The Rantings Of Rob

The Biggest Lie Ever? ... It's not that simple

2011-06-22T11:27:00.000+02:00

When In Fact... It Is
I Could Tell You Now... But you might not understand.
I do not mean to sound condescending.

But Understanding requires Awareness.
Awareness requires Knowledge.
Knowledge requires Curiosity.

If you do exactly as you're told all day long, and live the good life you're told will result from following all the rules, you are not curious. But if, despite following all the rules, there is still something missing ... then you are Curious. The starting point should be religion. Research every religion THAT IS NOT YOUR OWN, and THEN research your own. Religions are designed to stimulate the imagination. Having derived from folk lore and theatrical history. But remember that Curiosity is simply the first step.

If You're already Curious but seek knowledge, research all forms of science. Science is the nitty gritty details of everything we perceive. It's what describes our understanding of the physical cosmos and the forces that control it. And above all, it is fascinating. and read, anything and everything, there is no such thing as a bad book. there are badly written books, but if you dont read them, you dont have anything to compare the good books to. if there is ANYTHING you dont understand, look it up. these days it takes less than a minute to find a vast amount of information on ANY subject.

If You have Knowledge but you seek Awareness, start truly listening to those around you, awareness grows when you add perspectives to it, and to gain perspectives, you will need to interact positively with your fellow earthlings.

If you are Aware, and seek Understanding, look inside yourself for the point at which your curiosity, knowledge and awareness meet. It is there that true comprehension lies. By understanding yourself, you gain an understanding of everything.

If you want an understanding (there are many) click here and when you've read it, tell me again how it's not that simple ;)

Home Self-Sustainability Solutions

2011-06-08T00:18:00.000+02:00

Food: Vertical Farms For The Home
This Will Not Replace All your dietary needs, but will reduce you monthly grocery bill quite substantially if you plan it right.

Energy: Vertical Axis Wind Turbines
By going with a VAWT, you avoid noise pollution as well as CO2 emissions. They can be made from common items like PVC piping, and if you have a windy area, multiple VAWTs can power a large home.

Water: How to Purify Water
I'm not even going to mention how important this is.

Re-Use, Recycle & Reduce

and Finally: Be Aware, Share Share Share, And Show You Care

The Bridge: activist site for TRansition into a Resource Based Economy

2011-06-02T15:05:00.000+02:00

Join the new Activist site for change to a RBE by clicking here and liking the page...
before we can make a change, we need a following, it's a simple click and maybe a read :)

How would religion feature in a Resource Based Economy?

2011-06-02T12:48:00.000+02:00

For many of the people that are currently interested in a RBE, the norm is either complete anarchism (including some form of athiesm) or something akin to it. This is unfortunate, because there is no reason why a personal religion cannot exist within a resource based economy. in fact, the peace preached by most religions could be a deciding factor in getting to a resource based economy in the first place.

Organized religion causes major problems, because through banking and business interests, they stand to profit by manipulating their system.

Personal Religion causes charity and other wonderful results, because the basic tenets of any religion do not promote division.

Organized religion causes extremists and fundamentalists and zealots, because they twist words to suit their purposes.

Personal religion causes peace, because it promotes the understanding that we are each entitled to our own opinion on the matter

I have been searching for quite a while for a term that describes my belief system. The best I can find is:

a selective all-ist sprinkled with a touch of personal flavour. and if you dont agree with my description of religion, then you can tell my God, who is 3ft tall, blue, and She lives in a cupboard no-one can ever find.

Although this seems like like a childish response, when you understand that it is in fact child-like, and that it's innocence is what makes it true, you begin to see that proclaiming "our way is the only right way" and "your way leads to hell" are just forms of fear-mongering hammered into us by organized religion.

I have read quite a bit of the Christian bibles (yes there are other versions of the book than the one you read in church), I have read some of the Quran. I have attended Hindu ceremonies and shared many a meal with some Bhuddist friends. I have read Tao Te Ching while sitting in an Anglican church. They all say the same thing. Love. Unconditionally, unequivically, Love. And the more you Love the greater it will all be. It is written there, plain as the sunrise on a clear morning. In hundreds of languages across all the societies.

Now, a RBE will break organized religion (without money or property, their influence is purely spiritual, and the conflicting theories of ownership and freedom will become apparent), and promote Personal Religion by freeing individuals to contemplate their own existence and follow their hearts more purely.

To assume that religion will not work in a RBE is to assume that you KNOW there is no God, or you KNOW your God is the RIGHT one or any other KNOWing. maybe take a step back and look at the bigger picture... you might see a thing or two. I will leave you with this:

"you speak to me of God
as if yours and mine are the same,
and we the tame shrews
designed to slink behind,
when walk is what i care to do,
to move with My God,
tie my steps to his,
because his are mine and i
feel too much light
to be the shadow trailing
and constantly failing.
the light is me and the shadow is a memory
a ruffly in my candle-flame

we speak the same language;
but our understanding of the words
our perception of righteous rightness
puts your dialect outside my ken.

Pray sit with me,
and let us reach understanding,
without war or fight,
or pretending to know what's right

I Love You, because it is all I have."

Before a Transition, we must Prepare

2011-05-30T23:25:00.000+02:00

For those of you that have read my Posts: Changing The World and Summary of the Transition, some of the beginning here might sound like repetition, so feel free to skip the next paragraph. If you have not heard of a Resource Based Economy, please take some time and click here, although I must state that I am not promoting the Venus Project or Jaque Fresco in this post.

The one thing everyone (99.8%) on the planet has in common, is that we are not billionaires. To eliminate this issue and several others, and to fix more than half the problems around the world, we must rid ourselves of the concept that we own possessions. Rather, the next logical evolutionary step is a shift to a shared global resource based economy.

To achieve this economy, there are a number of detailed requirements. These include a Global awareness of a viable alternative economy and plan for transition into this economy, unity of action and purpose, a dynamic autonomous resource management system(designed for efficiency and sustainability), several well organised support programs using experts in various fields to assist with transitions, the list goes on.

Achieving a "world without money" seems like a completely idyllic setup. One that most people would shun very quickly. Looking at the internet after a quick search for The Venus Project will show a great number of people latching onto the lack of a detailed plan of transition into a RBE. I have also joined this bandwagon, and now consider the Venus Project to be an elitist (scarcity based) endeavor. My summary of transition has met with no reply from Mr. Fresco or Miss. Meadows, leaving me with no alternative but to spurn them, and try to gather their followers toward achieving a better world.

This is not simply done. Fresco is the only person to ever truly study a resource based economy in much detail, and so (being that he has been so very secretive about his work), I can only begin to emulate his designs. The principles are simple though.

7 Principles of a Resource Based Economy

With the correct, direct application of technology geared toward sustainability, a significant improvement in the health, well being, education and productive input of the global general population can be achieved.
A shared global economy would mean an equal responsibility and accountability for all, as well as access for all to the myriad of advantages of a RBE offers.
With a shared economy comes a global reduction in crime (around 50% initially, and a further 15% within 10 years) because 50% of all crime is based on ownership and property.
A shared economy results in a higher amount of educated professionals capable of innovation and improvement, and a complete removal of all inferior products and inefficient production techniques.
More responsible research projects, that do not suffer from budgetary restrictions, allowing for exponential intellectual growth.
A Resource Based Economy encourages the fundamental security of all resources for sustainable use, with quality as an end purpose instead infinite growth or profit.
Technology will allow all redundant and unwanted jobs to be eliminated and/or replaced by more efficient systems, creating abundance, in turn creating new industries and boosting many of the arts.

All of these sound delightful, and so far fetched from the current system, that it is almost impossible to imagine how to get there. Almost. As explained in my post Summary of the Transition, the entire process would require 4 essential phases, the last 3 of which would take approximately 3 years. That post did not define the first phase, Which is predominantly where I am heading now.

Before Unification, Adaptation, or Introduction can take place, there must be: Preparation. Were we to attempt converting to a Resource Based Economy without making the right preparations, the consequences could be dire. We will therefore attempt to be as well prepared for change as possible.

In order for everyone (again 99.8% of the planet) to be prepared, they will require:

Information: Nobody can make the "right" choice if they do not have information pertaining to their choices. Information to be included in Activism handbook: Reverse Thinking Crash Course:The False Constructs (Ownership, Nationalism, Religion), The explanation of a resource based economy, A complete up-to-date technology report, The self-sustainability guide.

Self-sustainability: Through the use of open source sharing, a simple set of solutions for home-use can allow the planet's consumers to get off the the economic grid (reducing global debt in the immediate future and undermining corporate profit interests in resource scarcity). The self-sustainability is only a short term solution, and using built-in obsolescence to reduce reliance in the long term, will allow a smooth transition into a resource-abundant and shared resource society. The self-sustainability guide should include @home:

energy solutions,

water purification,

water heating solutions,

vertical farm solutions,

herbal health solutions,

carbon footprint reduction solutions,

eco-friendly construction techniques and materials,

and finally efficient waste recycling and/or disposal.

The Dynamic Autonomous Resource Management System (DARMS): a high-level encryption AI program, using global supply and demand to manage resources efficiently. Eliminating the human ability to use resource scarcity for profit. This system is vital to a transition, as it will afford people a reprieve from the struggles of logistical and bureaucratic entanglement. Open Source combined with transparency, will allow for the system to function according to the 7 Principles of a Resource Based Economy.
The Global Social Support Network: Because our biggest resource is people, they need support and nurturing. This is most easily done in the form of a global centralized art network, encouraging expression, acceptance, creativity and tolerance.

These 4 elements will create a global mindset geared for change, prepared for transition and ready to begin the journey toward the freedom of self-governance.

I am currently busy compiling the activism and self-sustainability guides while searching for people that are willing to design and code the DARMS and anyone who wishes to help would be most welcome.

Have you got any ideas you would like to add?

Why choice is everything...

2011-05-25T22:00:00.000+02:00

Daily, we complain about a great many things, some do it more than others, and a very few are the exception. But how much of what is wrong with our lives and the world around us, is a direct result of our own choices?

