It is not about who is right and who is wrong. It's about what we are going to do

[Ron Tocknell]

There are many conflicts going on both within the world about us and within ourselves. The Internet is undoubtedly the most significant and pivotal development in our social evolution and this brings these conflicts to the fore. Wrongdoers can no longer hide their deeds from the world and we can no longer hide from realities of this. The Internet also exposes us to the immense beauty and magnificence of humanity. Now we have to deal with these conflicts.

We have become obsessed with conspiracy theories and evidence of evil. We have become obsessed with holding to account and bringing wrongdoers to justice. But what is the real value of all this trial and retribution? Is it bringing evil to an end? If we are concerned with trying to prove that this or that conspiracy theory is true, then we are barking up the wrong tree. If we are concerned with ensuring that the crimes of this or that politician are exposed, we are barking up the wrong tree. If we are concerned with retribution, we are barking up the wrong tree. All these are distractions in the guise of the fictional virtue we call justice.

Justice would have us believe that it is somehow wrong for an innocent gazelle to die in the jaws of a hungry cheetah. It becomes a matter of sides. Either you take the cheetah's side and acknowledge it has to eat meat or you take the gazelle's side and view the cheetah as the predatory enemy. These are our values, not nature's. The cheetah and the gazelle are not enemies. I have seen sequential photographs of a kill by a hungry cheetah. While the hunt is on, the gazelles are in flight and the cheetah is out to kill. Once a large gazelle has been brought down and the cheetah has fed, the moment of crisis is passed. The cheetah is no longer hungry and the gazelles are no longer fearful. The cheetah lies down to rest and the gazelles graze boldly around it. There is no conflict or enmity between them.

Occasionally, we must look to the simplicity of nature to see the reality of an event.

Yes, politics is corrupt but, in order to address this corruption, we must ask why it is corrupt. The simple answer is that the opportunities for corruption are firmly established in place. The answer to how this is so is that we have allowed it to be so. We have consented and continue to consent to a balance of power that can only lead to corruption because the powerful can create their own opportunities. But what gives the powerful their power? Our consent.

Instead of asking if conspiracy theories are true, we should be asking: is it possible for these conspiracies to occur? The answer is beyond debate. Yes.

We could, for example, ask: are pharmaceutical companies deliberately contaminating our foods with harmful additives and deliberately exposing us to viruses that they have generated? We could then go into long, protracted debates, producing evidence against them with Big Pharma on the other side of the argument producing their conflicting evidence and it could go on forever without ever reaching a final conclusion. No one will admit wrongdoing; no one will be brought to justice and, consequently, nothing will be done to ensure that it does not occur. The squirrel simply isn't up this tree.

Ask: is it possible for Big Pharma to deliberately contaminate our food with harmful additives? Answer: Yes. Pharmaceutical companies are responsible for deciding what food additives are necessary to keep food safe and they effect legislation to ensure that additives are used.

Is it possible for Big Pharma to expose us to laboratory-generated viruses? Answer: Yes. Pharmaceutical companies have the opportunity to release viruses that form part of their research and effect legislation to ensure widespread vaccination programs.

Does Big Pharma stand to benefit from such actions? Answer: Yes. Pharmaceutical companies profit from ill health because this creates the market for their products. Viruses sell vaccines. Big Pharma's profits depend on a continual market for their products and the survival of pharmaceutical companies depend on profits.

This is the tree and these key points are the squirrel. It is not necessary to prove guilt. It is only necessary to prove opportunity and motive to effectively address these concerns. Opportunity alone does not lead to action. We all have the opportunity to murder random strangers but we don't and this is not simply because the law forbids it. We break laws all the time. We have a natural aversion to causing harm even when the opportunity to do so without detection presents itself. Add motive to the opportunity and the situation becomes very different. Then it depends on the pay-off. If the benefit is sufficient and the opportunity is present, we may well commit acts that we would otherwise find abhorrent. Opportunity and motive creates an unstable situation.

