animals and humans as one entity, as a oneness. We should strive to find solutions to improve the whole planet (not just an individual, a single country or a single society, or solely mankind at the cost of nature). Every idea and decision we should judge by asking if it is beneficial for the whole planet (our oneness) in a sustainable manner. The term Oneness Thinking sounds more religious than political. There seems to be a parallel and similarity to Hinduism and Buddhism. This religious smell will distract people. Maybe it should be "Sustainable Wholeness Thinking" implying we need to always consider the planet as a whole and do so on a long-term basis. To me oneness or wholeness is the same but wholeness sounds less religious.

Of course, none of the terms captures my complete thinking. Terms are just place holders and sometimes they can get us to think. As a joke I could call myself a follower of Libertarian-Sustainable-Oneness-ism.

Be Good

I stumbled across this website: GOOD at www.good.is. And, surprise, it's quite good. Pun intended. The site blogs about a lot of interesting topics such as food, health, cities, environment and transportation. I first found the site through this video explaining the cost of war in Afghanistan and Iraq and putting a price tag of 3,000,000,000,000 (3 trillion) $ on it. Then I have seen videos on corn, etc. All the information is nicely presented and usually condensed to a few minutes. Have a look at their video channel: Good Magazine videos. Short, snappy and to the point covering many issues on sustainability and social challenges.

Black Friday

Black Friday is the biggest retail shopping day of the year in the US. The malls are packed and everyone seems to be in a shopping frenzy.

Luckily there is an alternative event going on: Buy Nothing Day. BND for short. Join us. Today is the 10th anniversary of the Buy Nothing Day which hopes to put a moratorium on consumer spending for the period of 24 hours. It has gone international and is celebrated as "Día sin compras" in the Spanish-speaking world.

What did Shakespeare write? Much ado about nothing. I agree, we have to make noise about nothing - about buying nothing.

And if you are the visual person and want to "watch" Buy Nothing concepts have a look at these videos: Buy Nothing video submission. I particularly liked this one: Raj Patel: The Value of Nothing. This video is a promo for the book "The Value Of Nothing" (2009) by scholar, activist, writer Raj Patel, also the author of Stuffed and Starved (2008). The title is based on the Oscar Wilde quote: "Nowadays, people know the price of everything and the value of nothing." A lovely quote. The book is a good story on how costs are externalized and prices are distorted. The first chapter of the book is available here.

Think for Yourself

"Think for Yourself" is the motto of Gerald Celente and his TrendsResearch.com company. He speaks out clearly on the false hope of economic recovery, inflation, and civil unrest. One of his quotes is "When people lose everything and they have nothing left to lose, they lose it" implying that people at the verge of losing their job, their possessions, and their home will soon have to turn to crime and that New York City will become like Mexico City with respects to crime rate and that other US cities will resemble Calcutta. Independent of to what degree you believe in his predictions, you can always follow his motto: Think for Yourself. Don't take the mass media news for truth, because it isn't.

Life Inc.

Douglas Rushkoff wrote an interesting book entitled "Life Inc. How The World Became A Corporation And How To Take It Back". It is summarized in this short 10-minute movie "Live Inc.". He says that we spend so much time working and consuming that we have no time and no energy left to socially interact with people and get pleasure out of life. We are disconnecting from another. He argues that we have to regain humanity. Ever been on vacation in a "poor" nation where people have fewer goods? Isn't it true that the people in these countries with fewer goods and less consumerism are happier? Happiness cannot be achieved by having more and more goods, but by being satisfied with few goods. So, in order to achieve or increase happiness we have to change our mind (towards humbleness) rather than change our immediate environment (filling home and garage with goods and toys). GNP is a false measure of happiness, still all economists and corporations push for growth and GNP as the only index of economic health and individual happiness. We have to be clear about this fraud. To avoid falling into this trap we can think about best to live with less, try some of our ideas, and then live a life in which we strive for happiness with less - Voluntary Simplicity (voluntary simplicity videos). Also have a look at:  Simple Living, Post-Materialism, and Anti-Consumerism.

News or Not News

It should be clear that all major news providers are corporations and as such driven by profit and supporting the current business model. Their objective is not to deliver impartial news, their objective is to make money. Reported news is selected to satisfy big corporations and politics.

Here is a site that reports on news that should have been reported but has been suppressed by the de-facto censorship of todays news corporations.

• Project Censored
  
• Top 25 Censored Stories for 2010
  
• Top 25 Censored Stories for 2009
  

Every one of these 50 news stories is worth a read.

German Crisis Survival Community

On his video blogs Dr. Jörn Berninger (financial crisis advisor) presents discussions, thoughts and predictions on the economic crisis. One of his video blogs is in English, the other in German. It might not be a good starting point for getting up to speed on these issues but the blogs are worth mentioning because one of them is in German, focusing on German aspects of the crisis and there is not too much German material to be found on the Internet. For those more comfortable with German, this blog with about one video published per week might be a good way to complement your information intake. If you prefer reading, Dr. Berninger also has textual blogs in both languages: German Financial Crisis Survival Blog, English Financial Crisis Survival Blog.

Slaves and Forms of Slavery

Only a few days ago I posted a blog entry entitled "Statism is Dead". One of the arguments was the fact that we in general - or many of us - are being treated like human livestock. Here is another site that voices this opinion. The site is called "On Modern Servitude" and links to a 1-hour video documentary (also available here). It explains that many of us subscribe voluntarily to this modern form of servitude and that we don't want to see it. It is called mercantile totalitarism. It shows how all aspects of our lives are controlled and that we are lulled into a false believe of freedom. In the introduction of the video that criticizes the totalitarian mercantile system we live in, the author summarizes "My optimism is based on the certainty that this civilization is about to collapse. My pessimism lies on the things that are dragging us down in its fall". Wake up. See the new form of slavery for what it is. Watching the video helps you open your eyes.

Compare this view on slavery to Friedrich Hayek's book "The Road to Serfdom" (condensed version of book). Also view these videos: part of the BBC "Tory, Tory, Tory" documentary, part of the BBC "Tory, Tory, Tory" documentary, and The Road to Serfdom (comic).

Hayek comes from a completely different angle. But he reaches the same conclusion, or at least he warns of the same danger: slavery. He argues that if we are not watchful, "socialism", government planning and government interference will lead to serfdom and in order to avoid it we must stick to a strict free market capitalism.

See the two distinct roads? Both leading to servitude according to their authors. Capitalism and socialism, two contrary paths leading to the same oppression? Form your own opinion, but for me it seems clear that it is true that both forms of government - if executed poorly - can lead to slavery. The point is though that socialism - if executed well - can avoid slavery, while capitalism - even if executed well - has a higher risk of slavery.