I most certainly didn’t dig up vast amounts of oil, or design a combustible engine, or a monetary economic system. I did not start a religious war in the middle east. I did not enslave millions of workers and pay them minimum wage. I did not withhold food, or waste it, or spill chemicals into our oceans or over-fish or kill off thousands of species. None of that was my choice…. was it?

Unfortunately, according my own personal set of beliefs, it was. According to my beliefs, if there is a God, and I can prove no existence other than my own beyond a shadow of a doubt, I must be God. Now before everyone condemns me as a heretic, I would ask that you hear me out.

All of reality can be expressed simply through a series of chemical and electrical reactions withing the brain. Therefore, the only true evidence any of us can give ourselves of our own existence, is our own thoughts.

I think, therefore I am - Descartes

Now let’s look at the term God: the dictionary has it as

Definition of GOD 1capitalized : the supreme or ultimate reality: asa : the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the universeb Christian Science : the incorporeal divine Principle ruling over all as eternal Spirit : infinite Mind2: a being or object believed to have more than natural attributes and powers and to require human worship;specifically : one controlling a particular aspect or part of reality3: a person or thing of supreme value4: a powerful ruler-Miriam-Webster

Let us now look at each definition with the understanding that the only reality we can prove is our own.1.
“The supreme or ultimate reality”, seems a very apt description for the only reality that has any corroborative evidence. “Perfect in power” You always have a choice (even if you dont like it) “Wisdom” no-one can understand your reality better than you, “and goodness” do we not strive to live our lives right? have we not created laws and rules to govern our existence according to our understanding of right? “who is worshiped as creator and ruler of the universe” I have not yet found evidence that it was not me who created it, and I certainly tell people often enough that it’s my life. 2.
”a being or object believed to have more than natural attributes and powers” you wouldn’t believe some of the things I’ve seen people do, and the more people doing it, the more astounding the things I’ve seen.

3.
“a person or thing of supreme value” ask any mother holding a new born what they value most supremely. And when faced with death or the loss of the material? we begin to value ourselves most supremely

4.
“a powerful ruler” We are currently subverted from self-rule by adhering to the rule of others, but is their “rule” needed? or do we rule ourselves ultimately?

If I work from the assumption that I am God, then I must take responsibility for all the wrong in my World, and this is where everyone pulls up short, and immediately denies their Godliness.
I have accepted mine, and am now beginning to flex my Godliness to effect change in my world. I’m choosing to make a difference where I see a need. What are you doing with the rest of your life?

Evolution of Government: The caveman evolves

2011-05-19T12:00:00.000+02:00

I have shown how the construct of ownership is very much stuck in it's early stages of evolutionary development, but it is not alone. We currently have several of our mental constructs still learning about fire and inventing the wheel. But there are a few that have shown tremedous growth throughout their lifespan to-date.

There is the construct of government, which is much younger than that of ownership, dating back only as far as 3500bc in it's official capacity, although even tribal man felt the need for structure and order and chose a chief or council of elders to make big decisions and act as arbiter. This would later evolve into depotic kingdoms, led by kings. There are some kingdoms that have sequestered themselves in their kingdomatic evolution and remain steadfast even today. Later, with over population, dissention among the masses and an inability for one man to effectively rule, those kingdoms became empires, ruled by one and governed by a ministry. It is this ministry that would later grow to power, overthrow the ruler and become a structured government. Today we have several varieties of this government structure:

Autocracy (The Rule of One) *Here, the flaw is obvious
- Dictatorship
  - Military dictatorship
  - Stratocracy
  - Despotism
- Kleptocracy
- Kritarchy
- Monarchy
  - Absolute monarchy
  - Constitutional monarchy
  - Duchy
    - Grand Duchy
  - Diarchy
  - Enlightened absolutism
  - Elective monarchy
  - Hereditary monarchy
  - Non-Sovereign Monarchy
  - Popular monarchy
  - Principality
  - New Monarchs
  - Self-proclaimed monarchy
  - Regent
- Plutocracy
  - Timocracy
- Police state
- Oligarchy
  - Saeculum obscurum
- Theocracy
- Tyranny

Anarchy (Absence of organized government) *Although many advocate a move to this system, it will invariably lead back to other forms of government
- Ochlocracy
- Tribalism

Anarchism (Government of consent, not coercion) * although this is similar in principle to an autonomous government, the human factor still makes it corruptible
- Anarchist communism
- Libertarian socialism
- Libertarian municipalism
- Anarcho-capitalism
- Green anarchism
- Isocracy

Socialism * without an efficient and abundant system, this essentially cuts 1 cake into 6,5 billion pieces
- Socialist state
- Communist state
- Collective leadership
- State socialism
- Soviet republic (system of government)
Democracy (The Say of the People) * although this is the most modern of all the systems, it is also the most deceptive, democracy essentially creates division, and one that will always have a majority against a spread of minorities.
- Consociationalism
- Deliberative democracy
- Democratic socialism
- Totalitarian democracy
  - Dictatorship of the proletariat
- Direct democracy
- Egalitarianism
- Futarchy
- Open source governance
- Participatory democracy
- Representative democracy
  - Parliamentary system
    - Consensus government
    - Westminster system
  - Polyarchy
  - Presidential system
  - Semi-presidential system

Republic (The Rule Of law) * this system, very specifically, creates thoughts of Patriotic Superiority, leading to nationalism and xenophobia
- - Constitutional republic
  - Parliamentary republic
  - Federal Republic

To date, not one of these has brought unity, freedom and prosperity to the world as a whole, but this is not surprizing, as none of these goverments were designed to accomodate the entire planet. When government first became the rational option for people, there were only individual states to be concerned with.Now the picture has changes, and the politcal system must evolve, or it will collapse under the enormous weight of a dissatisfied planet. It is time for the next logical evolutionary step to be made. The step, in my opinion, is not one that can be simply decided upon and done. There is an entire planet full of people to consider.

So let us run a thought experiment:

We are asked to design a new goverment for the entire planet. That allows freedom, cultural difference and is completely transparent. One that is dynamic and can adjust to the needs of the planet in real time. A system that does not raise one person's control over others by means of political fearmongering.

This system is not as far-fetched as one might believe. We already have a completely functional system that caters for all of these requirements. And it is an autonomous system. Wikipedia has no single body of control, but rather, is governed by the people using the system. Of course, wikipedia has been touted as questionable in it's authenticity. But fi one is aware of the fallible nature of the system, then there are simple ways to circumnavigate the problem. The easiest of which is human intervention, whereby, someone familiar with the decision reaching process steps in and makes the decision. In a real-world autonomous govenment, this would mean that experts are only required in exigent circumstances.

The main thing to note, is that government was never designed to enforce laws, or dominate it's society. It was designed to govern. Which is actually a job of diligence and maintenance, is today misused as a position of authority and power.

Getting to a a better world. Without money, borders, hunger, poverty, disease or war.

2011-05-19T00:29:00.000+02:00

Introduction

Since as early as 1960, people like Jaque Fresco have been researching and designing aResource Based Economy (RBE), their work details the reason it is needed, its structure and the benefits it would have for society. There are, today, more than a dozen large projects based on this research and the RBE philosophy, each with hundreds, even thousands of avid followers and believers. However, as yet, we live in a monetary economy with no actual change in the foreseeable future. Many have used the RBE concept as a means of getting a following, only to have it all fall apart, or not have enough funding, or support, or they have simply been self-serving. This is, in part, because of natural human resistance to change, but predominantly because of a lack of security. As yet, none of these designs have given a simple and effective method for transitioning into this new system. Thus far, each proposed plan, requires a leap of “faith” at some point. Where we must trust in mankind’s better nature. To use an analogy:

there is a river we must cross, with logs floating so that crossing is possible, but tricky. If we know which logs are stable, we can cross, but unstable logs look safe even though they could easily turn on us and mean our downfall, so we are hesitant.

And rightly so, too often has the human race jumped headlong into the future with no pause to think about ramifications.

I will describe here my bridge to that new world, a step by step plan to achieve a RBE with security and virtually no negative change. The plan has three major parts: Unification,Adaptation, and Introduction. Each divided into its required steps and all following a detailed timeline. The timeline will only begin once a system for unification is in place. This system is simply a single forum followed by the majority of society. For obvious reasons, the further we go along the timeline, the less predictable the next required step will be. This does not mean that we should not make the change, merely that a solution for global distribution of resources, that does not include government, must be found.

By combining the efforts of the thousands already striving for a RBE with a unified system and a plan for the future, I hope to show the world that ownership is not the only way, that a free society is not just possible, plausible and needed, but more importantly that it does not have to be a time transition including chaos and trouble.

Part 1 : Unification

Before an effective Transition Timeline (TT) starting date can be established, we need unified global awareness. With modern social networking providing instant global news, we are at a prime location in human history to make this change. Strategically managed social accounts and an effective global media campaign should be used to garner mass public interest.

Once a maximum global audience is achieved and the message begins to spread, there should be no longer than 6 months for the TT starting point to be established. Any longer, and global attention will wander and the window of opportunity will close.

It is in these 3-6 months that the 99.8% of the global community must be made aware that the one thing everyone has in common: is that they are not wealthy. The majority of the planet is poor and in debt. It is now almost common knowledge that 1% of the world’s population controls 40% of the planet’s wealth. Forbes currently lists 1210 Billionaires in the world. And if you didn’t know it, you do now. When expressed this way, we immediately see the gross inequity of the economic divide.

However, statistics can be turned on their head, like all things man made. And so it is to be noted that 99% of the population controls 60% of the wealth. This instantly shows us that the majority of the planet owns the majority of the wealth and resources. Obviously this 60% of the wealth is spread out over the 99% of the population, and so is rendered ineffective against the concentrated wealth of the 1%. But, a unified global account and account management system designed with the interest of the people could use this majority share to restructure the systems on the planet, freeing everyone living under economic suppression.

