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Every household should have an emergency supply kit with items that could sustain each member of the family for 72 hours in the event of an earthquake or other disaster. The kit should be stored in plastic covered tubs in a cool, dark place that is easily accessible and not likely to be buried under debris after an earthquake.
It should include:
- basic first aid kit and emergency contact numbers
- personal identification and cash in small denominations
- a small, portable AM/FM radio and extra batteries
- sleeping bag
- warm clothes and shoes
- fire extinguishers
- bottled water (four litres per person, per day)
- vacuum-sealed food
- windup flashlight
- disposable gas lighter and emergency candles
- blankets and towels
- work gloves and latex gloves
- safety goggles
- large tarp or tent
- rope
- whistle
- sharp scissors or camping knife
- garbage bags
- hand or feet warmers
- wind and waterproof matches
- small folding stove
- stove fuel
- light sticks
© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist
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Activist Post: Rise Up and Support the Real Revolution.
Josh Vick
Activist Post
“Promise, promise, lie (making money, making money, making money), lie, lie, lie, lie, promise.”
Sound familiar? It should — that’s the sound of your elected politicians. Between all the false promises there is nothing more than lies and profit. It’s a truth and its verification only requires the fundamental ability to read and the problem-solving skills of a 3rd grader. Let me explain.
The system that your politicians work for is no longer your system. It is their system. It is planned, modified, and controlled by them. It benefits their own interests and their own interests only. To realize this truth is very simple — all you have to do is look at the legislation. They create it, present it, pass it, and it’s written on paper for all to decipher.
So, let’s look at this legislation. What does it do?
Well, for the people, it creates restrictions. It decides what you as an individual cannot do. It decides what is considered to be wrong. It decides what you can be reprimanded, penalized, fined or incarcerated for. To the people, legislation is nothing more than the continual loss of our freedoms.
How, let’s take a look at the corporate side of legislation. What does it do? It creates “regulations”, not restrictions. Regulations enable corporations instead of restrict them. Regulation is nothing more than a cute word that allows corporate entities to be exempt from the very same laws that apply to the individual. Basically, regulations set standards on how much crime can be committed by corporations.
It requires a very limited amount of thinking to understand almost immediately that this situation alone is a recipe for disaster. I need not delve any further for one to realize that restrictions for consumers, but freedom for profiteers, equals a fascist system. You don’t have to look into the specifics of the laws, or any law specifically to see that we lose freedom as corporations gain it. Nearly every piece of legislation that is created by the federal government serves to directly benefit either big business or the government itself.
Meanwhile, they use our tax monies to run rampant across the global landscape as they leverage their political powers to maximize the profits for corporations (which in turn reward them with commissions). They rape, rob, pillage, destroy, corrupt, and pollute in the name of profits. They deface the earth while simultaneously committing genocides which they then contort and present to us as either an act of liberation for oppressed peoples, or the elimination of a terror threat.
I’m not sure about you, but I want absolutely nothing to do with a system that operates in this fashion. It’s 110% absolutely and completely ludicrous for anyone to obey the laws of murderous dictators who repeatedly commit high-crime against humanity on a global level.
If you knew that somebody was going to rape a 12-year-old girl before blowing her brains out and lighting her body on fire in front of her family, would you give them 20% of your paycheck to do so? I don’t think you would, and it’s for that same reason that I don’t believe you should pay income tax.
Our system is completely defunct, both financially and morally. It’s not only insufficient for our best interests as a society, it’s downright destructive. It suffers an absolute lack of reasoning and has no room whatsoever for even an ounce of human compassion.
The flags, the fake debates, the false promises, the “god bless our nation” — it’s nothing more than pure deception. It’s proven to be so convincing that although its creators don’t deserve the title of Human, one could easily say it’s a masterpiece worthy of the title of genius. This picture of America — a magical fairyland with freedom and prosperity for all — is painted with blood on the dead flesh of freedom.
Do not stand up for it. Do not represent your government, just as they don’t represent you. Denounce your association with them. Refuse to participate in a system that wreaks havoc on innocent human life. Refuse to play their game any longer. Refuse to believe their lies and refuse to let anyone else tell you otherwise. We are humans, living beings, individuals with souls who are born free. Refuse to be tied down by authority.
Do not be dumb. Do not be like the battered woman with broken arms who says she’s in love. Do not remain loyal to a hand that doesn’t feed you. Do not believe that you have to do what everyone else does, or that it’s right simply because they do it. Rise above the scum who run this system, let them know that you know the truth, that you’re not afraid and that you refuse to participate. Do it with your family, your friends, whoever you care about.
Rise above this oppressive regime of global control freaks. They are nothing. They are mental, physical and spiritual slumlords. They have nothing to hide behind except an illusion. They are weak, insecure and miserable. As the days pass by, their time to remain in charge grows shorter. It’s happening around the world — people are revolting. There is a knowledge being consumed and it is empowering the people.
The biggest myth that they ever created is that “freedom isn’t free”.
It is free, take it. Participate. Occupy. Denounce support for politics and corruption once and for all.
Josh Vick is a freelance human being who is against all authority. He can be contacted via Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/josh.vick1
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The 10 happiest jobs – The Globe and Mail.
Christian Science Monitor article.
