How is War Still a Thing?

If you look at human history and all the progress we’ve made, the technology, the infrastructure, the institutions, the various ways of communicating over enormous distances – instantaneously -  traveling into space, creating music, art – it’s pretty impressive. And yet – with all of this apparent evolution and progress, it’s hard to be optimistic about humanity’s history and legacy, because: there’s still this one huge nasty atrocity we keep doing, over and over again… we keep on waging wars.

This is the 21st century and war is still a thing we do – every day. It hasn’t been erased yet – we haven’t yet come to the day in time where we can say ‘wars – that’s a thing from the past – we remember it to make sure never to do it again’ – because it’s not, it’s part of our present and it looks like, part of our future too.

I’ve had many moments where I look at the news and get frustrated, horrified and mind-blown at the stupidity of war, the destruction, the senselessness – wanting to scream at those apparently ‘leading nations’ – WTF are you doing???

But is it that surprising really?

I mean – how can we expect continuous mutual cooperation, problem solving and conflict-prevention on an international and global level if that’s something we’re not living up to ourselves? Conflict PREVENTION – yes, you read that right – because for world peace to be the ‘new thing’ – we need to not only be able to master the art of conflict resolution, but also need to learn to prevent conflict, rather than waiting for conflict to manifest and then trying to ‘do something about it’. Conflict is nothing more than the manifestation and revealing of misalignments that were already present.

It is easy to blame politicians and diplomats for sucking at what they do – but in the context of ‘as above, so below’ – we’re all playing our part here – how often do we go into arguments with those around us, openly or behind their backs in the form of gossip and backchat? How often do we wait for ‘shit to hit the fan’ before we actually look at problems that we actually knew were there but conveniently chose to ignore? And when there is conflict, how often do we focus on solutions instead of sticking with our own self-interest, walking away or just wanting to ‘win’ the argument, regardless of the cost?

That is our responsibility on a purely personal level – but how about the following: if we are so frustrated with our leaders making bad decisions? Why are we still leaving these decisions up to them? Do citizens demand referendums before going to war? Do citizens get a say in any way about how their military gets used and who their soldiers will go to kill and terrorize next? Do citizens demand a say? How can we as children be taught about the horrors of world wars and then grow up to be adults who stand by and do absolutely nothing but focus on our own personal happiness and fulfillment, doing our best to look away and pretend it’s got nothing to do with us? Or how about this – why haven’t we yet demanded global demilitarization to instead redirect all the funds that go into wars and military development towards securing a basic income for everyone? Because – yes, let’s not forget – poverty is also still a thing.

So – let’s use that creative human brain that we must possess to be able to create things like cars, the internet, art and space shuttles to find and promote solutions, to get a say, to end things that shouldn’t be things anymore.

Join us in the Living Income movement – read the proposal – make your own blog and start sharing solutions, join a political party that has the provision of basic human rights on their agenda, or create one if there isn’t one, find out how you can participate in political decision making in your area, make your voice count.

Read More

Set Your Priorities Straight

“So, since Ukraine is nonetheless now gearing up, with American taxpayers’ money, to replace its weapons-supply that was used-up or destroyed in the war to-date, and also to build an immense new military graveyard for a planned 250,000 corpses of Ukrainian soldiers in the next and future rounds of invasions against the rebelling region in Ukraine’s (former) southeast, the IMF is basically quitting continued financing of that ethnic-cleansing campaign against the residents in that region. The EU has already quit funding it, other than a token half-billion-euro donation delivered on December 10th. Only the U.S. remains committed to funding it, by donating whatever weapons and military guidance are deemed necessary in order to conquer, and/or to expel, the pro-Russian residents in Ukraine’s former southeast. 98% of the U.S. House voted for it, and so did 100% of the U.S. Senate. At least 67% of the U.S. public are against it.”
http://www.globalresearch.ca/u-s-taxpayers-now-alone-in-financing-ukraines-ethnic-cleansing-campaign-imf-says-ukraine-fails-to-meet-conditions-of-17-billion-loan/5419885

The question that comes up is: How is that possible? How does that work?

When the majority of the population does not support the funding of a foreign war – how is it possible that those ‘representing the people’ vote in a totally different direction?

And what is more – why is this not hitting the headlines? While everyone’s focus is on Ferguson, whether or not Putin is becoming the new Stalin and the apparent ‘shock’ at torture practices  – the American elite goes about deciding what to do with taxpayers’ money without anyone even noticing that it stands squarely against the wishes of US citizens.

According to PovertyUSA, 46.2 million Americans live in poverty in the USA – that is 1 in 6 – and 1 in 7 American households were food insecure last year. Why oh why would you consider funding a foreign war – when at home, people are in desperate need of support?