Aldous Huxley said the following back in 1932. It is a lovely quote and so to the point: "A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced, because they love their servitude. To make them love it is the task assigned, in present-day totalitarian states, to ministries of propaganda, newspaper editors and schoolteachers." (Source: foreword to "Brave New World").

Drifting away from the topic of slavery, a comment on Hayek. The dangers that Hayek warns us about are the government bailouts (e.g. banks and car manufacturers in 2008 and 2009), the TARP programs, the Feds in general, etc. All these actions and institutions are mere meddling that is eventually bound to fail. What in our media is called a free market capitalism, is far away from Hayek's definition of a free market capitalism. All our markets are steered, controlled, abused, and profited from by today's government and big corporations. 2009 is one of the best years to see this in action at a grand scale. Capitalism - like nearly anything in life - has a good side and a bad side. Politicians have long destroyed and eliminated the good side of capitalism, and all they do is dish out the bad side of capitalism for us to eat. But when asked about it they continue to justify capitalism by referring to the long-gone good aspects of capitalism.

344 Days

The average number of days that a flat or house is on the Spanish real-estate market before being sold is now 344 days. This number is up from last year and steadily climbing. In Barcelona this number is up 40% in just 1 year. In Madrid this number is up 32% in just one year. In the last 5 years this number has grown 400% (in the example of Barcelona), meaning that flats or houses or 4 times as long on the market before being sold.

What do we learn? The housing market is bad, few buyers and many sellers. What else? The sellers are not willing to reduce the prices significantly. They still want to hold on to the "old" prices, the prices they paid in the past to buy their home or their investment property and they are mentally not willing to accept that the prices can go south. It will take more time before Spanish people will open up their mind to the fact that real estate is not the perfect investment vehicle that can never fail. People in Spain have been spoiled in the past, having gone through many decades with steady increases that has lead them to believe that real-estate prices are impossible to go down. Now we see how difficult it is to change ones mind on an issue that is detrimental to oneself.

Source: www.idealista.com

Bad, Worse, Worst

What is bad? It is bad that the average cost of delivering one gallon of fuel to the troops in Afghanistan costs $400. The military buys, the tax payer pays. In some remote areas the military pays $1,000 for each gallon of fuel.

What is worse? It is worse that the cost of each soldier in Afghanistan is $1,000,000 (one million) per year. 1 soldier x 1 year = $1 million. The US is in its 9th year of war. Imagine the cost (human lives, financial). Imagine the damage (human suffering, infrastructure destroyed, environment polluted, ...). Now imagine what a wise and benevolent government could do with this money: clean energy, innovation, clean up the environment, education, health care, improve living conditions, ... The total cost of the Afghan-Iraq war is estimated by some at 3 trillion dollars (50 times the original price tag given to the public by Donald Rumsfeld).

What is worst? Worst of all is that the president lies to his public. Remember when Obama promised before the elections that the first thing he would do if elected is to bring the troops home from Afghanistan and Iraq? Read his lips here. Now, after the election the elected leaders are discussing incrementing the number of soldiers in Afghanistan. Don't trust the promises of any president.

Two Arguments against Intellectual Property Rights

Recently in a discussion the topic of Intellectual Property (IP) came up. Both of us admitted that IP rights should be abolished. The interesting part is that we have reached this conclusion trough two completely different paths.

I have reached the conclusion that IP rights are detrimental due to social concerns. I believe that a just, happy and stable society can only be reached if the differences between groups of society are not too large. (Example: Having a stock trader make an average salary of $15,000 an hour and a tomato grower earn the same amount in one year, and a poor Indian making this in fifteen years will not lead to a stable sustainable society.) We have to work together to find the best solutions for humanity. (Examples: We should find the best solution for everyone regarding CO2 emissions. Finding the solution that is best for some is not a good solution. The proposed trading of carbon derivatives will serve the US but be detrimental for poor countries that will have to shoulder the pollution. We should build the best washing machine possible, one that last 50 years, is efficient, etc. instead of throw-away washing machines that are designed to fail after 2 years with built-in obsolescence. We need to find the best solution for food production using the best seeds and the best methodologies for soil treatment to create a sustainable supply of high quality food for all humans.) The only way we can find the best solution for all of mankind we need to work together. We must avoid competition. Competition in the design and manufacturing process just means you hold back the best solution for gaining and holding a competitive advantage, in order to make profit. IP rights and patents are solely tools to avoid that the best solutions for mankind are used for mankind. IP rights and patents are just tools to optimize profits for a single individual or corporation. We must share information, solutions, design and ideas freely to be able to jointly come up with the best solutions for all individuals of this planet. IP rights are in strict contradiction to this goal. Not to mention that today IP rights and patents are resulting in ridiculous exaggerations such as companies patenting life (Monsanto trying to patent pigs) and companies going into government-owned seed banks and patenting all the current and historic seeds just because they are the first to apply for the patent. Imagine someone invents an engine that provides 10-fold mileage. An oil company would quickly buy up this patent and then hide the engine design forever to assure that the product does not reach the market. IP rights and patents make us secretive and make us work against each other instead of together. They create greed. The benefits are reaped by a few instead of by mankind. All of this drives us into a world where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer and hence as a result the social imbalance gets bigger worldwide causing social friction and injustice. The key point is that we need all the information available to mankind to find the best solutions benefiting all of mankind, and hence all information must be free and public.

As a side point I can also mention that IP rights, IP attorneys, patent offices, IP law suits are not intrinsically productive. They generate no true value for mankind. Imagine mankind as one, imagine all 7 trillion individuals are one "virtual" person. If we are just "one", it would make no sense to waste our time and energy with defining, registering, managing and protecting IP rights. What we need is One-ness Thinking, asking ourselves what is best for us with all of mankind seen as one.

My friend reached the same conclusion, that IP rights should be abolished and that they would not be used by a mature society. He has reached this conclusion from a stand-point as libertarian. It goes against the liberties of the individual and physical property rights. IP rights and patents only increase government regulation and decrease the liberties of the individual. It is no longer a free market. Patents create monopolies. The government has a monopoly on granting IP rights and patents. And the patent receiver has a monopoly on the item on which the property was granted. All of this is in contra of the free market as promoted by the Austrian School of economists. My friend referred me to a podcast by Stephan Kinsella entitled "The Intellectual Property Racket". The article "The Fallacy of Intellectual Property" speaks about the same issues and rejects IP rights with the same argumentation.