1. Clergy: The least worldly are reported to be the happiest of all.
2. Firefighters: 80 per cent of firefighters are “very satisfied” with their jobs, which involve helping people.
3. Physical therapists: Social interaction and helping people apparently make this job one of the happiest.
4. Authors: For most authors, the pay is ridiculously low or non-existent, but the autonomy of writing down the contents of your own mind apparently leads to happiness.
5. Special education teachers: If you don’t care about money, a job as special education teacher might be a happy profession.
6. Teachers: Teachers in general report being happy with their jobs, despite the current issues with education funding and classroom conditions. The profession continues to attract young idealists, although 50 per cent of new teachers are gone within five years.
7. Artists: Sculptors and painters report high job satisfaction, despite the great difficulty in making a living from it.
8. Psychologists: Psychologists may or may not be able to solve other people’s problems, but it seems that they have managed to solve their own.
9. Financial services sales agents: 65 per cent of financial services sales agents are reported to be happy with their jobs. That could be because some of them are clearing more than $90,000 dollars a year on average for a 40-hour work week in a comfortable office environment.
10. Operating engineers: Playing with giant toys like bulldozers, front-end loaders, backhoes, scrapers, motor graders, shovels, derricks, large pumps, and air compressors can be fun. With more jobs for operating engineers than qualified applicants, operating engineers report being happy.
It’s interesting to compare these jobs with the list of the 10 most hated jobs, which were generally much better paying and have higher social status. What’s striking about the list is that these relatively high-level people are imprisoned in hierarchical bureaucracies. They see little point in what they are doing. The organizations they work for don’t know where they are going, and as a result, neither do these people.
1. Director of Information Technology
2. Director of Sales and Marketing
4. Senior Web Developer
5. Technical Specialist
7. Law Clerk
8. Technical Support Analyst
9. CNC Machinist
The meaningfulness of lives
Why were these jobs with better pay and higher social status less likely to produce happiness? Todd May writing in the New York Times argues, “A meaningful life must, in some sense then, feel worthwhile. The person living the life must be engaged by it. A life of commitment to causes that are generally defined as worthy — like feeding and clothing the poor or ministering to the ill — but that do not move the person participating in them will lack meaningfulness in this sense. However, for a life to be meaningful, it must also be worthwhile. Engagement in a life of tiddlywinks does not rise to the level of a meaningful life, no matter how gripped one might be by the game.”
This is what underlies the difference between the happiest jobs and the most hated jobs. One set of jobs feels worthwhile, while in the other jobs, people can’t see the point. The problems in the most hated jobs can’t be solved by job redesign or clearer career paths. Instead the organizations must undertake fundamental change to manage themselves in a radically different way with a focus on delighting the customer through continuous innovation and all the consequent changes that are needed to accomplish that. The result of doing this in firms like Amazon, Apple and Salesforce.com is happy customers, soaring profits and workers who can see meaning in their work.
Join Globe Careers on LinkedIn and Twitter.
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August 28, 2011 in Business
In the first such analysis ever conducted, Swiss economic researchers have conducted a global network analysis of the most powerful transnational corporations (TNCs). Their results have revealed a core of 787 firms with control of 80% of this network, and a “super entity” comprised of 147 corporations that have a controlling interest in 40% of the network’s TNCs.
Strongly Connected Component (SCC); layout of the SCC (1318 nodes and 12,191 links). Node size scales logarithmically with operation revenue, node color with network control (from yellow to red). Link color scales with weight.
[Note to the reader: see the very end of this article for a ranking of the top 50 'control holders']
When we hear conspiracy theorist talk about this or that powerful group (or alliance of said groups) “pulling strings” behind the scenes, we tend to dismiss or minimize such claims, even though, deep down, we may suspect that there’s some degree of truth to it, however distorted by the theorists’ slightly paranoid perception of the world. But perhaps our tendency to dismiss such claims as exaggerations (at best) comes from our inability to get even a slight grip on the complexity of global corporate ownership; it’s all too vast and complicated to get any clear sense of the reality.
But now we have the results of a global network analysis (Vitali, Glattfelder, Battiston) that, for the first time, lays bare the “architecture” of the global ownership network. In the paper abstract, the authors state:
“We present the first investigation of the architecture of the international ownership network, along with the computation of the control held by each global player. We find that transnational corporations form a giant bow-tie structure* and that a large portion of control flows to a small tightly-knit core of financial institutions. This core can be seen as an economic “super-entity” that raises new important issues both for researchers and policy makers.” [emphasis added]
* This “bow tie” structure is similar to the structure of the WWW (analyzing for most influential/most trafficked websites); see diagram below.
A bow-tie consists of in-section (IN), out-section (OUT), strongly connected component or core (SCC), and tubes and tendrils (T&T).
Data from previous studies neither fully supported nor completely disproved the idea that a small handful of powerful corporations dominate much or most of the world’s commerce. The researchers acknowledge previous attempts to analyze such networks, but note that these were limited in scope to national networks which “neglected the structure of control at a global level.”
What was needed, assert the researchers, was a complex network analysis.
“A quantitative investigation is not a trivial task because firms may exert control over other firms via a web of direct and indirect ownership relations which extends over many countries. Therefore, a complex network analysis is needed in order to uncover the structure of control and its implications. “
To start their analysis, the researchers began with a list of 43,060 TNCs which were taken from a sample of 30 million “economic actors” contained in the Orbis 2007 database [see end note]. TNCs were identified according to the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) definition of a transnational corporation [see end note]. They next applied a recursive search algorithm which singled out the “network of all the ownership pathways originating from and pointing to these TNCs.”
