Light Switcher

The empty part inside

2012-01-28T12:23:00.000Z

CHAPTER 11

Thirty spokes converge on a single hub;
It is the emptiness in the hole of the hub
that is the usefulness of the cart.

In manipulating the clay to make a vessel,
it is the empty space within that
is the usefulness of the vessel.

In drilling a door and window to make a room,
it is the empty part inside that
is the usefulness of the room?

Thus, possessing does have advantages,
but, it is the nothingness that will have usefulness.

~ Tao Te Ching

The real sound of piano

2012-01-27T18:49:00.000Z

Composer and pianist Lubomyr Melnyk playing what he called (on a Radio 4 interview) "the real sound of piano", which he claims to have found after decades of searching. Apparently the fastest pianist of the world, according to his website, playing a maximum of 19 notes per second on each hand! He named his style of piano playing continuous music.

And I will make you a present of a secret

2012-01-23T23:25:00.000Z

So the little prince tamed the fox. And when the hour of his departure drew near - "Ah," said the fox, "I shall cry."
"It is your own fault," said the little prince. "I never wished you any sort of harm; but you wanted me to tame you..."
"Yes, that is so," said the fox.

"But now you are going to cry!" said the little prince.
"Yes, that is so," said the fox.
"Then it has done you no good at all!"
"It has done me good," said the fox, "because of the colour of the wheat fields." And then he added:
"Go and look again at the roses. You will understand now that yours is unique in all the world. Then come back to say goodbye to me, and I will make you a present of a secret."

The little prince went away, to look at the roses.
"You are not at all like my rose," he said. "As yet you are nothing. No one has tamed you, and you have tamed no one. You are like my fox when I first knew him. He was only a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But I have made him my friend, and now he is unique in all the world."
And the roses were very much embarrassed.

"You are beautiful but you are empty," he went on. "One could not die for you. To be sure, an ordinary passerby would think that my rose looked just like you - the rose that belongs to me. But in herself alone she is more important than all the hundreds of you other roses: because it is she that I have watered; because it is she that I have put under the glass globe; because it is for her that I have killed the caterpillars (except for the two or three that we saved to become butterflies); because it is she that I have listened to when she grumbled, or boasted, or even sometimes when she said nothing. Because she is my rose."

~ The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, p66-68

Living off the grid

2012-01-22T23:34:00.001Z

Surveillance equals censorship

2012-01-21T01:00:00.000Z

"The right to communicate without government surveillance is important, because surveillance is another form of censorship. When people are frightened that what they are saying may be overheard by a power that has the ability to lock people up, then they adjust what they're saying. They start to self-censor."

~ Julian Assange

Read more: www.rollingstone.com

RAP NEWS X - #Occupy2012

2012-01-12T21:54:00.000Z

Rap News strikes the Zeitgeist once more, this time with the endorsement of Noam Chomsky and Anonymous.

Happy New Orbit

2011-12-31T14:13:00.000Z

Earth's orbit around the sun

Growing down

2011-12-17T11:44:00.000Z

In 2010, four friend students concerned with the lack privacy of online social networks, such as Facebook, set out to create a decentralized, open source network, called Diaspora*. They quickly gathered enough support and donations to dedicate themselves to its full-time development. In November 2010 the first version of Diaspora* was released to the public.

In the evening of 12 of November 2011, one of the talented developers, 22 years old Ilya Zhitomirskiy was found dead at home! The following is one of the last posts that he shared on his Diaspora* profile... Rest in peace Ilya.

Us when?

2011-12-11T14:15:00.000Z

Once a week, for the past few weeks, I've been hosting a documentary evening with friends and anyone interested in non-fictional "edutainment"... or a nap (you know who you are :). For a few hours we watch the movie, share food, have a catch up and sometimes a healthy debate about the issue at hand.

Decided by majority vote, this week's documentary was Us Now, which you can watch below. This one hour long, fast passed, picture from 2009, analyses online social networking and how this unprecedented amount of non-hierarchical collaboration threatens the millennia old pyramid shaped power structures still so prevalent today.

The movie goes on to explore the still untapped potential of this relatively new capability, such as to allow citizens to be more involved in their government's policy and decision making, by creating a system of direct democracy.

The audience of 8 agreed that the documentary put across an interesting argument but there was some scepticism as to the practicalities and the safeness of such direct democracy system. Some said they don't trust the general public with decision making, while others seemed to agree that a transparent and decentralised power structure is less corruptible and preferable to the current system. What do you think.

After a short discussion we ended the evening with a bit of classic George Carlin stand up comedy... or rather a wake up call disguised as comedy.

For more information, extra clips and reviews please go to usnowfilm.com

Watch Us Now in other languages here.

Buy the DVD here.

Capitalism humour by Calvin & Hoobes

2011-10-22T14:41:00.000+01:00

This 20 year old Calvin and Hobbes comic, made by Bill Watterson, explains in simple terms the roots of the current economic crisis and the injustices concerning the ever growing Occupy movement. Click the image for larger version.

Calvin & Hobbes

Voices of the occupations

2011-10-20T19:33:00.000+01:00

A compilation of a few voices from the various occupations dotted across the world.

New York City

Toronto

London

Occupy demands and solutions

2011-10-19T21:22:00.000+01:00

We are the 99%

As the occupy movement gathers momentum more and more aware people start believing in the strength of their voices (specially if in unison with others) as we create a human microphone that is drawing the image of the future as we speak.

However, despite the movement's relative awareness and clear dissatisfaction with today's systemic problems, as a whole, it appears to still not have a very practical list of demands. As we grow, it's important that we draft a set of solutions that will not just try to remedy the superficial symptom temporarily. In order to do this we must find the very root of the rot and inoculate the system against the greed and corruption viruses, for good.

Following are a bunch of suggestions (by a well seasoned researcher), which I feel would serve us very well indeed from the moment they're implemented. If you agree with them, please help bring the focus of the occupy movement to these demands by spreading them far and wide. Thank you for caring.

An end to creating money out of thin air on computer screens and charging interest on it (fractional reserve lending).

An end to governments borrowing fresh-air money called ‘credit’ from private banks and the people paying interest on this ‘money’ that has never, does not and will never exist. Governments (and that concept must change radically) can create their own currency – interest free.

An end to private banks issuing non-existent money called ‘credit’ at all and thus creating ‘money’ as a debt from the very start.

An end to casinos like Wall Street and the City of London betting mercilessly on the financial and commodity markets with the lives of billions around the world.

An end to all professional lobby groups that earn their living and their clients’ living from corrupting the professionally corruptible – vast numbers of world politicians and the overwhelming majority on Capitol Hill.

An end to no-contract government in which mendacious politicians can promise the people they will do this and that to win their support and then do the very opposite after they have lied themselves into office (see Obama).

An end to the centralisation of power in all areas of our lives and a start to diversifying power to communities to decide their own lives and thus ensure there are too many points of decision making for any cabal to centrally control.

99% too big to fail

2011-10-19T21:06:00.000+01:00

Inspired by this years' Arab spring revolutions and sparked by the Occupy Wall Street protest, which started over a month ago, last Saturday 15th of October were launched synchronised protests in over 1500 locations worldwide! Many of which turned into full-time, long-term camps or occupations. There are currently over 100 cities in the United States alone and many other locations elsewhere.

The languages are many but the voice is the same. The 99% (referring to wealth inequality as owned by the 1% richest) is shouting; enough economic corruption and corporate greed! Following are a few pictures, of the Occupy London crowd, expressing the general sentiment permeating the global movement.

Occupy Wall Street Heroes

2011-10-08T04:02:00.000+01:00

2nd time I've fought for my country. 1st time I've known my enemy.

The 99% are growing louder and larger everyday.

Scientists under attack

2011-10-01T13:18:00.000+01:00

Scientists Under Attack is an investigation into the scientists researching the health impacts of Genetically Modified Food. This film is recommended for all those who love nature, and for everyone who eats. View the trailer here and buy the film here.

"When scientist Arpad Pusztai reported that genetically modified (GM) foods caused serious health problems in rats, he was a hero at his prestigious UK institute — for two days. But after two phone calls (apparently) from the Prime Minister’s office, he was fired, gagged, and mercilessly attacked.

When UC Berkely professor Ignacio Chapela discovered GM corn contamination in Mexico, he too faced a firestorm of distortion and denial that left him struggling to salvage his career. Find out how the biotech industry “engineers” the truth and what they are trying to hide from you."

How the world changed after 9/11

2011-09-20T20:49:00.000+01:00

Ten years after 9/11, the main stream media is finally catching on. Hats off to the 9/11 researchers, writers, activists, for relentlessly waving the flag for so long... the flag of the false flag. Following is an excerpt of a refreshing article about 9/11, written by Charlie Skelton and published on The Guardian newspaper website.

September 11, he argues, was a coup carried out by a rogue network within the US military and government. A cabal of fascists, working with (and for) a banking oligarchy, "the old boys of Wall Street".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/sep/12/9-11-symposium-charlie-skelton

The unheard voice of the riots

2011-08-20T11:26:00.006+01:00

When politicians claim there's something wrong with society, are they referring to the symptomatic riots or the real underlying problem?

While the political class chooses to worship the bankers and the elite and ignore the voices of those that are hurting and feel they have nowhere to turn to, the problem will not be solved. Here, an indignant Londoner speaks his mind and heart out, and gives his first hand view on the underlying problems that triggered the riots.

Regardless of time and age, history appears to keep repeating itself as if patiently trying to teach us a basic lesson; the bigger the inequality, the bigger the unrest... maybe one day we'll get it.

Gramatik beats

2011-08-06T02:55:00.007+01:00

A couple of beats have recently (and pleasantly) found their way to my ear drums... repeatedly. Stupendous background for cooking... or general standing activities, specially if you have a few spare limbs to jerk around, hip & hop style.

Gramatik - Orchestrated Incident
Gramatik - Lonely & Cold

Saramago

2011-08-06T02:26:00.000+01:00

José Saramago
"We use words to understand each other and even, sometimes, to find each other."

"There are times when it is best to be content with what one has, so as not to lose everything."

"What kind of world is this that can send machines to Mars and does nothing to stop the killing of a human being?"

“Perhaps it is the language that chooses the writers it needs, making use of them so that each might express a tiny part of what it is.”

"Every man has his own patch of earth to cultivate. What’s important is that he dig deep."

"Inside us there is something that has no name, that something is what we are."

José Saramago (1922-2010)

Big tiny

2011-08-01T19:03:00.000+01:00

Through the ear of the butterfly
gently the breeze shouts,
stop, listen to the rain drops
splashing the petals' spots.

High above from the grass blade
spy a tiny human being play,
with a smile speaking fascination
over ants, beetles and clay.

Walk under leaves, climb up stems,
dive into the nectar you must.
Shower in the palpable flowery scent,
bathe in its sweetness until dusk.

AL 01/08/2011

Picture by TanWei

The song of life by Alan Watts

2011-07-21T22:07:00.000+01:00

Another ingenius WikiLeaks move

2011-07-02T14:33:00.000+01:00

RJD2 - Smoke & Mirrors

2011-07-02T11:11:00.000+01:00

Radom drops of wisdom

2011-05-27T13:26:00.004+01:00

"When told that man lives in delusion everyone thinks of himself as the exception – hence his delusion." ~ Vernon Howard

"Fear is the great robber of time." ~ (Unknown)

"The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education." ~ Einstein

"With all the conflicting information on diet, what makes sense? Pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, larvicides, genetically modified organisms, chemical fertilizers, microwaves, pasteurization, homogenization, hormonally injected animals, color dyes, artificial additives, and high fructose corn syrup? Or raw, organic, sun-ripened plant food?" ~ David Wolf

"The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease." ~ Voltaire

"Strange, indeed, that you should not have suspected that your universe and its contents were only dreams, visions, fiction! Strange, because they are so frankly and hysterically insane--like all dreams:[...] a God who mouths justice and invented hell--mouths mercy and invented hell--mouths Golden Rules, and forgiveness multiplied by seventy times seven, and invented hell; who mouths morals to other people and has none himself; who frowns upon crimes, yet commits them all;[...] and finally, with altogether divine obtuseness, invites this poor, abused slave to worship him!..." ~ Mark Twain - The Mysterious Stranger

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." ~ Mahatma Ghandi

What doesn't kill us makes us bitter

2011-05-16T13:25:00.000+01:00


The Big Bang Theory S04E23

Time-lapse mountain

2011-05-08T18:10:00.000+01:00

The Mountain from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

Portico Quartet - Isla

2011-04-29T11:36:00.000+01:00

The Portico Quartet is my latest musical find, which brings me lots of joy and pleasure. Thought I'd share the love. Here's one of their singles... simply divine!