We can eliminate opportunity with stringent security measures and severe penalties but, even then, if the motive is strong enough, these would be no guarantee of prevention. Also, we do not want to live in such a society. By eliminating motive, however, we can stabilise the situation.

Motives for overriding our natural taboos against causing harm can be broken down into two main categories: Fear and desire. We may override the discomfort of committing acts against our moral codes to avoid a situation that would bring greater discomfort or we may override our natural desire to remain within this comfort zone to bring about something for which we have a greater desire.

The main desire behind acts of atrocity is wealth and, consequently, power. The main fears behind acts of atrocity are exposure (and its consequences) and loss (either of wealth, power or both).

The only way to effectively address corruption is to remove the motives.

We have an economy that is based on a system that was introduced around 700BC. The Unit of Exchange. At the time, it was a brilliant solution to the inherent problems of the simple barter system, which relied on the coincidence of need and supply. Until the introduction of money, it was necessary to find someone who not only had what you wanted in exchange for what you could give, but also wanted what you had to offer in exchange. Money became the universal pay-off in any exchange. In order that money could be exchanged for anything, it had to be given a fictitious unit of value. In this way, a cow would be worth [say] five units of value and an axe would be worth one unit of value etc.

This has now become so embedded in our culture that we have become addicted to the fiction. It has become a game of power and control. We read about the value of the pound going up or down against the value of the dollar and these are apparently affected by something called "market forces".

IT IS A FICTION!

It cannot be otherwise. The reality is that neither the pound nor the dollar nor any other currency has any intrinsic value whatsoever. Currency is a token and its value is a fiction. That is to say that someone decides what we are going to pretend it is worth. The price of a loaf of bread is considerably higher than it was a decade ago. However, the value of a loaf of bread has remained the same since the first loaf was created. Price reflects only a fiction and is, therefore, unstable. Value, however, reflects the true benefits of a product or service and this is always stable. A loaf of bread of a given weight will feed the same number of people regardless of inflation and market forces. The loaf that fed the twelve disciples at the last supper would still feed twelve people today. No more and no less.

The purpose of money has gradually changed from a relatively simple unit of exchange to something far more complex and with a darker objective. Money does not generate wealth. It is not intended to generate wealth. It generates power by generating poverty.

All that is powerful possesses only the power that is agreed upon by general consensus. For a leader to have power over a group, the group must recognise and consent to that power. On this basis, power is a very transient concept. Governments and kings can be overthrown by those they rule. Power can only be securely established and maintained by the use of illusion. The people must believe in the power if they are to be controlled by it. Money has only the power (or value) that is agreed upon by general consensus.

In the West, our lives are generally easier and the standard of living continues to improve. This keeps us contented and fearful that this ease of living can be taken away by those in power. Is the ease of our living conditions provided by those in power? Of course not. Our leaders are not doctors or engineers or inventors or scientists or any of the vital technicians required to build and maintain the infrastructure of society. They are bankers and accountants and lawyers... in short, they handle the finances, they control the currency and, therefore, maintain the illusions; the fictions. This is how they maintain their grip on power by maintaining the fictitious wealth of the powerful and the fictitious poverty of the masses. The consent of the general populace in the West, who are maintained in relative comfort and ease provides the strength of support that the leaders need to maintain the poverty and oppression of the majority of the world's population.

AND IT'S ALL DONE WITH MIRRORS!

It takes imagination to look at a pile of stones and see them as loaves of bread. It takes insanity to starve to death because we don't have enough stones!

The Unit of Exchange has served its purpose and now serves only as a barrier. We have the technology to automate most of our production and maintain it at a level that would provide for all. The reason we don't do this is because total automation would result in mass unemployment, which, in turn, would result in limited spending power, resulting in the destruction of the market for the goods produced. This is nothing more than the madness of believing that stones are bread. If we take money out of the equation and assume that everyone is entitled to the benefits of a modern, productive society, no one would be the loser. Those who provide would do so because this is the society they want. Those who currently do not contribute to society are invariably limited by financial factors: they cannot afford the education to improve their circumstances or they cannot afford the resources to exploit their talents. How many phenomenal human talents are not even recognised simply because they do not generate enough financial income? We are being held back by something that doesn't even exist except as an abstract concept! What began as a means has now become an end. Money serves no purpose beyond reinforcing the fiction that an elite minority can control a disempowered majority.