The resulting TNC network includes 600,508 nodes and 1,006,987 ownership ties.
Bow-tie structure of the largest connected component (LCC) and other connected components (OCC). Each section volume scales logarithmically with the share of its TNCs operating revenue. In parenthesis, percentage of operating revenue and number of TNCs
In terms of the connectivity of the network, the researchers found that it consists of many small connected components, but the largest one (encompassing 3/4 of all nodes) “contains all the top TNCs by economic value, accounting for 94.2% of the total TNC operating revenue.”
Two generalized characteristics were identified:
1] A strongly connected component (SCC), that is, a set of firms in which every member owns directly and/or indirectly shares in every other member. The emergence of such a structure can be explained as a means of preventing take-overs, reducing transaction costs, risk sharing and increasing trust between “groups of interest.”
and
2] The largest connect[ed] component contains only one dominant, strongly connected component (comprised of 1347 nodes). This network, like the WWW, has a bow tie structure. What’s more, they found that this component, or core, is also very densely connected; on average, members of this core have ties to 20 other members. “Top actors” occupy the center of the bow tie. In fact, a randomly chosen TNC in the core has about 50% chance of also being among the top holders, as compared to, for example, 6% for the in-section. [emphasis added]
“As a result, about 3/4 of the ownership of firms in the core remains in the hands of firms of the core itself. In other words, this is a tightly-knit group of corporations that cumulatively hold the majority share of each other.”
In examining the details of this core, the analysis also showed that only 737 top holders accumulate 80% of the control over the value of all TNCs (in the analyzed network). Further,
“despite its small size, the core holds collectively a large fraction of the total network control. In detail, nearly 4/10 of the control over the economic value of TNCs in the world is held, via a complicated web of ownership relations, by a group of 147 TNCs in the core, which has almost full control over itself. The top holders within the core can thus be thought of as an economic “super-entity” in the global network of corporations.” [emphasis added]
Concerning the implications of this super entity, the researchers asked two fundamental questions: First, what are the implications for market competition, and, second, what are the implications for economic stability?
Regarding the first question, the authors assert that no matter the origin of the SCC, due to its high degree of TNC network control, “it weakens market competition”.
It is clear just from the history of anti-trust laws in this country (the U.S.) that concentrated ownership stifles free market competition and innovation, reduces over-all employment, and leads to excessive pricing.
Zoom on some major TNCs in the financial sector. Some cycles are highlighted. Note: data for this analysis comes from the 2007 Orbis database — prior to the 2008 financial crisis, thus, firms such as Bear Stearns and Lehman Bros. are included.
In regards to the second question, the researchers note that “the existence of such a core in the global market was never documented before and thus, so far, no scientific study demonstrates or excludes that this international ‘super-entity’ has ever acted as a bloc.“
However, there is historical data — such as within the airline, auto and steel industries — supporting this possibility.
“…top holders are at least in the position to exert considerable control, either formally (e.g., voting in shareholder and board meetings) or via informal negotiations.”
Additionally, recent studies (Stiglitz J.E., 2010, Battiston S. et al, 2009) have shown that densely connected financial networks are highly susceptible to systemic risk. Despite the fact that such networks may seem robust in good economic times, in times of crisis however, member firms tend to enter ‘distress mode’ simultaneously. This was seen recently in the 2008 (“near”) financial collapse (note: 3/4 of the network core in this analysis are financial intermediaries).
Calling their findings “remarkable”, they suggest that because “international data sets as well as methods to handle large networks became available only very recently, [this] may explain how this finding could go unnoticed for so long.”
While the researchers acknowledge that verifying whether the implications of their findings “hold true for the global economy” is beyond the scope of their current research, they assert that their unprecedented attempt to uncover the structure of corporate control is “a necessary precondition for future investigations.”
The paper, The network of global corporate control (Vitali, Glattfelder, Battiston) was published July 26, 2011, on arXiv.org
End Notes:
The Orbis 2007 marketing database comprises about 37 million economic actors, both physical persons and firms located in 194 countries, and roughly 13 million directed and weighted ownership links (equity relations). This data set is intended to track control relationships rather than patrimonial relationships. Whenever available, the percentage of ownership refers to shares associated with voting rights. Accordingly, we select those companies which hold at least 10% of shares in companies located in more than one country. Overall we obtain a list of 43,060 TNCs located in 116 different countries, with 5675 TNCs quoted in stock markets.
The definition of TNCs given by the OECD states that they “…comprise companies and other entities established in more than one country and so linked that they may coordinate their operations in various ways…”
Diagrams: (source) The network of global corporate control (Vitali, Glattfelder, Battiston)
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Top 50 Control-Holders Ranking:
{source: the following is quoted directly from the research paper]
This is the first time a ranking of economic actors by global control is presented. Notice that many actors belong to the financial sector (NACE codes starting with 65,66,67) and many of the names are well-known global players.
The interest of this ranking is not that it exposes unsuspected powerful players. Instead, it shows that many of the top actors belong to the core. This means that they do not carry out their business in isolation but, on the contrary, they are tied together in an extremely entangled web of control. This finding is extremely important since there was no prior economic theory or empirical evidence regarding whether and how top players are connected.