Summary of steps before TT startpoint establishment:

Global Social Connection (The Maximum number of global followers is the aim)
Global Unified Majority Account (Complete transparency is a must)
Global Account Management System (Designed specifically for ability to manage particular sectors Energy, Agriculture, Health Care, Transport, Infrastructure etc)

Once the TT begins there will, for all intents and purposes, be no more money, and so corruption of the Global Council becomes quite difficult.

I am deliberately ignoring the topics of race, religion, culture and creed as they have no influence on the fact that everyone is entitled to the basics of life. Food, Water, Shelter, Health Care.

So TT Phase 1 step :

Spreading of a Unified Account Access Card (simple mag-stripe credit card). This card will access the Global Account for all transactions; food, health, transport etc) The Unified Global Account can act as a complete tracking system of all resources. The complete transparency of the account will show irregular activity, easily pointing out cases of misuse of the account. As part of this step, each person should be given a complete guide to sustainable living. The spreading of the cards, although seemingly daunting, when viewed in perspective, is not that hard to grasp. Banking-like distribution will allow for 6 billion people and around 4 billion businesses and organisations to register within a very short period of time. Simple math shows us, 10 billion registrations, across the world’s approximately 2,5 million cities gives an average of 4000 registrations per city. This is easily within 1 city’s weekly normal transaction limitations. Also, cards need not be re-printed and manufactured for this transition, as there are cu
Unified Global Resource Assessment. Before we can say what is needed where, we need to know what is actually where. Once everyone has a card, and tracking has begun, this can become a real-time computer-controlled RBE. The assesment will include reports from every administrative area.
Unified Global De-nationalization. There is no way to force each country to relinquish it’s borders, but any borders remaining will only hinder that country’s access to the new Global Economy. The new system does not require import or export duties. And a Unified Global Nation, recognizing several hundred different sets of cultures, can reap the benefits of a healthy global sharing of wealth. Government is not required if we re-evaluate the way we reach decisions. Global digital conferences can be held, where solutions to the problem of distribution of resources can be addressed. Everyone already has a vested interest in the planet. It would make the most sense, in my opinion, to combine current forms of government, and redesign them according to a free system. The concept democracy, allows the public to have a voice and in theory holds government responsible for general well being, whereas, the concept of communism is to create equal opportunity, where, theoretically, no individual has power over another. Without money and ownership to hinder us. Might a new political system combining the best of each system not work? Evolution of politics demands we govern ourselves differently, and a system driven by transparency is the most likely to survive.
Unified Industrial. Competition may be healthy, but so is sharing, and sharing competitively, well that’s just marvelous. Industrial revolution with an open, idea-sharing market. When the incentive is responsible advancement, research and development teams working under the strictures of transparency, will be helping each other globally, permanently. Suppression of tools for advancement, for the sake of profiteering, will no longer be a problem. Think of sport. Although much of it today is played professionally, it never starts out that way. Most will spend years in training and competition, simply for the love of the sport. It is only when it becomes professional, and money is included into the system that we find the Good Sportsman mentality begin to break down. Work could be the same, without money, the goal is to deliver the best work you can, and in order to do that, most of the time, collaboration is the best option. Together, we are greater than the sum of our parts.
Unified Education. As this is the most long-lived of all the proposed projects, it must begin in Phase 1. This step will form a separate branch on the TT.

Phase 2 & 3: Adaptation & Introduction

Once we have unified the planet toward saving the planet and making a difference, we can begin to adapt current system, rid ourselves of those that do not work, and introduce new systems.

I would be doubling the length of this essay simply by including a list of all the adaptations that need to be made. Instead, I have compiled a list of links, that show how we are already on the path to this future, all we need is a catalyst to bring about change.

Conclusion

I am aware that this plan does not cover every contingency, and it never will. For every answer we find, there are two more questions. It, like all life, is a work-in-progress. If you have managed to read this far, I would ask that you go a step further, and ask me a question, point out a mistake, follow my blog, tell others about it and reblog me. Together we truly can make a difference.

in closing, I would ask you. If it were all free, what would you be doing with your life?

The CaveMan Theory

2011-05-14T15:28:00.003+02:00

Evolution. A wonderful term, essentially meaning to complicate things. The more complexities you build on or in to something, the more evolved it becomes. Take the human being for example. We have, according to popular science, evolved from microbial organisms, into what is a now a very complicated chemical construction, so intricate, that to this day, even with all our technological marvels, we still struggle to map the human brain effectively. Quite complex indeed.

The human race, in its infinite complexity, has also created countless constructs. These include: time, ownership, belief, truth. And as time has gone by, we have evolved these. Some of the constructs have undergone major evolution. Take for instance the philosophical construct. From cavemen worshiping the sun, to tribal stories, tales and myths explaining the origin and meaning of life, to ritualistic theological practice. The more man contemplates the soul, the more he discovers and postulates. Resulting in a staggeringly large array of philospophical and theological constructs today.

Not all constructs have evolved though. Religious practice remains predominantly archaic, with the odd rebellious attempt at evolving being sporadically made. Our perception of time is only now beginning to truly take shape, and we’ve been contemplating it for over 10 000 years. This leads me to the conclusion that, for some of our constructs, there is a heavily laden “Caveman” mentality attached. Where the lack of evolution within the construct has rendered it moot in an ever-changing world.

The specific application of the Caveman theory I’m using here, is on the construct of ownership. Of all our constructs, this, in my opinion, is the most damaging. The early caveman lived a life of danger, wariness and possessive hoarding of all things within it’s reach. The male claimed ownership of his cave, his mate, his kill and his kin. Fortunately, the lack of evolution on the familial construct, is a rare case of positive stagnation. Equally fortunate, is that, finally, after millenia of opression, the female sex has begun to shake the bonds of ownership. This leaves the kill and the cave.

When we look at the modern westernized human, we find a unique creature, capable of creation and destruction with equal voracity. He wards his cave from dangers, demarcates his land and stands proudly banging his chest saying: “Mine” He then goes out daily to make his kill, because he is top of the food chain, and all the earth is his market. For Caveman, growth was an end in and of itself.

10 000 years after we first decided to own things, we’re still at it. Claiming ownership over all and sundry, we have even gone so far as to make up things we can own. My personal favorite is intellectual property. The idea that your thought’s have material value just makes me cringe at the caveman mentality. or better yet, flags on the moon. This ownership gives us the perception that we have the right to deface, demolish and destroy, because, after all, it does belong to us, and we can do what we want with out property!

How long before we decide to build on a construct that is so very obviously false and destructive? And what is the next step in the evolution of ownership. If anyone were to ask me, I would say that there are several option, but that the only positive step forward is: We own the whole planet, and the same applies to everyone. This takes the concept of ownership to the maximum limits within my view. It combines ownership with a more admirable construct… that of sharing. Together, the two constructs create a larger, and more positive construct, an evolved form of both. one that is beneficial to all.

Do you have an opinion?

“The Rise of Vertical Farms”, by Dickson Despommier, in Scientific American, 2009 Nov.

2011-05-13T22:59:00.000+02:00

“

Together the world’s 6.8 billion people use land equal in size to South America to grow food and raise livestock—an astounding agricultural footprint. And demographers predict the planet will host 9.5 billion people by 2050. Because each of us requires a minimum of 1,500 calories a day, civilization will have to cultivate another Brazil’s worth of land—2.1 billion acres—if farming continues to be practiced as it is today. That much new, arable earth simply does not exist. To quote the great American humorist Mark Twain: “Buy land. They’re not making it any more.”
Agriculture also uses 70 percent of the world’s available freshwater for irrigation, rendering it unusable for drinking as a result of contamination with fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and silt. If current trends continue, safe drinking water will be impossible to come by in certain densely populated regions. Farming involves huge quantities of fossil fuels, too—20 percent of all the gasoline and diesel fuel consumed in the U.S. The resulting greenhouse gas emissions are of course a major concern, but so is the price of food as it becomes linked to the price of fuel, a mechanism that roughly doubled the cost of eating in most places worldwide between 2005 and 2008.
Some agronomists believe that the solution lies in even more intensive industrial farming, carried out by an ever decreasing number of highly mechanized farming consortia that grow crops having higher yields—a result of genetic modification and more powerful agrochemicals. Even if this solution were to be implemented, it is a short-term remedy at best, because the rapid shift in climate continues to rearrange the agricultural landscape, foiling even the most sophisticated strategies. Shortly after the Obama administration took office, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu warned the public that climate change could wipe out farming in California by the end of the century.
What is more, if we continue wholesale deforestation just to generate new farmland, global warming will accelerate at an even more catastrophic rate. And far greater volumes of agricultural runoff could well create enough aquatic “dead zones” to turn most estuaries and even parts of the oceans into barren wastelands.
As if all that were not enough to worry about, foodborne illnesses account for a significant number of deaths worldwide—salmonella, cholera, Escherichia coli and shigella, to name just a few. Even more of a problem are life-threatening parasitic infections, such as malaria and schistosomiasis. Furthermore, the common practice of using human feces as a fertilizer in most of Southeast Asia, many parts of Africa, and Central and South America (commercial fertilizers are too expensive) facilitates the spread of parasitic worm infections that afflict 2.5 billion people.
Clearly, radical change is needed. One strategic shift would do away with almost every ill just noted: grow crops indoors, under rigorously controlled conditions, in vertical farms. Plants grown in high-rise buildings erected on now vacant city lots and in large, multistory rooftop greenhouses could produce food year-round using significantly less water, producing little waste, with less risk of infectious diseases, and no need for fossil-fueled machinery or transport from distant rural farms. Vertical farming could revolutionize how we feed ourselves and the rising population to come. Our meals would taste better, too; “locally grown” would become the norm.
The working description I am about to explain might sound outrageous at first. But engineers, urban planners and agronomists who have scrutinized the necessary technologies are convinced that vertical farming is not only feasible but should be tried.