Polar Bear - Peepers

2011-04-26T01:11:00.002+01:00

What you cannot imagine

2011-04-20T15:35:00.000+01:00

"I died from minerality and became vegetable;
And from vegetativeness I died and became animal.
I died from animality and became man.
Then why fear disappearance through death?
Next time I shall die
Bringing forth wings and feathers like angels;
After that, soaring higher than angels -
What you cannot imagine,
I shall be that."

~ Rumi

"When a baby is taken from the wet nurse,
it easily forgets her
and starts eating solid food.

Seeds feed awhile on ground,
then lift up into the sun.

So you should taste the filtered light
and work your way toward wisdom
with no personal covering.

That's how you came here, like a star
without a name. Move across the night sky
with those anonymous lights."

~ Rumi

Small pleasures

2011-04-18T18:07:00.000+01:00

A short reminder of what life is all about.

"To have no fear."

Deolinda - Um contra o outro

2011-03-25T12:12:00.000Z

Anda
Desliga o cabo
Que liga a vida
A esse jogo
Joga comigo
Um jogo novo
Com duas vidas
Um contra o outro

Já não basta esta luta contra o tempo
Este tempo que perdemos a tentar vencer alguém
Ao fim ao cabo
Que é dado como um ganho
Vai-se a ver desperdiçámos
Sem nada dar a ninguém

Anda
Faz uma pausa
Encosta o carro
Sai da corrida
Larga essa guerra
Que a tua meta
Está deste lado da tua vida

Muda de nível
Sai do estado invisível
Põe um modo compatível
Com a minha condição
Que a tua vida
É real e repetida
Dá-te mais que o impossível
Se me deres a tua mão

Sai de casa e vem comigo para a rua
Vem, que essa vida que tens
Por mais vidas que tu ganhes
É a tua que mais perde se não vens

Anda
Mostra o que vales
Tu nesse jogo
Vales tão pouco
Troca de vício
Por outro novo
Que o desafio
É corpo a corpo
Escolhe a arma
A estratégia que não falha
O lado forte da batalha
Põe no máximo poder
Dou-te a vantagem
Tu com tudo
E eu sem nada
Que mesmo assim desarmada
Vou-te ensinar a perder

Sai de casa e vem comigo para a rua
Vem, que essa vida que tens
Por mais vidas que tu ganhes
É a tua que mais perde se não vens

O Linux nosso de cada dia

2011-03-16T14:30:00.000Z

Esta é p'rós "geeks" ; )

Logotipos do Linux e varias distribuições

O Linux Nosso

"Linux nosso que estais no PC
Bem compilado seja o vosso Kernel
Venha a nós o vosso código
Seja feita a vossa tarball
Assim em casa como no trabalho
O bit nosso de cada dia seja escovado
Apagai com rm -rf
Para nunca mais recuperar o que foi perdido
Não nos deixeis errar a compilação
E livrai a todos da M$, Amém."
~ Autor desconhecido

Big Bang Breathe

2011-03-15T18:19:00.000Z

The Big Bang Theory S04E18

"We tell ourselves stories. We weave together different plot lines, wondering if the outcome of the story might be different were we to have done or said something other than what we had done or said, all the while knowing that the various alternative outcomes are just more stories - fictions meant to distract us from what's actually happening. And so we pause from weaving and comment breathing, gently and non-judgementally saying hello to what is...

Oy vey." ~ Chuck Lorre

Ino da geração á rasca

2011-03-14T14:06:00.000Z

"Sou da geração sem-remuneração
e nem me incomoda esta condição...
Que parva que eu sou...

Porque isto está mau e vai continuar
já é uma sorte eu poder estagiar
Que parva que eu sou....

e fico a pensar
que mundo tão parvo
onde para ser escravo
é preciso estudar...

Sou da geração casinha-dos-pais
Se já tenho tudo, pra quê querer mais?
Que parva que eu sou...

Filhos, marido, estou sempre a adiar
e ainda me falta o carro pagar
Que parva que eu sou...

e fico a pensar
que mundo tão parvo
onde para ser escravo
é preciso estudar...

Sou da geração vou-queixar-me-pra-quê?
Há alguém bem pior do que eu na TV
Que parva que eu sou...

Sou da geração eu-já-não-posso-mais-Que-esta-situação-dura-há-tempo-de-mais!
e parva eu não sou!!!

e fico a pensar
que mundo tão parvo
onde para ser escravo
é preciso estudar..."

Deolinda - "Parva que sou"
Música e letra: Pedro da Silva Martins

The Self: a poem by Friend

2011-02-20T14:09:00.000Z

The Self

"It is only the self that can profit
it is only the self that can gain
it is only the self that sheds its tears
from laughter love and pain.

It is only the self that gets lonely
as it is only the self that can care
and it is only by self realization
that the self can become self-aware.

So it is only the self that is selfish
as only the self can be less
and it is only the self that is everything
that's why I'm in such a mess.

For only the self can cause doubt
and only the self can cause fear
and it is only the self that can fuck things up
the things the self holds dear.

So if only the self learns the lessons
before it leaves it too late
or the self by not recognizing
will doom itself to an unconscious fate."

by Friend

Know: a poem by Friend

2011-02-20T13:52:00.000Z

Know

"Know one can make a difference
Know one can change it all
Know one can learn the lessons
or know one in fractions will fall

Know one can look to the future
Know one can learn from the past
Know ones' free will is al they have
and know one can change really fast

Know one can look in the mirror
Know one can see their own fate
Know one can truly love and care
or know one will leave it too late

Know one can live without envy
Know one can wake from the sleep
Know one can stop all the violence
and know one can take faiths leap

Know one can stop all the wars
Know one can stop all the crime
Know one can take the right action
or know one will run out of time

Know one can live in freedom
know one can truely share
know one can open up one's heart
and know one can be aware."

by Friend

Carta á Camara Municipal de Penafiel

2011-02-20T01:33:00.002Z

(Enviado a 19 Fevereiro 2011)

Cara(o) Sr(a),

Camara Municipal de Penafiel

Venho por este meio comunicar-lhe uma proposta simples e grátis para o melhoramento ambiental, de saúde e social do conselho de Penafiel.

Descobri recentemente que a Camara de Penafiel está a promover a agricultura biológica e a disponibilizar alguns apoios para novos aderentes deste tipo de agricultura ainda em fase emergente em Portugal. Gostaria antes de mais de aplaudir os responsáveis pela introdução desta visão progressiva e importante em múltiplas vertentes, com vantagens incalculáveis para o concelho, país e planeta.

Contudo, sinto que seja o meu dever alertar o governo local que para esta iniciativa suceder é crucial salvaguardarmos a certificação dos nossos agricultores biológicos, para que estes não sejam contaminados por transgénicos ou organismos geneticamente modificados (OGMs). Os perigos destes foram á muito documentados(1) mas Portugal ainda é dos países Europeus menos informado acerca de OGMs, como se pode verificar nesta sondagem recente: http://stopogm.net/content/nova-sondagem-sobre-preferencias

Venho portanto propor que a Camara Municipal de Penafiel declare o conselho como Zona Livre de OGMs e se junte á lista Europeia de países, concelhos e localidades conscientes dos perigos dos trangénicos, listados neste mapa: http://www.gmo-free-regions.org/gmo-free-regions/maps.html

Esta simples acção enviaria uma mensagem forte, não só de suporte pela agricultura biológica atraindo assim mais investimento nesta área, mas especialmente uma mensagem séria, do presente governo da Camara, de preocupação pelo bem estar de saúde, ambiental e social de cada cidadão deste concelho. Espero que considerem esta proposta com a seriedade que merece, pois cada vez mais o nosso futuro depende dela.

Aguardo atentamente uma resposta.

Com os melhores cumprimentos,
António C. F. Luís
(BI XXXXXXXX)
Boelhe, Penafiel

P.S. - Caso esta mensagem tenha chegado ao recipiente “errado”, por favor re-envie-a para o recipiente relevante.

(1) O documentário “O Futuro da Alimentação” relata de forma concisa e acessível, a tecnologia por detrás da manipulação genética, fazendo perceber assim os seus óbvios perigos. O documentário está disponível livremente nesta página: http://stopogm.net/?q=node/572

(Recebido a 22 Fevereiro 2011)

Ex.mo Sr. António Luís,

Incumbe a Ex.ma Vereadora responsável pelo Pelouro do Desenvolvimento Rural, Dr.ª Susana Oliveira, de acusar a recepção do V/e-mail e informar que o mesmo mereceu a sua melhor atenção.

Assim, agradece-se o contacto e a mensagem, bem como o conselho deixado.

Mais se informa que, estamos a avaliar a situação e a fazer os contactos e as diligências necessárias para conhecer exactamente o âmbito do proposto.

Sem mais de momento, subscrevo-me ao dispor de V/Exa. para qualquer outro assunto,

Ana Margarida Mota Fernandes
Gabinete de apoio à Sr.ª Vereadora Dr.ª Susana Oliveira
Tel: 255710700 | Fax: 255711066

O tabu emocional

2011-02-18T18:53:00.002Z

A sociedade humana, em média, tem evoluído tremendamente nos últimos milénios. Os desenvolvimentos científicos e tecnológicos são inegáveis, assim como são os progressos gigantescos nos campos dos direitos humanos e da liberdade de expressão. Contudo, quando olho para toda esta passada [r]evolução, encontro uma área que me parece ser rodeada por um certo nevoeiro cerrado de tabu. Refiro-me aqui á evolução emocional, no contexto de liberdade de expressão. Enquanto que quase todos os aspectos intelectuais são encorajados na sociedade actual, a faceta emocional do ser humano parece-me extremamente ignorada, marginalizada e até mesmo reprimida.

Na escola aprende-mos a ler e a escrever, aprendemos matemática, história, geografia e biologia. Ou seja aprendemos tudo o que já para aprender acerca do mundo exterior. Mas quem nos ensina a nos compreendermos a nós próprios? Quem é que promove a auto-analise? Ninguém. O que não surpreende uma vez que o ensino escolar não existe com o intuito de criar humanos auto-suficientes (salvo seja!), mas sim humanos moldados e prontos a encaixarem na máquina de produção industrial capitalista. E assim passam gerações de humanos, muitos deles até relativamente cultos em matérias do exterior, inconscientes deles próprios, cada um lidando com crises interiores como pode.

Alguns contam com a ajuda, feliz ou infeliz, de um “perito” da matéria, o psicólogo da mente humana. Este analisa a superficialidade, em vez de compreender a profundidade. Distribui opinião, em vez de compaixão. Receita medicações, em vez de meditações. E assim pergunto-me, não seria o mundo mais sincero e mais saudável se a expressão de emoção fosse encorajada, suportada e conversada? Se berrar alto quando estamos furiosos; se chorar em bica quando nos sentimos fracos; se rir á gargalhada sem razão aparente, fosse não apenas aceite mas também celebrado no meio social? Isto, claro, desde que não magoe e de preferência que não ofenda ninguém, pois para isto se inventaram as almofadas.