Shareholders are ranked by network control (according to the threshold model, TM). Columns indicate country, NACE industrial sector code, actor’s position in the bow-tie sections, cumulative network control. Notice that NACE codes starting with 65,66, or 67 belong to the financial sector.
Rank , Economic actor name, Country, NACE code, Network Cumul. Network position, control (TM, %)
1 BARCLAYS PLC GB 6512 SCC 4.05
2 CAPITAL GROUP COMPANIES INC, THE US 6713 IN 6.66
3 FMR CORP US 6713 IN 8.94
4 AXA FR 6712 SCC 11.21
5 STATE STREET CORPORATION US 6713 SCC 13.02
6 JP MORGAN CHASE & CO. US 6512 SCC 14.55
7 LEGAL & GENERAL GROUP PLC GB 6603 SCC 16.02
8 VANGUARD GROUP, INC., THE US 7415 IN 17.25
9 UBS AG CH 6512 SCC 18.46
10 MERRILL LYNCH & CO., INC. US 6712 SCC 19.45
11 WELLINGTON MANAGEMENT CO. L.L.P. US 6713 IN 20.33
12 DEUTSCHE BANK AG DE 6512 SCC 21.17
13 FRANKLIN RESOURCES, INC. US 6512 SCC 21.99
14 CREDIT SUISSE GROUP CH 6512 SCC 22.81
15 WALTON ENTERPRISES LLC US 2923 T&T 23.56
16 BANK OF NEWYORKMELLON CORP. US 6512 IN 24.28
17 NATIXIS FR 6512 SCC 24.98
18 GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC., THE US 6712 SCC 25.64
19 T. ROWEPRICE GROUP, INC. US 6713 SCC 26.29
20 LEGG MASON, INC. US 6712 SCC 26.92
21 MORGAN STANLEY US 6712 SCC 27.56
22 MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP, INC. JP 6512 SCC 28.16
23 NORTHERN TRUST CORPORATION US 6512 SCC 28.72
24 SOCIÉTÉ GÉNÉRALE FR 6512 SCC 29.26
25 BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION US 6512 SCC 29.79
26 LLOYDS TSB GROUPPLCGB 6512 SCC 30.30
27 INVESCOPLCGB 6523 SCC 30.82
28 ALLIANZSE DE 7415 SCC 31.32
29 TIAA US 6601 IN 32.24
30 OLD MUTUAL PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY GB 6601 SCC 32.69
31 AVIVAPLC GB 6601 SCC 33.14
32 SCHRODERSPLC GB 6712 SCC 33.57
33 DODGE & COX US 7415 IN 34.00
34 LEHMAN BROTHERS HOLDINGS, INC. US 6712 SCC 34.43
35 SUN LIFE FINANCIAL, INC. CA 6601 SCC 34.82
36 STANDARDLIFEPLCGB 6601 SCC 35.2
37 CNCE FR 6512 SCC 35.57
38 NOMURA HOLDINGS, INC. JP 6512 SCC 35.92
39 THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY US 6512 IN 36.28
40 MASSACHUSETTS MUTUAL LIFE INSUR. US 6601 IN 36.63
41 INGGROEP N.V. NL 6603 SCC 36.96
42 BRANDES INVESTMENT PARTNERS, L.P. US 6713 IN 37.29
43 UNICREDITO ITALIANO SPA IT 6512 SCC 37.61
44 DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION OF JP JP 6511 IN 37.93
45 VERENIGING AEGON NL 6512 IN 38.25
46 BNPPARIBAS FR 6512 SCC 38.56
47 AFFILIATED MANAGERS GROUP, INC. US 6713 SCC 38.88
48 RESONA HOLDINGS, INC. JP 6512 SCC 39.18
49 CAPITAL GROUP INTERNATIONAL, INC. US 7414 IN 39.48
50 CHINA PETROCHEMICAL GROUP CO. CN 6511 T&T 39.78
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Friday, June 03, 2011 by: Sherry L. Ackerman, Ph.D.
(NaturalNews) I was in rural Portugal a few weeks ago, visiting a tiny village that I have known for decades. I have watched it gradually change since Portugal’s admission to the EU. On this visit, though, the cumulative change was striking. It was a “modern” culture now — no longer practicing the old, rural (sustainable!) ways that it had known for centuries. Automobiles raced along the streets instead of bicycles and donkey carts. People were in a hurry, rather than sharing a leisurely afternoon cup of coffee together. The Country, of course, was also in debt and on the brink of economic collapse. And, so were its citizens.
Most noticeable, though, was the lack of the old street markets. Back in the day — during Portugal’s “local”, sustainable years — craftspeople used to lay out their wares on the streets. There used to be a whole block in Lisbon, open to pedestrian traffic only, where artists, gardeners, weavers, bread-makers and other artisans had set up little stands and bartered and/or traded their things with one another. It’s gone. In its place are homeless, unemployed beggars. Crime has increased. So have the incidence and prevalence of degenerative diseases. People are working longer for less remuneration. Portugal’s economy — inflated beyond sustainable levels of local well-being — has collapsed. They have forgotten that Small is Beautiful.