Again as a side-point, my friend loves to bring up Linux and Wikipedia as examples of the power of the free market. Freedom has lead to the creation of the best-of-breed on-line encyclopedia, not IP rights. I can also say it was a "social" endeavor: by the people for the people, a solution for the benefit of all, not just for the profit of a few.

One-ness Thinking and Libertarianism both are valid arguments against IP rights.

Piracy in Somalia

It all seems such a clear-cut case: piracy. It is so black and white. The piracy acts are evil, surely. Or aren't they? Is it possible that there is another side to this coin? Could it be that it is not so clear-cut? Did a propaganda war waged centuries ago by the British empire embed an image of a pirate into our mind that is far from the truth? Freedom fighter or terrorist? Coast guard or pirate? Are the few Somalis that attack large vessels the pirates? Or are we the so-called first world nations the true pirates?

Find out for yourself. Read these articles and you might walk away with the opinion that there are two types of pirates and the big and evil pirates are the US, the EU, China, Taiwan, etc.

• Toxic waste behind Somalis Piracy
  
• Somali Pirates: The Untold Story
• You are being lied to about pirates
  
• The Two Piracies in Somalia: Why the World Ignores the Other
  
• 
  

Our Food

From nitrogen based bombs scientists developed nitrogen based fertilizers. From nerve gas humans developed pesticides. Monsanto's New Leaf potato and Monsanto's BT corn are legally registered as pesticides, yet they are sold in US supermarkets as human food. Every cell of BT corn is genetically engineered to create a toxin, a pesticide that kills any worm that attempts to eat any part of the BT corn plant. And the same corn becomes corn cob or corn flakes on your plate. Can that be healthy? 97% of the varieties of vegetables grown at the beginning of the 20th century are now extinct. Is that smart? Companies are creating "meat" artificially in laboratories by growing muscle cells through proteins.

What is the future of our foods? GM veggies that make us sterile and meat grown in a lab tube? Have a look at these videos: "The Future of Food - Introduction",  "The Future of Food - Interview with producer" and the official web site.

The Man who Planted Trees

Over the last months I have reached the conclusion that planting trees should be a top priority for our society. I have an unexplainable personal link to trees. I simply like and value them. They can do so much good and if we want to take care of our planet we depend on the help of trees. We will not be able to make it without them and we will not be able to survive as a race without them. It is no wonder to me that ancient culture see them as spiritual beings.

A heart-moving short book (only 3 pages of text) and video dealing with the topic of planting trees is "The Man Who Planted Trees". It is highly recommended. Here is the "The Man Who Planted Trees" book in French, "The Man Who Planted Trees" in English and the "The Man Who Planted Trees" video (description).

Tiny Farms

I stumbled across an interesting blog about Tiny Farms - written by a person who started his 2 acre farm some 7 years ago with no p[revious knowledge. It has useful DIY information for anyone interested in starting a small farm. It also has a Tiny Farming wiki (a wikipedia on tiny farming) attached where people write about topics like "how much farm land is needed to feed a person" and more practical aspects.

1 Year Anniversary

I went back to my emails. Nov 12, 2008 was the day when all started. On this day I received an email from a friend of mine that ran roughly like this: "Do you know the documentary Zeitgeist? I just watched it. It's complicated and requires digestion. One thing is sure, it will make you think, reflective and meditative, ...".

My friend was right and the following discussions kicked off a new period in my life. I sort of celebrate a birthday today. I am now one year into my new life after having recognized that we require Times of Change.

Celebrating this 1-year anniversary it is also time for another self-assessment.

• Over the last year I rekindled seeds that I had always within myself. Certain attitudes and knowledge I had long before I started Times-of-Change, often since childhood. For example, all my adult life I was into voluntary simplicity, I always have been a fervent recycler, I felt close to nature and appreciated its beauty and the lessons it holds for us. I never voted because I thought it is useless, but I never bothered to think too hard why it is useless. What have I learned over the last year? I got a better understanding of the financial system and how it oppresses us. I got a better understanding of how the economic system is designed to trash the world and how and why the mantra of growth is doomed to fail. I have learned why the political system is corrupt, who corrupted it and who pays the price. I have learned why there is no difference between democrats and republicans, between social democrats and right wing parties: they all just squabble about tiny issues but they all support the status quo and they all support the mercantile totalitarian system. I learned how corporations came to power. Etc. Etc. Etc. Yes, I learned a lot in the last year. I also learned that all is interconnected. That one cannot find a solution to the environmental crisis while ignoring the financial system and politics. One cannot fix corrupt politics and ignore the economy. One can not be a true permaculturist and not have a political opinion and not understand how we are under the influence of corporations. It is all connected: economy, ecology, psychology, politics, freedom, health, nature, ...
• I put my money where my mouth is. I donated to the sources providing me with valuable information: Chris Martenson, MarketSkeptics, Permaculture Research Institute, etc. 
• I found a few new people with whom I have shared my believes and who read articles I occasionally mail to them. I continue to spread the news via word of mouth and via the Times of Change blog. The blog has 100 page views per month, not a lot, but it is a start. 
• I make sure never to buy GM food. We have started to buy wherever possible and reasonable organic food, from organic carrots to coffee. Still, here is room for improvement. There is still plenty on regular (non-organic) food that ends up in our shopping cart that could be substituted with organic products. Furthermore we could buy bio-dynamic food, which is a step ahead of organic food; but it is difficult to find and would require extra work. 
• I try to vote with my money, i.e. I try to avoid buying products from corporations that are clearly violating good ethics. But I believe that it is far too little and completely insufficient to vote with one's dollars. Often there are no choices: all products offered come from corporations without ethics. So the choice frequently is between "bad" and "bad".
• I try to reduce consumerism, I built 5 pieces of furniture from scrap wood I dragged home from dumpsters. I even built a small shelf simply from cardboard boxes and another table from combining cardboard boxes and wood. It was so easy. Reduce, reuse, recycle. 
• I appreciate food a lot more now. I wonder about where it comes from, the effort and energy that goes into producing it, how far it traveled, who profited from it, etc. Food has a higher priority in my life now. And I worry more about it. Will there be enough food in 10 years? How will it be distributed across the nations of this planet? Will it make us sick? I didn't have any of these worries a year ago. 
• Clearly, the next step is to produce my own food, well, a part of it. I have not advanced on this matter, but it is still on my to-do list. I dream of a food forest. 
• I started a promise to myself on planting trees. I am behind my target number of planted trees, but I still have many years left to work on this topic.
• I also want to create a new home-stead for my family and me, but I also see that this leads to relationship tensions as it is natural for partners to disagree on many issues. I don't see the outcome of this yet. So I have doubts. The price for partial resource independence can't and shouldn't be the break-up of close social fabric.
• Positive thinking is hard for me on many days. It has been stated by many people that despite all the challenges we face we must remain with a positive attitude in order to advance and in order not to become sick. Rationally I fully understand that, but still frequently the news is so depressing and bleak that it is easy to worry or become cynical. I know I have to improve in this area and try to reduce my worries and increase my optimism.