Emoções ditas “negativas” não são bem vindas, são especialmente proibidas. Fúria, ódio, ciúme, tristeza, saudade, etc. Quantas vezes perguntamos “Como estás?” sem querermos ouvir a resposta realmente honesta? Quantas vezes respondemos “Bem, obrigado!” porque sabemos que se disséssemos a verdade, não seria apenas socialmente “incorrecto”, mas pior, levaríamos com uma carrada de julgamento (ainda que não expressado) que não ajudaria em nada como nos sentimos cá dentro. A verdade é que todas as emoções são validas. As razões porque nascem podem não ser lógicas mas não acredito que seja benéfico ignorar ou reprimir algo sob o qual parece termos pouco o nenhum controlo. E uma vez que “sou o que sou, por causa do que todos nós somos” porque será que não nos interessamos verdadeiramente com o bem estar do vizinho quando perguntamos “Como estás?”

French environmental poster campaign stirs up controversy

2011-02-18T15:09:00.002Z

The environmental organization, France Nature Environnement (FNE) made up of over 3000 environmental associations, is running a poster campaign in the underground of Paris, putting the spotlight on the problems of intensive farming. Pesticides and genetically modified organisms are the main targets. Needless to say that big agri-business are furious.

Le Figaro has an article regarding this campaign and a video interview with FNE's Benoît Hartmann, if your French is up to scratch.

IT'S RISK FREE
"On genetically modified organisms, has yet to drop..."

BIG LIAR
"The law does not require special labelling for animals fed genetically modified food."

KILL BEES
"Certain pesticides carry a mortal risk for bees and it's not the cinema."

THE END OF BUZZZZZ
"Certain pesticides carry a mortal risk for bees."

HAVE A NICE VACATION
"Intensive industrial hog farms and fertilizers promote the growth of green algae."
"Their decomposition emits a gas which is lethal for man."

STOP YOUR SALADS
"Intensive industrial hog farms and fertilizers promote the growth of green algae."
"Their decomposition emits a gas which is lethal for man."

Concentrated wisdom

2011-02-13T22:44:00.000Z

Eckhart Tolle

Some favourite quotes by Eckhart Tolle, from his books A New Earth and The Power of Now.

"If her past were your past, her pain your pain, her level of consciousness your level of consciousness, you would think and act exactly as she does. With this realization comes forgiveness, compassion, peace. The ego doesn’t like to hear this, because if it cannot be reactive and righteous anymore, it will lose strength."

"One conscious breath is meditation."

"Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose."

"...sometimes letting go is an act of far greater power than defending or hanging on."

"Identification with your mind creates an opaque screen of concepts, labels, images, words, judgements, and definitions that blocks all true relationship."

"Whenever anything negative happens to you, there is a deep lesson concealed within it, although you may not see it at the time."

"Be at least as interested in what goes on inside you as what happens outside. If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place."

"Power over others is weakness disguised as strength."

"The most common ego identifications have to do with possessions, the work you do, social status and recognition, knowledge and education, physical appearance, special abilities, relationships, person and family history, belief systems, and often also political, nationalistic, racial, religious, and other collective identifications. None of these is you."

"All the things that truly matter — beauty, love, creativity, joy, inner peace — arise from beyond the mind."

"...relinquish, for a moment, your desire to explain and label..."

"The reason why the romantic love relationship is such an intense and universally sought-after experience is that it seems to offer liberation from a deep-seated state of fear, need, lack, and incompleteness that is part of the human condition in its unredeemed and unenlightened state."

"Life is now. There was never a time when your life was not now, nor will there ever be."

Zeitgeist Movement: doubts and reservations

2011-02-10T18:30:00.232Z

In January 2011, the movie Zeitgeist III: Moving Forward was released online, for free and for anyone willing to invest two hours and forty minutes of viewing time. The movie is divided in two distinct parts. The first half analyses the current economic and social condition of humanity as a whole, while the second part presents and proposes a possible solution, known as The Venus Project.

Whether people like the movie or not, one thing is sure, it makes them question themselves and things they take for granted, as well as sparking debate on what is possible. Regardless of whether The Venus Project is the future or not, seeking alternatives to an obviously unsustainable and corrupt system nearing a collapse is, in my view, not only a healthy exercise but an ever more urgent one, if we care about the future.

From what I understood (please correct me if I'm wrong), The Venus Project core, is the idea of a Resource Based Economy. Since we live in a finite planet, all of the world's resources become heritage of everyone on the planet and are then allocated on a per need basis. There are no politicians, as there are no decisions to be made, instead all decisions are arrived at through scientific methods. There's no money in this system as people have always free access to what they need.

After watching the movie, most people seem to agree that the first part is an accurate analysis of our current conditioning and relative problems. However, when it comes to the proposed solution, the consensus is not as prevalent and so the aim of this post is to present the reservations I have regarding The Venus Project also known as The Zeitgeist Movement. These are probably common questions that the Zeitgeist Movement supporters hear on a regular basis, so hopefully someone will be able to jump in and clarify them with ease.

In a resource based economy:

What happens to people who don't agree with it and therefore don't want to be a part of it? We all know we can't please everyone all of the time, so how does it deal with dissent? Or for example, what happens to people who don't want to live in a city, who want to be self-sufficient, growing their own food, generating their own power, etc?
I keep hearing that nobody makes decisions in a resource based economy, that decisions are arrived at. But someone would have to define the education curriculum for example, no? And who would allocate jobs for example? A central computer would? Based on people's qualifications and skill sets? How about skills that can't be accurately measured, say due to their subjectivity? Right now I'm thinking of creativity as an example but I'm sure there are many more.
Who defines and how is it defined, how much is enough? For example, lets say I want or need a second computer? Would I be allowed one? What if someone wants a much bigger house and a swimming pool than everybody else, using therefore more energy and water? Who's going to tell him/her that and they can't have it?

Cybernated Government

Whoever has access to the central resource management computer, has incredible power, be them programmers, engineers, etc. How is corruption prevented in this centralized system?
What happens when there are bugs, errors, breakdowns of the system and what would it be its global impact? Same question goes for an entire society living of the grid, what happens if/when the grid fails? How is resilience achieved in a grid system?
Something that concerns me deeply is Genetically Modified food and I know many who avoid it at all cost. Even if the technology was safe, I would rather not eat GM food for ethical reasons. What if scientists found that this was the only logical way to grow food, despite there being other options? What choice does the individual have? I mean, how do ethics meet logic in a world where scientific progress rules all?
(This is an organic list so expect updates. Update 1 starts here.)
Great, so everyone can choose to be or not to be in the RBE. So this would allow parallel systems to coexist or compete with the RBE? Does the RBE then account for the resources used outside of itself? Would it still be sustainable this way?
The decision making process is still unclear to me. I like all of the examples I read but they don't answer my question specifically. Even if just for the transition period or the duration of construction of the first city, won't someone have to call the shots? I can't see how the project will get off the ground without some sort of leadership and decision making. This is a question that I have seen Jacque 'dodging' before, which seems out of character for him.
It sounds like a lifetime holiday, nobody being coerced to do anything they don't want to do, everyone working and spending their time as they wish, great! In this case, what are the chances that what people want to work on will match the RBE's needs? And what happens when there's a gap in the human skills resource? Yes, because humans are also a resource in the RBE, right?
A few friends told me that if they could live this way they'd love to have large families and just enjoy the time with them. They seem to believe that this is what everyone would naturally do. What's preventing a sharp rise of population? And what happens when/if the population grows beyond the carrying capacity of the Earth?
I understand that a lot of these questions are coming from a mindset of the current system and that in the future people will not want the things we think we want now. However if the RBE is to ever materialise it must account for the transition period where all that people are equipped with is their experience so far. This is why I ask how is calculated the amount of resources each citizen is allowed to use and how is that enforced? I gave the example of a second laptop or a bigger house but it could be anything, at some point someone will want something ridiculous. How do you deal with that?
I'm happy with the open source and transparency approach to the Resource Management System as well as all technology. It seems that alone would have an incredible positive impact in today's world, but how many of you still use windows? (There's no need to answer this, the Ubuntu folks paid me to plug Linux ; ) My point is, there are a lot of personal choices available to us today and I wonder how many in the movement are aware of these.
I was relieved to read that people in the movement are aware of the dangers of Genetically Modified food. Even if the technology ever becomes 'safe' and stable, does anyone care to discuss the ethical implications of taking a gene, lets say, from an animal and inserting it in a plant and then releasing this into nature allowing it to cross pollinate with the local species and eventually extinct what took millions of years to evolve? Fact: 97% of all varieties of food crops in the US have already gone extinct since the industrial revolution. Over 95% of corn grown in the US is already GM, and new GM crops are approved frequently. Isn't the mechanistic approach to nature not just a side effect of the current society but the core of science in general?
I see the current human problems as a symptom of human consciousness, or rather the lack of it. However, it's from within the current Zeitgeist that we must try to abstract ourselves from, if we're not to transfer our current inhumanities to the new one. And although I can see the possibility of this happening in small steps, isn't the Venus Project hundreds of years ahead of its time?
(This is an organic list so expect updates.)

The way I understand it, any system is only as morally ethical as the people running that system. Sure, some systems may promote more moral corruption than others, however is a science driven society by definition free from corruption? Isn't science only as accurate and as ethical as the human mind (or ego) of the time allows? My opinion (which in a RBE would have no value) is that decentralization of power, regardless of the system, is the only way to prevent corruption on a massive scale. The Internet is the best example of this today.

Yes, the Zeitgeist Movement is incredibly ambitious but making people wonder about what kind of world they'd like to live on, instead of merely point out the problems, can't be a bad thing. Critics are everywhere (including myself) but I don't hear them coming with better solutions. Even if it never comes to be, the Venus Project is promoting a discussion and a mental exercise long overdue, to dream of a humanity in harmony with the planet and itself. What's the harm in that?

A Venus Project city

Anonymous can has humour?

2011-02-08T02:57:00.001Z

Continues at anonnews.org

The downside of the end of deception

2011-02-07T01:28:00.000Z

The Big Bang Theory S04E14 easter egg

Fantasmas e montanhas!

2011-02-06T14:28:00.001Z

Tudo o que eu queria

2011-02-05T17:15:00.001Z

Tudo o que eu queria era nascer,
brincar e correr,
mas porquê morrer?

Tudo o que eu queria era aprender
o jogo de viver,
mas e se perder?

Tudo o que eu queria era sinceridade
seriedade sem piedade,
mas será verdade?

Tudo o que eu queria era sentir
as asas a abrir,
mas para onde partir?

Tudo o que eu queria era voar
além do luar,
mas para quê voltar?

Tudo o que eu queria era amor
com todo o furor,
mas sem dor, por favor!

Tudo o que eu queria era conseguir
te deixar ir,
mas sem fingir.

Tudo o que eu queria eras tu...

AL 05/02/11

How nutrition affects behavior

2011-02-04T22:43:00.001Z

In this short presentation (48mins), doctor Russell Blaylock explains how nutrition affects behaviour. How a deficient diet relates to higher crime as studies show a correlation between violent criminals and nutritional deficiencies. How sugar intake leads to a higher incidence of Alzheimer's disease. How aspartame and mono-sodium-glutamate (MSG) contribute to hypoglycaemia and cause other health problems. How vitamin deficiencies and unsuspecting food allergies effect how the brain functions. How vaccines provoke immune reactions that go on for years causing brain dysfunction and creating certain mental related diseases. The talk concludes with a list of environmental toxins to avoid, as well as a shocking fact regarding pesticides.

Documentário "A vida fora de controlo"

2011-01-31T15:05:00.001Z

"A engenharia genética, de certa forma, é um erro com cerca de 400 anos. Um erro que começou com a revolução Cartesiana e com a idea de que vida é uma máquina.

Decartes disse, basicamente, que os animais são máquinas. Os Cartesianos faziam vivissecções de gates e cães, e quando ouviam os berros, diziam "Ah! Isto é como as engrenagens de uma máquina a mexer. É de onde vem o barulho!" Era uma visão totalmente mecanicista.

