The Gold Rush is On

Disaster for some (the less privileged) always turns into a gold mine for others (a few privileged or connected). No matter what the disaster is, natural, economic or ecologic, there are always vulture companies turning it into a giant profit at the cost of the just affected. In many cases it is big governments that take advantage of the disaster to funnel public money to private corporations. Here is a good example from recent history. Less than a month after the quake in Haiti US Ambassador Kenneth Merten sent a cable to the his corporate and NGO contacts with the message "The gold rush is on". Two years later Haiti looks like the earth quake has been merely 2 months ago. Where did all the relief fund money go? Where did it not go? Find out here in this 10-min video report entitled "The Haitian Earthquake Gold Rush".

Global Restoration

This young man has voiced his vision for the Occupy Wall Street movement in his 10-min video "Global Restoration: Vision For Occupy & Earth". It has some Zeitgeist aspects to it and some "back to the land" ideas with the principal goal of global ecological restoration. He sees the industrial civilization as the root of all evil. I like his optimism and activism, but his vision is incomplete.

Can or should his vision be the direction of OWS? I think it can be part of OWS, it is certainly positive and worth while, but I think it is insufficient. If this is all of OWS than the men in power will remain and control and oppression will continue in one form or another. We need more than just passive rejection of the current system, moving out and away is not enough. An active stance against the controlling powers is essential.

Similarly with the back-to-the-land idea. I like it. It can bring create small tightly weaved societies, benefit us and the environment, increase our happiness as individuals, and some more. But we still need industry, under different control, but a society without industry seems unimaginable to me.

It can be a big piece in the puzzle of a solution to our problems, but as a all-encompassing vision I see it incomplete. A mathematician might say it is required but not sufficient.

Bill Still running for President

Bill Still announced his candidacy for the Libertarian Party nomination for President of the United States. Have a look at his campain website: still2012.com. He promises 3 actions if voted president:

1. He will put an end to government borrowing. No More National Debt! The United States will replace Federal Reserve Notes by re-issuing debt-free U.S. Notes, and gradually pay off the National Debt with them. 
2. He will put an end to the ability of commercial banks to control the Quantity of money in our system through what is essentially counterfeiting. This has been a massive fraud on the people of the United States. We, the people, will take back the money power from the big banks and return the American economy to monetary stability and prosperity. 
3. He will abolish the Internal Revenue System and the income tax – both personal and corporate — and implement a fair, simple and equitable consumption tax in accordance with the U.S. Constitution. This is how we funded the US government for the first 100 years, and we can do it again.