Education

Whether preparing others for the future, or just yourself, this is useful...
"The biggest job in today's information-saturated world is to give the child an armor against doctrine."

War

Bad news: money is controlled by people who use it for terrible, selfish things. Good news: money does not represent our resources, knowledge, or abilities. Which is why continuing its use is causing a lot of problems. Fortunately we can overcome such obstacles and limitations by building a resource-based economy. Otherwise, keep running the world on a primitive, arbitrary numerical value system that doesn't correspond to reality and watch this planet go down in flames.

80% US Poverty

80% Near Poverty

Some will dismiss this statistic as exaggerated, so let me add more perspective.  I work in a very popular and successful restaurant in Los Angeles, and MOST of my coworkers are juggling multiple jobs to survive.  Not a good sign.  If you don't feel it yet, pretty soon this global depression will affect you too, as automation continues to replace the monetary/labor system.  We are working harder, not smarter.  If you want to slave away the rest of your life in repetition, uncertainty, and fear, heading toward an ever-shrinking future, then keep doing whatever you're doing.  If not, then start learning about a resource-based economy, which is designed to enrich and work for us, instead of the other way around.

Another gimmicky holiday

https://medium.com/thoughts-on-creativity/6f4cb1886d41
Some people are going to think the above idea is cute and funny, until they understand the consequences.  These kids will tell others their dinosaur toys are alive, and like with Santa Claus, it is not only awkward for them when they learn it's a lie, but also for the parents.  Such fantasy delays and disrupts children's development and understanding of how the world works.  We operate better if we know how it does, and our parents' limited expertise/time already hinder our learning/growth.  Instead of the truth, we are given stories, distractions, and superstitions, producing a false sense of reality.  Some of us spend years overcoming such intellectual obstacles; many aren't so lucky and go on stumbling over them their entire lives because they are so hard-wired and reinforced.  Parents, more productive imagination and creativity comes from teaching many different relevant things.  A better game would be to use the toy dinosaurs to explain that 99% of all species are extinct due to evolution/adaptation/change.  One day we will be gone too, so we should make the most of our time.  The best way is to start out as informed, prepared, and capable as possible.  Education and science are more fascinating, functional, and enduring gifts for our children than the proposed values of mystery, wonder, and innocence, which are byproducts of ignorance.  Knowledge is power; and these false idols keep us from it.  Rest assured, there will always be mystery and questions for our primitive species.  But is it wise to spread more fantasy and lies in a world already so full of both?  What do you want: to retard our children and our future, or do you want to help make both as bright as possible?  "I'd take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance any day." - Douglas Adams

Jeremy Rifkin

This man speaks a lot of truth, and depending on what you know, he may evoke either fear, anger, or sadness.  Unfortunately those responses tend to produce more negative results rather than inspire change or positive action.  Why is he not talking about a resource-based economy as a proposed system-wide evolution?  Is he aware of groups like The Venus Project, Zeitgeist Movement, Open-Source Ecology, and many others which offer such fundamentally improved models of bio-eco-geo-socio-techno-logical design?  Rifkin must go further and offer a detailed solution or alternative strategy for us to work toward; otherwise he is just another man on a soapbox preaching the end of the world, while scientists and engineers like Jacque Fresco are offering ways to save it.

Good stuff

Proof that helping others is better and more powerful than focusing on our environmentally manufactured differences.
What happened right before this photo was taken blew me away.

Want to improve your relationships?

The title of this video is inadequate.  It is partly about anger, but mostly about love and relationships.  Some useful perspective on these concepts that everyone seems to think they understand so well, despite much evidence to the contrary.

On the government shutdown

Many people won't understand this, as they are too indoctrinated/dependent upon these ancient systems...but this is further evidence of the irrelevance/obsolescence of both politics and money. To the extent we keep using them, we are damning ourselves to repeat history over and over, as they are inferior problem-solving tools compared to science and technology. So we can either keep the current model based on controlled scarcity, ignorance, and stratification (which most people seem to be unhappy with), or we can build a new one designed to increase abundance, freedom, and equality through intelligent resource management.  www.thevenusproject.com

Global problems require global solutions...

WSJ: Robots May Revolutionize China's Electronics Manufacturing
When we have the technology to do things more efficiently, productively, and safely, then forcing people to work instead is a stupid form of slavery that is holding us all back.  Technological unemployment is a GOOD thing; it is the main point of technology and it represents progress.  What is causing MOST problems in the world is that our primitive political and monetary systems are irrelevant and unsustainable, but are perpetuated by those in power.  Change is the only constant; and those who fear it will always be afraid.  If we don't change, we will be changed.

TVP on BBC!

Seems like progress...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23799590

Brilliant Short Film

If I could make films, I'd make one like this.  It's short, poignant, and speaks to all people.  Its prime point of appeal is "Game of Thrones", but really it's about all forms of entertainment.

Intervention

To those who still believe they live in a democracy, did you vote for this?  Did you even know about it?  Don't take my word for it, look it up.  If this was somehow for our benefit, they would promote it.  The fact that the media is not covering it should tell you something.  Historically, this is not a good sign.  Secrecy is only ok if someone is planning a surprise party; in most other cases it is used to hide deviance.  Government secrecy is not for our protection; it is for theirs. 

Would you stay in a relationship with someone who lies, cheats, steals, is violent, and sells you out?  Then why believe in a government like that?  Parties/individuals are irrelevant; they are all subject to the same corrupt system.  They fail us continuously, but pander and tell us they love us.  We're in an abusive, neglective, submissive relationship, and this act is a red flag.  What is it called when someone keeps doing the same thing expecting different results?

People only stay in unhealthy relationships when they don't know there are better options out there.  Fortunately, there are "plenty of fish in the sea".  The Venus Project, Open Source Ecology, Atlas Initiative Group, The Zeitgeist Movement, and many more.  Support whichever one appeals to you.  Unlike government, they are trying to build a better future using modern methods and means for the benefit of all people, not just a select few.  These globally conscious groups recognize that some tools perpetuated for centuries are no longer working, and are holding us back.  It is not a revolution; it's an evolution.  It is time to change, or be changed.

The STOCK Act

How Congress Quietly Overhauled its Insider Trading Law

How convenient and awesome! If you happen to be a wealthy and powerful corporation. Proof that politicians CAN come together and work quickly, but only when serving the needs of their owners. Please stop thinking in terms of government; clearly they're not thinking in terms of us.

"No problem can be solved with the same level of consciousness that created it." - Einstein

Politicians don't know anything about communication, agriculture, technology, biology, behavior, etc. Don't you think those would be useful when making decisions for millions of people? If you want to fix things, first you need the proper tools. #TheVenusProject

What if you're wrong?

This is a great blog from a really cool guy: my uncle!  It's about perspective and how being wrong is an essential part of learning more about yourself and the world.  Take a minute and post your story if that appeals to you.
http://www.theymightberight.com/

Improved Health

Food is basically a vessel through which we get nutrients that allow us to live and function.  We rely on it to maintain the structure and chemical energy of our bodies.  I love cooking and eating, but mostly for the traditional social role it plays in our lives.  It can also be incredibly time-consuming, expensive, and wasteful.  Science is constantly discovering new, more efficient and effective methods for achieving better results.  Think about how "crazy and futuristic" vitamins would have seemed at one point; now they are common.  This then, is simply another evolution of consumption:
Blog: How I Stopped Eating Food

Still kicking ass at 97!

Happy Birthday to my hero, and one of the most incredible people to ever live.