Statism is Dead

Freedomain Radio has published a series of 5 videos entitled "Statism is Dead". In these videos Stefan Molyneux explains statism and he compares our society to human livestock management. Without knowing it, we are the cattle controlled and slaughtered by the farmer (i.e. the politicians). If you listen to the parable you will agree to the similarities between a regular cattle ranch and our human environment. Part 3 is most likely the best episode and the one you should see if you don't have time to watch them all. Part 3 focuses in the human livestock parable. Part 5 explains why statism is terrorism and must and will inevitably end. Stefan Molyneux favors a free and more anarchic construct for our society to replace the current statism. His video blog is on his YouTube channel Stefbot.

80 5

According to the TED video "How food shapes our cities" featuring Carolyn Steel 80% of the global food trade is performed by only 5 companies (at 3:15 of the video). To these extremes globalization has taken us. Why does the general public not think that this is too much power in too few hands (10 hands in this particular case)? Why does the average John Doe not see that this is inherently risky on so many levels? Why does the average Jane Doe not see that democratic citizens are losing control over such a basic need as food and that this control is handed freely and voluntarily to soul-less corporations? We need to stop globalization before globalization enslaves us even further.

The 10 Rs of an Alternative World

This is a translation of the Spanish article "The 10 Rs of the Other Possible World".

These should be our basic guidelines for another possible world:

• Respect: Respect the planet, respect for diversity of all kinds of lifestyles, cultures, languages, religions and ethnic groups, respect for elders, respect for children, respect for the unborn, respect animals, respect plants, respect for the planet.
  
  
• Reduction : Reduction of our material needs, reduction of our spendings, reduce of the work hours, reduction of pollution, reduction of our energy expenditure, reduction of our consumption.
  
  
• Redistribution: Redistribution of wealth, redistribution of paid work, redistribution of domestic chores, redistribution of responsibilities between classes and sexes, redistribution of company size, redistribution of tax burdens.
  
  
• Reflection: Reflection on the indirect consequences of our daily actions, reflection on our lifestyle and our vital priorities, reflection on the future of our children and the future of our planet.
  
  
• Revindication: Revindication of (i.e. reclaim of, taking back of) justice and basic rights (food, clothing, housing, health, education, personal independence) of all human beings without distinction.
  
  
• Resistance: Resistance against hopelessness inherent in materialism, resistance against the paradigm of selfishness and hoarding as a way of life, resistance to ecocide.
  
  
• Reuse: reuse of material resources, objects, ideas, human resources, reuse of public spaces, old houses, reuse of uses and customs with social or environmental value.
  
  
• Reinvention: Reinvention of life in a new philosophy associated with the appreciation of the different, coexistence, understanding, humility and solidarity, reinventing the rules governing the global economy.
  
  
• Repair: Repair the damage caused to individuals, social groups and environmental systems by our action or our inaction to aggressive action by others, reparation to victims of any form of terrorism, including state terrorism, and environmental terrorism by cultivation of historical memory.
  
  
• Rebellion: Rebellion against the neo-liberal capitalist thinking that only seeks to commodify and commercialize all aspects of human life.

Rain Water

Article "Water" talks about the fact that catching and using rain water became illegal in Bolivia as the IMF and Bechtel took over control over water. It is outrageous. Now I found out that even in the USA it was illegal in Colorado until 2009 to harvest rain water and it still is illegal in the state of Washington to collect rain water from a roof if you do not own water rights on the ground. One does not have to look to third world countries to find

House Prices

In the post "Real Estate" I argued for a more methodic way to put a price label on a flat or a house. Now a found a very simple article agreeing with that and giving the basic ROI (return on investment) and PER (Price to Earning Ratio) as two methods to measure if a real estate property price is fair. Glad to see that this message is finally slowly sent to the public. The article is in Spanish and entitled "How to know if a home is priced adequately". Since this is a Spanish article, let's take Spain as an example. Applying the formula to the Spanish market and specifically to the market in Madrid, Barcelona and Vizcaya, one will very quickly see that real estate is still vastly overpriced and should come down. Currently in mid-2009 after the prices have come down some already the PER is stated as 27 on average. I believe that the PER as calculated in the mentioned article is not correct as it does not take into account issues such as taxes (to be paid on the rent), cost of maintaining the property, etc. This indicates that the true PER is significantly above 27 in this part of the world.

Solidarity Contract

A friend of mine presented his thoughts regarding the transition to me. First he explained the concept of the "Generation Contract" to me.

The generation contract marks an accepted social consent, which is to secure the financing of the old age pension. The employed persons pay the pensions of the generation retired from the business life, and thereby obtain the right to receive similar benefits from the following generation. In other words, this month's tax withholdings on the working generation are used to pay next month's pension to the retired generation.

The term is quite popular in Central Europe. E.g. in German it is called Generationenvertrag and used in the political system of Austria and Germany. The tax that is deducted from one's paycheck is not saved by the state until one retires and then handed back to one. No, the money is handed from one generation to another (with the government as middleman).

Our economy should not be based on growth any longer. It is futile to attempt perpetual growth. At the same time, given our technology and methodology today our society is in a situation where the basic needs of every single individual of society can be covered. Full employment is the goal of all politicians, but it is the wrong goal. As a matter of fact it should not be our goal, we are not born to be workers. We should work to cover our needs, but we should not be servants to work. We should not be enslaved. Most countries are far away from full employment. Unemployment (e.g. 20% currently in Spain in real terms) is seen as something nasty, something undesirable, something shameful. It should not be that way. If we can produce all the goods and services required to fulfill the basic needs of all individuals with 50% or 25% percent of the population, this should be celebrated. And if we can do it with 25% of the population even better.

Full employment will and should not be our goal for the future. And with the population distribution changing to generations with less young people capable of working and more elderly people in need of a pension, we must rethink the concept of the generation contract in particular, and the distribution of resources in general.