Se analizarmos os últimos 400 anos, verificamos que tem havido, por parte da comunidade ciêntifica, não de toda, uma continuidade deste mito mecanicista muito perigoso. Portanto, agora veêm o mundo todo como simples máquinas e os genes como software. É por isso que acreditam na engenharia genética. Esles estão a "engenhar" vida como se estivessem a "engenhar" máquinas. É eficiência reducionista, justamente o mesmo princípio a que tentam reduzir a vida. Este é o erro fundamental da engenharia genética." (0:53:55)

Zeitgeist III: Moving Forward

2011-01-26T16:15:00.003Z

The original Zeitgeist: The Movie (2007) is said to be the most watched online documentary ever. With over an estimated 200 million views, it joins the dots between religion, the 9/11 "attacks" and the economic system in a way unexpected to many and still unacceptable by some. This controversial documentary inspired The Zeitgeist Movement, a grass-roots social movement of activists.

In 2008 Peter Joseph released the sequel, Zeitgeist: Addendum, which focuses in more depth on the intrinsic flaws of the monetary system and introduces The Venus Project, the birth child of Jaques Fresco, an engineer and self-educated inventor in many fields. At the end, The Zeitgeist Movement is formally introduced.

Today is an epic day for many as Peter Joseph steps up the tempo again. The third movie of the controversial Zeitgeist series has just released. Zeitgeist III: Moving Forward can be download or watched online for free. The full 2 hours and 41 minutes documentary film is available below. Are you ready?

Grocery Store Wars (2005)

2011-01-25T19:15:00.003Z

Star Wars parody of the war between Organics vs Conventional food taking place in a supermarket near you. Obi One Cannoli, TofuD2 (lol) and friends come to the rescue... a serious subject turned into a hilarious watch!

(Com legendas em Português.)

Report concludes GM food "not a solution" to feed the world

2011-01-24T19:51:00.000Z

A recent Guardian article analyses the ever more recognised truism that the "Global food system must be transformed 'on industrial revolution scale'". With the bio-tech multinationals at one side pushing for the opportunity to grab full control of the profitable global food market (under the banner of altruism) and at the other side the environmentalists concerned with the sustainability of current agricultural methods, which if expanded could cause more harm than good. The article ends as follows:

The Foresight report is significantly different in its conclusions to that of the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development report – approved by the UK government and 57 others in 2008. This found that small-scale, environmentally friendly and organic production methods, based on local knowledge and protected from globalised markets, were the way forward to avert hunger in the next 40 years and that GM food was not a solution.

Distortion goodness

2011-01-22T12:43:00.000Z

The elephant in the room

2011-01-18T17:28:00.006Z

We spend so much of our lives busy with the so many duties, things and people that seem to require our constant full-time attention, always with a sense of such extreme importance and urgency, that often we loose perspective of the true dimension (or context) in which we exist.

In fact, many spend their whole lifetime without stopping for a second to contemplate the wider Universal context. It may appear irrelevant to our daily lives but to ignore its existence is to ignore the elephant in the room... or rather the forest surrounding the grain of pollen.

The following animation takes us on a ride through the widest (known) context of all the drama and excitement being played out on the crust of (what Carl Sagan once called) "a fraction of a dot". Fasten your seatbelts!

Passamos tanta parte das nossas vidas ocupados com tantas preocupações e ocupações que parecem exigir a nossa atenção constante, sempre com a sensação de extrema importância e urgência tais, que muitas vezes perdemos de vista a verdadeira dimensão (ou contexto) em que existimos.

O facto é que, muitos passam a vida inteira sem pararem um segundo para contemplarem este contexto, o contexto Universal. Pode parecer irrelevante para a nossa vida diária, mas ignorar a sua existência é ignorar o elefante na sala... ou melhor, a floresta que rodea o grão de pólen.

A animação seguinte leva-nos num passeio através do contexto mais amplo (descoberto) em que todo o drama e emoção se está a passar, na crosta (do que Carl Sagan uma vez chamou) "uma fracção de um ponto ". Apertem os cintos!

Jónsi - Go Do

2011-01-18T03:50:00.001Z

www.jonsi.com

Go sing, too loud
Make your voice break - Sing it out
Go scream, do shout
Make an earthquake...

You wish fire would die and turn colder
You wish young eyes could see you grow older
We should always know that we can do anything

Go drum, too proud
Make your hands ache - Play it out
Go march through crowds
Make your day break...

You wish silence released noisy drummers
You wish white noise surrendered to summers
We should always know that we can do everything

Go do, you'll know how to
Just let yourself, fall into landslide

Go do, you'll know how to
Just let yourself, give into flood tide

Go do!

Tie strings to clouds
Make your own lake - Let it flow
Throw seeds to sprout
Make your own break - Let them grow

Let them grow (Endless summers)
Let them grow (Endless summers)

(Go do endless summers)

You wish surprise would never stop wonders
You wish sunrise would never fall under

You wish surprise would never stop wonders
You wish sunrise would never fall under
We should always know that we can do anything

Go do!

The happiness mirage

2011-01-15T16:14:00.001Z

Every human being seeks happiness in one shape or another and most would probably agree that happiness appears to be a very subjective thing. A lot of us spend our whole lifetimes seeking that which will make us happy, only to find out, time and time again, that happiness that comes from exterior events, people or things is short-lasting. If it did, the wealthy Western society would not have so many people suffering from depression and anxiety.

However even after we own everything, we thought would make us happy, and we are at the top of our game, we realise that that happiness was a temporary mirage... because there's still that a inner void... a sense of unfulfilment and loneliness even... and makes us wonder if lasting happiness exists at all.

Many have attempted to define happiness but Gandhi, I feel, described it most holistically:

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."

Once we realise (not just think) that at the most basic level of existence, we are fine the way we are, that there's no need to try add more to our being, we start accepting ourselves. This is the beginning of the end to try to find happiness somewhere else... and certainly not by acquiring a new phone or waiting for the victory of our favourite sports team.

Comic "Buttercup Festival"

2011-01-15T03:09:00.001Z

Buttercup Festival

by David Troupes

TED: Ken Robinson's humourous talks on education

2011-01-14T18:33:00.002Z

TED talks have become famous all over the world. The following videos have been around the internet quite a bit but it's not everyday we come across something funny and worth hearing so here it is one of my favourite speakers, Ken Robinson. Enjoy the following two talks, the first from 2006 and the second from 2010, as Ken discusses and proposes changes to the education system.

("Clicka" em View Subtitles para selecionar legendas em Português.)

Bertrand Russell: In praise of idleness

2011-01-14T16:15:00.001Z

Bertrand Russell [1872 – 1970]

Ever had the feeling that work is overrated? That you live for the weekends, which never seem long enough and that Monday mornings are like torture? Have you ever wondered how wonderful it would be to have more time for yourself and all the things you would do with that valuable spare time? If you have had the fortune, or misfortune, of having a full-time job long enough, chances are, that these questions have crossed your mind. Or possibly not, since we have been taught to accept that the present lifestyle of over working is fair and even necessary for one's survival.

Back in 1937, Bertrand Russell had a different opinion and in his essay 'In praise of idleness' he points out the advantages, not just to the individual but to the society as a whole, of a four hour work day. Although, a bit aged in its vocabulary and the current affairs of the time, his core thought remains just as valid (if not more) today. The following is a compilation of what I see as the most relevant bits, of which you can read in full here.

I think that there is far too much work done in the world, that immense harm is caused by the belief that work is virtuous, and that what needs to be preached in modern industrial countries is quite different from what always has been preached.

I want to say, in all seriousness, that a great deal of harm is being done in the modern world by belief in the virtuousness of work, and that the road to happiness and prosperity lies in an organized diminution of work.

First of all: what is work? Work is of two kinds: first, altering the position of matter at or near the earth's surface relatively to other such matter; second, telling other people to do so. The first kind is unpleasant and ill paid; the second is pleasant and highly paid. The second kind is capable of indefinite extension: there are not only those who give orders, but those who give advice as to what orders should be given. Usually two opposite kinds of advice are given simultaneously by two organized bodies of men; this is called politics. The skill required for this kind of work is not knowledge of the subjects as to which advice is given, but knowledge of the art of persuasive speaking and writing, i.e. of advertising.

To this day, 99 per cent of British wage-earners would be genuinely shocked if it were proposed that the King should not have a larger income than a working man. The conception of duty, speaking historically, has been a means used by the holders of power to induce others to live for the interests of their masters rather than for their own. Of course the holders of power conceal this fact from themselves by managing to believe that their interests are identical with the larger interests of humanity.

The war showed conclusively that, by the scientific organization of production, it is possible to keep modern populations in fair comfort on a small part of the working capacity of the modern world. If, at the end of the war, the scientific organization, which had been created in order to liberate men for fighting and munition work, had been preserved, and the hours of the week had been cut down to four, all would have been well. Instead of that the old chaos was restored, those whose work was demanded were made to work long hours, and the rest were left to starve as unemployed.

The idea that the poor should have leisure has always been shocking to the rich. In England, in the early nineteenth century, fifteen hours was the ordinary day's work for a man; children sometimes did as much, and very commonly did twelve hours a day. When meddlesome busybodies suggested that perhaps these hours were rather long, they were told that work kept adults from drink and children from mischief. When I was a child, shortly after urban working men had acquired the vote, certain public holidays were established by law, to the great indignation of the upper classes. I remember hearing an old Duchess say: 'What do the poor want with holidays? They ought to work.' People nowadays are less frank, but the sentiment persists, and is the source of much of our economic confusion.

If the ordinary wage-earner worked four hours a day, there would be enough for everybody and no unemployment -- assuming a certain very moderate amount of sensible organization. This idea shocks the well-to-do, because they are convinced that the poor would not know how to use so much leisure.

The wise use of leisure, it must be conceded, is a product of civilization and education. A man who has worked long hours all his life will become bored if he becomes suddenly idle. But without a considerable amount of leisure a man is cut off from many of the best things. There is no longer any reason why the bulk of the population should suffer this deprivation; only a foolish asceticism, usually vicarious, makes us continue to insist on work in excessive quantities now that the need no longer exists.

For ages, the rich and their sycophants have written in praise of 'honest toil', have praised the simple life, have professed a religion which teaches that the poor are much more likely to go to heaven than the rich, and in general have tried to make manual workers believe that there is some special nobility about altering the position of matter in space, just as men tried to make women believe that they derived some special nobility from their sexual enslavement.

Manual work is the ideal which is held before the young, and is the basis of all ethical teaching.

In the West, we have various ways of dealing with this problem. We have no attempt at economic justice, so that a large proportion of the total produce goes to a small minority of the population, many of whom do no work at all. Owing to the absence of any central control over production, we produce hosts of things that are not wanted. We keep a large percentage of the working population idle, because we can dispense with their labor by making the others overwork. When all these methods prove inadequate, we have a war: we cause a number of people to manufacture high explosives, and a number of others to explode them, as if we were children who had just discovered fireworks. By a combination of all these devices we manage, though with difficulty, to keep alive the notion that a great deal of severe manual work must be the lot of the average man.

to the actual worker. If you ask him what he thinks the best part of his life, he is not likely to say: 'I enjoy manual work because it makes me feel that I am fulfilling man's noblest task, and because I like to think how much man can transform his planet. It is true that my body demands periods of rest, which I have to fill in as best I may, but I am never so happy as when the morning comes and I can return to the toil from which my contentment springs.' I have never heard working men say this sort of thing.

It will be said that, while a little leisure is pleasant, men would not know how to fill their days if they had only four hours of work out of the twenty-four. In so far as this is true in the modern world, it is a condemnation of our civilization; it would not have been true at any earlier period. There was formerly a capacity for light-heartedness and play which has been to some extent inhibited by the cult of efficiency.

The notion that the desirable activities are those that bring a profit has made everything topsy-turvy.

The pleasures of urban populations have become mainly passive: seeing cinemas, watching football matches, listening to the radio, and so on. This results from the fact that their active energies are fully taken up with work; if they had more leisure, they would again enjoy pleasures in which they took an active part.

University life is so different from life in the world at large that men who live in academic milieu tend to be unaware of the preoccupations and problems of ordinary men and women; moreover their ways of expressing themselves are usually such as to rob their opinions of the influence that they ought to have upon the general public. Another disadvantage is that in universities studies are organized, and the man who thinks of some original line of research is likely to be discouraged. Academic institutions, therefore, useful as they are, are not adequate guardians of the interests of civilization in a world where everyone outside their walls is too busy for unutilitarian pursuits.

