1.19.2009
a steady-state economy...
the growth economy is failing and we have to attempt a steady-state economy. the steady state answer is that the rich should reduce their throughput growth to free up resources and ecological space for use by the poor, while focusing their domestic efforts on development, technical and social improvements, that can be freely shared with poor countries... // herman daly, 12.17.08, adbusters
the evolution of religion...
humans, like all other living beings, are a product of four billion years of evolutionary processes. we have been shaped and pounded by the rhythms of our planet's geology and climate as well by the continual interplay among biological organisms. you exist because eons of your ancestors, from bacteria to primates, struggled and reproduced successfully. the genes that reside in each and every one of us are the ones that helped our ancestors not only to survive, but to out-reproduce their competitors. and as improbable as it might seem, you are here through the success of billions and billions of generations.
every living species on the planet--from cabbages to whales--has gone through this process, and evolved to fit a particular niche. our human niche just happens to have emphasized brains over brawn, which has given us language, creativity, curiosity, and the most complicated social system of any species. however, our incredibly powerful brain is locked in a continual battle between reason and ancestral fears. this conflict helps us understand why religion has held such a grip on humanity and why reason must still fight to be heard... // elizabeth cornwell, j. anderson thomson, 01.19.09, suicidegirls
every living species on the planet--from cabbages to whales--has gone through this process, and evolved to fit a particular niche. our human niche just happens to have emphasized brains over brawn, which has given us language, creativity, curiosity, and the most complicated social system of any species. however, our incredibly powerful brain is locked in a continual battle between reason and ancestral fears. this conflict helps us understand why religion has held such a grip on humanity and why reason must still fight to be heard... // elizabeth cornwell, j. anderson thomson, 01.19.09, suicidegirls
sadness is good for you...
scientists have warned that growing tendency to medicate against sadness like a disease stops us embracing our miserable side and removes the motivation to mature emotionally.
like the saying "what does not kill me, makes me stronger", being sad and melancholic can leave sufferers better able to cope with life's challenges, more resilient and spur them to greater achievements, it is claimed.
the researchers point out that today's society prizes personal happiness above all else and there is little tolerance for wallowing in despair after losing a job, the break-up of a relationship or the death of a loved one.
but a growing number of mental health experts fear the increasing tendency to take a pill to beat the blues could actually affect human evolution... // richard alleyne, 01.14.09, telegraph
like the saying "what does not kill me, makes me stronger", being sad and melancholic can leave sufferers better able to cope with life's challenges, more resilient and spur them to greater achievements, it is claimed.
the researchers point out that today's society prizes personal happiness above all else and there is little tolerance for wallowing in despair after losing a job, the break-up of a relationship or the death of a loved one.
but a growing number of mental health experts fear the increasing tendency to take a pill to beat the blues could actually affect human evolution... // richard alleyne, 01.14.09, telegraph
1.14.2009
...a truly democratic society?
economic democracy is a socioeconomic philosophy that suggests transfer of decision-making authority from a small minority of corporate shareholders to the larger majority of public stakeholders. while there is no single definition or approach, all theories and real-world examples of economic democracy are based on a core set of fundamental assumptions.
proponents generally agree that modern conditions of economic instability tend to hinder or prevent society from earning enough income to purchase its output production. centralized corporate monopoly of common resources typically forces conditions of artificial scarcity upon the greater majority, resulting in socio-economic imbalances that restrict workers from access to economic opportunity and diminish consumer purchasing power.
assuming full political rights cannot be won without full economic rights, economic democracy suggests a variety of models, theories, and real-world examples for solving problems of economic instability and deficiency of effective demand. overall, economic democracy promotes universal access to common resources that are typically privatized by corporate capitalism and centralized by state socialism... // wikipedia
proponents generally agree that modern conditions of economic instability tend to hinder or prevent society from earning enough income to purchase its output production. centralized corporate monopoly of common resources typically forces conditions of artificial scarcity upon the greater majority, resulting in socio-economic imbalances that restrict workers from access to economic opportunity and diminish consumer purchasing power.
assuming full political rights cannot be won without full economic rights, economic democracy suggests a variety of models, theories, and real-world examples for solving problems of economic instability and deficiency of effective demand. overall, economic democracy promotes universal access to common resources that are typically privatized by corporate capitalism and centralized by state socialism... // wikipedia
1.12.2009
america's shame...
"Why does Israel have a right to exist, but Palestine doesn’t?
This is the question of our time.