MONEY IS AN ILLUSION WITH A FICTIONAL VALUE THAT PROVIDES BOTH THE MEANS AND THE MOTIVE FOR VIRTUALLY ALL THE ATROCITIES AND OPPRESSION OF THE LARGER PART OF SIX BILLION PEOPLE!

WHEN ARE WE GOING TO WAKE UP?

The capacity for production today is such that everyone should be wealthy by default. Money simply ensures that the majority is kept weak, powerless, dependent and afraid.

IT'S TIME TO LET GO OF THE ILLUSIONS

We think in terms of justice and yet the very essence of our society works against that very principle. We think of bringing the perpetrators of oppression and exploitation to justice but do nothing to stop the situation continuing. In truth, there are no enemies. There are no bogeymen. It is up to the people to recognise that they have nothing to gain by continuing to believe the fictions. It is up to every law enforcement officer to recognise that they will never reap the rewards of of enforcing the power of their masters. That they are in slavery. It is up to every soldier to realise that, although the commanders give the order to shoot, the decision rests with them. It is up to all of us to rise from our knees and stop being afraid.

We need smaller communities that can be more easily coordinated but no conflict between borders. We need to accept that our leaders have been wrong and not waste energy in punishing but work to righting the wrongs. It is not about territory or patriotism or justice. It is about humanity. We see justice as a virtue but it is simply revenge in its Sunday Best. We see patriotism as a virtue but it is simply bigotry with a smile. It's time to let go of all these distractions and focus on the reality of a united humanity.

[mary rose]

 

Much of the corruption in both politics and in the U.S. in general is attributable to those who control the financial system and as well to the drug cartels. Much of the insanity here in the U.S. is due to the humongous amount of both illegal and pharmaceutical drugs used by a population consumed in order to stop the pain as poverty descends on us as those mentioned above take control of our economy and thus our lives. 

 

I have been studying this along with the financial and economic problems in the U.S.  for close to twenty years.  And i am associated with people who have remedies for the situation.  But it takes involvement.  One of the things i have just done is to put up a website:  "Taking America Off Of Drugs" so we can join together to address this challenge which underlies much of the corruption here in the U.S.   The address for this website is: http://takingamericaoffdrugs.ning.com/.  It is in draft form right now and i am going to approach some of the web designers i know with volunteering their effort to customize the site. 

 

May I also refer readers to the "Shoveling UP II report: "Affects of Substance Abuse on Local, State, and Federal Budgets"  published by Columbia University, 2009. www.casacolumbia.org/su2report/   This report shows that only four cents of every dollar spent by these agencies is directed toward prevention while ninety-six cents is spent on "Administrative Costs."  Administrative costs means "War on Drugs" which over the past 20 years has been unsuccessful with the situation getting worse instead of better every day. To read more about the "War on Drugs" go here: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/13/politics/main6480889.shtml and here: http://world.std.com/~swmcd/steven/rants/war.html 

As well, we need to know that the drug cartels funnel an average of $500 billion or more into the U.S. economy through the states of Calif., Texas, Florida, and New York in order to influence politics and to ensure that the stock markets remain viable even in recessionary times. What is important to remember here is that the "war on drugs" frequently vents itself on the "little people" -- the users while the top dogs go free.  

Legalizing marijuana and perhaps all drugs could be a good move as it would take the profit out of it for cartels and place the profits in the hands of those trying to balance state budgets.  See here: http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/09/tea-party-marijuana-legaliz...