In a world where no one is compelled to work more than four hours a day, every person possessed of scientific curiosity will be able to indulge it, and every painter will be able to paint without starving, however excellent his pictures may be. Young writers will not be obliged to draw attention to themselves by sensational pot-boilers, with a view to acquiring the economic independence needed for monumental works, for which, when the time at last comes, they will have lost the taste and capacity. Men who, in their professional work, have become interested in some phase of economics or government, will be able to develop their ideas without the academic detachment that makes the work of university economists often seem lacking in reality. Medical men will have the time to learn about the progress of medicine, teachers will not be exasperatedly struggling to teach by routine methods things which they learnt in their youth, which may, in the interval, have been proved to be untrue.

Above all, there will be happiness and joy of life, instead of frayed nerves, weariness, and dyspepsia. The work exacted will be enough to make leisure delightful, but not enough to produce exhaustion. Since men will not be tired in their spare time, they will not demand only such amusements as are passive and vapid. At least one per cent will probably devote the time not spent in professional work to pursuits of some public importance, and, since they will not depend upon these pursuits for their livelihood, their originality will be unhampered, and there will be no need to conform to the standards set by elderly pundits. But it is not only in these exceptional cases that the advantages of leisure will appear. Ordinary men and women, having the opportunity of a happy life, will become more kindly and less persecuting and less inclined to view others with suspicion. The taste for war will die out, partly for this reason, and partly because it will involve long and severe work for all. Good nature is, of all moral qualities, the one that the world needs most, and good nature is the result of ease and security, not of a life of arduous struggle. Modern methods of production have given us the possibility of ease and security for all; we have chosen, instead, to have overwork for some and starvation for others. Hitherto we have continued to be as energetic as we were before there were machines; in this we have been foolish, but there is no reason to go on being foolish forever.

Documentary "PsyWar: the real battlefield is your mind"

2011-01-14T00:17:00.004Z

PsyWar is an incredibly provocative film that investigates how today's power structure of western society came to be and how the public is manipulated to believe it is the best option. This documentary will make you question what is happiness and why you do what you do. Is it because you love it or because you have to? A piece of advice, do not watch if you're happy with your own existence.

A few quotations from PsyWar:

"National security is one of the most powerful notions in modern times to swindle, I think, people to do things that are not in their best interest. And to support massive military complexes that are not in anybody interests but that are like cancers feeding on society." ~ Graeme MacQueen (28:30)

"Wars are an opportunity for the government to grow in power" ~ Howard Zinn (46:50)

"A shorter work week would undermine the work ethic and potentially ferment radicalism. If people had the time to stop and think, they might also take the time to rethink their position in life. The emphasis should be put on work... More work and better work, instead of upon leisure." ~ John Edgerton (1:10:20)

And here's a short movie that I think complements the above fairly nicelly.

O estado da agricultura biológica em Portugal

2011-01-12T15:00:00.000Z

O seguinte programa da Biosfera é dedicado á agricultura biológica, especificamente em Portugal. Descobre o porquê e a sua importância para além das vantagens para a saúde humana. Este é provávelmente, até ao momento, o relatório Português mais aprofundado acerca deste tema.

Documentário "O Mundo Segundo a Monsanto"

2011-01-08T15:58:00.001Z

Capa do DVD

A Monsanto foi fundada nos Estados Unidos em 1901 como uma empresa de productos químicos. Começou na altura a produzir productos altamente carcinogénicos, como os PCBs que estão relacionados com proplemas reprodutivos e do sistema imunitário.

Durante a segunda gerra mundial a Monsanto participou significativamente no projecto Manhattan para desenvolver a bomba atómica. Depois da guerra a Monsanto foi pioneira no desenvolvimento de químicos para a agricultura, tal como o herbicida "Agente Orange" que foi usado no Vietnam e que desde o fim da guerra é responsável por cerca de meio milhão de crianças nascerem deformadas.

A história mórbida da Monsanto não acaba aqui mas é demasiado extensiva para reproduzir neste blog. O que é importante realçar é que é uma empresa que tem sido culpada vezes sem conta de publicidade enganosa, poluição ambiental extrema e de causar sufrimento a milhões pelo mundo fora, recusando sempre qualquer tipo de responsabilidade.

Hoje, a Monsanto quer tomar controlo da comida. Tornou-se na maior multinacional de biotechnologia e de sementes patenteadas do mundo e de momento produz cerca de 90% de todas as sementes genéticamente modificadas. Ainda é também a maior produtora de herbicída, chamado "Roundup". Um outro producto da Monsanto são as hormonas sintéticas que são injectadas nas vacas para produzirem mais leite.

O documentário "O Mundo Segundo a Monsanto" (abaixo) explora as profundezas da corrupção das pessoas que gerem esta empresa, que páram a nada para fazerem mais lucro. Com uma história e atitude destas como podemos confiar-lhes a produção da nossa comida que eles tanto querem?

John Pilger interviews Julian Assange

2011-01-07T21:48:00.000Z

A few excerpts from the interview:

Julian Assange: "There have been 7 Reuters journalists in Baghdad and all of them have been killed by US military fire."

Julian Assange: "These people [civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan] are shot in the same way that an everyday person walks over ants in the street because they just seem to be irrelevant, they don't complain, there's no disciplinary procedure. So as the war goes along, civilians do become just as something to get rid off."

Julian Assange: "We have acquired records of 6 years of civilian kills in Iraq and Afganistan, not just the big ones where there's 100 people killed, but rather these sort of everyday incidences... there's hundreds and hundreds of those 'small' incidents."

John Pilger: "The propaganda efforts of governments has become vast. I read an AP investigation that said the US had spent $7.4 billion over the last 5 years basically winning hearts and minds not of the enemy but of its own people. Information war has never been more important."

Documentário "Alimentos S.A."

2011-01-06T18:55:00.003Z

O documentário Alimentos S.A. (Food Inc.), legendado em Português, é mais um numa série de filmes que levantam o véu para a realidade da produção de comida. Este explora o sistema capitalista de agricultura em que o único incentivo é fazer mais lucro a qualquer custo, inclusive o da saúde, ambiente, direitos dos animais e social. Enquanto que o marketing agrícula continua a vender a idea da quintinha familiar e pacata que acabou há decadas.

O filme sugere que votemos com o nosso garfo, comprando comida local e/ou biológica sempre que possível, tornando cada refeição num acto verdadeiramente revolucionário.

Documentário "O Futuro da Alimentação"

2011-01-06T00:36:00.001Z

O Futuro da Alimentação ou "The Future of Food" (legendado em Português) explora um pouco a história da evolução da agricultura no ultimo século, expõem o sistema de agricultura industrial currente e os seus problemas ambientais (incluíndo o da saúde humana), sociais e económicos. Explica também como o processo da modificação genética funciona na criaçāo de organismos transgénicos e os riscos que os acompanham. Conclui com uma breve explicação da importância do movimento de agricultura biológica. Um verdadeiro "abre-olhos".

Estão disponíveis mais filmes acerca deste assunto na Videoteca extensiva da Plataforma Trangénicos Fora.

BBC tax payers sponsor biotech propaganda

2011-01-05T23:49:00.003Z

A while back I wrote "The invisible noose", a short post based on a compilation of studies, articles and documentaries warning about the risks of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and the industry driving (i.e. profiting from) them.

Today, the BBC News reported on "The eco-friendly pigs genetically modified for food". Those that have cared enough to research GMOs will gasp at the disturbing title as they see the barefaced lie turned into free marketing for the biotech giants. This industry has hijacked the currently fashionable "eco-friendly" label to propagandise a dangerous technology to exploit a hyped up and misinformed global warming population. We must admit, it's not a stupid way to disguise its real agenda — to control the global food supply and to own all life itself through patents — but a very deceiving one.

Then the article goes on to explain how GMOs are "a solution to feeding a hungry planet" and will help on "cutting down pollution" while there's proof that GMOs cause more pollution, are a human health hazard while there are plenty of common sense arguments why GE food will NOT feed the world.

The BBC bias towards the biotech industry becomes even more transparent, as the reporter goes through the trouble of interviewing two pro-GMO scientists (one of which used to be anti-GMO) and only one concerned grocery store clerk woman whom does not get the chance to explain WHY she is concerned. This is the sort of propaganda that the UK TV license tax payer is not only funding but already literally swallowing.

If you care about your health and the environment and do want to understand the concerns of that wise woman regarding GMOs, watch the following documentaries: (below) The Future of Food and The World According to Monsanto.

Then cancel your TV license and dump the TV.

Documentário "O Alimento é Importante"

2011-01-04T17:11:00.004Z

Menu de capítulos

O documentário "Food Matters" (O Alimento é Importante) está agora disponível (em seis partes) no YouTube com legendagem em Português. Vê agora e descobre o que está de errado com o presente sistema de saúde, porque é que uma população saudável não dá lucro e o poder que uma nutrição equilibrada tem na cura de todas as doenças. Uma vez que "nós somos aquilo que comemos" "a população precisa é de educação e não medicação". Bom apetite!

(Se as legendas não estiverem ligadas, "clicka" no botão do lado direito com a seta e depois seleciona "CC".)

Parte 1/6

Parte 2/6

Parte 3/6

Parte 4/6

Parte 5/6

Parte 6/6

Hungry Beast educates by animation

2011-01-04T16:15:00.002Z

The Australian TV show Hungry Beast is "a cross between a current affairs program and a sketch comedy show". Allegedly, the presenters editorial instruction was: "tell us something we don't know". And heck, have they delivered!

I particularly enjoy the short animation segments. Each is a sort of concentrated education pill which usually ends with the "shocking revelation" side effect. This far, they have done one on WikiLeaks, one on Obama's entourage, another on internet censorship and several exposing the influence and wastefulness of public resources by the military industrial complex, such as in this outrageous example of the Australian submarine fleet.

Hungry Beast has found an interesting and engaging way to inform, and here I leave you with a few examples, both prime results of globalization and (possibly) a scarily snapshot of what's to come in the future. The first is about "Serco - The biggest company you've never heard off" and the second about our bigger brother Google. Sit tight.

Lessons learned and new year's resolutions

2011-01-01T04:36:00.000Z

The Cat's Eye Nebula - a dying star.

2010 was a year of change. I did something I meant to have done for a long time, I took a break from the full-time office job and volunteered for causes I believe in — worked on organic farms, visited an eco-community, collaborated with an anti-gmo organization, saw breathtaking nature, spent more time with family and met incredibly inspiring people.

This last ride around the sun was crazily tumultuous but also provided plenty of learning/growing opportunities. I learned we can't run away from our creation. I learned that there are a lot of courageous people out there, doing what they believe is right. I learned how much power people give away to each other, mostly unconsciously, and how destructive this can be. I learned how we often confuse dependence and attachment with real happiness. I learned that there's nothing out there that will miraculously heal the inner grieving or forever fulfil our happiness expectations. I learned that you can't willingly wipe memories or change the past. I learned that we don't stare into space often enough. I learned that you can't force anyone to feel what you feel... nor would that be right. I learned how important it is to show you care... while you can. I learned that it's not where you are and what you do that matters as much as who you're with and how you do it.

However, the main revelation of all this year was to discover how shockingly little I know myself, as I observed my ego's insecurities hurt the one I cared for the most, sabotage a loving relationship and dissolve lifelong dreams, overnight. Let this be my lesson from 2010 and learning how to assume responsibility for the consequences of my own (perceived) mistakes, my 2011 resolution. Well that and saving the world... after all aren't those one and the same? Happy new year.

John Butler Trio - Ocean

2010-12-28T02:08:00.001Z

Probably the best live acoustic I've ever heard... certainly one with the most heart. Consider yourself warned.

www.johnbutlertrio.com

Happy winter holidays everyone

2010-12-23T20:50:00.002Z

More videos at the official Simmon's cat website.