For sixty years Israelis have been stealing Palestine from Palestinians. There are maps available on the Internet and in Israeli publications showing the shrinkage over time of what was once Palestine into what Palestine is today--a small number of unconnected ghettos or bantustans.
Palestine became 'the occupied territory' from which Palestinians were ejected and Israeli settlements built for 'settlers.' Jordan, Syria and Lebanon are full of refugee camps in which Palestinians driven off their lands by Israeli force have been living for decades.
Driving people off their land is strictly illegal under international law, but Israel has been getting away with it for decades.
Gaza is a concentration camp of 1.5 million Palestinians who were driven from their homes and villages and collected in the Gaza Ghetto.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency was created 60 years ago in 1949 to administer refugee camps for Palestinians driven from their lands by Israel. As of 2002, the registered Palestinian refugee population was 3.9 million.
Caterpillar Tractor makes a special bulldozer for Israel that is designed to knock down Palestinian homes and to uproot their orchards. In 2003 an American protester, Rachel Corrie, stood in front of one of these Caterpillars and was run over and crushed.
Nothing happened. The Israelis can kill whomever they want whenever they want.
They have been doing so for 60 years, and they show no sign of stopping.
Currently they are murdering women and children in the ghetto that they have created for Palestinians in Gaza. The entire world knows this. The Red Cross protests it. But the Israelis brazenly claim that they are killing 'Hamas terrorists who are a threat to Israel’s existence.'
The American media knows that this is a lie, but does not say so..." // paul craig roberts, 01.08.09, information clearinghouse
This is the question of our time.
For sixty years Israelis have been stealing Palestine from Palestinians. There are maps available on the Internet and in Israeli publications showing the shrinkage over time of what was once Palestine into what Palestine is today--a small number of unconnected ghettos or bantustans.
Palestine became 'the occupied territory' from which Palestinians were ejected and Israeli settlements built for 'settlers.' Jordan, Syria and Lebanon are full of refugee camps in which Palestinians driven off their lands by Israeli force have been living for decades.
Driving people off their land is strictly illegal under international law, but Israel has been getting away with it for decades.
Gaza is a concentration camp of 1.5 million Palestinians who were driven from their homes and villages and collected in the Gaza Ghetto.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency was created 60 years ago in 1949 to administer refugee camps for Palestinians driven from their lands by Israel. As of 2002, the registered Palestinian refugee population was 3.9 million.
Caterpillar Tractor makes a special bulldozer for Israel that is designed to knock down Palestinian homes and to uproot their orchards. In 2003 an American protester, Rachel Corrie, stood in front of one of these Caterpillars and was run over and crushed.
Nothing happened. The Israelis can kill whomever they want whenever they want.
They have been doing so for 60 years, and they show no sign of stopping.
Currently they are murdering women and children in the ghetto that they have created for Palestinians in Gaza. The entire world knows this. The Red Cross protests it. But the Israelis brazenly claim that they are killing 'Hamas terrorists who are a threat to Israel’s existence.'
The American media knows that this is a lie, but does not say so..." // paul craig roberts, 01.08.09, information clearinghouse
israel seeks airwave supremacy...
"israel has been aiming for total air supremacy in more than one way in gaza--it wants to dominate the airwaves of the news organisations with its own narrative. to that end it has prevented foreign correspondents from entering gaza--so too, for its own reasons, has egypt from its border with gaza..." // paul reynolds, 01.12.09, bbc news
...despite attempts to conceal the terrorist state's latest atrocities, the israeli narrative has long dominated the majority of western, mainstream media coverage--including that of the bbc, sadly. this institutionalized bias is often reinforced by well-orchestrated propaganda campaigns //
...despite attempts to conceal the terrorist state's latest atrocities, the israeli narrative has long dominated the majority of western, mainstream media coverage--including that of the bbc, sadly. this institutionalized bias is often reinforced by well-orchestrated propaganda campaigns //
1.10.2009
spirituality, not religion, makes kids happy...
"...the study shows that children who feel that their lives have meaning and value and who develop deep, quality relationships—both measures of spirituality, the researchers claim—are happier.
personal aspects of spirituality (meaning and value in one's own life) and communal aspects (quality and depth of inter-personal relationships) were both strong predictors of children's happiness..." // 01.09.09, msnbc
personal aspects of spirituality (meaning and value in one's own life) and communal aspects (quality and depth of inter-personal relationships) were both strong predictors of children's happiness..." // 01.09.09, msnbc
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