When I asked my host what had happened, he stated it very simply. He said that, upon entry into the EU, the Portugese fell into the imperialist trap of valuing profit over happiness. They had traded their gardens for supermarkets! Now they all had “stuff” and purported “convenience” — but they also had debt levels that were staggering, anxiety disorders, divorce and relationship failures, crime and unemployment. Since the change had taken place in less than a single decade for them, they were able to remember “the old days”. It wasn’t several generations away. It was right up close and personal. So, the good news is that they are “headed back to the future”. My host and I took many long walks where he showed me large, new domestic gardens being prepared. We talked to local people about re-emerging local food networks. We went to a woman’s house, where bread was being baked in a solar oven on the roof, and traded for some. We bartered some of last Fall’s vino verde, still in the wooden barrel, for some spring kale. I asked him if the street markets would come back as a part of this transition. He hoped, as did I, that they would.
My hometown, Mount Shasta, California, is participating in the international Transition Town movement. We are officially a Transition Town and are actively trying to build a strong, sustainable, healthy, local economy. We are approaching this from multiple directions, but one of the key things that we are doing is sponsoring monthly Trader’s Coops. Street markets! Anyone may come and bring their own homegrown or crafted goods to trade with others. In the past few months, I’ve traded frozen green beans from last year’s garden, kombucha, raw vegan cookies, homemade artisan paper, vegan cashew cheese and dandelion jelly for artisan porcelain buttons, Danish bread, sun-roots, seed potato, garlic, vegetable seeds and a delicious bright orange turban squash!
Our Trader’s Coop is based on the idea that we all need to learn to ‘go to market’ again. Americans — with our over-stocked, consumerist supermarkets — have forgotten how to trade, barter, haggle and negotiate. Our monthly Trader’s Coop is a training ground in these essential Transition Town skills. How do I know how many kombucha cultures to offer a fellow who has some good looking seed potato that I have my eye on? The fact is that we have to talk. We have to bargain. We have to figure this out between ourselves. So, we both walk away with more than just our goods. We have made a personal connection. I am not a “consumer”. I am a friend. He is not a “client”. He is a neighbor.
We need to realize that we all have talents and skills to trade. It is very common for people to think that they “have nothing to offer” because they have been so culturally conditioned away from their own value by consumerism. Once they begin to think about taking money out of the equation, they realize that they, for example, hook rugs, build birdhouses, grow sprouts, bake bread, have fresh eggs, have garden produce and so forth. And, that all of these items are “currency” in a trade environment. Super healthy, vital kombucha cultures were my currency at last month’s Trader’s Coop. This month, my “money” will be some greenhouse lettuces that are ready to cut.
And, traders can swap services as well as goods. A friend of mine traded having some tax consultation done in exchange for preparing dinner for the tax consultant’s children. The point is to step outside of monetized systems, where profit outweighs happiness, into barter systems, where happiness is more important than profit. I always come home — on my bicycle, incidentally–from our monthly Trader’s Coop happy! I’ve visited with old friends, made new ones and experienced a give-and-take that has COMMUNITY written all over it!
How about giving it a try? Just locate a venue — especially outdoors — and invite people to bring homemade goods and services to swap. No commercial or manufactured items, of course, are appropriate. You’ll be surprised to learn how many talents and skills your neighbors have. Once you get over the initial awkwardness, you will really enjoy the process of trading. I’m thinking that I might even try to trade a few of my better charcoal sketches for a couple of deep tissue massages. What’s not to like?
Trader’s Coops: Where Kombucha Equals Currency.
About the author:
Sherry L. Ackerman, Ph.D., is a socially engaged philosopher and cultural sustainability advocate. Her new book, The Good Life: How to Create a Sustainable and Fulfilling Lifestyle explores critical issues from this perspective. At the end of each chapter is a list of things that you can do to create a more sustainable, healthier lifestyle. For more information: http://www.sherryackerman.com
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/032595_Portugal_village.html#ixzz1Od8U1cY0
This extraordinary new electric bicycle looks sharp and folds out just like a Swiss Army knife.
The creation by Swiss brand Voltitude, has been dubbed the ultimate space saver.
Designed for city-dwellers, the compact 18.5 kilogram bike measures just under two feet in width, 2ft 7in high when folded and 3ft.6in when stretched out.
Cut above the rest: The new electric bicycle that looks and folds out like a Swiss Army knife
Creators father and son Andre-Marcel, 71, and Eric Collombin, 42, say their remarkable design can be made ready to ride in just one second.
It can be unfolded with one hand with just one movement.
The pair admitted they didn’t intentionally create their bike to mirror the iconic Swiss Army knife but the design had proved popular.
Eric, from Geneva, Switzerland, said: ‘When we played around with the design we realised the similarity.
‘We made the first prototype red with a white cross and when people saw it they really liked it.
‘It was almost like a joke at first but we took the idea to a couple of Swiss Army knife companies and they really loved the concept. 
On your bike: The electric cycle has been dubbed the ultimate space-saver. It was designed by a father and son
‘We may be doing something with them in the future but for now the bike will come in other colours.’
The bike can be charged by hooking it up to a standard mains socket and takes around four hours to reach full power.
It can reach speeds of around 15 miles per hour and can be ridden for 25 miles before needing to be recharged.
Eric said it had taken an agonising five years to come up with the final design.
He explained: ‘We wanted to design a vehicle that could help people get around the city.