Veganism and the B12 conspiracy

2010-12-23T19:02:00.005Z

One of the main concerns of people considering a vegan diet (and a question that I get asked often as a vegetarian) is the possibility of B12 vitamin deficiency.

The B12 deficiency conspiracy has been completelly blown out of proportion by those who cling to the idea that meat is necessary for a healthy body. First it was the protein deficiency risk, then the omegas deficiency risk and now the current vegan bogey man is the unlikely possibility of B12 deficiency. The fact is that the biggest mammals on Earth are herbivores and I never heard them having any B12 deficiencies, so what real reason of concern is there for vegetarians and vegans?


Multi-vitamins & minerals

The following article Vitamin B12: Facts for Vegetarians contains a full overview of vitamin B12. It starts by pointing out that:

"Vegetarians who continue to eat dairy products and eggs therefore also have no trouble supplying their bodies with enough B12."

Great, so if you're vegetarian you can stop worrying about the risk of B12 deficiency. But how about vegans? To answer this question, lets fully understand the B12 origins.

"The vitamin in fact does not technically come from animals or plants. It is made by micro-organisms such as bacteria and algae that are found in and on the foods we eat.
[...] Changes in agricultural production have also eliminated another reliable plant-based source of B12: the soil on the surface of fresh vegetables. In the past, when people ate carrots, beets, turnips or mushrooms fresh from the ground, the soil left clinging to the vegetables often contained Vitamin B12."

So, in short, herbivores eat some soil with their grass, which contains micro-organisms which produce vitamin B12. Suggestion — grow your own organic veggies, don't wash them and you'll be fine!

Vegetable patch (with plenty of B12)

Also, apparently our bodies store B12 for a long time, so it's not something vegans need to consider daily but I would still recommend reading the full article: Vitamin B12: Facts for Vegetarians.

"For most of us, excess B12 can be stored in our bodies for three years, although this varies."

The reality is that anyone is at risk of a dietary deficiency if we don't eat a varied range of foods but, contrary to the still widely believed myth, this does not have to include meat. In fact I would go as far as saying that there are plenty of meat eaters deficient in all sorts of vitamins and minerals for lack of eating enough fresh vegetables and fruit but it's easier to focus the unlikely risk of B12 deficiency of those who do not follow the conventional omnivore diet... lol it's laughable really.

A diet for all reasons

2010-12-22T23:06:00.004Z

In this relatively old presentation, Dr. Michael Klaper explains the shocking effects of animal fats in the human body and what constitutes a balanced diet, in what is probably the best summary of vegetarianism ever, compacted into one hour. Even if you think you already know all there's to know about diet, chances are you'll still get something out of it. At least I still do every time I watch it.

Wikileaks' Cablegate: the truth is out there

2010-12-19T15:54:00.001Z

MP3/Lyrics and information about Rap News:
Website: http://thejuicemedia.com
Lyrics: http://www.reverbnation.com/rapnews
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/robertfoster.rapnews
All art and design in this episode by: http://www.visualtonic.com.au
You can download some of the great artwork from this episode here: http://courageiscontagious.net

SUPPORT Rap News to keep broadcasting rhyme and reason on the only remaining free frequency: http://thejuicemedia.com/donate

The humbling silence

2010-12-18T19:08:00.001Z

Sunset at Azambujeira beach, Portugal

Today I went to a funeral of a grandmother of a couple of friends. The lady was in her eighties and had been loosing her strength for a few years. I barely knew her but regardless of the degree of closeness or surprise of one's loss, moments like this always make me stop and wonder about the unanswered questions of life. And although some of us live our lives in denial of the harsh truth, of our time limited existence, at one point or another we'll have to confront the reality of ceasing to be... at least in this reality or who knows forever more.

As I stood in the crowd, the priest's words faded into the distance while uncomfortable questions scrolled through my mind. What is the purpose of life? Why going through the trouble of getting born to end up like this? Is this really the end? Who and what the heck am I?

For as pointless as this exercise seemed at the time, to ask seemingly unanswerable questions, seeking to understand myself has got to be one of the most grounding experiences ever. As the inner silence fails to eco an answer, the dawning realisation of one's self-ignorance can be as humbling and as liberating as the answers themselves.

R.I.P. Maria

Nine Inch Nails - Right Where It Belongs

2010-12-13T03:59:00.004Z

"Right Where It Belongs"

See the animal in his cage that you built
Are you sure what side you're on?
Better not look him too closely in the eye
Are you sure what side of the glass you are on?
See the safety of the life you have built
Everything where it belongs
Feel the hollowness inside of your heart
And it's all
Right where it belongs

What if everything around you
Isn't quite as it seems?
What if all the world you think you know
Is an elaborate dream?
And if you look at your reflection
Is it all you want it to be?
What if you could look right through the cracks?
Would you find yourself
Find yourself afraid to see?

What if all the world's inside of your head
Just creations of your own?
Your devils and your gods
All the living and the dead
And you're really all alone?
You can live in this illusion
You can choose to believe
You keep looking but you can't find the woods
While you're hiding in the trees

What if everything around you
Isn't quite as it seems?
What if all the world you used to know
Is an elaborate dream?
And if you look at your reflection
Is it all you want it to be?
What if you could look right through the cracks
Would you find yourself
Find yourself afraid to see?

Vê o animal na jaula que construiste
Tens a certeza de que lado estás?
É melhor nao olha-lo directamente nos olhos
Tens a certeza de que lado do vidro tu estás?
Vê a segurança da vida que construiste
Tudo onde pertence
Sente o vazio dentro do teu coração
E está tudo
Exactamente onde pertence

E se tudo á tua volta
Não é bem como parece?
E se todo o mundo que pensas que conheces
É um sonho elaborado?
E se olhares para a teu reflexo
É tudo o que queres que seja?
E se pudesses olhar através das ranhuras?
Encontrarias-te a ti mesmo
Encontrarias-te com medo de ver?

E se todo o mundo está dentro da tua cabeça
Apenas as tuas próprias criações?
Os teus diabos e os teus deuses
Todos os vivos e os mortos
E estàs mesmo completamente sozinho?
Podes viver nesta ilusão
Podes escolher em acreditar
Continuas a olhar mas nao consegues encontrar a floresta
Enquanto te escondes entre as árvores

E se tudo á tua volta
Não é bem como parece?
E se todo o mundo que pensas que conheces
É um sonho elaborado?
E se olhares para a teu reflexo
É tudo o que queres que seja?
E se pudesses olhar através das ranhuras?
Encontrarias-te a ti mesmo
Encontrarias-te com medo de ver?

The Flashbulb - Undiscovered Colors

2010-12-12T03:20:00.002Z

Stop. Breathe... ... ... FEEL.

Anonymous recruits Everyone for OperationPayback

2010-12-10T15:57:00.002Z


LOIC

In their latest press release, Anonymous defines itself as a group of "average Interent Citizens" with "a collective sense of being fed up with all the minor and major injustices we witness every day".

"Our current goal is to raise awareness about WikiLeaks and the underhanded methods employed by the above companies [Amazon, PayPal, VISA, MasterCard, etc] to impair WikiLeaks' ability to function."

And so with the aim to increase their numbers and effectiveness, Anonymous have placed their "weapon" of choice online, called JS LOIC (JavaScript Low Orbit Ion Cannon), enabling anyone courageous enough to join OperationPayback at the click of a button. At what cost and consequences, we'll soon find out. But the last time I checked, DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks were illegal.

http://www.calgarc.com/jloic.html

WikiLeaks: The perfect check mate

2010-12-08T17:44:00.014Z

Recently I've had a few heated discussions regarding WikiLeaks with people who question the motives and consequences of leaked secret documents. Some believe a leak this massive is only possible if it is either a disinfo operation run by those seeking to further censorship the internet or in the best case scenario, it is being exploited to leak false or filtered documents that will push the globalists agenda. From what I gather, WikiLeaks sceptics think this way because, they say, WikiLeaks has had mass media attention. Because the content is slanted or unimportant. Because it promotes war with Iran and because it blames the US. Oh, and the fact that Assange hasn't caught up with the inconsistencies in the main stream story of what happened on 9/11. Some also claim a "fishy" gut feeling that something isn't right but they can't put the finger on it! Hmm...

Spinning the spin

Fair enough, Assange has discredited the 9/11 movement but I know plenty of intelligent people who still to this day don't dare looking at the evidence of what happened. Like Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore for example. Could this be a symptom of main stream indoctrination and arrogance of knowledge? Or is it necessarily a conscious and deceitful action of a "disinfo agent"?

So the leaked documents marginalize the US and don't put Iran in a good light. They also reveal embarrassing facts about other countries like China, UK, France, Italy, Russia, Saudi Arabia and many more. Just because the main stream outlets focus on Iran and try to spin the information to fit their warmongering agendas, does it mean that the info itself is biased? Why would WikiLeaks bother releasing information that affects a huge amount of diplomats/spies all over the world across a broad range of countries? How else could they have shown neutrality? Also, why would a disinfo campaign disclose that US diplomats spied on UN leadership and were asked to collect passwords, credit card numbers and biometric data including fingerprints, iris scans and DNA?!!

It's true WikiLeaks has had the mass media attention but it would be hard to ignore a movement that has been causing an ever growing buzz on the internet over the past 4 years and that has had at least 3 major leaks just over the past year, the Iraq and Afghanistan war logs as well as the very graphic Collateral Murder video. The later shows a US Apache helicopter killing over a dozen of civilians indiscriminately. I'm still to see how this supports the disinfo operation theory.

It is also true that there are moves to further tightening the censorship of the internet. But is this a knee jerk reaction to turn an unpredicted crisis into a useful tool or is it all part of a carefully planned operation? Well, it may be either really. But if WikiLeaks is indeed part of a bigger plan to further erase human liberties, why did Amazon refuse to host the site? Why did Paypal suddenly realise that the WikiLeaks donations account was not in accord with their terms and conditions? Why are there politicians calling for the website to be taken offline or even Assange's assassination?! Why was the website's DNS routing service dropped? Why did MasterCard make it impossible for people to donate? Why was the Swiss bank account frozen? Why the smear campaign of Assange and now his arrest? Why confirming the corruption up high that most already suspected and spreading further distrust of the political system?

I have to say, if WikiLeaks is indeed a disinfo operation, they sure are putting up a heck of a show! But what do I know?

The victory of cynicism

Assange has a whole team of committed volunteers behind him but the media focus is mainly on the man. He's the "lightening rod" of WikiLeaks as he puts it. Now, if there's something that those at the top want more than anything, is to program in the masses the deeply cynical belief that an individual cannot ever possibly make a difference. That individual effort will always be in vain. That any apparent positive change always has a negative agenda behind. So that when someone really does stand out and really does rock the boat people will see it as another covert operation. This is one of the ways how the small elite keeps the power from the huge majority. By making you believe that you are insignificant that you have no power.

Beyond content

But this isn't the full story. Of course Assange and WikiLeaks have an agenda. Even if they're trying to achieve transparency it is still an agenda. But how they plan to achieve this is not through the leaking of crucial, incriminating juicy content itself as the disappointed public expects. Apparently, which information is leaked is unimportant. Yes, you read it right, the information is secondary.

In an essay written by Assange in 2006, entitled "State and Terrorist Conspiracies", the hacker equates a secret cabal to a computer network and explains how it cannot survive in an environment where secrets can be leaked. He argues that not only will the network have to adjust to the constant whistle-blowing, therefore distracting it from its main agenda, but will also become highly paranoid and therefore ineffective. And so far that is precisely what we're seeing as those affected by the leaks run around like headless chickens desperately trying to shut down, to censor and to stop that which is unstoppable. It is the perfect check mate.

O agricultor rebelde visita Portugal

2010-12-07T18:28:00.013Z

O agricultor Austríaco, Sepp Holzer, é tão famoso pelos seus métodos de agricultura ecológicos como pelo seu caracter de rebeldia contra a autoridade que, no ponto de vista dele, está desligada da realidade devido á falta de experiência prática.