Many justifications are put forward for military spending – but do they hold up?

Creating security for your citizens starts with guaranteeing personal financial security. Reviving the economy starts with ensuring effective flow in the domestic economy by reducing inequality and ensuring everyone is enabled to be an active and empowered participant in the economy. Building world peace starts with eradicating crime at home by making sure no one has a reason to destroy another’s life out of spite, because they are lacking. Democratization starts with recognizing the wishes of your people at home and acting according to those wishes – increase direct political decision making and build in mandatory budget referendums.

The real threats to civilization – the real wars that are being fought are not wars between countries, are not wars between people of different religion and different race. The real war is the war against against poverty – the fight to survive.

A Living Income Guaranteed would be a better use of funds currently allocated to military operations – if you really want to achieve the goals mentioned above – then start by implementing a Living Income Guaranteed – you have no right to meddle in foreign affairs when you allow your own people to live in destitution.




Visit/read:
http://livingincome.me
http://livingincomeguaranteed.wordpress.com/the-proposal/
https://www.youtube.com/user/LivingIncome
https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/117690749220880074672
http://www.twitter.com/LivingIncome

Read More

Day 254: Only for the Brave: Living Income Guaranteed and the End of Warfare

Q: Within my studies I touched upon international relations and there is a point I learned about which I see could be a concern regarding the point of the redirection of military budgets.

The point is similar to a point in the animal kingdom where the majority of decisions/disagreement/tension is resolved not through actual violent interaction, but rather through intimidation with large size, vicious displays etc... where one animal simply submits within self-preservation.

The USA has a large capacity for such intimidation which can be seen as preventing attacks from its smaller and less capable 'enemies' due to the fact that the US can annihilate them and they do not have the means to prevent this or retaliate in any substantial way. If the USA redirected the military budget, many could look at this as a form of weakening/weakness placing the USA in a more vulnerable position to be attacked due to its lessened ability to intimidate others or defend itself.

A: The offense-defense game in international political affairs is played by creating a continuous process of intimidation through potential military interventions by the world’s hegemons/ world powers upon nations that represent an obstacle to their expansionist greed. This is how ‘pseudo enemies’ are deliberately created to give continuation to a warfare industry that enables profit to be made upon these constant calls for the necessity to intervene in the name of peace and democracy in other countries or defend themselves from 'potential terrorist attacks' which is mostly a fabrication of such threat to keep the military industry in place.

  This continuous provocation forces the nations ‘under the mire’ to arm themselves as well to have the means for defense. This ever present tension between nations is what creates the belief that each nation should always be ready and prepared to go to war, when in fact wars only represent the interests of a few that benefit from it, since war is always implying death and destruction using the public’s opinion as manufactured consent to support it in the name of fighting against terrorism and national defense; other reasons include fighting certain nations that do not comply to the views of imperialist-powers and so represent  an obstacle to their own imperial position. However throughout history we’ve witnessed how wars are justified consent to commit crimes against humanity including the use of tax payer’s money to fund such destructive enterprises.

 For example, If the USA redirected their military budget to fund a Living Income Guaranteed,  those with common sense would not perceive it as a weakness, not intimidating and invading others  for the sole profit of few corporate elites, realizing that the nation is already having a weak economy due to most of the funds being directed for military purposes for the illegitimate benefit of a few, instead of strengthening the economy at home if such funds would support individual's financial security.

Q: I can see a point of fear wherein citizens might resist this point due to being seen as a militarily weak country vulnerable to being taken over, having resources taken or populations enslaved, much like the US and other countries have perpetrated in weaker countries in the form of such things as colonization in all its dimensions.

How can this fear be addressed?

Do you think that this is a real threat that could actually happen? If so, what do you suggest as a counter measure?
A: The fear of attack from outsiders is a propaganda-point in order to gain public support for wars that only have economic interests for few elites behind them. Instead of going to wars, the US and other power nations could focus on signing International treaties and create a sustainable global economy through implementing LIG in each nation, so that no wars are required to keep a non-sustainable economy at survival state. When the people of imperialist regimes grasp the real agenda behind the militarism and wars and do not participate in invasions and occupations, other countries no longer feel they have to protect themselves from the bullies/power nations of the world, the propensity for war will be significantly reduced.


For context:

Living Income Guaranteed - the Proposal: http://livingincomeguaranteed.wordpress.com/the-proposal/

Living Income Guaranteed YouTube Channel - watch the hangouts: https://www.youtube.com/user/BIGuaranteed?feature=watch 

Living Income Guaranteed Website: http://livingincome.me

Read More

Day 93: Grey Populations and Hopes for Peace in Old Age going Dark

While I was in high school I was being warned by my teachers about the problem of aging populations. In essence, in recent decades, the amount of children being born per family in developed countries has decreased. Slowly but surely, this means that the populations grow smaller. However, for the time being - it means something else as well...