Spot the difference: The original Swiss Army knife with its trademark red and white cross
‘There are currently cars and bicycles but not much in between.
‘We liked the idea of the electric bicycle but found people were put off buying them because they were too big to leave outside and they were at risk of being stolen or damaged.
‘So we decided we would come up with something you could fold and take with you. It was an opportunity to build a bike like no other.
‘Our mantra was to design something you could fold with one hand, in one movement and in one second.
‘It took us five years to make it work. Our closest competing product takes nine moves and nine seconds to fold so I think we’ve really made a big step.’
The bike, which is set to sell for around £2,650, is not yet in full production but it can be pre-ordered through the Voltitude website.
Sharp: There have been 1,000 orders for the cycle from all over the world
The Collombins have already received a staggering 1,000 orders from all over the world.
They intend to produce 1,000 bikes for the Swiss market in March 2012 and will manufacture them for the UK later in the year.
Eric said: ‘This bike is for people who live and work in a city and don’t have the space for a standard bike.
‘We had business people in mind but we’ve had a lot of queries from a wide range of people young and old from all over the world.
‘We’ve had only positive comments from people who have always been interested in electric bikes but never really thought it was for them.
‘Our aim was to convert those who weren’t already ‘bike’ people and so far it seems to be working.’
Easy rider: The electric cycle can travel 25 miles before it has to be recharged
It’s a Swiss Army bike! The electric cycle folds out just like the iconic knife | Mail Online.
June 7, 2011
Have you ever thought about how wonderful a small seed really is? Think about it for a moment. You can take something very small, plant it in the ground, give it water, and it will grow millions of times larger than it’s original size. Let’s examine what the seed that grows into a tree can teach us about the dream that becomes reality:
- The size of the seed is irrelevant: Diverse plants and trees across the planet all begin with seeds. While not all seeds are the same size, none of the seeds are the same size as the finished product. Seeds are so small they can be easily lost, trampled, and thrown away. Similarly, when you conceive a vision, have a goal or dream, it begins small, and it is easy to lose if not careful. You can share your vision with the wrong people and throw your seed away because they could not see what you see. Instead of planting it, you shared it — prematurely nonetheless. You might share it with close friends or family members that eventually trample all over it and discourage you to the point of quitting. Seeds and dreams are the similar: small, fragile, easily destroyed, but also potentially great, larger than you could ever imagine, and able to produce more seed.
- Soil is very important: Preparation for the ground in which you plant your seed is very important and will determine the success or failure of your seed. You can plant prime seed in dry, infertile soil, and it will not bring forth what it is supposed to. Instead, you have planted perfectly good seed into bad ground. Position yourself and prepare so that your seed is planted into good ground. Don’t be the man or woman with the greatest idea and poorest execution skills. You will need to prepare in advance for the success of your crop. Do you expect your vision to come to fruition? Or is it just a great conversation starter at business functions? You have to be serious and being serious requires turning over the soil before you plant the seed, and making sure the ground is capable of producing fruit. Timing, resources, and your attitude might be the soil in which you can plant your dream — if they are not right, how can you expect the seed to take root and grow?
- Cultivate the seed: Beside the initial preparation, watering the seed and making sure it has enough sunlight will be determining factors in the seeds success. Gathering the funding and support for your dream is very important to bringing it to pass. However, without proper attention after the seed is in the ground, it will not produce what you want. It may take root and actually spring up into something, but not what you envisioned. When you get your business off the ground and your first clients have began to applaud you for your expertise, continue to work hard. Do not allow complacency to stunt the growth of your dream or rob you of its full potential. The entire process weeds out the dreamers from the go-getters, the talkers from the doers. Soon, you will see that small seed bloom into something that everyone can see. You never have to share your seed in the beginning because if you stay the course, all will see it grow.
- Get rid of the weeds: There will be thorns, weeds, and days you water the seed too much or give it too little sun. Mistakes happen, but you must pull up the weeds and thorns immediately. Anyone in your life that chokes your dream or vision and leaves you feeling drained or lifeless must be removed immediately if your seed is to see full growth. Don’t be surprised when they come and don’t waste much time wondering why they are there or their purpose — pluck them and throw them away. Your seed is in jeopardy the longer you allow them to stay near the seed. In fact, they could be stealing essential nutrients from your seed! Prepping the soil and the daily cultivating will mean nothing if you allow the weeds to stay. A decision must be made: whether you will continue to grow a dream or will waste time on thorns. They cannot dwell together very long. One will thrive, one will barely survive. Sometimes they can do a great job of blending in, but the careful planter can easily determine the real from the fake.
- Allow it to grow and mature: There will come a time when your dream and vision has been monitored, pruned, and cultivated to the point it appears to be growing without any of your help at all, but be careful. No matter how large or great the dream has become, it is never completely “out of the woods” from destruction. The good news is that maintaining your dream and vision may be slightly easier than planting, growing, and cultivating it. Not because you have become an expert but because you have experience. Regardless, do not allow your experience to make you feel immune to the real threats that still remain. While your dream is no longer a seed and easily trampled, it is now large and impossible to hide. The threat of trampling or not seeing the seed grow is no longer there, but now that all can see it, new threats emerge. While the weeds can no longer come and choke it, it can still be axed. Use wisdom in keeping the dream, reminding yourself of the work involved in bringing it to fruition.