My friend's thoughts are to replace the current generation contract that basically distributes from the "working" class to the "non-working" class. He suggests that we must strive for -- what I termed -- a solidarity contract. The class "with financial resources" must give to the social class "without resources". Or simpler: we need a social contract where the rich voluntarily give to the poor. While you have more than you need you give to those that have less than they need. We have so many super rich that are not even capable of spending all their money in their life time. And we have many rich that have wealth and goods far beyond what is needed to cover the basic needs. This must be the class to give. Separating the classes in "working" and "non-working" makes no sense anymore in a well-planned 21 century. The rich must have compassion and show solidarity and realize that it is to be benefit of all -- them included -- if they reduce the wealth divide. My friend stresses that the giving should be voluntary. The point is that we all but in particular the rich must realize that their wealth will not serve them if we go to war or if their behavior creates a revolution. You can only build walls around your castle so high. The not-giving might create social unrest, war, diseases and more. Even a 30-foot wall will not be a protection in such cases.

So much what my friend voice to me. And he asked me if I would be willing to give. For the first 15 seconds I didn't quite know what to say. I think I am willing to give, but I would only do so with many strings attached, meaning only if certain conditions are met. Would I give money to the current government so they can redistribute it as they see fit? No. I see the current government as corrupt and influenced by big industry and I would feel that the money would not end up in the right hands, and I would consider it even possible that it would be used to make the rich richer independent of the promises of the politicians. Would I give if others don't give? No. I could give money today to non-profit organizations in Africa, but I don't. Why? Because it is not a solution. The system has to be changed. Giving food to a starving child is admirable, but it does not get rid of the corrupt military government on his country, does not stop the civil war in his country, or stop the big international companies exploiting the oil and water resources in his country. I think the implementation of the "solidarity contract" has to go hand in hand with many other social, political and economic changes in order to be successful. I see it as a desirable goal. I see it as something that I would support, but like with many other issues I don't see an obvious way to get there. I would give but the system has to be fair, and safe from manipulation from politics and industry.

How do we implement it? That is the tough part. My friend suggests to talk to the rich and to convince them. I feel that we need to do more. Again I see that everything is so intertwined. We need to shift the power, that's a minimum.

After "creating" the term "solidarity contract" in my head I got curious and searched the term. There is an article on Social Solidarity on Wikipedia that links to a document entitled "Toward a social contract on world-wide scale: Solidarity contract" by Guy Ankerl. So, the term was used already in 1980. But with less than 2,500 hits world-wide it is a term hardly ever used. Maybe we should give a new life to this term: solidarity contract.

Patenting Pigs

Monsanto is taking the crown when it comes to unethical business, selfishness, corporate greed and destroying the human food supply. I knew about the milk hormones, rBGH, the genetically modified food like GM corn and GM soy beans as well as all the trouble around Round-Up. Seeing the French documentary, called “The world according to Monsanto” and directed by independent filmmaker Marie-Monique Robin is a must. But now I found out that Monsanto has also applied to patent the pig. Monsanto wants to control the complete food supply. What next from the ex-agent-orange company.

Basic Needs

If you have 10 minutes, why don't you try this exercise. Calm down, think, and write down your top-10 basic needs. What are the 10 things you really need?

What is the list you came up with? Compare it with this list created by 660 village people in Sri Lanka (in order, highest priority first).

• a clean and beautiful environment
• an adequate supply of safe water
• minimum requirements of clothing
• a balanced diet
• simple housing
• basic health care
• communication facilities
• energy
• total education related to life and living
• cultural and spiritual needs

Source: Letters from Sri Lanka – The Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement, and the Ten Basic Needs

Clean Indoor Air

Deep Green Permaculture has a fantastic article entitled "Indoor Plants" on which plants to grow indoors to achieve clean, healthy air and a comfortable living environment in your home.

CNN and Permaculture

Slowly the term permaculture is becoming mainstream. This is good news. CNN has started a series called "Going Green" as part of the news on environmental issues. On of the 4-minute episodes focused on Geoff Lawton and permaculture, it is entitled "An oasis in the desert".

Oil and Dollars

The fact that oil is priced and traded in US$ has a mayor impact on the value of the currency. Yes, in forex trading any currency can be sold and bought in seconds, so dollars can always be converted into euros, but buying crude in $ and then selling the $ is not the same thing as buying in - say - euros.

It is not the same at the national level, nor is it the same thing for the individual. If you live in the Euro zone, it is currently impossible to invest in crude oil without having to go through two currency exchanges and submitting yourself to foreign legislation and trade rules. Through a broker one can buy Brent crude in London or US crude on US exchanges, as well as crude-based instruments. When you buy one goes through a currency exchange, and again when one sells. Besides the risk in the primary instrument (crude) one has to go through the risk of currency fluctuations. Having to deal with a US exchange can also be seen as a risk. So, I for one am looking forward to the day when I can trade crude and crude-related instruments in euros on a European exchange following European regulation.

Looks like my desire might come true within a couple of years. Major oil producing countries are cooperating and discussing the move to price and sell crude in non-US currencies, possibly a basket containing the euro, gold, yen, yuan and a Middle-Eastern currency in creation.

When it happens this will cause the US dollar to lose in importance and in consequence in value. What can the US do to avoid it? Bribe Saudi Arabia? Wage war? Or maybe the US will drop the dollar on purpose in order to move to a world currency whereby eliminating their vast national debt.

Cell Phone

Before you make your next call on your cell phone, read this message: The Environmental Impact of Cell Phones.

Seven Sins

Mahatma Gandhi once wrote about the "Seven Social Sins":

• politics without principles, 
• wealth without work, 
• pleasure without conscience, 
• knowledge without character, 
• commerce without morality, 
• science without humanity, and 
• worship without sacrifice.

How many of these seven sins have we as a society committed in the last years and decades? Does this have anything to do with our current crisis? At least 3 sins have heavily lead to where we are: 

• Politics is run by lobbyists and Wall Street, 
• Printing money and making money through speculation and exchange manipulation is commonplace, 
• Commerce exclusively focuses on profits and ignores resources, nature and health.

Mahatma was a truly wise man.

View on China

China is a crucial component to the world economy. So, I always find it interesting to read about China, its political and economical direction. Newsweek published this article on China entitled "Everything You Know About China Is Wrong".

In a nutshell, the article states: Chinese government debt, once negligible, is now officially about 30 percent of GDP. High for China, low in comparison to US. The state sector controls half the total economy, and with the current stimulus package of $600 billion it is expected that the state sector actually grows in comparison to the private sector. Politicians are going green. The green stimulus package amounts to $218 billion, the largest in the world! China is still a massive polluter but it is also the biggest producer of renewable energy.

Orange Juice

Do you know what's inside a glass of orange juice? Industry makes you believe it is all wholesome healthy goodness. Not quite so. Listen to an expert that explains the industrial process orange juice makers go through to deliver the orange-colored liquid to you. Very education, I promise. You can find the video on "How pure and natural is your orange juice" and "The great orange juice scam".

