Two faces of African Hunger

How to solve the world's hunger problem ?

The human way... link

The Banana Republic way... link 1 link 2

Don't pauperise the third world by giving them food, enrich them with the knowledge to be self sufficient. And maybe interest free loans...

Searching... part 2

The 'search' has taken a more serious turn than the light hearted anti corporation mumble that was 'Searching Part... 1'

Why such an ominous turn of tone ?

The 18 month scenario with the Dow and Gold charts is simplistic (given below). In that they view, an upward rise for the Dow based on the 'breakout' from the upward directed channel starting from 2003. It is true that the falling dollar will increase US exports and that the rising currencies of the world will make US manufacturing more attractive. However, what is it that will take the Dow to new highs ? In other words how does one increase the purchasing power of the consumer that is already burdened with debt ? Lowering the value of debt via liquidity is one way to go as suggested in this very interesting article on the 'Global Research' website...

"How Far Will the Crash Go and What Do we Do Now?"
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=6575

We are not going to see an increase in interest rates to balance the trigger happy printing presses as individual's stretched by debt cannot afford higher rates. However, this is just a part of the scenario. With an increase in liquidity, resources come into the picture as do resource grabs. The hunt for resources is an ugly business which has involved war on many occasions, and as recently as the Iraq war by the US Govt. There is no other credible reason left for the US Govt's decision to go to war with Iraq apart from Oil and saving the further devaluation of the USD by Iraqi oil being sold in Euro. There were no WMD's, Iraq wasn't buying yellowcake from Niger and there were no links of Saddam's regime to the ex-CIA trained Mujahidin A.K.A. Osama Bin Laden' Al-Qaeda, the database of Muslim Extremists... I cannot put the result of US' interventions in the middle east better than a recent video on Jon Stewart's Daily Show.
http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/?lnk=v&ml_video=91998

So, as all of you may have guessed, this was all a build up to writing about the US' annoyance with Iran. With the Bush administration's rhetoric reaching new highs, as evidenced by Greenwald's internet petition video.

http://foxattacks.com/blog/10777-fox-attacks-iran

For those who want to know why Fox is being trumped as the voice piece of the GOP should watch 'Outfoxed' http://www.outfoxed.org/

Now, this is beginning to sound like an anti republican and anti globalisation piece. It isn't, (this might be anti-establishment though) I'll explain why later. Let's get back to Iran. Why is there such a strong rhetoric surrounding Iran ? I would like to warn the war mongers , that though the American Air force is fresh, as is the Navy, fighting a war on three fronts is really a stupid idea. Can it be, that they want to increase pressure on Iran forcing them into a deal akin to the deal with N. Korea ? i.e. decrease Iran's isolation, allowing them to trade internationally. Possible... the new Turkish Govt. has opened up to Iran, though it's a conservative Govt. which has been traditionally opposed by the Turkish Military (who have strong ties with the US) Or could this rise in rhetoric simply be the dear Straussian philosophy trying to distract the public from what is really a horrendous economic system. How dare I attack the Capitalist bastion ? Capitalism ? Mmm will the real Capitalist please stand up ? I'm not sure how a Congress decreed minimum wage, international sanctions, federal bail outs and, my personal favourite, Bankers controlling Monetary Inflation, is Capitalism. It definitely isn't free market economics, it really is Corporatism. Politics and Big Business, always in bed together. This story is really very old. Gandhi came up with a way of dealing with the 'company' back in the 20's and 30's and that, still is, the only way to deal with corporations today. Self Sufficiency. However, let's be honest, there are practical applications of being self sufficient and then there are impractical applications. I mean, I could build a plane for myself, but it doesn't make sense, resource wise, for everyone to have a plane. Not yet anyway :)

So we come back to the original few lines of this piece. What happens to an economy which runs on credit when credit runs out ? This isn't just America's problem. I don't know anyone in the developed/developing world that doesn't own a credit card. The idea of buying on credit itself is really a concept which defeats the consumer in every way. I am told that my purchasing power is increased, that would be true if the price of what I'm buying is static. It never is. You don't need to be a economic whiz to understand supply and demand. If you increase purchasing power of the consumer you also drive up prices because ppl who couldn't afford that 4 bedroom house are now able to buy that 4 bedroom house, who's value has been trumped up because everyone can now get a loan and buy. In other words the conditions that force you to take a loan are forcing subsequent generations to live in debt. How is this possible ? Liquidity and expansion...

No we are not going back to the stone age, if we change the system. There is plenty that can be done and business can be self sustainable too. There will always be need for large businesses but they can be Co-op... more on this soon.

Another act of self sufficiency is brewing beer. I have now bought my own beer brewing kit, Cooper's. I must admit that these guys made a great kit and it really simplifies beer brewing. Cost advantage ? 23 litres of beer for under AUD 80 + cost of water and you get a kit which is robust enough for further use. Subsequent batches can be brewed for under AUD 20 + cost of water.

Tomato - Basil - 10 days

Searching... part 1

The last few years have been interesting to say the least. I've gone from being a medical student to a casual worker in the Australian workforce, I'm a full time investor, researcher (I still can't say that with a straight face) and now budding Psychiatrist... I make more money investing so I've left being a casual worker. It was mainly for finding out what the big deal was. Working for a big company. It's the most redundant thing I have done so far. It's inefficient and everyone is self serving, no wonder nothing gets done. They are so redundant, they have to hire 10 people to get the job done. Anyway....