Do No Harm
Growing our food on land that used to be intact forests and prairies is killing the planet, setting up the processes of our own extinction. The minimum requirement should be a variation of the physician’s credo: “Do no harm.” In this case, do no further harm to the earth. Humans have risen to conquer impossible odds before. From Charles Darwin’s time in the mid-1800s and forward, with each Malthusian prediction of the end of the world because of a growing population came a series of technological breakthroughs that bailed us out. Farming machines of all kinds, improved fertilizers and pesticides, plants artificially bred for greater productivity and disease resistance, plus vaccines and drugs for common animal diseases all resulted in more food than the rising population needed to stay alive.
That is until the 1980s, when it became obvious that in many places farming was stressing the land well beyond its capacity to support viable crops. Agrochemicals had destroyed the natural cycles of nutrient renewal that intact ecosystems use to maintain themselves. We must switch to agricultural technologies that are more ecologically sustainable.
As the noted ecologist Howard Odum reportedly observed: “Nature has all the answers, so what is your question?” Mine is: How can we all live well and at the same time allow for ecological repair of the world’s ecosystems? Many climate experts—from officials at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization to sustainable environmentalist and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai—agree that allowing farmland to revert to its natural grassy or wooded states is the easiest and most direct way to slow climate change. These landscapes naturally absorb carbon dioxide, the most abundant greenhouse gas, from the ambient air. Leave the land alone and allow it to heal our planet.
Examples abound. The demilitarized zone between South and North Korea, created in 1953 after the Korean War, began as a 2.5-mile wide strip of severely scarred land but today is lush and vibrant, fully recovered. The once bare corridor separating former East and West Germany is now verdant. The American dust bowl of the 1930s, left barren by overfarming and drought, is once again a highly productive part of the nation’s breadbasket. And all of New England, which was clear-cut at least three times since the 1700s, is home to large tracts of healthy hardwood and boreal forests.

The Vision
For many reasons, then, an increasingly crowded civilization needs an alternative farming method. But are enclosed city skyscrapers a practical option?
Yes, in part because growing food indoors is already becoming commonplace. Three techniques —drip irrigation, aeroponics and hydroponics —have been used successfully around the world. In drip irrigation, plants root in troughs of lightweight, inert material, such as vermiculite, that can be used for years, and small tubes running from plant to plant drip nutrient-laden water precisely at each stem’s base, eliminating the vast amount of water wasted in traditional irrigation. In aeroponics, developed in 1982 by K. T. Hubick, then later improved by NASA scientists, plants dangle in air that is infused with water vapor and nutrients, eliminating the need for soil, too.
Agronomist William F. Gericke is credited with developing modern hydroponics in 1929. Plants are held in place so their roots lie in soilless troughs, and water with dissolved nutrients is circulated over them. During World War II, more than eight million pounds of vegetables were produced hydroponically on South Pacific islands for Allied forces there. Today hydroponic greenhouses provide proof of principles for indoor farming: crops can be produced yearround, droughts and floods that often ruin entire harvests are avoided, yields are maximized because of ideal growing and ripening conditions, and human pathogens are minimized.
Most important, hydroponics allows the grower to select where to locate the business, without concern for outdoor environmental conditions such as soil, precipitation or temperature profiles. Indoor farming can take place anywhere that adequate water and energy can be supplied. Sizable hydroponic facilities can be found in the U.K., the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand and other countries. One leading example is the 318-acre Eurofresh Farms in the Arizona desert, which produces large quantities of high-quality tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers 12 months a year.
Most of these operations sit in semirural areas, however, where reasonably priced land can be found. Transporting the food for many miles adds cost, consumes fossil fuels, emits carbon dioxide and causes significant spoilage. Moving greenhouse farming into taller structures within city limits can solve these remaining problems. I envision buildings perhaps 30 stories high covering an entire city block. At this scale, vertical farms offer the promise of a truly sustainable urban life: municipal wastewater would be recycled to provide irrigation water, and the remaining solid waste, along with inedible plant matter, would be incinerated to create steam that turns turbines that generate electricity for the farm. With current technology, a wide variety of edible plants can be grown indoors [see illustration on opposite page]. An adjacent aquaculture center could also raise fish, shrimp and mollusks. Start-up grants and government-sponsored research centers would be one way to jumpstart vertical farming. University partnerships with companies such as Cargill, Monsanto, Archer Daniels Midland and IBM could also fill the bill. Either approach would exploit the enormous talent pool within many agriculture, engineering and architecture schools and lead to prototype farms perhaps five stories tall and one acre in footprint. These facilities could be the “playground” for graduate students, research scientists and engineers to carry out the necessary trial-and-error tests before a fully functional farm emerged. More modest, rooftop operations on apartment complexes, hospitals and schools could be test beds, too. Research installations already exist at many schools, including the University of California, Davis, Pennsylvania State University, Rutgers University, Michigan State University, and schools in Europe and Asia. One of the best known is the University of Arizona’s Controlled Environment Agriculture Center, run by Gene Giacomelli.
Integrating food production into city living is a giant step toward making urban life sustainable. New industries will grow, as will urban jobs never before imagined—nursery attendants, growers and harvesters. And nature will be able to rebound from our insults; traditional farmers would be encouraged to grow grasses and trees, getting paid to sequester carbon.
Eventually selective logging would be the norm for an enormous lumber industry, at least throughout the eastern half of the U.S.

Practical Concerns
In recent years I have been speaking regularly about vertical farms, and in most cases, people raise two main practical questions. First, skeptics wonder how the concept can be economically viable, given the often inflated value of properties in cities such as Chicago, London and Paris. Downtown commercial zones might not be affordable, yet every large city has plenty of less desirable sites that often go begging for projects that would bring in much needed revenue.
In New York City, for example, the former Floyd Bennett Field naval base lies fallow. Abandoned in 1972, the 2.1 square miles scream out for use. Another large tract is Governors Island, a 172-acre parcel in New York Harbor that the U.S. government recently returned to the city. An underutilized location smack in the heart of Manhattan is the 33rd Street rail yard. In addition, there are the usual empty lots and condemned buildings scattered throughout the city. Several years ago my graduate students surveyed New York City’s five boroughs; they found no fewer than 120 abandoned sites waiting for change, and many would bring a vertical farm to the people who need it most, namely, the underserved inhabitants of the inner city. Countless similar sites exist in cities around the world. And again, rooftops are everywhere.
Simple math sometimes used against the vertical farm concept actually helps to prove its viability. A typical Manhattan block covers about five acres. Critics say a 30-story building would therefore provide only 150 acres, not much compared with large outdoor farms. Yet growing occurs year-round. Lettuce, for example, can be harvested every six weeks, and even a crop as slow to grow as corn or wheat (three to four months from planting to picking) could be harvested three to four times annually. In addition, dwarf corn plants, developed for NASA, take up far less room than ordinary corn and grow to a height of just two or three feet. Dwarf wheat is also small in stature but high in nutritional value. So plants could be packed tighter, doubling yield greenhouse); courtesy of eurofresh farms (aerial view) per acre, and multiple layers of dwarf crops could be grown per floor. “Stacker” plant holders are already used for certain hydroponic crops.
Combining these factors in a rough calculation, let us say that each floor of a vertical farm offers four growing seasons, double the plant density, and two layers per floor—a multiplying factor of 16 (4 × 2 × 2). A 30-story building covering one city block could therefore produce 2,400 acres of food (30 stories × 5 acres × 16) a year. Similarly, a one-acre roof atop a hospital or school, planted at only one story, could yield 16 acres of victuals for the commissary inside. Of course, growing could be further accelerated with 24-hour lighting, but do not count on that for now.
Other factors amplify this number. Every year droughts and floods ruin entire counties of crops, particularly in the American Midwest. Furthermore, studies show that 30 percent of what is harvested is lost to spoilage and infestation during storage and transport, most of which would be eliminated in city farms because food would be sold virtually in real time and on location as a consequence of plentiful demand. And do not forget that we will have largely eliminated the mega insults of outdoor farming: fertilizer runoff, fossil-fuel emissions, and loss of trees and grasslands.
The second question I often receive involves the economics of supplying energy and water to a large vertical farm. In this regard, location is everything (surprise, surprise). Vertical farms in Iceland, Italy, New Zealand, southern California and some parts of East Africa would take advantage of abundant geothermal energy. Sun-filled desert environments (the American Southwest, the Middle East, many parts of Central Asia) would actually use two- or three-story structures perhaps 50 to 100 yards wide but miles long, to maximize natural sunlight for growing and photovoltaics for power. Regions gifted with steady winds (most coastal zones, the Midwest) would capture that energy. In all places, the plant waste from harvested crops would be incinerated to create electricity or be converted to biofuel.
One resource that routinely gets overlooked is very valuable as well; in fact, communities spend enormous amounts of energy and money just trying to get rid of it safely. I am referring to liquid municipal waste, commonly known as blackwater. New York City occupants produce one billion gallons of wastewater every day. The city spends enormous sums to cleanse it and then dumps the resulting “gray water” into the Hudson River. Instead that water could irrigate vertical farms. Meanwhile the solid by-products, rich in energy, could be incinerated as well. One typical half-pound bowel movement contains 300 kilocalories of energy when incinerated in a bomb calorimeter. Extrapolating to New York’s eight million people, it is theoretically possible to derive as much as 100 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a year from bodily wastes alone, enough to run four, 30-story farms. If this material can be converted into useful water and energy, city living can become much more efficient.
Upfront investment costs will be high, as experimenters learn how to best integrate the various systems needed. That expense is why smaller prototypes must be built first, as they are for any new application of technologies. Onsite renewable energy production should not prove more costly than the use of expensive fossil fuel for big rigs that plow, plant and harvest crops (and emit volumes of pollutants and greenhouse gases). Until we gain operational experience, it will be difficult to predict how profitable a vertical farm could be. The other goal, of course, is for the produce to be less expensive than current supermarket prices, which should be attainable largely because locally grown food does not need to be shipped very far.