$70 Billion

$70 billion. It is a gigantic number. This is the amount of tax payers money Goldman Sachs received. Goldman takes the $70 billion gift, buys distressed assets in the collapsed market and makes $10 billion in revenue in a single quarter. The just released quarterly figures show a $3 billion profit! And guess what? Big bonuses for all the employees. Goldman Sachs has 31,700 employees and they are on track to earn an average of about $700,000 apiece in 2009. They are expected to pay $17 billion in bonuses in 2009. To top off the arrogance, a leading Goldman Sachs director told the press as justification for the high bonuses that "this is good for the economy".

Who are the guilty ones? Goldman Sachs is unethical. No doubt. But the Obama team made it all possible. The Obama team with its ex-Goldman staff decided on the bail-out package and conditions. They are the ones that made it all happen. Social justice is a long way off.

Read here: Goldman Sachs Posts $3 Billion Gain, video discussion on the Goldman Sachs profits

And 2008 was no different as this article shows: Wall Street banks in $70bn staff payout. Goldman Sachs, for example, paid $12 billion in bonuses in 2008.

War

What are reasons for war? There is nothing that truly justifies war. Yet, humankind over and over again goes into war. Politicians sell us war. How? In the past when the church was ruling it was for religion. Nowadays with worldly politicians ruling they justify it in the name of freedom, in the name of peace, in the name of democracy, etc. It is all lies. The Iraq wars were certainly not about freedom, nor democracy, nor world peace.

Many suspect that it was about oil. Al Bartlett in an interview from the Blind Spot documentary eloquently said that the in the Iraq wars the US used middle eastern oil to punish middle eastern people. Have a look at this interview snippet. The US doesn't have enough oil to fight the war in Iraq without having to cut back somewhere else, so it uses Iraq oil to fight the Iraqis. What sad irony.

Last week I found another argument why the US entered into war with Iraq. The reason is to keep the US dollar strong. Iraq wanted to stop selling oil in dollars and start selling its oil exclusively in Euros. That would strengthen the Euro and weaken the dollar. The US could not print paper money (out of nothing) to buy oil, but would now have to buy Euros in order to buy part of its oil. Also, that Iraqi policy would send the "wrong" message to the world and other middle eastern country might follow. Hence, the US had to intervene. Here are the details at "Dollars, Oil, and the Big Wipe Out".

It is all so intertwined: politics, finance, economics, peak oil, ...

Also have a look at this related article outlining how oil producers are collaborating to price and sell oil in Euros and a basket of currencies.

Hyperinflation

Will the US have hyperinflation? I do not doubt it. For many reasons. Here is one of many articles out there that sheds light on this issue: "Killing the Goose" by John Mauldin.

It says: "There have been 28 episodes of hyperinflation of national economies in the 20th century, with 20 occurring after 1980. Peter Bernholz (Professor Emeritus of Economics in the Center for Economics and Business (WWZ) at the University of Basel, Switzerland) has spent his career examining the intertwined worlds of politics and economics with special attention given to money. In his most recent book, Monetary Regimes and Inflation: History, Economic and Political Relationships, Bernholz analyzes the 12 largest episodes of hyperinflations - all of which were caused by financing huge public budget deficits through money creation. His conclusion: the tipping point for hyperinflation occurs when the government's deficit exceed 40% of its expenditures."

"The US federal expenditures are projected to be $3.653 trillion in FY 2009 and $3.766 trillion in FY 2010, with unified deficits of $1.580 trillion and $1.502 trillion, respectively. These projections imply that the US will run deficits equal to 43.3% and 39.9% of expenditures in 2009 and 2010, respectively. To put it simply, roughly 40% of what the US government is spending has to be borrowed."

So, the tipping point has been reached. If you belief in historic data, the US is headed for hyperinflation.

Democracy

Are we living in a democracy? Officially, yes. Everyone says so. We have elections. But is that the true reality?

We are not living in a democracy. More and more industry and government are teaming up and democracy is for sale. The laws are created in the interest of industry not in the interest of the individual, the people. Power is shifting away from governments and politicians and being invested instead in transnational corporations and trade organizations.

Everything, people, resource and nature are used to serve the well-being of the corporation. An ad placed by the Government of the Philippines in Fortune magazine reads as follows: "To attract companies like yours … we have felled mountains, razed jungles, filled swamps, moved rivers, relocated towns … all to make it easier for you and your business to do business here."

No politician ever makes it into the polls if he does not have the support of the corporations. Anyone that you are allowed to vote for in elections is pre-selected and pre-approved by the industry. With your ballot you may chose between Mr. A, B or C, but all three have the same pre-determined principle plan regarding the truly major issues, their difference only lies in the minor areas. The main objective of government is to satisfy corporations. Over time the government has been deeply undermined by corporate staff.

And what do corporations do? They are legally prohibited to be social, to treat nature in a sustainable way. They private the gain and externalize the cost in order to follow their legal obligation to seek profit.

How to get back to responsible policies, to politicians that act in favor of people, nature and resources? Sometimes I see a revolution the only way out. There are many types of revolutions though, think of Mahatma Ghandi.

Here is a truly excellent article entitled "The Roots of Change – in Ourselves, or Government and Industry?" that sheds light onto this topic. A must read in my humble opinion.

Open Source Education

The concept of Open Source is catching on. First there was Open SOurce software, then I read about Open Source building construction, yesterday I read about Open Source Education. MIT has opened up its course material and makes it available freely to anyone via the Internet. Of course, having the course material is not the same as receiving the class in person, but this is a gigantic step forward. Having access to world class teaching material is a great opportunity for a large pool of seriously interested students. The move of MIT to make this material available is admirable. Read more about it on the MIT OpenCourseWare site.

Gold at US$1,000

Gold has finally reached $1,000 an ounce. But why? Is it inflation on the dollar? An increase in the investment demand side? Here are some current thoughts on gold.

Yes We Can

"The Government Can" is a hilarious video. It is funny, but yet so true. One does not know if one should laugh about the humor or cry about its truth.

And if you think the video is far from the truth, here you can see some of the many ways the government is spending your hard earned money.

And if this still does not convince you have a look of how in the able government money just goes missing. People think of countries like Mexico, Zimbabwe, and China when they hear corruption. There seems to be more corruption in the US, with the only differnce that in the US there are better spin-doctors and the marketing, media and public relations department hiding corruption under nice words and images. 