O agricultor mais multado da Austria, diz-se um defensor da natureza e por isso nunca seguiu nem nunca seguirá leis que vão contra ela. A natureza é a sua professora, e Sepp acredita vivamente que fala connosco se nos pusermos nos pés dela. Segundo ele não existem maus terrenos de cultivo, apenas maus agricultores. E até mesmo áreas desertificadas podem ser tornadas em áreas férteis e abundantes se aprendermos a trabalhar com a natureza em vez de contra ela (como temos feito até agora).

No último Domingo o agricultor rebelde veio á Maia (perto do Porto) dar uma palestra acerca do seu tipo específico de permacultura — um termo inventado nos anos setenta pelo Australiano Bill Molison para designar uma espécie de agricultura permanente. Com a ajuda de uma tradutora da eco-aldeia de Tamera, Sepp mostrou a sua quinta na Austria, deu exemplos de projectos em que ajudou a revitalizar largas paisagens há muito tempo negligenciadas e respondeu a perguntas da plateia curiosa, inspirada e até mesmo séptica, de cerca de 120 pessoas. O video seguinte é da palestra inteira. O debate pós-palestra está disponível aqui, graças á Quercus do Porto.

Long live freedom of truth

2010-12-06T00:48:00.002Z

We open governments.

On 28th of November WikiLeaks revealed hundreds of thousands of secret USA embassies cables. Since then, WikiLeaks has been criticised, attacked and even censored by regimes that call themselves open and free. Here's small snapshot of the world's reaction, via Twitter, to this unprecedented event:

US Government is just about to find out what it feels like to go through a nudie-scanner. #cablegate
In China or North Korea, if they don't like a website, they block it in their country. In the West, they destroy the site. #imwikileaks
I don't see how the leaked cables could possibly be as embarrassing as our government's hostile response to them #imwikileaks
"The problem isn't that #WikiLeaks is lying, the problem is that they're telling the truth." - http://bit.ly/elAJRy #imwikileaks
USA, land of the free. Except when you disagree with 'em. #hypocrits #imwikileaks
"They must find it difficult, those who have taken authority as the truth, rather than truth as the authority." - Gerald Massey #imwikileaks
Wikileaks is trying to unplug us from the Matrix. Time to wake up! #imwikileaks #wikileaks #cablegte #assange
"During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." - George Orwell #imwikileaks
Buddha: "Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth." #imwikileaks
Here's a big list of wikileaks mirrors: http://bit.ly/h9uoyV #imwikileaks

History has never been made at this ever accelerated rate.

The invisible noose

2010-11-27T18:04:00.004Z

GMO

A subject that concerns me deeply is the one of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) or Genetically Engineering (GE). The negative consequences of this technology are as deep and as vast as they are misunderstood or unknown to the majority of its consumers.

Aside from the many misconceptions and straight out lies created by the industry, regarding the safety and even the necessity of GMOs, there is an ever growing number of studies warning of its dangers not only for human health but the environment as a whole.

And if these aren't enough, the documentaries The Future of Food and The World According to Monsanto will give you a scoop into the technology, the industry and the people behind GMOs. Once you learn about it, you'll never look at your plate the same way and, hopefully, it'll become obvious what is driving the Organic movement and why it's so vital.

The Future of Food documentary film

The 9/11 scepticism pickaxe

2010-11-26T15:10:00.001Z


The Twin Towers' destruction on 9/11

After nine years of the dramatic and drastic events of September 11^th 2001, despite the ever growing number of Architechts & Engineers, Schoolars, Pilots, Firefighters, Political Leaders, Veterans, Military Officers, Scientists and many many more groups of people questioning the 9/11 events, some people still find it easier to go with the official story of what happened. Not surprisingly as the implications of some inner involvement in the killing of 3000 people are obvious and far reaching indeed. But we'll talk about those another time.

The purpose of this post is to break through the shell of the hardest sceptic. The inconsistencies of the official story are endless but, for now, we'll focus on 10 facts regarding the bizarre collapse of the twin towers, that contradict the official explanation that gravity alone brought down the twin towers and building 7, which most people never heard about.

Destruction proceeds through the path of greatest resistance at nearly free-fall acceleration
Improbable symmetry of debris distribution
Extremely rapid onset of destruction
Over 100 first responders reported explosions and flashes
Multi-ton steel sections ejected laterally
Mid-air pulverization of 90,000 tons of concrete & metal decking
Massive volume of expanding pyroclastic-like clouds
1200-foot-dia. debris field: no "pancaked" floors found
Isolated explosive ejections 20 – 40 stories below demolition front
Total building destruction: dismemberment of steel frame

These can be found on the Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth website along with tons more of explosive evidence. At the time of this post, there are 1373 Architects and Engineers that support this evidence and question the official one. Do you?

The cosmic sense of humour

2010-11-26T02:42:00.004Z

Life's a funny thing. You're born, you meet a bunch of people while stuff happens and then you die. And of the people you meet, they either grow up with you or they help you grow, some both. Whether we're aware of it or not, grateful or otherwise. Most pass by like a breeze but few leave a footprint the size of a galaxy. And when they do you better be fucking ready or you'll be cursing the day you were born until the day you die.

Only the strongest guts will survive

2010-11-25T20:04:00.001Z

Last night a dear friend told me she had watched a documentary, which really shocked her. "Oh my God, I had no idea! It's like a horror movie, except real! I have to share this with everyone." – she said.

This is not a uncommon reaction for people who manage to win the challenge of watching the Earthlings documentary to the end. Even the most courageous find it difficult to sit through the most extreme raw footage of the mistreatment (that's an understatement) of animals. But I don't think this is what shakes them the most.

What shakes the viewer of Earthlings to the core is the questioning of what we take as "normal", species discrimination or specie-ism. It's the undeniable proof of the madness of the human relationship with the rest of the animal kingdom. It is the revelation of the selfish savage exploitation of sentient beings by us, the self-aware animals, all intelligent, self proclaimed pinnacle of evolution on Earth.

And that's not all, at the end, the moral weight that rests on the viewer's shoulders cannot be ignored. Something must be done. And this is why this documentary is so powerful. It breaks through apathy. It opens the hearth to the responsibility of compassion by exposing the true impact of our actions... or inaction, after you watch this. Do you have the guts? Here's the taster.

Make the Connection. EARTHLINGS.com

Chuck Lorre's spiritual insight

2010-11-25T18:28:00.002Z

The Big Bang Theory - Easter egg S01E15

Wikileaks prepares to redefine history

2010-11-24T15:06:00.003Z

Launched in 2007, WikiLeaks receives confidential material that governments, intelligence agencies and businesses want to keep secret and posts it on the Internet.

Amongst the organisation's biggest releases are a video filmed by a US Apache helicopter killing civilians indiscriminately, called "Collateral Murder". And 391,832 reports, "The Iraq War Logs", documenting the war and occupation of Iraq, in what is so far the largest classified military leak in history.

However, on 22nd of November 2010, Wikileaks posted an intriguing tweet (below) promising that they're just warming up and that the pillars of global secrecy and deception are yet again about to be shaken harder than ever.

The coming months will see a new world, where global history is redefined. Keep us strong: http://is.gd/hzbIa

Boy, I can hardly wait to get the popcorn out. Said that, at the time of this post wikileaks.org is down... damn you Pentagon!

Why being socially accepted might kill

2010-11-23T19:19:00.000Z

Because information is power and what you don't know may kill you, today I decided to call atention to a crucial piece of health information that is still not as widespread as it should be. Since the natural human smell (i.e. stinking like a pig... actually pigs don't smell that bad!) is not socially acceptable, we all take measures in personal hygiene to ensure we don't repel other human beings. But have we ever questioned at what cost?

Some of those measures may be in the form of antiperspirant deodorants and the deadly aluminium in them. The following article Antiperspirants – Aluminum & Alzheimer’s Disease contains a thorough explanation of this dangerous metal and its effects on the human body when absorbed through the skin. If you're minimally concerned with your health, and aren't yet aware of this, you'll want to read it.

10 things you can do to save the Earth by John Perkins

2010-11-22T16:25:00.000Z

Today I added John Perkins to the Teachers list on the right hand side. John worked for many years around the world as, what he calls, an "Economic Hit Man" and has written several books documenting his experiences. His contribution has been invaluable in bringing to light the deception and real intentions of the IMF (International Monetary Fund), World Bank and respective globalists. Not to mention the set up of the current economic system.

On his website, there's a list of "10 thing you can do to save the Earth" (or rather humanity as the planet will be fine, whether we make it or not), which I replicated below — not a bad starting guide.

1. Demand a world where the models for our children are the founders and managers of institutions that restore rain forests and polluted lakes, promote sustainability, and help starving people feed themselves — not the CEO‘s of irresponsible corporations, overpaid athletes and celebrities.

2. Break the pattern and rid our world of the viral form of predatory capitalism that has a stated goal of maximizing profits regardless of the social and environmental costs.

3. Bequeath a world to future generations that is headed toward sustainable, just and peaceful societies for all of us.

4. Join organizations that represent your passions, support them with your energy and/or money.

5. Use materials that are environmentally and socially responsible.

6. Support politicians who are in favor of the environment and will enact changes to protect it for future generations.

7. Vote in the marketplace for companies committed to doing the right thing environmentally and socially.

8. Let leaders know you want wholesome food, clean water and air; send emails — they do count, big-time.

9. Demand that every person on our planet has access to clean air and water, sufficient food, clothing and shelter, health care and a decent retirement.

10. Support companies that sell organic and local foods and operate on the basis of making profits but only while creating a sustainable, just, and peaceful world.

The Big Bang Theory and Easter Eggs

2010-11-22T02:24:00.006Z

The Big Bang Theory sitcom is my latest obsession. I know, I'm 3 years late and I have no excuse!

But, it's refreshing to find a comedy series where geekiness, nerdiness and intelligence is no longer ridiculed or feared. Ok, maybe it is ridiculed a little but in an endearing sort of way. Perhaps this is it, a symptom of the evolution of human consciousness reaching a point where the strange and odd is not only embraced but actually explored with curiosity and celebrated. Or maybe Hollywood just ran out of Joey jokes.

Either way, one of the oddities of the series is that each episode has an "Easter egg" (Google Easter Egg if clueless). This flashes for a second before the end credits, in the form of text written by the show's creator, Chuck Lorre. Below is the screenshot of the text in episode 9 of the first series, which I found rather hmm... wholesome.

The Big Bang Theory S01E09 Easter Egg

Forgetting

2010-11-20T22:58:00.000Z

Maybe instead of forgetting it's easier to... oh, look a bird!

We'll cast some light and you'll be alright

2010-11-16T10:27:00.003Z

Music: Jose Gonzalez - Crosses | Video: AL

Don't you know that I'll be around to guide you
Through your weakest moments to leave them behind you
Returning nightmares only shadows
We'll cast some light and you'll be alright
We'll cast some light and you'll be alright for now

Crosses all over, heavy on your shoulders
The sirens inside you waiting to step forward
Disturbing silence darkens your sight
We'll cast some light and you'll be alright
We'll cast some light and you'll be alright for now

Crosses all over the boulevard
Crosses all over the boulevard
Crosses all over the boulevard
Crosses all over the boulevard

The streets outside your window overflooded
People staring, they know you've been broken
Repeatedly reminded by the looks on their faces
Ignore them tonight and you'll be alright
We'll cast some light and you'll be alright

Seeds

2010-08-12T22:14:00.007+01:00

Seeds of infinite possibility,
plunged
into a dungeon of delusion.

Slaves to insatiable dread,
mind-bound,
by forgetfulness of their origins.

Coldly use, betray and abandon
lifetimes,
depths of sentience.

Blindly seeking themselves,
lost,
shredded hearts pave their paths.

Reaching for Truth
outside,
eternally searching,
perpetually trapped.

AL 12/8/10

Bias

2010-08-09T19:19:00.004+01:00

Pebble

2010-08-05T19:19:00.005+01:00

Picked up a Pebble
it was smoothly bright
made his heart tremble,
never felt so right.

Dazzled by Its essence
he had found home
as if in adolescence
falling in love syndrome.