 

Legalization of marijuana would also make way for the legalization of hemp growing.  Approximately 20,000 to 50,000 products could be manufactured from hemp with all of them biodegradable.  As a good example, Lexus now uses hemp to mfgr its dashboards.  Hemp could also be used in the production of ethanol and be a product that reduces the stress on other food sources now being used for ethanol production, e.g., corn.  Incidentally, hemp food products now on the market in the form of cereal, bread, and cheese are rich in protein. And, i cannot help but wonder why if we can buy so many hemp products here in the U.S., why we are not permitted to raise this crop that could also be beneficial in bring our soils back to normal. Due to things like mono-cropping and cutting down rain forests at unprecedented rates in order to pasture cattle, topsoil is now disappearing at 17% faster than it can be restored.  And since civilization was built on topsoil, when it is gone then so is civilization.      

 

Three, relatively minor offenses, for marijuana sale have filled California and other state prisons with inmates in for life under the "Three Strikes Law."  Now, Calif. is being forced to release as many as 40,000 of these prisoners as they can no longer afford to house them.  But, at a time when unemployment is approaching 20% in some counties, what will happen when these former inmates cannot find jobs and are unable to keep food in mouth and roof over head?  Chances are they will return to dealing and using again in order to stay alive and in order to make far more money in 1 day  than they can in 6 months at what many are calling "wage slave" jobs.

And their clientele will most probably be the new homeless who have lost their homes in the mortgage debacle and who want to maintain their former lifestyle and keep their kids in college.  Many of these people will not become "users" but understand how lucrative the drug trade itself can be if one does not get caught up in the "habit."  While planned for "entertainment" the  "soap" "The Soprano's" has far more truth than fiction to it.  And, you can bet your bottom dollar that those who are campaigning against legalization of drugs are the drug cartels.  And, they have the bucks to sway votes.  

 

As Ron notes here, we need to address the drug issue at the community level where studies show people have successfully "take back their communities" when they want to do so.   We need to address the pain people are feeling from being marginalized and at the mercy of those who control the job markets.  And we need to address this pain with love and compassion, not from command and control tactics dispensed heartlessly. Organizing for peace and creating sustainable living communities must start at the micro (community) level and work its way up.  It is not a top-down activity.  More on this later.   But let's get wide distribution out on this and involve as many people as possible in "creating the solution."   

 

 

 

 

 

In the first place, to start a war on anything is "counter-productive" we are dealing with a mental disorder that needs "love" as the healing modality.  And we need to stop the problem with the user who is attempting to medicate away their pain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ron Tocknell]

Absolutely right about the whole marijuana debacle. It is not about preventing drug abuse but about preventing a threat to the pharmaceutical industry, the petrochemical industry, the timber industry. Hemp could realise the cheapest, fastest grown, most ecological and best quality paper, fibre and bio fuel. The seed is among the most nutritious foods and open free research into its medical properties could result in the most effective treatments in the management of MS and similar conditions to date. This is what worries Western governments, not a few kids getting high occasionally.

I think what is fundamentally needed is an alternative economy based on value resources rather that token units with fictitious value. People are our resources of real value and people are our true economy. But this would not be manipulated by banks (which would have no need to exist) and this would take the leverage of fear from those who want to control.
mary rose said:

 

Much of the corruption in both politics and in the U.S. in general is attributable to those who control the financial system and as well to the drug cartels. Much of the insanity here in the U.S. is due to the humongous amount of both illegal and pharmaceutical drugs used by a population consumed in order to stop the pain as poverty descends on us as those mentioned above take control of our economy and thus our lives. 

 

I have been studying this along with the financial and economic problems in the U.S.  for close to twenty years.  And i am associated with people who have remedies for the situation.  But it takes involvement.  One of the things i have just done is to put up a website:  "Taking America Off Of Drugs" so we can join together to address this challenge which underlies much of the corruption here in the U.S.   The address for this website is: http://takingamericaoffdrugs.ning.com/.  It is in draft form right now and i am going to approach some of the web designers i know with volunteering their effort to customize the site. 