Backwardation of Gold

Here is a set of interesting articles, all written by Antal E. Fekete. He is of the opinion that we are heading towards a situation where gold will disappear from the market, in particular from the supply side; prices of 6 or 12-month gold futures will continuously be below the spot price; and that gold will become unavailable at any price; and that the gold exchanges and markets will stop functioning.

Read these articles carefully:

• The Enormous Significance Of Gold Backwardation (from 2004!)
• Red Alert: Gold Backwardation
• Dress rehearsal for the last contango
  

Or in Spanish:

• La desconfianza en el dolar causara un colapso monetario
  
• Ensayo general para el ultimo contango de oro
  

I read all these articles at least twice. It was initially kind of hard to understand the logic, but after re-reading a sufficient number of times I think I slowly understand. On initial reading I found contradictions. I thought how can the gold price go down and gold lose value and at the same time gold is unavailable for purchase at any price. That seemed impossible. But I get it now. One has to clearly differentiate the gold future price and the value of gold. The future price might go down while the value of gold goes up. How so? If people are afraid that the future gold cannot be delivered they are not willing to pay a high price because there is high risk, the risk being that there is no physical gold available in the future. At the same time the perceived value of available gold goes up. So, the situation of backwardation of gold and the increase of gold value at the same time is possible.

If paper money becomes to worthless (imagine Zimbabwe-like worthless) nobody will want to sell their gold. The exchange and market close down because there is nothing to trade, there is no supply. Nobody sells gold at any price.

What the article does not say, but what I think is that people while not selling gold, people will be trading gold for things they need or want (food, gas, heating material, etc.).

Gold

As the times get tougher, the financial mess bigger, and the US dollar steadily continues to lose its value, politicians and financial decision makers might get desperate. What type of regulations do we have to expect? And how might that affect gold? Here are some possibilities, they seem far fetched, but they are all in the realm of possibilties:

• Confiscating the gold: The government decides that you have to hand in all your gold at a price conveniently fixed by the government.
• Making the sale of gold illegal: For example, in the past gold possession and gold panning was legal in Zimbabwe, but, by the Gold Trade Act, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe had a monopoly on purchasing and exporting of all gold and silver produced in the country. 
• Making the possession of gold illegal: Zimbabwe then strengthened their Gold Trade Act making also the possession of gold by regular people illegal. Any gold found will be confiscated by the state.
• Making Smelting of Jewelery illegal: See Zimbabwe's Gold Trade Act.
• Artificially fixing the gold price: The government or IMF can set the gold price. This has also been done in Zimbabwe where they have tried about everything for some period of time. In 2007 the price was set to $64 per ounce (today's value on the London exchange is $1000). The conclusion was that all mines stopped working and that all gold disappeared from the market. Nobody wanted to sell gold at this price.  
  

Measuring Progress

In this earlier article on my blog on progress and values it became clear that we need new measuring sticks to evaluate our progress, personal as well as global.

The New York Times also had an article now on how outdated it is to measure progress or well being or economic health in terms of GDP. Have a look at this NY Times article that recommends the death of the GDP.

I wouldn't mind using some simple measures such as global surface area of forests, global surface areas of ecological farm land, or global tonnage of ecologic food to chart if we as a united people walk into the right direction.

Back to the Gold Standard

After leaving the gold standard, manipulation of the markets and abuse of financial regulations have mushroomed slowly leading to crisis after crisis with the current crisis just being the latest and biggest one.

Many voices call for a return to the gold standard where paper money is redeemable for gold and backed by gold. This leads to stricter monetary policies and avoids escalation of debt as we see it right now. Without doubt regular citizens can reap benefits from the prudent return to the gold standard. Still, financial "experts" frequently call the gold standard unrealistic. In this article the top 5 myths about why we can't go back to a gold standard are debunked: Five Myths About the Gold Standard.

6 Billion Others

After the film HOME the new project from Yann Arthus-Bertrand is www.6billionothers.org. He raises 40 questions to people around the world. He collected several thousand responses already. You want to find out what other people around the globe think? What their first dream was? Their first childhood memory? Go have a look. Or sign up and answer the questions yourself.

Potato

The usual way to grow potatoes in Spain is as follows. Other countries like the USA surely follow similar processes:

• 2000 kg of chemical fertilizer is used per hectare
• one treatment of fungicides on the potato seedlings themselves to prevent rhizoctonia
• 2 to 4 treatments of fungicides on the growing crop to prevent mildew
• one treatment of insecticides at seeding
• 2 to 3 treatments of insecticides on the growing crop against beetle, gray worm, etc.
• in the preparation phase before seeding, herbicides are used to kill all plants
• herbicides in the growing phase of the potato to kill all competing plants so that there is no competition for resources (fertilizers, etc.)
• herbicides to kill the green part of the potato that is above the ground in preparation for the harvest
• anti-germination treatment of the harvested potatoes so that they can be sold later

I always thought that potatoes are a rather simple plant requiring a rather simple process. But in today's agro-industry even to grow potatoes we have 2 tones of fertilizers per ha, ca. 4 treatments of fungicides, 3-4 treatments of insecticides, 2 treatments of herbicides and 1 treatment of anti-germination. And we are not even talking about GM potatoes.

That certainly killed my apetite for industrial potatoes. (Data Source: EkoLurra Magazine, 33th edition, winter 2008, p.19).

Gardening Australia

Last week I watched a video which I believe was broadcast on TV in Australia. Peter Cundall gives a brief introduction and then Josh Byrne presents a complete permaculture project showing how one can turn a home with a mid-sized garden into a sustainable, healthy and productive environment. The video is 72 minutes and is entitled "Gardening Australia", professionaly produced in 2006. I found it a useful way to spend 72 minutes. It sheds a little bit of light on everything: water recycling, raised garden beds, small pond, chicken coop, etc. Here is the official site with the DVD: Gardening Australia, Permaculture.

Orwellian Agriculture

What's the objective of agriculture? Most people would say to produce food. In our Orwellian times we have distorted agriculture to such an absurd degree that today

• agriculture is worldwide the biggest consumer of water (13,000 liters of water are needed to produce one kilogram of meat)
  
• agriculture is worldwide the biggest polluter of water (insecticides, pesticides, fertilizers seeping into rivers and ground water)
  
• agriculture is worldwide the biggest cause for soil degradation and soil loss (removal of nutrients, erosion, salination of soil, deforestation for new agricultural plots)
  
• agriculture is a massive energy consumer (for every 1 calorie of food produced 9 calories of energy are put into the agricultural system, most products (fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides) come from the petrochemical industry, i.e. are derived from oil)
  
• agriculture reduces food diversity (75% of plant food seed species have been driven to extinction in the last 60 years, more than half of all food plants grown today are from only 4 species: rice, wheat, soy and corn)

So, what do you think now of today's agriculture? Agriculture which is supposed to give us food, is in reality destroying our water and reducing our capability to produce food in the future.