The problem pertains to the shrinking labour force, and thus the shrinking tax base - the taxes from which are used to fund the pensions from the older generations.

With shrinking populations, the composition of the population changes as well - where the balnace between older and younger people is offset as there are more older than younger people after a while. And this smaller younger population is supposed to support all the pensioners in their old age.

Obviously, the people who designed this system didn't really consider this point. Currently, the compulsory amount of years of work in order to have a right to pension keeps on being increased and the amount one would receive as a 'reward' for all your years of work, keeps on getting smaller. Older people who were promised to be able to retire at 60 become disillusioned as they see the amount of years they'll require to continue working, to keep on increasing. Already at an old age, there is no more time to save any substantial funds to assist them take care of themselves where the pension-system fails.

The whole idea of having to work for most of your life before getting a real taste of life is absolutely ridiculous in itself. I remember being absolutely shocked as a child when I learned that I would have to work for my entire life, and once I was about 60 I would be allowed to start living my life without having to go to work every day. I wonder, if children in the womb would learn about this, if they wouldn't abort themselves right there and then - because how is that a life worth living?

I forgive myself for accepting and allowing myself to try to ignore the economic side of things as much as possible and live in some kind of ignorant and hopefull bliss-state-of-mind, thinking that I must just enjoy myself as much as I can and everything will be just fine - to not ask questions about where my food will come from once I retire, or when I'll be able to retire - because those questions are only relevant waaaay in the future.

I forgive myself for accepting and allowing myself to live in trust of the economic system, thinking and believing that some clever bunch of people have it all figured out and that I will simply be provided for and well taken care of once I retire.

I forgive myself for accepting and allowing myself to think it is normal that I have to work to make a living.

I forgive myself for accepting and allowing myself to think and believe that it is normal that I have to work for most of my life, and only once I'm about 60, I get to have real 'free time'.

I forgive myself for accepting and allowing myself to not realise that having to work for decades on end as soon as you're able to, in essence means that I'm born in debt and that I have to pay a debt to the system before I can start living my life.

I forgive myself for accepting and allowing myself to think and believe that it is probably necessary that people work until 60 in order for all the goods and services that are needed to support everyone to be produced - when actually, with the technology available today, we can reduce working time to an absolute minimum of 4 years of labour per person, after which it becomes a person's choice whether they work or not.

I forgive myself for accepting and allowing myself to trust an economic system that is completely volatile - where major rules and regulations continuously have to change in order to 'make things work' to some extent - and thus, a system where there is no certainty or security.

I forgive myself for not accepting and allowing myself to realise that having a sense of security in having certainty of exactly when I will retire, is something every person wants and should be able to have, instead of each one just being a subject of economic happenings that stand outside of each one's individual control.

I forgive myself for accepting and allowing myself to believe that the free market system is the only system that ensures the efficient use of resources - without asking myself how come that labour is being used so absolutely inefficiently, where people are made to work for their entire lives to provide for everyone - while so much labour is actually being wasted on absolutely useless products and services, let alone on competing firms who provide the exact same services and goods and who keep their engineering technology as secret as possible - instead of just sharing all the knowledge and gathering our strenghts to be able to bring about the most efficient work environment and production processes in all ways and in all areas.

I commit myself to educate people on how life is being disregarded as shown in the very fact that human beings are being made to work for most of their life without it being necessary.

I commit myself to educate people in realising that if each one just works for 4 years of their life while employing technology to its most full potential, sufficient labour would be available at all times to provide all necessary goods and services to the entire population.

I commit myself to manifesting an economic system of security and certainty - where one is absolutely certain of the living standard one will enjoy from birth till death.

Read More

Day 38: Realising Responsibility - Can’t Hide from Economics – Part 2

This is continuation of Day 37: Can’t Hide from Economics – Part 1, read this blog first for context

I forgive myself that I haven’t accepted and allowed myself to take full responsibility for myself and existence as myself – as it is the outflow of my acceptances and allowances and is thus in fact me

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to ‘not care’ within not wanting to be diverted from ‘my life path’ and ‘what I like’ – where I do not want to step away from doing that which I have defined within myself as that which I “like” and will avoid and ignore all points which I have defined within myself as that which I “do not like” – without ever seeing/realizing/understanding that these likes and dislikes came about through memory – where I for instance did not understand something which was being said on the news about economics and within that moment decided that “economics is not for me”, and where from this moment forth, this is what economics is to me – where I will only every see/view/interact/participate with economics with the preset idea that “it is not for me” – and thus never actually deal with economics itself, but only ever with my idea as my opinion which I bring up within myself each time I am faced with a point in relation to economics