Desire
It has been five years since I first posted some rough thoughts and sketches about vertical farms on a Web site I cobbled together (www. verticalfarm.com). Since then, architects, engineers, designers and mainstream organizations have increasingly taken note. Today many developers, investors, mayors and city planners have become advocates and have indicated a strong desire to actually build a prototype highrise farm. I have been approached by planners in New York City, Portland, Ore., Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Seattle, Surrey, B.C., Toronto, Paris, Bangalore, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Incheon, Shanghai and Beijing. The Illinois Institute of Technology is now crafting a de tailed plan for Chicago.
All these people realize that something must be done soon if we are to establish a reliable food supply for the next generation. They ask tough questions regarding cost, return on investment, energy and water use, and potential crop yields. They worry about structural girders corroding over time from humidity, power to pump water and air everywhere, and economies of scale. Detailed answers will require a huge input from engineers, architects, indoor agronomists and businesspeople. Perhaps budding engineers and economists would like to get these estimations started.
Because of the Web site, the vertical farm initiative is now in the hands of the public. Its success or failure is a function only of those who build the prototype farms and how much time and effort they apply. The infamous Biosphere 2 closed-ecosystem project outside Tucson, Ariz., first inhabited by eight people in 1991, is the best example of an approach not to take. It was too large of a building, with no validated pilot projects and a total unawareness about how much oxygen the curing cement of the massive foundation would absorb. (The University of Arizona now has the rights to reexamine the structure’s potential.)
If vertical farming is to succeed, planners must avoid the mistakes of this and other nonscientific misadventures. The news is promising. According to leading experts in ecoengineering such as Peter Head, who is director of global planning at Arup, an international design and engineering firm based in London, no new technologies are needed to build a large, efficient urban vertical farm. Many enthusiasts have asked: “What are we waiting for?” I have no good answer for them.

”

Getting From A to B in 3 years or less :)

2011-05-13T22:53:00.000+02:00

Click on the image to enlarge.

Where we're heading

2011-05-10T23:05:00.000+02:00

Technologies that will take us where we need to be.

Energy:

Agriculture

Health Care

Education

Construction

Transportation

All of this, and so much more is right at our fingertips. check it out ;)

Peter Joseph on the death of Osama Bin Laden

2011-05-10T10:25:00.000+02:00

On May 1, 2011 Pres. Barack Obama appeared on national television with the spontaneous announcement that Osama bin Laden, the purported organizer of the tragic events of September 11th 2001, was killed by military forces in Pakistan.

Within moments, a media blitz ran across virtually all television networks in what could only be described as a grotesque celebratory display, reflective of a level of emotional immaturity that borders on cultural psychosis. Depictions of people running through the streets of New York and Washington chanting jingoistic American slogans, waving their flags like the members of some cult, praising the death of another human being, reveals yet another layer of this sickness we call modern society.

It is not the scope of this response to address the political usage of such an event or to illuminate the staged orchestration of how public perception was to be controlled by the mainstream media and the United States Government. Rather the point of this article is to express the gross irrationality apparent and how our culture becomes so easily fixed and emotionally charged with respect to surface symbology, rather than true root problems, solutions or rational considerations of circumstance.

The first and most obvious point is that the death of Osama bin Laden means nothing when it comes to the problem of international terrorism. His death simply serves as catharsis for a culture that has a neurotic fixation on revenge and retribution. The very fact that the Government which, from a psychological standpoint, has always served as a paternal figure for it citizens, reinforces the idea that murdering people is a solution to anything should be enough for most of us to take pause and consider the quality of the values coming out of the zeitgeist itself.

However, beyond the emotional distortions and tragic, vindictive pattern of rewarding the continuation of human division and violence comes a more practical consideration regarding what the problem really is and the importance of that problem with respect to priority.

The death of any human being is of an immeasurable consequence in society. It is never just the death of the individual. It is the death of relationships, companionship, support and the integrity of familial and communal environments. The unnecessary deaths of 3000 people on September 11, 2001 is no more or no less important than the deaths of those during the World Wars, via cancer and disease, accidents or anything else.

As a society, it is safe to say that we seek a world that strategically limits all such unnecessary consequences through social approaches that allow for the greatest safety our ingenuity can create. It is in this context that the neurotic obsession with the events of September 11th, 2001 become gravely insulting and detrimental to progress. An environment has now been created where outrageous amounts of money, resources and energy is spent seeking and destroying very small subcultures of human beings that pose ideological differences and act on those differences through violence.

Yet, in the United States alone each year, roughly 30,000 people die from automobile accidents, the majority of which could be stopped by very simple structural changes. That's ten 9/11's each year... yet no one seems to pine over this epidemic. Likewise, over 1 million Americans die from heart disease and cancer annually - causes of which are now easily linked to environmental influences in the majority. Yet, regardless of the over 330 9/11's occurring each year in this context, the governmental budget allocations for research on these illnesses is only a fraction of the money spent on “anti-terrorism” operations.

Such a list could go on and on and with regard to the perversion of priority when it comes to what it means to truly save and protect human life and I hope many out there can recognize the severe unbalance we have at hand with respect to our values.

So, coming back to the point of revenge and retribution, I will conclude this response with a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., likely the most brilliant intuitive mind when it came to conflict and the power of non-violence. On September 15, 1963 a Birmingham Alabama church was bombed, killing four little girls attending Sunday school.

In a public address, Dr. King stated:

“What murdered these four girls? Look around. You will see that many people that you never thought about participated in this evil act. So tonight all of us must leave here with a new determination to struggle. God has a job for us to do. Maybe our mission is to save the soul of America. We can't save the soul of this nation throwing bricks. We can't save the soul of this nation getting our ammunitions and going out shooting physical weapons. We must know that we have something much more powerful. Just take up the ammunition of love.”

- Dr. Martin Luther King, 1963

Simple isn't practical, and practical isn't simple

2011-05-10T10:11:00.001+02:00

Okay, so yesterday I joined tumblr, I post up some of the stuff from my other blog, and then I start to explore. Turns out, I’m about as unique as everyone else after all.

I want a world without money, where I’m not limited because of a Global misconceptions. But there are literally thousands online that are all trying for the same thing, and yet I see no real change in the right direction. Some of these people are, like me, young and inarticulate when it comes to implementing the beliefs they feel inside. Others are elderly scholars who have been structuring research around the topic for decades… DECADES!!!

So how do we go about changing the world?

It’s a big question, which has both simple answers and complicated answers.

The simple answers are:

Spread the word, until EVERYONE knows about the concept.
Study the planet and see what it needs.
Get rid of the unneeded,
Adapt what we have.
Share everything with everyone.
Value and care for the planet.

The complicated answers are based on these answers, and each one is extremely difficult to put on paper, as the world changes faster than any writer can capture it’s requirements. But there have been some very good investigations at possibilities. The Venus Project, The Ecova Project and several others have documented and continue to document and design plans for the future.

In order for ANY change to be effected, everyone who can be reached must at least be made aware of the plans to make a change, this will allow for opinion to be duly documented.
Those wanting to actively make the change, need to gather and make the change. Prioritize the needed steps and take them.
Complete Planetary Assessments need to be made. Measure to fix problems need to be identified and implemented.
Borders Must Come Down, The Money System must be adapted to a free resource-based economy. Destructive systems must be found, and the fixed
Current systems must be made sustainable.
The biggest step will be the construction of hospitals, farms, schools, housing and renewable energy plants.
A completely renewable and sustainable society should take no longer than 5 years to establish if implemented correctly.

The problem arises with getting people to listen. Much as democracy struggles to get people to vote, gaining enough apathy for the initiative to work requires tremendous resources. Which is strange, considering the interconnectivity we experience through social networking.

What is your opinion?

The Best Primer for a Resource Based Economy

2011-05-10T10:10:00.001+02:00

“The best laid schemes of mice and men. Go often askew”

This being said, it is still important that plans be made and implemented to free the world from the shackles of the current system of indoctrination. In my opinion, the strongest primer for a resource based economy would be the introduction of a socially limited credit card.

This card should be freely distributed and backed by Big Business (not highly likely). In the fields of CONSTRUCTION, AGRICULTURE, SANITATION, PHARMACEUTICALS, ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS and yes ENERGY
The card should entitle the holder to basic food, water, power, health care, education and housing.
Obviously complete freedom is not attainable until sustainable systems are in place. (3-5 yrs)
The card system becomes purely a tracking and administration system from then on.

Before any of this can happen though, Global awareness must least at least a Majority, if not complete awareness. Until then, this is all just talk.

A very cool conversation with a very cool stranger

2011-05-07T00:13:00.000+02:00

You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi!

Official messages from Omegle will not be sent with the label 'Stranger:'. Strangers claiming to represent Omegle are lying.

You: hi

Stranger: Hey

You: how r u?

Stranger: Fine thanks, hbu?

You: pretty good

You: where you from?

Stranger: Up your butt.

You: you must be really small :O

Stranger: I am.

You: do you get good wi-fi?

Stranger: No

Stranger: You should sort that.

You: i hope you dont mind yesterday's curry

Stranger: It's all good

You: had no idea you were gonna be there

Stranger: Well, you should always be prepared for a visitor

You: i'm swallowing a USB router now, should get to you in about 4 hours ;)

Stranger: Okie dokie! Thankyou so much ;]

You: by the way, i take rent on the first of the month

Stranger: Oh "/ is there anywhere in your butt that i can get a job?

You: try the prostate department, they've always got a milking position going

Stranger: Okay ;]

You: i've had some srange conversation on here, but this has to take the cake

You: thanx

Stranger: hahahhaaaaaa.

You: *twitch*

Is being a Patriot a good thing

2011-05-06T11:25:00.000+02:00

I am a proud South African. Unfortunately, this statement is selective. I am proud to be South African when my country shines on the sports field, and I am not proud when my country stands idly by and watches President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe murder an entire country, rape it's economy and destroy it's foreign relations. I am proudly South African when my country stands up out of the ashes of apartheid to show the world what peace and love really means, and I am ashamed when those who have stood now start fires of corruption, setting South Africa on a similar path to that of its Zimbabwean neighbour.

