Michelle Obama Begins Kitchen Garden on White House Lawn
Alternatives to Political Systems, Consumerism, Demonstration Sites, Economics, Food Shortages, News, Urban Projects — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor March 26, 2009
Here’s a little more on arguably the best news to come out of politics this year:
And, word around the campfire is that the garden will be organic. You can see a garden plan here. It’s not exactly a food forest, but it’s a great start! Congratulations to all who lobbied the Obamas on this issue. Here’s hoping this little garden will bring the intended results – inspiring millions to do the same.
Comments (2)Following Orders
Alternatives to Political Systems, Biodiversity, Comedy Break, Consumerism, Economics, Global Warming/Climate Change — by Marc Roberts March 24, 2009
 Click for full view Courtesy: Throbgoblins |
More than 7 million quids worth of police will be ensuring that protestors don’t contaminate the G20 summit with any new ideas, thus making the world safe for inadequate investment, climate chaos, dehydration and myopia, with some open-ended blank cheques thrown in.
So, all in all, a nice little inheritance for the kids. But Nil Deperandum. The revolution starts at home.
Comments (0)Zeitgeist Addendum
Alternatives to Political Systems, Consumerism, Economics, Society — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor March 1, 2009
Some of you will have watched ‘Zeitgeist – the Movie‘. I don’t know about you, but I thought it was complete rubbish. I must confess I only watched about a third of it, as right from the beginning I started fact-checking as I went and found it full of holes.
Because of this I was reluctant to view the follow-up – Zeitgeist Addendum. But, in a moment of recklessness, I did, and was pleasantly surprised. It’s long, but well worth a look. Readers who enjoyed Money as Debt, and The Crash Course, will appreciate, in particular, the first half of this new production, as it delves deep into the money system that is shaping our societies and framing our unsustainable way of life. Productions like these are well worth sharing, as they’re helping more and more people to see the need for systemic change – not only at the grass roots level, but also in the entrenched, but failing, economic and political systems that are bringing us to the extreme edge of a viable humanity.
In the latter part of the documentary, the producer Peter Joseph tries to find solutions to the problems well outlined earlier on, but unfortunately however, in my view, he falls well short in this area. But, you guys are all grown ups, so will leave you to come to your own conclusions. Let us know your thoughts:
[googlevideo]7065205277695921912[/googlevideo]
Zeitgeist Addendum
Drag the slider to 1:55 if you want to skip the long ‘arty’ intro
Comments (18)Rediscovering Democracy
Alternatives to Political Systems, Bio-regional Organisations, Economics, People Systems, Society — by Marcin Gerwin February 19, 2009
Photo: Korean Resource Center |
Political and economic systems can be designed just like gardens. We can design them in such a way that they will allow simple, harmonious living with nature, without much bureaucracy. It is not written in stone that there must even be taxes. Taxes are very practical, but, for example, Native Americans managed to do just fine without them for hundreds of years. And they did create a country, the Iroquois Confederacy can be considered as one. I’m not suggesting we get rid of taxation, my point is only that it’s not an obligatory feature of a design. Many people see governments with ministers and presidents as the only way of ruling a country, even in democratic systems. It may seem that since all countries are now ruled by some form of government – parliamentary, presidential or monarchal – it must have always been like that. Well, it wasn’t.
Comments (4)Building a Sustainable Economy
Alternatives to Political Systems, Bio-regional Organisations, Economics, Financial Management, People Systems, Society, Village Development — by Marcin Gerwin February 6, 2009
Editor’s note: Marcin’s post is very relevant as the world seeks an alternative to the current disaster of globalisation.
Democracy first
 Tiger’s nest in Bhutan Photo: Thomas Wanhoff |
In 1994 the government of Haiti lifted tariffs and allowed imports of cheap, subsidized rice and other crops from abroad. This policy was recommended by the International Monetary Fund and urged by the U.S. government (1). Over the years this tiny change in policy led to an estimated 830,000 job losses, it damaged food security and rural livelihoods, and eventually led to food riots and hunger in 2008 (2). If people in Haiti were to decide by themselves on their country policy, would they choose the recommendations of the IMF that brought them into starvation? Would people of Ecuador allow toxic pollution in the Amazon for the sake of Chevron Texaco profits? Would people in India accept genetically modified seeds of cotton that caused crop failures, spiral of debt and hundreds of farmer suicides? And would people in the USA support bailing out banks with their own money in a way that is not transparent and does not lead to the recovery of the financial system? They wouldn’t. These things happen around the world because we still don’t have true democracy, where people set the rules for themselves.