Without asking a question
and assuming mutual attraction
became the inevitable obsession,
main source of satisfaction.

Never lost from vision,
admired Its countless strengths,
Its stunning light emission,
along all Its lengths.

One sad gloomy night
noticed a small crack
the shock, the fright,
felt like an attack.

Filled with great gratitude
for having found love
tried ignoring Its attitude,
tried to rise above.

But he was weak
and the wee break
started to look bleak,
despite it being fake.

Until the inevitable arrived,
from squeezing too strong
It had not thrived,
was sad too long.

In fear and pain
the final wrath strike
how unfair, how insane
It slipped in dislike.

Under abysmal irreversible damage
It had to return,
wished It bon voyage
repressing his own heartburn.

Realizing what he wasted,
how profound the upset,
wished it had lasted,
too late to regret.

Rhymes describe the experience,
superficiality of the observable,
never the true grievance,
the feelings, the Pebble.

AL 28/7/10

What's going on?!

2008-12-25T20:11:00.019Z

If you've been following the mass media news, planet Earth seems like a very hot and scary place. The “war on terror” is never ending, the biggest economic recession in history is being predicted with vast job losses, crime is on the rise, health and education aren't in good shape, there's a looming energy (oil) shortage and the environment is about to eject us from the planet any time now if we don't get our asses in gear. What a mess!

However, if you're fortunate enough (or maybe not) to get your information from the biggest encyclopaedia in the history of humankind, the internet, you probably have a very different picture of what's going on in the world today. Amongst the ever growing array of independent news sources, blogs, social networks, “conspiracy” websites and, most importantly, documentaries, there's a taste for everyone's tongue, most of which free of charge.

The Bad News

But after researching, what some call, “conspiracies” for a while your world view is probably as (or even more) depressing as the poor fellow who watches the BBC news every day or reads his country's top newspaper. After watching a few dozen documentaries, you've learned that:

lots of influential people who actually affect your life are known to be part of secret societies, such as the Freemasons, Skull & Bones, or The Bilderberg Group, and you wonder why the rest of the world isn't invited to the party!

investigative journalism is an illusion and that mass media are having a huge orgy with governments and global corporations, manipulating the public opinion to fit the agendas of their elite friends.

corporations will do anything to increase their profits, often at the cost of their employees or the environment. And it's usually the biggest brands who have little or no ethical values.

secret services have always worked under cover to topple the leaders of countries that did not support the views of the imperialistic countries they represent. And, when successful, they've replaced such leaders with their own puppets.

democracy is a farce even in what we call “first” world countries.

false flag operations are nothing new (this is when a country attacks itself and blames it on someone else as a pretext to start a war or pass a bunch of laws that would be otherwise rejected by a large majority).

9/11 couldn't have been carried out as it did without inside help, either governmental or covert, from within the US. And thus the long term “war on terror” is simply a fabricated excuse to erase human rights and civil liberties.

unethical, inhumane and harmful activities, such as waging war and trading arms, are some of the most profitable industries.

not only was the current economic system designed to be unstable and corrupt, but many economic collapses have been carefully orchestrated by the global bankers in an attempt to bring societies to their knees. This further centralises their power, facilitating a long term plan for a single world currency.

you're unsure if global warming really exists due to carbon dioxide emissions or if it's related to the cycles of the sun spots, since hot and cold ages have always existed on Earth, even before humans showed up.

health is just another business, so food is purposelessly loaded with all sorts of harmful chemicals in order to feed the highly profitable and influential pharmaceutical industry. This also explains why “incurable” diseases like AIDS and cancer do not yet have cost-effective treatments.

Monsanto and genetically modified foods give you the creeps, and don't understand why GM-supporters ignore the dangers of seed patenting, health problems and the threat of contamination of our precious biodiversity. Do people realise that once released into nature it's practically impossible to recall GMOs?!

jet contrails have, in the last couple of decades, mysteriously changed in chemistry and, instead of fading away in about 30 seconds like they used to, now often (but not always!) persist and form hazy yellowish clouds. But no one is looking up!

HAARP is a very intriguing technology. Can it really manipulate the weather and create catastrophes that appear to be natural as is claimed?

some weird and unexplainable stuff gets captured by NASA's cameras on a regular basis and we hear nothing about it. The Roswell accident and others were real and a few countries have retrieved and managed to back-engineer extra-terrestrial technology. This explains the huge technological boost of the past half century or so.

energy isn't as scarce as we're led to believe. New forms of energy were discovered (or back-engineered) a long time ago, maybe as far back as Tesla's era. Zero point energy and over-unity autonomous devices are kept under wraps because energy independence would mean the death of the oil companies, the nuclear industry and the energy grid itself - not to mention the beginning of true human freedom.

our freedoms are being eroded day by day and no one seems to notice.

all of the above are part of an agenda by the elite to create a New World Order. This would mean a single world government with one currency where all world citizens have chips implanted under their skin to interact with every facet of society.

Oh, and then there's 2012, which according to many is the end of the world... as we know it.

And many many other “conspiracies”, which I am sure I have missed right now.

At this point it almost seems pointless to live. You don't believe everything you've heard, but the percentage you do believe is enough to make you realise the world is very different from the picture the mass media paints every single day.

Most people continue to wake up and live each day as they always have. This may be a coping mechanism, or they may believe in a higher plan, or simply not care – life's too short to focus on serious issues. Still others want to do something but feel powerless. These are such huge issues so what can one person do? A few courageous ones go on a preaching mission trying to save as many souls as possible before the end of the world, but often end up being ignored or, worse, ridiculed by their “friends”.

So, where is the good news?

The Good News

Usually good news gets little to no attention in the mass media. Ever wondered why that is? If you find an answer I'd love to hear it. It may be hard to believe, I know, but there is some good news:

there's a growing movement of people who are aware of the problems and are willing to do something to fix them, especially among younger generations.

this movement is forcing an increasing corporate concern about ethical values and a lot of ethical companies are being born. From ethical banks to organic food stores, it's becoming easier to match your values with your actions.

open source software is gaining terrain in the largely monopolized software industry.

free energy devices are being worked on by independent researchers and groups.

eco-villages are sprouting up all over the world as people want to either get more in touch with the Earth, be more self-sufficient and develop a sustainable way of life. Some even have their own currencies.

a balanced raw food diet can reverse what Western medicine considers as incurable diseases, such as diabetes. Shocking I know, who knew that you are what you eat!

quantum physicists are discovering that everything is made of energy, including that illusion which we perceive as solid matter.

studies on meditation reveal that the power of our thoughts affects reality. If this is the case, what could happen if we all started focusing on what we want instead of what we don't want or are afraid of?

our genes are affected by our beliefs.

permaculture can turn deserts into fertile food forests and provide abundant food while restoring soil, water and ecosystems balance.

mushrooms could save the world!

and, finally, now we know how it feels to have a stroke!

The list isn't as long as the bad news but it's not a bad start considering how long we've been aware of the problems. Great, so now that we've hopefully raised morale a bit, let's look at some of the solutions we have currently at our disposal.

Every Choice is a Vote

It is my belief that only a change of consciousness can bring about long term change. Similar mentalities will only create similar problems, time after time. As Gandhi said “be the change you want to see in the world”. It may sound like a cliché, I know, but one thing we know for sure we can change is ourselves, both mentally and physically. Why not start there? Let's take personal responsibility for the choices in our life; let's lead by example.

It's unproductive to worry about what may or may not happen in the future. Instead we can focus on the things we can change right now. Every choice we make in our everyday lives affects the world in one way or another. There are many things we can do.

If there's something, such as a system, that we do not like, let's support an alternative system that makes the current one obsolete. If such a system does not yet exist, create one. Since money rules the world, let's vote with our money. Before buying something try to find out what it took to produce it. Buy those products that you want to support. There's no point complaining about globalisation if you drink coke, wear Nikes or eat food that has travelled half way around the world. Or campaign for animal rights if you eat meat or wear leather. If you don't agree with the whole Western way of living become as self-sufficient as possible. If you're aware of the the unsustainability of conventional farming, the dangers of genetically modified organisms, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides then support organic food. Learn about permaculture.

And the changes don't just take place on the outside. It would be hypocritical to expect truth from our politicians, if we aren't truthful to ourselves and those around us. It's unproductive to be part of the anti-war movement if we still think aggressively, such as shouting at the guy who just cut us off in traffic.

Some of these personal changes may seen insignificant or difficult to achieve. But if we really want to be change agents, it's crucial that we to stop looking for other people to fix our problems and start taking responsibility for our own actions.

The world is changing whether we want it or not. It always has and always will. We can allow others to change it for us or we can choose to change it ourselves... consciously.

What do I really want??!

2008-07-26T20:10:00.005+01:00

"The mass media [...] is drumming into you that in order to be a good citizen you have to have a great car, your own house, a family, a career, designer clothes, etc. After seeing this picture of the perfect “member of society” for decades on TV and in print your subconscious has absorbed the information and now you are convinced that you really need all these things (the same of course goes for attitudes and fashions). To get all this you have to really work hard. But you cannot work fast enough. You want these things now. So you buy on credit and with installment plans and slowly but surely you are caught in the net that has been laid out for you so perfectly, and obligations and debts will tie you up for decades.

Add to this the family and the kids, the money for holidays, car repairs, etc. you are finally trapped in the vicious circle “created by yourself”, with your oh so many problems, so you find neither time nor inclination to check whether what you happen to be doing is what you actually want to do.

And then some time you discover that you are not at all happy with what you created in the outer world and that today you would go about it differently but that now it is too late. [...] In addition you might feel inadequate to deal with all the problems and you look for refuge in drugs and alcohol. Once you have reached that point, the race of this life is all but over anyway. Yet some still make it. [...] it's never too late."

~ page 333-4, Secret Societies and Their Power in the 20th Century, 1995 by Jan van Helsing

Ethical Money

2008-04-03T00:22:00.004+01:00

In this materialistic world of ours, I believe the way we spend our money has way more voting power than our vote for the next president. For this reason, lately I've been making a conscious effort to figure out were my money goes and how it's being invested. I was positively surprised to find out that there are banks out there that actually match my values! They're called ethical banks and I'm glad they found me :)

"It's a way for people to connect their money with their own interests and values," says Triodos spokesman, James Niven. "It's something tangible. They are conventional accounts in every other way, except with the big difference that it's completely transparent where the bank is lending. There is a strong demand from people who want to know exactly how their money is being used."

Co-op spokesman Dave Smith says: "It has been driven by consumer demand. It is no coincidence that you see so many fair trade products in the supermarket. Banks can't isolate themselves from this. If people want to buy Fairtrade food, they'll want it in their financial services, too." ~ The Guardian

Imagine All The People

2008-03-25T13:27:00.000Z

John Lennon's Imagine song performed by Jack Johnson. One of my favourite lyrics yet.

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

Today we Begin a New Transition

2008-03-15T13:00:00.004Z

Today is Zeitgeist Day

"Today we begin a new transition:
To unify the world in the understanding that
WE ARE ONE social organism, and that the symbiotic
relationship we share with each other and nature itself
is, in fact, the true governing philosophy for our
functionality in this planet."

More at:
www.zeitgeistmovie.com

Zeitgeist Addendum - Part IV (to be released in Oct. 2008)

What is Meditation?

2008-03-07T08:48:00.000Z

In this short clip, Dr Deepak Chopra explains in simple terms what meditation is and how it benefits the body.

Where is the Love?

2008-03-06T13:30:00.003Z

[...]
I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder
As I'm getting older y'all people get colder
Most of us only care about money making
Selfishness got us following the wrong direction
Wrong information always shown by the media
Negative images is the main criteria
Infecting their young minds faster than bacteria
Kids wanna act like what the see in the cinema

Whatever happened to the values of humanity
Whatever happened to the fairness and equality
Instead of spreading love, we're spreading animosity
Lack of understanding, leading us away from unity
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feeling under
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feeling down
It's no wonder why sometimes I'm feeling under
I gotta keep my faith alive, until love is found
[...]

Black Eyed Peas - Where Is The Love lyrics