Some might argue that this is the epitome of a patriot. Someone who wants nothing but the best for and from their country. And if this were the true definition of patriotism, then I would gladly call myself a patriot. But it is not. In these modern times, patriotism has become a system of division. We drew lines on maps, copied them into the real world where we could now patrol these borders to protect the people on this side of the line from everyone on the other side of the line.

Picture a fenced yard, filled with children. We draw lines on the ground, an then tell some of the children that they can cross their lines and go anywhere they want, but other children must be stuck where they are. Each area is special in its own way. Has it's own creatures, it's own toys and it's own rules. Some children want the toys in someone else's area, and will cross the line to get it. If the other child protests, there will be a fight, a fight that the other children stand around watching because they are not allowed to leave their area. Eventually some person in charge will show up and ask what's going on. The child who crossed the line might own up to what they did, but he probably likes the toy he came for, so he claims that it was his and he just came over to fetch it. The rest of the children know that the Authority figure will not be around forever, and so are reluctant to accuse the bully, fearing later reprisals. Having no-one willing to gainsay him, the bully now begins his slow domination of the entire yard. Another child decides that he doesn't like the rules in his neighbour's area, so he decides to go over there and to take his rules, and everyone else who follows the same rules, with him. Power struggles will eventually break out, with some of the children forming alliances and eventually, with safety existing in numbers, several factions form throughout the yard. Some of the children build walls on their lines, to keep their neighbours out. Others form powerful groups, who move freely within the group area, but protect their outer lines. Raids begin, lies are told, individuals are hurt, spying, mudslinging, tyranny, genocide, untill there are only a few children left, and the yard is unrecognizable. The rules have all been twisted and warped along with the children. All the fascinating creatures are gone. All the toys are broken. The remaining children have grown bitter, distrusting, vengeful and desperate. What could have been a wonderful yard, has become a living hell. All because of a few lines. Funny that.

I approve of cultural awareness. Knowing your roots can be vital to many people. And the rich cultural heritage that is the quilt of humanity is a wonder to behold. But nationalism has crossed the line between cultural conservation and cultural erosion.
Religious beliefs have supported entire millions of needful people for thousands of years, given aid to their own wherever they were needed. But the promised land-syndrome has now cost enough lives to populate another planet, and I cannot believe that that is what the religious system's purpose is.
Competitive spirit is healthy, it encourages growth. But growth, when it is not spread and shared, creates divides even greater than the lines we have already drawn.

I do not mind the labeling of an area on a map. It is both useful, practical. But they should stay on paper, before we're left with nothing but a broken down yard filled with desperate children.

Omegle Fun

2011-05-05T13:41:00.000+02:00

You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi!

Official messages from Omegle will not be sent with the label 'Stranger:'. Strangers claiming to represent Omegle are lying.

You: high

Stranger: good morning

Stranger: how high?

You: pretty damn high

Stranger: be carefull if you fall

You: didn't know you cared

You: :)

Stranger: what goes up must go down

Stranger: I dont care

You: so you're assuming that i'm high on some sort of substance then

Stranger: no

Stranger: 34th flor

You: ah.... nope... ground floor

Stranger: high expectations?

You: now we're getting somewhere

Stranger: dont expect too much on something you cant control

You: what can't i control?

Stranger: this

You: does it need to be controlled?

Stranger: yes

You: is this your opinion or a certainty

Stranger: no

Stranger: the blue elephant told me

You: he's useful like that

Stranger: yes

Stranger: a lot

Stranger: specially when the pink giraffe blows red soap bubbles

You: never had the good luck to see it

You: but i'm sure my time wll come

Stranger: you have to use the wood glasses

You: any particular tree?

Stranger: yes of course

Stranger: but you have to discover it alone

You: food thing i'm heading into the forrest soon

You: do you smell nice?

Stranger: yes...like the blue stripe of a rainbow

Stranger: in a manly way

You: the blue line is a very manly line

Stranger: I'm a man

You: i know

Stranger: when I'm not a red dot

You: that i didn't know.... do you precede bullets or marriage?

Stranger: I'm married

Stranger: never took a bullet

You: i took one once, but i felt so guilty i returned it the next day, the owner never even noticed

You: guilt is funny like that

You: it's like money.... all in your own head

Stranger: you did well

Stranger: yes

You: do you make lots of money?

Stranger: the only thing that have a real value is the tree form where the glasses are made

Stranger: money try to make me but I wont let it

You: good, money is icky and i wanna get rid of it

You: do you share the glasses with everyone?

Stranger: yes

Stranger: sometimes I lend it to friends

You: i bet it makes them happy

You: i like happy people

Stranger: sometimes they cry

You: happiness can do that too :)

Stranger: when the wood sings

You: singing wood is beautiful

Stranger: yes

You: where is your tree?

Stranger: in the sky above my head above the castle of memmories

You: do the roots reach your head?

Stranger: just in the winter

You: sustenance :)

Stranger: they try to reach the sun

Stranger: always looking for light

Stranger: just like a compulsive red bug

Stranger: what time is in our world?

You: i hope you will take this conversation and write a song about it

Stranger: your

Stranger: I don't write songs

Stranger: just paint music

You: it's beach time here, when there's no shadows

Stranger: I like shadows

Stranger: they always pursuit something

You: what do you call you island?

Stranger: João

Stranger: and yours?

You: Pieter... it's a very sturdy rock :)

Stranger: the second name for my Island is Pedro ... like Peter

You: then it means the same :) and your island is also a strong rock :)

Stranger: if a translation in names is applicable

Stranger: yes

You: my island's second name is Johannes... like João

Stranger: I have to go back to the real world

You: good to meet you

Stranger: you too

Layman's New World Series - Money

2011-05-04T19:54:00.000+02:00

For as long as any of us can remember, money has just been there. Once we're old enough, we need it to survive, and without it, well, life is difficult. Normal people like you and me have no choice about money, we must find a way to make it, so we can live, and have a family, and a good life. Most people do well enough, but in the end, a lot of it can seem very pointless. Saving money so you can spend it on being old, or passing it on. But there are 7 PROBLEMS WITH MONEY:

Inflation - This is money made up out of nothing. Picture a chicken farmer scamming his customer by injecting water into the chicken before selling it. The chicken looks very big, but the moment you start to cook it, all the water cooks away, and you're left with half of what you thought you had.
Crime - Most crime is about money in one way or another. Thieves steal for money, con artists scam for money, companies cheat for money, politicians lie for money, the police go bad for money. Without money, many crimes will stop altogether.
Sharing - We are taught in pre-school, primary school, and in most homes, to share. But this doesn't count for money. For money, we are taught to look after our own, we do share some of it if we are happy that we have more than enough, but even then, it's only a small part of what we have, because, after all, we must look after our own. Now, if there is a class of small children that are all fighting about a toy, the responsible teacher will take the toy away and teach the children how to share it so that everyone gets to have a turn without any fighting.
Debt - The problem with debt is, someone has to make the original money, and as soon as it gets made, they lend it out. Now, when you have to pay back the interest, you have to go back to the maker and borrow more money to pay the debt, see how this is a problem? The moment you take the first cent, you're in debt for life.
Owning stuff - This is the hard one. We are taught ownership of things very early. We have our own toys, our own clothes, our own bed, our own room etc etc etc. The problem is, who said you own it? Your parents? So it belonged to them? Who sold it to them? Who said it belonged to them? The government? and before that? You see how, somewhere, someone had to decide that they now own something?
Limitations - Not having money stops us from doing things we could or should be doing. We are stopped from starting businesses, studying at certain schools, taking up certain jobs or even just caring for our families. What if some starving kid in Africa, who dies before he's old enough to start school, would one day have cured cancer, or invented a teleportation device, or just been a nice person?
Rich and Poor - If you are rich, you live in a very different world to that of the poor person, and if you are poor, you might have a difficult time managing a rich person's money, simply because you have not grown up knowing how. This isn't a rule, just a probability. It takes money to make money, so if you don't have any, you wont be getting any, any time soon.

As long as there is money, there will be people that can cheat the system so that they have more than everyone else, and if they are clever enough, they can use it against others. Money gives power to politicians, criminals, corporations and anyone who wants to misuse it.

Now immediately I hear everyone say "Back to the Barter System, I'll trade what I can do for what I can get." But this wont work. Because the real problem isn't money. The real problem is that people think they own everything and have the right to buy and sell it. Which they don't. In fact buying and selling anything is very much like playing monopoly. In the end you might as well pack the board away and carry on with life, because the hotels, houses, properties, money and banks were all just a way of pretending to own things. The barter system wouldn't change that. People would still think they own whatever they've traded for. Which will eventually lead to one person owning more things than everyone else, so we would be back at square one.

This would then also mean that we could not go back to the gold standard, because this still holds ownership. The answer then is to get rid of ownership and not money. What if I can use all the money, but I never own any of it?

Here are some things you didn't know about money

1. There is about $45 Trillion in the world, excluding unmeasured resources. That's $ 45 000 000 000 000,00

2. About 20 % of that is interest. So that's nearly $ 10 000 000 000 000,00 not used for anything except making more money.

3. Only 3% of that $45 Trillion is actual real money that people carry in their wallets and stash in jars. The rest is all stored on computers. So if anything happened tomorrow to the electricity, and the computers went down, the banks probably wouldn't be able to help you with getting your money back.

So what if we, the people of planet earth, pool all our money together and use it to make the planet free. Use the money to build:

1. Self-sustaining farms, so we don't have to pay for food

2. Self-sustaining energy systems, so we don't have to pay for electricity or petrol

3. State-of-the-art Hospitals, so the whole world can be healthy

4. Top quality homes, so that everyone has a roof over their head

5. Better Garbage and Waste Disposal, so that we don't kill the planet we're trying to live on.

Once we're done with these 5 steps, the only thing you need money for, is to keep track of everything. You would not even need cash, the card system banks use at the moment would work fine. Now if you don't like your job, and nobody else wants it, you can be replace with machines or the job can be removed if it's not needed.