Seeds and Dreams: Parallel Processes, Similar Results
May 26, 2011
Anyone aware of the US Government’s real financial situation knows that time is running out. The Government has $15.5 trillion in admitted debts but those debts, when calculated under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), or ‘honest accounting’, is over $70 trillion. $70 trillion divided by 300 million+ Americans works out to $233,000 per person in US Federal Government debt and obligations. Or nearly $1 million per family of four.
That does not included personal debt, state debt or municipal debt.
This debt plus an economy that has been completely hollowed out by the Federal Reserve system ensures that there is no way the US Government can ever pay off this debt. And, everyone knows it.
The indications that the US Government is moving very quickly to enact any legal measure or fine against Americans and to make it nearly impossible for any American to escape payment to pay for their sins are everywhere.
We recently commented on how It Is now Easier to Enter the US Than It Is To Leave. Customs agents and cash sniffing dogs stand on guard at most international US airports checking to make sure no one has more than $10,000 in cash without declaring it. The standard response to this is: “They are only making it difficult for criminals to move about and to transfer money”.
Well, the problem is, the US Government is moving very quickly to make it so almost everyone is seen as a criminal in the eyes of the US legal system.
Now We Are All Criminals
It is already said that there are so many laws, rules and regulations in the US that each person in the US breaks at least one law per day, if not much more – without even knowing it. But the US Government is becoming more obvious in how it will go about making everyone a criminal and fining them ridiculous amounts of money in doing so.
This week, an American family who said they were just trying to teach their son about responsibility and entrepreneurship was fined $90,000 by the USDA because the teenager sold $4,600 worth of bunnies in one calendar year without a license. Not only were they demanded to pay $90,000, but if they did not pay within a short period of time the fine could increase to as high as $4 million.
This one case only goes to show how easy it is, within the system, to take any small transgression and to blackmail someone for, for all intents and purposes, every penny they have – or more.
Students to be Forced into the Military to Repay Debts
We also recently commented on how the US college system draws people into large debts (Debtucation) and how student debt is now larger than credit card debt in the US. It is the US Government itself that has made college education so expensive by offering student loans to anyone who can fog a mirror but again they have shown their intentions by making student loan debt the only debt which can not be forgiven. A 2005 decree from the Bush Administration stated that student loan debt could not be dissolved through bankruptcy proceedings. The only other scenario where this “no-escape” clause exists is debt from criminal acts and debt from fraud. In other words, student loan debt is seen, by the US Government, as being similar to proceeds from crime!
What will this mean with more young Americans in student loan debt than any other time? It’s anyones guess but it would not be out of the realm of possibility to force students who can not pay off their debt into the military to repay their debt.
And with the US military with 800 military bases worldwide with US military personnel in 156 countries and US Military bases in 63 countries and currently occupying or attacking Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and with other drone operations in places like Yemen and Pakistan, the US is all but ensuring that it is screwing around in enough places to eventually draw in one of the big boys. Russia, China or Iran.
And, hey, we Gotta Support the Troops, right?
US Government Eyeing Pensions and Retirement Funds
On the other end of the spectrum, seniors and those in retirement, the US Government recently made it very obvious that funds held in retirement accounts are going to be the first to be taken when times get tough.
In the recent scuffle over raising the debt ceiling, the US Government was short of some funds after reaching the United States’ $14.3 trillion debt ceiling last Monday. Where was the very first place the US Government went to find new sources of funds? Last week they dipped into state pension funds in order to make payments.
It is no great leap to think that as things worsen in the US Government’s financial situation, which is all but guaranteed, that the first thing that will be nationalized will be all tax sheltered retirement accounts. After all, we all have to do our part to pay for the debts of the Government, right?
Anyone living off of US pensions should be very worried. And anyone with significant funds in retirement accounts should be running, not walking, to get any funds they can outside of the direct control of the US Government. We recommend looking at “Unleash Your IRA“, a great program for diversifying your IRA internationally.
Get a 2nd Passport
There are two ways to look at the upcoming battle between the US Government and US citizens. You can stay and fight or you can run and hide.
If you plan to stay and fight we wish you good luck and will try to support your efforts in any way we can.
If you would rather run and hide then one of the first things you should be looking to do at this time is to at least get a second passport. This is still legal for Americans and there are many options. We discuss many of them, regularly in our newsletter.
As well, if you have the financial capability, we highly recommend buying some foreign real estate – preferably somewhere you like to live. Our favorite place, at the moment, is La Estancia de Cafayate in Argentina (email them for more information at tdv@lec.com.ar).
2011 Last Year to Get Out
Most things are still legal in the US. It is still legal to have foreign bank accounts – although you are required by law to report them to the Government. It is still legal to get a second passport. It is still legal to move assets in your IRA outside of the country. It is still legal to move money outside of the country and buy foreign real estate.
The window of opportunity is closing. If you live in the US and still have all your assets inside of the US, you likely have months, not years, to internationally diversify your assets and to get your affairs in order. Anything much after 2011 is taking a big risk of losing it all.
The Door is About to Shut for Americans | Before It’s News.