Comments (5)From the Bottom Up
Alternatives to Political Systems, Economics, Financial Management, People Systems, Society — by George Monbiot February 3, 2009
A new mobilisation could revitalise politics in the UK – but only if you get involved.
by George Monbiot – journalist, author, academic and environmental and political activist
For the first time in my life I resent paying my taxes. Until now I have seen this annual amputation as a civic duty – like giving blood – necessary to sustain the life of a fair society. Suddenly I see it as an imposition. Its purpose has reverted to that of the middle ages: subsidising the excesses of a parasitic class. A high proportion of the taxes I pay will be used to bail out companies which, as the Guardian’s current investigation shows, have used every imaginable ruse to avoid paying any themselves.
I think that for many people this is the final blow: the insult which seals their alienation from the political process. The small Welsh town where I live, many of whose inhabitants are among the very poor, was once a haven of progressive politics, built from nonconformist religious sects and a long tradition of social solidarity. People from these valleys were transported to Van Diemen’s Land for demanding the vote.
Comments (1)A Better Way to Make Money
Alternatives to Political Systems, Economics, Financial Management — by George Monbiot January 23, 2009
Here’s how we could solve the credit crunch without giving anything to the banks.
by George Monbiot – journalist, author, academic and environmental and political activist
In Russell Hoban’s novel Riddley Walker, the descendents of nuclear holocaust survivors seek amid the rubble the key to recovering their lost civilisation. They end up believing that the answer is to re-invent the atom bomb. I was reminded of this when I read the government’s new plans to save us from the credit crunch. It intends – at gob-smacking public expense – to persuade the banks to start lending again, at levels similar to those of 2007. Isn’t this what caused the problem in the first place? Is insane levels of lending really the solution to a crisis caused by insane levels of lending?
Yes, I know that without money there’s no business, and without business there are no jobs. I also know that most of the money in circulation is issued, through fractional reserve banking, in the form of debt. This means that you can’t solve one problem (a lack of money) without causing another (a mountain of debt). There must be a better way than this.
Comments (5)The Crash Course
Alternatives to Political Systems, Consumerism, Economics, Financial Management, Nuclear, Population, Society, peak oil — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor January 14, 2009
I’ve referenced Chris Martenson’s excellent ‘Crash Course’ a couple of times, but now I’ve discovered Chris has also uploaded it to YouTube, so can embed here for your convenience and viewing pleasure.
For those not familiar, this twenty chapter presentation is arguably the best effort I’ve seen to help people understand our current world predicament, with an emphasis on economics. It’s a must watch (in addition to ‘Money as Debt‘). Do share the link with your contacts.
Chapter 1 – Three Beliefs & Chapter 2 – The Three E’s
Comments (5)Money as Debt
Alternatives to Political Systems, Consumerism, Economics, Financial Management, People Systems, Society — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor January 11, 2009
Many of us are watching the current economic crisis with great interest (albeit with a lot of concern). A lot of us could also see it coming. Our modern economic systems are ultimately inviable, based on ever increasing debt and ever enlarging boom and bust cycles. Systemic economic collapse is inevitable, and painful (indeed, disastrous) though it may be, in many ways the sooner it happens the better it will be for the world. Our ecologies are running out of time, the rate of species loss is becoming exponential, the depletion of critical resources is moving ahead apace, and our human population continues to balloon year by year. We have formerly democratic nations heading towards fascism, and a massive consolidation of power giving money-motivated corporations the controlling influence over governments and media. Creating a whole new society will be excruciatingly difficult – but it will be impossible if we’re trying to do so without decent resources left to work with.
Watching the mortgage crisis in the U.S. is frustrating to say the least. We have thousands of defaulters becoming homeless, and yet, as you shall see in the clips below, the money they’ve borrowed to purchase their house was not even the banks – indeed, it didn’t even exist, but is essentially created out of thin air. The bank ‘loans’ money it doesn’t have, then when the borrower defaults, his home becomes the property of the bank – and yet the banks subsequently manage to secure massive bailouts from this same taxpayer.
Comments (6)A Better Way of Making a Living for Humanity
Alternatives to Political Systems, Bio-regional Organisations, Consumerism, Eco-Villages, Food Shortages, People Systems, Population, Society, Village Development, peak oil — by Chuck Burr January 5, 2009
We are no more able to find our way forward living as Homo modern as we are living as Homo hunter-gatherer. Both ways are blocked. Living today on the infinite growth treadmill as Homo modern results in the death of our planet. Homo sapien has exploded our population to a level that we can no longer run back into the forest to make a living like the Mayan did. So what are we to do?