There are many questions about how this new system will work, and they are not simple to answer here. But The 5 Step plan would cost approximately $30 trillion, which is obviously affordable. The only real restriction, is that everyone needs to keep working until the new systems are in place. After that, we're free.

Comments welcome :)

The Transition - How to get to a better place

2011-04-28T00:15:00.000+02:00

It is all good and well to sit around critically pulling apart the world and finding flaw with everything. It is wonderful to sit and conjecture about what an ideal world would be like and look like, and how brilliant it would all be. It is however a completely different business when trying to put together a plan for a transition from the flawed to the sublime.
In fact, even the most learned of scholars who have been pondering the problem for more than half a century, will say that it is far too complex a matter to be attempted lightly and more than likely will not be able to accurately describe the sequence of events required to bring about change.
There are several ways in which the desired result might be achieved, and each method would have positives and negatives based on the relative position of the person judging it. There are also several thousand million small details that might go unaccounted for. I mention this only so the reader understands this is conjecture. If the system were implemented, there would be more than just my singular person to plan and execute these systems.

Short term(3yrs)

The only way to change any system, is from the inside out. It will take money to get rid of money.
If 1% of the world's population controls 40% of it's wealth, that leaves 99% to control the other $25 trillion.
This $25 trillion can be secured (for sustainable use), by offering the 99% of the population a credit card with NO LIMIT, save that of consience, law (revised) and greed restrictions (a golden toilet serves no higher a purpose than a ceramic toilet).
In exchange for the card they are required to sign a contract forwarding all their earnings to same account. The world is the account holder. The details for the account go to everyone, everything is transparent.
Work is only a requirement until the self sustaining systems are in place, then everyone is free to really do what they want, only the necessary jobs will remain.
The credit card will from then on be used only as a tracking device the money being paid over goes directly to securing the resources of the planet
If bad things are being done, they will be obvious.
$25 trillion, when split among 6 billion people, comes down to a very paltry $4000 per person, making an even spread a ridiculous notion. Even with the other half (the half belonging to the super wealthy, who are, understandable reluctant to release their hoarded possessions) there would not be enough.
if we instead, use the $25 trillion to implement a change in systems, the result will be a single account, holding the majority of the world's wealth and resources.
1 geothermal energy plant producing clean, sustainable, renewable energy that could easily be given away for free, costs approximately $10mil. so... $1 trillion will build 100 000 of them or their equivalent, (area dependent, wind/water/solar). Energy, Check.
A state-of-the-art 40 unit hospital costs about $25 mil. an immediate $1 trillion will build 100 000 of these. Health care, Check oh, and add on a trillion for sustainability design and industry restructuring.
A new school (primary or high) costs $10mil. 500 000 schools and free open education for all. Education, Check (Note that education features under both medium and long term as well)
Vertical Farms and other modern farming techniques will fill the food shortage, a $1 trillion injection for the additional food to get everyone fed to begin with and a further $2 trillion to convert current farms requiring conversion. Food Check
Borders must become for governance only, not restrictive, import and export taxes and duties are a useless waste of money paying for simple administration, which can be better handled by automated systems.
There is no reason for an immediate change of government in places that are not suffering under their government, but, as there is no longer any money affiliated with the people who govern, there can be no corruption.
Water security and sanitation for 3rd world countries is imperative.

Medium Term(5 years)

The education system will require a major overhaul. Without fiscal economics and it's multitude of industries, the education will have to focus on new objectives. The overhaul will be able to take advantage of all the latest advances and technology.
Government will restructure according to the will of the people. Who literally own all the resources.
With more than half the crime being a thing of the past, Law systems will be revised.
Sustainable 1st world Housing for everyone is the bare minimum to strive for.
1st results from hightened research should begin to bear fruits, easing transition further.
The transport system should be undergoing drastic changes, with many options tat are deemed fanciful today, being the way of the future.

Long Term(10 years onwards)

First major revision of all systems should be done at this point to ensure that stagnation is not occuring.
Education should be global at this point and moving towards higher education globally.
Research will begin to take us into the realm of science fiction and fantasy. (Without all the malevolent AI robots that want to kill us) Improving the quality of life for all.
All new systems should now be in place and ready for adaptation as and where required.

If you have scrolled straight to the bottom in hope of a simpler explanation, here it is:

If we all stand together, we can fix all the world's problems. Literally.

Systems that CAN WORK

2011-04-26T20:58:00.000+02:00

When we think of the future, we hope for the best, but our inner realist says: HA! IT"S ALL FALLING TO PIECES NOW! IT"LL FALL TO PIECES THEN! and we tend to look forward with fears of armageddon, nuclear holocaust, and a planet that returns the punishment we have given it.
Here i must admit that as a species, the human race has proved to be extremely aggressive, and it's ability to adapt has led to our domination of the planet. This power, as with all power, has corrupted us, severed our link with our planet, and driven us to the point of destruction. But we hold ourselves back from the brink. Our global consiousness is aware enough to sense its danger, and we scramble to patch our broken planet. But patching cannot work, it cannot but create new set of problems, being based on the current systems.
So what we are looking for then, is a completely new set of systems.

The thought experiment:

If we we to get rid of all systems that dont work and replace them with re-thought systems, what would we replace them with?

The Monetary System
it must be admitted, that through the monetary system, we have discovered a wonderful tracking system for our resources. This should not be discounted when moving forward, but rather taken to it's full potential. The problem with the current system is debt and consequent inflation. If the monetary system is "demoted" in importance through the removal of debt, it can be effectively used to keep track of all the planet's resources without doing the damage it currently does. Money itself must have no value, it must only represent value. Money itself should be freely available, with limits being set only to conserve and improve the future.

The new system should invlove a tracking system (a mag-strip card will suffice, chips under our skin are just silly and potentially dangerous) which simply needs to be swiped to record what goods are being "purchased".

This is not a payment system, everything is essentially free, you do not have to work to earn, work you do will be due to passion and interest. You dont have to steal, take your card and go get your own. You dont have to be greedy either, you dont actually own any of the things your card 'buys' you.

This system allows for responsible resource management, without prospects of profit or threats of financial ruin.

Finally, this system breaks the association of value with money, and rather establishes value with that of the resource and not its potential for profit, while simultaneously using its transparency to easily identify system abuse.
Medical/Health Care
Budgetary Restrictions on research are no longer a problem as the monetary system has been replaced and innovation shoots through the roof, reducing disease, and advancing our knowledge faster than at any point in the history of medicine.

Budgetary Restrictions on distribution are no longer a problem. Everyone has a card, the tracking system shows us which medicines are needed where, and Doctors Without Borders has proven that some medical practitioners do care, i would hazard a guess and say that most do. And with the lack of financial restriction, the medical field will now include many who were formerly ineligible purely because of economic circumstances.

Medical Insurance will no longer be necessary, as the new monetary system does all the tracking, and medicine is freely available to all.

The resources freed up by the removal of health insurance will easily provide for the required spread of health care to those who need it.
Education
I must admit that my knowledge about the international educational system is sporadic at best, but i feel confident that the removal of the current monetary system will have a positive effect on education. I intend to look much deeper into the matter for a future write-up
Political
Without money to corrupt it, any of the more modern social or political systems might work. The idea here though is to re-invent. So, although democracy gives the power to the people, it also allows the fears of the uneducated to stand in the way of growth or improvement. Communism does not allow for recognition where it might be due although, in theory, it provides equally for all. The best option would of course be to take the best of each system, and form something new. Allowing for discussion. The removal of money will remove much of the crime, thereby reducing the need for law enforcement and in turn lowering the need for law revision or law creation. This will allow government to govern without the need to politic.
Entertainment
With the focus shifting away from material possession, the media industry will reduce the amount of useless advertising and increase educational content. The internet is vital to this future. We may not see it now, but through the internet, we have created the ability to utilize both the HIVE-MENTALITY and individual thinking. This will set us apart as a species more than ever before, but as less superficial beings, we will be more inclined to use our ingenuity for the good of the world around us
Agricultural

Without profit margins to chase, agriculture will be free to feed the whole planet, responsibly, abundantly and healthily .

Energy
The aim is simple, zero negative impact on the ecology, maximum positive impact.
Real Estate
The False concept of ownership will be broken, no more borders, no more homeless, no more
Resource Management
This will be the most important system, as this will directly affect the long term future of the species, and the planet. It must place emphasis on sustainability and abundance. This will include everything from energy, to food, water and even so far as intellectual property. All resources are precious.
Waste Management
There are several companies that are now initiating systems that turn human rubbish and waste back into oil and other basic forms of carbon, this seriously needs to spread planet-wide, and fast!

Transport
There are so many new forms of transport that are faster, safer, less damaging to the environment, and cheaper to own and maintain, that the time has come to embrace them and reject tradition energy driven transportation.

This is the basic set of systems that I would replace in order to fix what is currently broken and has only my limited view for potential. There is obviously a much more detail picture needed, but as long as it follows these basic formats, it should perform the hoped for improvements. In my next piece, I will discuss a possible transition into this set of systems. Please leave comments, especially if you disagree, after all, that's how we learn.

Systems that DONT WORK

2011-04-26T17:46:00.000+02:00

It has become abundantly clear to me, that there are almost no systems left in place on the planet that have not been compromised or corrupted in some way. The current systems all either serve a very few, tirelessly, while ignoring the masses, or actively feeds on the majority, still to the benefit of the very few. This is classic parasitic behaviour, and we are now nearing a very important and subtle verge where the parasite begins to kill the host completely (this will occur as soon as the parasite has found an acceptable new host, or has learned self-sustenance).

It is some of our basic and most intrinsic systems that are causing this parasitic behaviour, and it is these systems that must be addressed. They are:

Pig knew he could never eat it all,
but he also knew it was his destiny to try

The Monetary System

Crime - 90% of all crime is related to money
Corruption - Money is the key cause of almost all forms of corruption
War - Regardless of publicized reasons, all modern wars are about money.
Poverty - 1% of the World's population owns 40% of it's wealth, is that fair?
Ownership - If an object has value, currently, it's value is made up based on various calculations and inflations governed by laws and allowances for profit. But, as with any system, after enough time, the users begin to see the loopholes in the system and the value of the item becomes undermined while the price incrementally gets pushed upward, seeking higher profit margins. Ownership essentially devalues any product owned. And who actually said it belongs to you anyway?