Related articles
- LETTER TO THE EDITOR | Don’t bow to GOP budget blackmail (kitsapsun.com)
- The US National Debt Exposed (creditloan.com)
- How the Debt Ceiling Issue Will Hit Ordinary Americans in the Wallet (dailyfinance.com)
Image via Wikipedia
05/05/2011
The war on terror is a worldwide endeavor that has spurred massive investment into the global surveillance industry, which now seems to be becoming a war on “liberty and privacy.” Given all of the new monitoring technology being implemented, the uproar over warrantless wiretaps now seems moot.
High-tech, first-world countries are being tracked, traced, and databased, literally around every corner. Governments, aided by private companies, are gathering a mountain of information on average citizens who so far seem willing to trade liberty for supposed security. Here are just some of the ways the matrix of data is being collected:
GPS — Global positioning chips are now appearing in everything from U.S. passports and cell phones to cars. More common uses include tracking employees, and for all forms of private investigation. Apple recently announced they are collecting the precise location of iPhone users via GPS for public viewing in addition to spying on users in other ways.
Internet — Internet browsers are recording your every move forming detailed cookies on your activities. The National Security Administration has been exposed as having cookies on their site that don’t expire until 2035. Major search engines know where you surfed last summer, and online purchases are databased, supposedly for advertising and customer service uses. IP addresses are collected and even made public. Controversial websites can be flagged internally by government
sites, as well as re-routing all traffic to block sites the government wants to censor. It has now been fully admitted that social networks provide no privacy to users while technologies advance for real-time social network monitoring is already being used. The Cybersecurity Act attempts to legalize the collection and exploitation of your personal information. Apple’s iPhone also has browsing data recorded and stored. All of this despite the overwhelming opposition to cybersurveillance by citizens.RFID — Forget your credit cards which are meticulously tracked, or the membership cards for things so insignificant as movie rentals which require your Social Security number. Everyone has Costco, CVS, grocery-chain cards, and a wallet or purse full of many more. RFID “proximity cards” take tracking to a new level in uses ranging from loyalty cards, student ID, physical access, and computer network access. Latest developments include an RFID powder developed by Hitachi, for which the multitude of uses are endless — perhaps including tracking hard currency so we can’t even keep cash undetected. (Also see microchips below).
Traffic cameras — License plate recognition has been used to remotely automate duties of the traffic police in the United States, but have been proven to have dual use in England such as to mark activists under the Terrorism Act. Perhaps the most common use will be to raise money and shore up budget deficits via traffic violations, but uses may descend to such “Big Brother” tactics as monitors telling pedestrians not to litter as talking cameras already do in the UK.
Computer cameras and microphones — The fact that laptops — contributed by taxpayers — spied on public school children (at home) is outrageous. Years ago Google began officially to use computer “audio fingerprinting” for advertising uses. They have admitted to working with the NSA, the premier surveillance network in the world. Private communications companies already have been exposed routing communications to the NSA. Now, keyword tools — typed and spoken — link to the global security matrix.
Public sound surveillance — This technology has come a long way from only being able to detect gunshots in public areas, to now listening in to whispers for dangerous “keywords.” This technology has been launched in Europe to “monitor conversations” to detect “verbal aggression” in public places. Sound Intelligence is the manufacturer of technology to analyze speech, and their website touts how it can easily be integrated into other systems.
Biometrics — The most popular biometric authentication scheme employed for the last few years has been Iris Recognition. The main applications are entry control, ATMs and government programs. Recently, network companies and governments have utilized biometric authentication including fingerprint analysis, iris recognition, voice recognition, or combinations of these for use in national identification cards.
DNA — Blood from babies has been taken for all people under the age of 38. In England, DNA was sent to secret databases from routine heel prick tests. Several reports have revealed covert Pentagon databases of DNA for “terrorists” and now DNA from all American citizens is databased. Digital DNA is now being used as well to combat hackers.
Microchips — Microsoft’s HealthVault and VeriMed partnership is to create RFID implantable microchips. Microchips for tracking our precious pets is becoming commonplace and serves to condition us to accept putting them in our children in the future. The FDA has already approved this technology for humans and is marketing it as a medical miracle, again for our safety.
Facial recognition — Anonymity in public is over. Admittedly used at President Obama’s campaign events, sporting events, and most recently at the G8/G20 protests in Canada. This technology is also harvesting data from Facebook images and surely will be tied into the street “traffic” cameras.
All of this is leading to Predictive Behavior Technology — It is not enough to have logged and charted where we have been; the surveillance state wants to know where we are going through psychological profiling. It’s been marketed for such uses as blocking hackers. Things seem to have advanced to a point where a truly scientific Orwellian world is at hand. It is estimated that computers know to a 93 percent accuracy where you will be, before you make your first move. Nanotech is slated to play a big role in going even further as scientists are using nanoparticles to directly influence behavior and decision making.
Many of us are asking: What would someone do with all of this information to keep us tracked, traced, and databased? It seems the designers have no regard for the right to privacy and desire to become the Controllers of us all.
Tech Beat: 10 ways ‘the police state’ tracks you – Times-Standard Online.
Related articles
- Americans, Everything You Do Is Monitored (talesfromthelou.wordpress.com)
- New Washable RFID Chips Track Hotel Towels and Bathrobes (talesfromthelou.wordpress.com)
- Senate Sneaks RFID Drivers License, Internet ID into Transportation Bill (terryolgin.wordpress.com)
- Privacy storm after police buy Geotime software that maps suspects’ digital movements (talesfromthelou.wordpress.com)