The question is actually, not “what are we going to do?”, but is “how are we going to make a living?” First lets rule out the obvious, we can no longer make a living as Homo consumer. Peak oil will put an end to our happy motoring and consuming lifestyle before we get the chance to consume the world.
Comments (1)Pin-Striped Pirates
Alternatives to Political Systems, Economics, Ethical Investment, Financial Management, Society — by George Monbiot December 18, 2008
Why does the UK retain a handful of colonies? To destroy the world’s taxation systems.
by George Monbiot – journalist, author, academic and environmental and political activist
If you want to know why Britain has never completed the process of decolonisation, look at two lists side by side. One is the official register of tax havens, compiled by the OECD(1). The other is the list of British overseas territories and crown dependencies(2). Over a quarter of the world’s tax havens are British property. More than half of Britain’s colonial territories and dependencies are tax havens. Strip out Antarctica, the military bases and the scarcely-habited rocks and atolls, and of the 11 remaining properties, only the Falkland Islands is not a recognised haven. The obvious conclusion is that Britain retains these colonies for one purpose: to help banks, corporations and the ultra-rich to avoid tax.
Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Presidency
Alternatives to Political Systems, Comedy Break — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor December 14, 2008
Clearing Up This Mess
Alternatives to Political Systems, Economics, Financial Management — by George Monbiot November 21, 2008
John Maynard Keynes had the answer to the crisis we’re now facing; but it was blocked and then forgotten.
by George Monbiot – journalist, author, academic and environmental and political activist
 Delegations at Bretton Woods |
Poor old Lord Keynes. The world’s press has spent the past week blackening his name. Not intentionally: most of the dunderheads reporting the G20 summit which took place over the weekend really do believe that he proposed and founded the International Monetary Fund. It’s one of those stories that passes unchecked from one journalist to another.
The truth is more interesting. At the Bretton Woods conference in 1944, John Maynard Keynes put forward a much better idea. After it was thrown out, Geoffrey Crowther – then the editor of the Economist magazine – warned that “Lord Keynes was right … the world will bitterly regret the fact that his arguments were rejected.”(1) But the world does not regret it, for almost everyone – the Economist included – has forgotten what he proposed.
Comments (1)New Beginnings?
Alternatives to Political Systems, Consumerism, Economics, Global Warming/Climate Change, Society — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor November 6, 2008
 Click for larger view Courtesy: Throbgoblins |
I don’t blame old Cantankerous Frank here (at right) for getting all excited. Everyone likes to hope – and there’s nothing like a perceived new beginning to get people all agitated in a positive way, ready to pick up the ‘ol load again, and trudge forward, excitedly, into a golden new age.
For myself, half of my relief over the election was just as much that McCain didn’t get in as it was knowing that Obama will step into the Oval Office in January. The thought of just more of the same old Bush mentality was more than I could stand (I mean – really – how did he get in that second time around? Okay, let’s not go there).
And, now it’s down to Mr. Obama – a man who is the smack-dab centre target of more expectations than Santa ever was. Boy has Obama got his work cut out for him. If there was ever a great big pile of doggie do left on someone’s desk, it is this end-of-term.
Comments (1)The Flaw of Western Economies
Alternatives to Political Systems, Consumerism, Economics, People Systems, Village Development — by Marcin Gerwin November 4, 2008
by Marcin Gerwin, Sopot, Poland. Marcin graduated with a Ph.D. in political studies, from the University of Gdansk, Poland, with his thesis: “The idea and practice of sustainable development in the context of global challenges”.
 Cob House Photo, Gerry Thomasen |
Let’s imagine a green and responsible consumer. Let’s call him George. George lives in a sleepy town, near the center and the park where he often goes for a walk with his dog. George built his house with his friends two years ago. It is a very small house, only 320 square feet and it was made with cob – clay mixed with straw and aggregate. The clay for construction was extracted from George’s land behind the house – now you can see a nice pond there with water lilies. George was fortunate enough to find some recycled timber for the roof from the old garage that his neighbors were demolishing. He considered making a turf roof with wild flowers and herbs, but eventually he decided that a slate roof will be more practical because he will be able to collect rainwater from it and use it for watering his garden during warm summer days.
Comments (10)