In other words I've covered a lot of ground. I have also decided to get married/am married. That in itself is a story. Civil ceremonies are the only ceremonies that matter legally. Religious, not so much in the eyes of the law, but society, well I'm not married according to society, I'm engaged according to society;legally married. Why not a societal/religious marriage ? Too much co-ordination. It's a problem when your family lives all over the world. It doesn't really bother me, society is self conforming and I refuse to conform.

Incredibly, I'm approaching 30. In my mind I certainly don't feel 30 but I do think about being 30 and what should it mean being 30. I've come to the conclusion that it means absolutely nothing. So let's move on.

The recent 'Sub Prime Meltdown' has got me thinking about things, global economy etc... I think banks and private enterprises are self serving greedy individuals. Nothing wrong with that, but I think the customer so often forgets that.Banks have a monopoly on fiat currency (no intrinsic value), for which, individuals work. Because most work is rubbish people don't enjoy their work. Why is work rubbish anyway ? Well the 'division of labour' causes a person/group to focus their attention on one aspect, boring the death out of him/her so that companies can make a profit. Employers have to cater to the common denominator when it comes to employees. Yes we all try to hire the best, but lets face it, if everyone was hiring the best, then were would the rest of us slackers work ? After all, one has to fill in the gaps. And so the cycle continues.

Why do we work anyway ? We need to earn that fiat currency. We don't have time for raising crops (we are working) so we work to buy food. I hope I'm sounding ridiculously stupid because that is my intention. I'm trying to prove to you (my imaginary readers) that we should all become self sufficient in our needs and stop making other individuals rich through our blood and sweat. Ok, so that's a bit dramatic... but let me explain further...

What do humans want ? Food, Shelter, Sex (very important), Social Interaction and Creativity. Now what do these things have to do with working for a big company ? If the 'system' (here we go big anarchist word) wasn't so skewed, we wouldn't have to work for the big company. What system ? It's a bit complex. Let's see... Big companies eat out competition and take up resources for the profit of its shareholders and to pay that dashing CEO millions of dollars. It would be easy if I started dropping names but that is so cliché that I can't. Companies exist within society and have all the interactions of society without the shortcomings. Ok it s much easier to name names. If a Walmart opens up in your neighbourhood, what does it mean ? Cheap stuff. Stuff that doesn't last much. Smaller stores are unable to compete and will shut down. Yes we will get minimum wage employment. In the long run though a Walmart type super chain is detrimental for individuals as it makes them reliant on the super chain for everything... See a Walmart doesn't source locally. More importantly, a big company like Walmart forces the 'vendors' to become like a 'walmart'. In other words big enough to subsidise its product to who ever is buying. However, isn't a Walmart making life easy for us individuals, freeing up our time ? A one stop shop ? I mean we have so much choice anyway, so why should we bother about going to 10 small stores when we can go to that 1 big Walmart ?

Ok, lets back track for a bit. The argument is 'we have more time if we don't have to bother about being self sufficient'. We have more time to do what exactly ? 'Anything thing you want' would be the reply. The most common of those replies however, would be that you would have time to work, build a career, work towards your retirement, have a family, work to provide for your family... Hello !?! I can have a family and feed it, if I was self sufficient, why do I need a Walmart for that ? (not walmart per se, but a system that is personified by a walmart) I'll tell you why you need a Walmart. You need a Walmart, because you are lazy. You are too preoccupied with yourself and your needs. You are so, because the society that you live in, has made you so. Why did it do that ? Well, 90 % of society really is controlled by 10 % of it, socially, economically, politically etc... But who gives the venerable 10 % the power to do so. I'm sure the clever individuals reading this would have already guessed. The 90 % that are too worried about themselves to bother about where the human race, where they as a group, are headed. I have heard the argument about modern technology and money required to do research blah blah... I know what is involved in research and I know big corporations are redundant so you that is an oft used but untrue argument. Technology is a self fulfilling beast in itself but I will talk about technology later. We don't need big corporations to produce technology.

Where are we headed ? Mmm I wish I knew, I would make a killing in the stock market.

All these questions really got me thinking and the end result was my paper, which is posted on the blog. What did I find out. Well interestingly enough, if an individual thinks about himself, he is really using the circuits which are designed for the flight or fight response. The by product of which is anxiety. If he is thinking about other people, being altruistic, he is using the 'non flight or fight response' circuits. I have to confirm this so wait till I get some references for the latter statement, with regard to the specific circuits in use.

In other words the shift from being self sustaining is causing us to be unhappy... When one is unhappy one is mentally incapable of performing to one's best cognitive capacity. I'm not suggesting that working for a company is a sign of being retarded.... far from. However, what I am suggesting is that the world is filled with many opportunities and working for big companies, though safe, is a self defeating endeavour for society at large. And this is where it gets tricky. Good for the individual, bad for society. But it isn't a static equation. There isn't just one generation that we need to think about. What happens to subsequent generations ? so Let me put it this way. Good for parents, bad for society at large, bad for their children. Even though it was their children that they would have been thinking about. (they maybe thinking about themselves too, that's a psychoanalytical debate which I don't want to have here)

ok more about this later... but I don't want to leave you empty handed, without a suggestion.

1. Start thinking about what self sufficiency means.
2. Grow some tomatoes and basil, make your own bread and have more bruchetta. If you grow the basil near the tomato, it will keep a lot of the insects away from the tomato.

This simple experiment in self sufficiency, in itself, will get you thinking about what powers an individual has within society.

more soon,

dn