Bill Mollison once said: our current agriculture is not a system to produce food, it is a system to produce profits. Let me add to that: "... it is a system to produce profits at any cost, including sick people, sick water and a sick land."

Past Real Estate Downturns

Here is an interesting article from a leading Spanish bank on the European real estate downturns during the last decades. These are family homes, not commercial real-estate. While the article is in Spanish it is easy to read, just look at the table and the numbers:

• Finland: 1983-1993 --> 50% downturn
• Netherlands: 1978-1985 --> 49% downturn
• Japan: 1991-2007 --> 41% downturn

What goes up, must come down :)

Trees for your Home

Do you want a healthier home? Why not put 4 trees in your apartment or house? I think it is an easy step to improve living quality. Kamal Meattle tells you what trees are recommendable and about his success in India. Have a look at this 4-minute short TED video.

His key message is:

• put Areca Palm = Chrysalidocarpus lutescens in your living room(4x person)
• put Mother-in-Law's Tongue = Sansevieria trifasciata in your bed room (7x person)
• use specialist plant Money Plant = Epipremnum aureum to remove formaldehyde.
  

Winning the Oil End Game

There is a thought-provoking video on peak oil on TED. Armory Lovins talk about Winning the Oil End Game. I do not agree with all his points. In my opinion he is too optimistic about the government response to the transition. I also doubt that the government being steered by lobbyists and big business interests has the right intentions. His proposed solution is also heavily dependent on technology, which I also see as a possible weakness or at least a factor of risk. I would prefer simpler solutions more in line with nature. Nonetheless his option is a positive step forward and the video is worth watching. He gives a lot of numbers and presents possible approaches for tackling peak oil. Here is the Winning the Oil End Game talk video. Background data on the presentation can be found on his dedicated web site and his book with the same title. The Winning the Oil End Game book is free and a lot of research has gone into it.

Home

The video "HOME" by Yann Arthus-Bertrand is out. It is available in HD (5G!) 1920x1080 for visual pleasure. There are also smaller versions. When I saw an intro on TED to it I was close to crying. Definitely a must-see. Get all the details on the official home page of HOME. YouTube has a channel dedicated to this project. Get downloading and watching!

In the last part of the movie (last 10 minutes), the author wants to make a point that we already have the solutions to improve our self-created deteriorating situation. A list of positive implemented actions is given and the movie shows geothermal power plants, solar panels, etc. Most of these provided positive examples focused on renewable energy. These are without doubt part of the solution. But, as part of the solution I would have liked to see more emphasis on a) reforestation and b) a change from our mono-culture industrial agriculture to sustainable agriculture such as permaculture.

In my belief these 2 steps are essential to the survival of our species.

Personal Aspiration

Having just done my little self evaluation regarding our heavily changing times, I also started to wonder about the purpose of life, and all this good philosophical stuff. In what direction should I go? How can I take my loved ones with me on this journey? It is good to stop once in a while to smell the roses.

I figured it is time to think about and set myself a new personal aspiration. What is a goal? A goal is a desire or an intention that one acts upon in order to achieve it. What are some of the most popular goals people have? Look at this informal list of popular goals. Or this one. Plant a garden is not in the top 100. There is not a single goal regarding the environment, like reducing the carbon footprint, using less resources, recycling more. Words like "nature" or "environment" don't show up anywhere on these lists. There are some goal lists of higher quality.

What is my general goal? I wrote the following sentence down to help me as a guideline in steering through the coming months or years.

"Create and maintain a healthy environment and lifestyle where work done is satisfying and balanced with family, pastime and rest."

I can embellish on this simple sentence to derive:

"Create and maintain a healthy environment around me, live a healthy lifestyle in tune with nature and sustainability where work done is satisfying and balanced with family, pastime and rest; where money is a resource not an objective; where inner peace, searching and seeing the positive, and openness to learning are the principle values."

This personal aspiration sentence will remain a subject to change. Nonetheless, it is good to write it down to make the goal firmer and more present in your mind and actions.

Evolution of 6 Months and Counting

It's the beginning of July. It is "TC + 6 months". I use Jan 1, 2009 as the rough date when I realized that we are in Times of Change ("TC") and awakened to a new viewpoint. In short, a bit more than 6 months have passed since I started this journey. It is time to make a little self assessment. What have I achieved since my last self evaluation on May 1, 2009?

• I brought my finances in order. That also simplified my life as a welcomed side effect.
• I still read a lot of alternative news, watch alternative video documentaries, etc. And I am always aware and treat all information with a healthy dose of criticism.
  
• I have decided on living healthier, paying more attention to food products and processes. E.g. performing the extra step to avoid GM food; eating more vegetables and fruits and less meat; and very slowly we are on the way to incorporate more organic food into our diet.
• I have produced my own first food preserves, in this case 3 jars of seasoning (basil, chives) preserved in olive oil. I know this is just a drop in the ocean, but I have to start somewhere.
• Mentally I have embraced permaculture and I have obtained theoretical exposure to it via videos and books. I am still looking for the right place (land plot) where to put it into practice.
• I have gone through an evolution. I have evolved from fear, to action, to slowly changing my life values and ethics. What does that mean? My initial reaction to all the perceived change was negative surprise and fear. It was clear that the occurring changes are massive, touching everything from politics, economy to culture and social behavior. My first thought was about how to act in order to prevent further financial loss. From there the thought process evolved to providing myself and my family with a sustainable home that protects and shields us in the long term through increased resource independence. That lead to the interest in a home with wood burner, solar water heating, etc. and a garden for growing some food. [I plan to turn this interest into reality in 2010/2011.] The next step in evolution was a closer study of the permaculture concept. I found myself agreeing vastly to its driving forces and the underlying ethics. In short, I got infatuated with permaculture. The next step in my evolution was to see permaculture as a desirable personal philosophy; a set of ethics to guide my daily life decisions. My path of finding sustainable living seems to be upside down. Most people have a certain ethics (Taoism, Buddhism, Greenpeace generation, green activists, etc.) that leads them towards permaculture and similar sustainable concepts. My path was the opposite. I saw that permaculture would become something increasingly valuable. And from that I first learned, then started to appreciate and lastly slowly started to adapt the permaculture ethics into my life.

What's next? I don't know. But I do know that there is still a lot of change ahead of us for all of us, some forced upon us, some voluntarily implemented by us.