WHY IS AFRICA STILL SICK?

Medical/Health Care

Budgetary Restrictions on research - Medical research that is not profitable, will not be persued. This means that the cures to major diseases might never be found, is this how we want to live?
Budgetary Restrictions on distribution - If we are so medically advanced that we can chryogenically freeze Walt Disney, why is Africa still sick?
Medical Insurance Fraud - the medical industry has brought medical insurance with them to cover their ridiculous prices. No insurance, no guarantee of good health care. This is commonly known as blackmail, and is a horrible way to run an entire industry
Wealth distribution inequity - Does a plastic surgeon really deserve the mansion in the hills? while the nurse working her self to a stand-still truly caring for patients lives in a crumby apartment.

World IQ rankings. Red - Low, Green - High
IQ scores show as low in poorly educated systems.

Education

Lowering Standards
Incorrect teachings
Lack of education
Materials and resource restrictions - again, Africa, it's like the world revels in watching these orphans with snot on their faces, with no real hope for the future.

Political

Fundamental flaw - All political systems are fundamentally flawed, because they are placed over a world where the monetary system is already in place. Meaning that eventually, the politicians will steal and abuse their power, big companies will pay politician to enter into illigal business practices, unfair trade advantage will be given to some, and even the choices within a Democratic system become simple manipulations on behalf of the Big Business Companies.
Remove money,and try it again, then we might be able to choose a system that works

Entertainment

Abused mass distribution method - The potential of the modern media industry is awe-inspiring, and yet, what are we doing with it? Wearing Meat-dresses to music awards, and feeding us utter garbage 90% of the time.
Superficial - There are real topics out there, ignore Paris Hilton!!!

Agricultural

Modern Farming techniques could feed the entire planet easily and use less space than it currently is, with less ecological impact, but there's no profit in that, so it doesn't happen. Again, Africa thanks the world for it's consideration.

Energy

This is an over-stated topic. Simple facts: Oil will run out, coal will run out, green energy is growing, but is being slowed by the oil and coal companies, and we are tolerating it.... why?

Resource Management

If resources we're protected because of their use-value instead of their monetary value, gucci loses it's appeal, and water suddenly becomes clean and drinkable.

Religious

Too touchy a subject to go into but a few points to be made

World's Most Influential Banking Interest - The Roman Vatican
Two biggest religions are the also the two responsible for the most atrocities in history.
Religion is the best selling product on the international market

Real Estate

The False concept of ownership. Perpetuated to the point of insanity with both ides of the battle screaming, this is our land!!! when in fact, it belongs to everyone, not just some of us.

Waste Management

There are several companies that are now initiating systems that turn human rubbish and waste back into oil and other basic forms of carbon, this seriously needs to spread planet-wide, and fast!

Transport

There are so many new forms of transport that are faster, safer, less damaging to the environment, and cheaper to own and maintain, that I am astounded to see the comparison between traditional transportation and modern transportation. The divide is getting smaller, but so slowly, that by the time Eco Friendly is the order of the day, it will be too late.

In my next post, i am going to try and talk about replacement systems and/or amendments to current systems that i think will make a significant change to the way the world lives. Let me know what your opinion is.

The Plan (Just The Outline)

2011-04-12T14:04:00.000+02:00

Okay, so saying something like "we should get rid of all the money in the world and make everything free" is a pretty naive and ridiculous statement. But factor in for a moment the fact that I am actually quite a smart fellow and quite far from naive, and you are left with a statement that needs further explanation.

Let's have a look at the sentence then... I'm saying:

we should (which is indicative of advice), not we must (tyranical), or might (inconclusive),or could (speculative).

One of the most important lessons my diverse life has taught me, is that advice, should always at least be listened to. Once you have listened, you can make up your mind about everything else, but without information, you cannot make a single accurate decision, because the mind will make it's own conclusions in the absence of facts.

get rid of, not replace, or rethink, or reinvent. I mean to be rid of completely, where no trace of it or anything like it remains.
all the money in the world

Mirriam-Webster definition of money

something generally accepted as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means of payment

So this will include bartering systems, pricing systems and currencies (including debt and credit)

and make everything free

Nobody owns anything. You just think you do. It's a figment of your imagination. It is your inner caveman hoarding his prized possessions. When, in fact, the only reason we have prospered, is we figured out how to use fire and created a tyranny of power throughout the planet. All creatures fear us. For with our fire came safety, and from safety to freedom to create instead of simply surviving. And with that creation we cemented our superiority. We are the only animal to significantly evolve since that first fire was lit on purpose. So we created our dominion over the world. Claimed our ownership of territory. Forever expanding in our conquest, until, finally the globe was covered, and the concept of ownership securely tied to the fate of man.

Now we are living in a world ruled by ownership, and those who own the majority squeeze it for every ounce of profit they can. while those that own the minority are constantly pushed further and harder to make ends meet, until slowly, everything is assimilated and consolidated under a one world economy. And this is not as far off as one might think. Simpy put, the time of choice is upon humankind, and to err now could prove costly to not only people, but the world as a whole.

Now, obviously this is not a random thought that I had quickly scribbled onto a blog and posted. This idea has been slowly festering for 16 years. I have thought it through, spoken to several hundred people, had some amazingly vehement arguments and slowly brewed the plan down, distilling it to a point of clarity that has convinced me of its possibilities. Now 16 years, of which the first half is puberty and the second half is the harsh reality of life today, is no small time to contemplate a single subject. Especially when contemplating it during discussion with those opposed to it. But it is a good time, solid and yet new enough to be of use.

The trick to all of it will be the Transition from a system where we claim ownership of the planet and it's resources to a system where we share the planet with all those around us without grudging anyone anything or hoarding anything because of assumed ownership. This one was tough, but the simplest answer turned out to be the right one. The easiest way to get rid of money without causing upheaval is to disassociate actual value from imagined value. This can only be done by offering a replacement for commonly accepted credit practices. I will cover this in more detail in Plan for Transition.

Of course none of this is practical unless the result is an improvement on what we currently have. So the next two Blogs will be dealing with the first in a series about Broken Sytems and How to fix them, and a closer look at the Plan for Transition.

Thanks for reading
Rob Cayman

- The Prelude -

2011-04-12T00:38:00.000+02:00

A world without money

I am a 28 year old average white male. I have some life experience. More than most, but not enough to really get ahead. For years now, I have struggled to find my niche, and I'm starting to think it doesn't actually exist. That I'm just not built that way. This doesn't answer the essential question of what to do with my life though. Therefore, I, like the masses, have decided to blog, and see where it takes me.

It's a new world. One that can be completely bewildering, until you learn to skim the surface, and only dip into that which catches your attention. (Note that I said attention and not eye!!!) It was only once I got the knack of skimming and dipping (not official terminology, just my own mind at work) that I started to get an Idea of how to blog, but I was still at a loss for what to write about. There is almost not a single topic that doesn't have some sort of blog already written about it. There are, however, a multitude of new topics being introduced and expounded upon daily. Of course, as is almost always the case, I was looking so hard for the answer to this conundrum that I couldn't see the bigger picture.

It was only once I sat back and took full stock that I realized the new content is born out of Passion. The new ideas and creative blogs all belong to people who are intensely passionate about their subject (or about blogging in particular for some). Of course, to be commercially successful, they have to appeal to a broad market that is passionate about the same subject, which limits the massive success to those that follow the mainstream or branch off from it. Stifled once again by the prospect of fighting for decades to make an impact through my writing while trying desperately not to sell out to the corporate mainstream, I pushed aside thoughts of blogging and reverted to reading instead.

But I was not long in the reading when a guest blog on ProBlogger caught my eye, and sure enough, there was the word again... Passion. Only, this time, when the word caught my eye, my frame of mind was right and I almost felt each gear click over in my head. I had been so busy looking for trendy topics that that held my attention long enough to write about, that I didn't think to use my own passion instead of putting passion into someone else's topic.

My deepest passion is to see a world without money before I die. Not a world with a replacement system implemented. But a world where the system is unneeded and forgotten. However, before I get started on the subject, I'm going to point out a few small FACTS for those who don't know them.

1. All government's are essentially flawed. Communism, Fascism, Democracy, Feudalism etc. are all placed over a system already in place over everything. This is the monetary system. The monetary system ensures that no government can exist that is not corrupt.

2. The majority of the money on the planet is held by the minority of people, leaving the crumbs for the masses.

3. The world is in trouble. Global warming, War, Genocide, Nuclear Threat, Ecological destruction, Pollution, Corruption, Tyranny, and above all indifference and distancing of people. and all of them can be traced back to money.

4. The only crimes not committed because of monetary inequity are those of passion and insanity.

5. It is not money that is evil, nor our love of money, but rather the lie that is ownership.

In this Blog, I am going to detail my plan to achieve a World Without Money, a World Without Borders, a World Without Hunger, a World Without War, a World In Balance and a World Of Health.

We may be stuck right now in a world that requires us to follow the rules so we can pass it all on to our kids, who will do the same etc etc etc, but it doesn't have to be that way forever.

That's the prelude, next installment coming soon.
Rob Cayman

Random facts of the week

2011-04-06T22:24:00.000+02:00

1. The first metal-based barter system was established approximately 5000 BC. This is nearly 3000 years before even the first religion. Establishing money as our deepest-set system.

2. The first recorded organised religion was Hinduism, then came Judaeism, then Taoism, Bhuddism and Shinto. only then do we get to today's popular beliefs. Christianity and then Islam.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/time/origtime.htm

Of them all, it is only Judaeism and it's offspring, Islam and Christianity, that make use of money as more than a basic necessity.

3. Every major problem facing the world today can be solved by getting rid of the monetary system.