 

May I also refer readers to the "Shoveling UP II report: "Affects of Substance Abuse on Local, State, and Federal Budgets"  published by Columbia University, 2009. www.casacolumbia.org/su2report/   This report shows that only four cents of every dollar spent by these agencies is directed toward prevention while ninety-six cents is spent on "Administrative Costs."  Administrative costs means "War on Drugs" which over the past 20 years has been unsuccessful with the situation getting worse instead of better every day. To read more about the "War on Drugs" go here: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/13/politics/main6480889.shtml and here: http://world.std.com/~swmcd/steven/rants/war.html 

As well, we need to know that the drug cartels funnel an average of $500 billion or more into the U.S. economy through the states of Calif., Texas, Florida, and New York in order to influence politics and to ensure that the stock markets remain viable even in recessionary times. What is important to remember here is that the "war on drugs" frequently vents itself on the "little people" -- the users while the top dogs go free.  

Legalizing marijuana and perhaps all drugs could be a good move as it would take the profit out of it for cartels and place the profits in the hands of those trying to balance state budgets.  See here: http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/09/tea-party-marijuana-legaliz...

 

Legalization of marijuana would also make way for the legalization of hemp growing.  Approximately 20,000 to 50,000 products could be manufactured from hemp with all of them biodegradable.  As a good example, Lexus now uses hemp to mfgr its dashboards.  Hemp could also be used in the production of ethanol and be a product that reduces the stress on other food sources now being used for ethanol production, e.g., corn.  Incidentally, hemp food products now on the market in the form of cereal, bread, and cheese are rich in protein. And, i cannot help but wonder why if we can buy so many hemp products here in the U.S., why we are not permitted to raise this crop that could also be beneficial in bring our soils back to normal. Due to things like mono-cropping and cutting down rain forests at unprecedented rates in order to pasture cattle, topsoil is now disappearing at 17% faster than it can be restored.  And since civilization was built on topsoil, when it is gone then so is civilization.      

 

Three, relatively minor offenses, for marijuana sale have filled California and other state prisons with inmates in for life under the "Three Strikes Law."  Now, Calif. is being forced to release as many as 40,000 of these prisoners as they can no longer afford to house them.  But, at a time when unemployment is approaching 20% in some counties, what will happen when these former inmates cannot find jobs and are unable to keep food in mouth and roof over head?  Chances are they will return to dealing and using again in order to stay alive and in order to make far more money in 1 day  than they can in 6 months at what many are calling "wage slave" jobs.

And their clientele will most probably be the new homeless who have lost their homes in the mortgage debacle and who want to maintain their former lifestyle and keep their kids in college.  Many of these people will not become "users" but understand how lucrative the drug trade itself can be if one does not get caught up in the "habit."  While planned for "entertainment" the  "soap" "The Soprano's" has far more truth than fiction to it.  And, you can bet your bottom dollar that those who are campaigning against legalization of drugs are the drug cartels.  And, they have the bucks to sway votes.  

 

As Ron notes here, we need to address the drug issue at the community level where studies show people have successfully "take back their communities" when they want to do so.   We need to address the pain people are feeling from being marginalized and at the mercy of those who control the job markets.  And we need to address this pain with love and compassion, not from command and control tactics dispensed heartlessly. Organizing for peace and creating sustainable living communities must start at the micro (community) level and work its way up.  It is not a top-down activity.  More on this later.   But let's get wide distribution out on this and involve as many people as possible in "creating the solution."   

 

 

 

 

 

In the first place, to start a war on anything is "counter-productive" we are dealing with a mental disorder that needs "love" as the healing modality.  And we need to stop the problem with the user who is attempting to medicate away their pain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Alexander]

Change comes about slowly as a rule, when it comes about quickly it's usually the result of revolution or some serious environmental crisis. I am looking for people to help small local groups build their base membership by adding 2 friends.

Small local groups can have enormous impact on the local member varying for a place in Government. The small group can inform him/her of the issues we are most concerned about. and the solutions, many of which j I find here at AND I find some also at SavetheWorldfree /page/ solutions   

Click image below to join in and find your local group.