I forgive myself that I haven’t accepted and allowed myself to see and realise, that the “decision” to ‘not like’ economics, was never a real decision made by me, but a preference which emerged from memory: where I in the past reacted to not understanding economics, and where the reaction which emerged there in itself was also the result of memory before that – and thus I have never ever really lived or made any decisions, but only ever lived as memory within and as value judgments towards everything and everyone in my world – where within every moment that I am not here breathing as the Real Character which is the Physical Body which is part of this entire Physical Existence – I am only living as memories and creating new memories through memories and within that never ever participating and interacting with the real world – as I am the prisoner in Plato’s cave – only seeing the shadows as my opinions, ideas and beliefs – and never ever seeing, feeling, touching the real thing – as that which really matters, which is this Physical Earth and all physical bodies on Earth – and ensuring its optimum functioning

 I forgive myself that I haven’t accepted and allowed myself to see and realise that personal likes and dislikes created through memory are really irrelevant when one’s goal is to change the world, including self – as personal likes and dislikes as opinion is that which divides us and moves us away from that which we all share: which is the physical -- and our Human Physical Bodies as the Real Characters – and within that I forgive myself that I haven’t accepted and allowed myself to see and realise the importance of taking care of all beings Real Character equally as the Physical plane we all share, which is the ONLY real reality and the only reality which should be of importance to each and every single one of us

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to try and attempt to hide from economics – which is like trying to avoid seeing my reflection in reflective surfaces – as what I am trying to hide from is myself, as this very world and existence came about through our agreement to give more value to thought as energy, as entertainment, instead of focusing on the only real value which is Life, here as the physical

I forgive myself that I haven’t accepted and allowed myself to see and realise – that within me not being in conflict with the economic system and the world, I am in fact agreeing and giving it permission to exist

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to believe that I can afford to ‘not know about economics’, within the belief that economics does not affect my Li(f)e as wants, needs and desires – without seeing/realising/understanding that economics within this world is that which defines, shapes and forms my life – but since I was born in an environment with money to sustain myself, I don’t care about anything or anyone else, as I am in a position to entertain my thoughts and follow the energies as feelings and emotions within me – drifting away from the real world and the real suffering taking place every single day

I forgive myself that I haven’t accepted and allowed myself to see and realise that that which really matters is the Real Character within and as the Physical, and within that I forgive myself that I haven’t accepted and allowed myself to have seen/realized my responsibility within ensuring that all Real Characters as Physical Bodies are equally taken care off as myself – and thus I must make it my quest to ensure that all physical bodies as myself are equally taken care off through educating myself on the system which drives and defines this wellbeing through the channelling of money as our economic system – so I may see/realise/understand how it actually operates and correct the flaws within the economic system as I correct them within myself within taking responsibility and embracing the Real Character as the Physical – to make sure that we establish an Economic System of Care, which ensures everyone’s wellbeing within the understanding of that which really matters, which is that which is always Here as this Physical Existence – while thoughts, emotions, feelings, energy, likes and dislikes end at the point of Death, and can thus be completely disregarded

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to want to place the responsibility of fixing the Mess we created on Earth upon the shoulder of others – without seeing and realising that we created this Mess through collective agreement, and thus it will require collective agreement Breath by Breath to Clean up our Mess as we re-create the current World of Abuse to a World that’s Best for All – which is the only Creation worthwhile investing in. And within that I forgive myself that I haven’t accepted and allowed myself to realise my responsibility and live my responsibility Breath by Breath within correcting myself and this existence as myself – the same way as I moment by moment through only ever living within and through Memories and various different Characters, created this Mess in the first Place

I forgive myself that I haven’t accepted and allowed myself to see and realise that within wanting others to “fix the problem” – I am in fact signing away my right to Life, as within the statement of not wanting to take responsibility – I state that I do not care – and thus, others should not care about me – and within that place myself within the position of slave where I am bound to go through whatever it is others decide for me, and within that I have no right to complain, because after all: I signed away my right to Life

I forgive myself that I haven’t accepted and allowed myself to see and realise that living a Li(f)e where I do not take responsibility and am an absolute slave by my own doing – is not a nice way to go through life – and thus I stop and I embrace responsibility within the realization/understanding that, that which I require to take responsibility for is Equal and One to and as my nature as that which I require to face and correct within myself – which is the only way we can ever correct this World for real, anything less would be a delusion – and so I/we walk, Breath by Breath, correcting ourselves and this moment with every Breath we take as our Commitment to Life

Commitment Statements to follow within next blog

Read More