One Nation under G U N S | Land of the Free, Home of the Bewildered | United States of Apathy

What could be the change? Which do you choose? Amassing stuff & money, or interacting with nature, in body and spirit, for free?

I don’t know about you, I have only my experiences from my own family life where i was raised in a small town in Pennsylvania among cats, dogs, trees and lots of exposure to arts, education and appreciation and love of nature. And every subsequent contact and influence through people i met throughout my life as well as what information I’ve been put into touch with. I know that I don’t need diamonds, gold, jewelry, shiny objects, ivory, animal heads that I’ve conquered to mount on my wall, remedies from exotic animals for this or that dysfunction…nor do i need to keep gathering objects and amass things. I don’t need a car. I love bicycling. I also continually appreciate very little things, and find amusement and delight in the natural world. I prefer to be outdoors, and fortunately, am not currently homeless > I do enjoy a stable, calm, peaceful place to prepare my two meals of the day and sleep.  

I don’t need to continually purchase, clothing. I have been wearing the same sneakers for walking, bicycling, in rain or snow. And just got a second hand pair of shoes for free, for dressy occasions, when I can wear one of my 6 dresses that I brought with me in my luggage which are classics, that don’t change with fashion circuits seasonally. I brought my cleats with me as well, which I use wherever I live, when I find the local ultimate frisbee pickup games. blah, blah, blah

I looked outside of my window from the high rise room in Berlin (extremely tight and difficult shared housing situation) last evening, and noticed how many red glowing lights were in the sky. They are all cranes, except for two smoke stacks. I counted about 16 cranes that I could see from the day, from stretching to look right and left, except for the large square office building blocking my view straight ahead. 

WTF is the need for continued building? What the fuck is the need for supporting guns? What is the need for victimizing people who are fleeing dangerous situations (political turmoil or warming climate destroying their ability to survive and eat) when in fact it is predominantly the western developed world who are energy hogs and who have intermittently and with regularity destabilized regions politically, destabilized the climate, and recklessly and relentlessly invested in oil (and coal) when they know for a fact, if they have any kind of a clue and read anything, that our climate and entire ecological environment is endangered. 

I don’t want cranes.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-24/what-i-learned-counting-cranes-in-san-francisco

I want live cranes in our beautiful world. Nothing is more precious than clean air, water and the beauty and exhilaration of interacting with the nature of our beautiful world.

What is it not to get (understand/realize), that our lifestyles and demands and insistence on endless upgrading and getting immediate satisfaction, and lack of active statements and protests and going up against the powers that be, who want nothing more than for everything to stay the same, and the consuming public to continue to consume – and subsequently their power and control and amount of money in their bank accounts forever increase? 

Endless building, endless construction, endless buying, consuming without end. Putting more and more satellites into the atmosphere to create yet more junk, thanks a lot, not, Elon.

We need a radically different economic system that is not leveraged on the artificially crafted value of money, and our complete dependency on it. 

Instead of being radically separate, we could be joining together in person, in communities; research & development, idea sharing, creating gardens, building things, crafting, talking, laughing, dancing. We really don’t need to collect and amass all this stuff. 

This blog was unplanned, a spontaneous result of reading headlines about another mass shooting in the USA and of hospitals filling up by youth harming themselves.

Did anyone of my FB friends bother to read the transcript i posted of Gabor Mate’s talk about healing through ayahuasca? Because he is clearly talking about the TRAUMA INDUCED BY THE ENVIRONMENT (FAMILY, SOCIAL, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC) and the fact that many people i the western DEVELOPED nations, and particularly the LAND OF THE FREE, are enmeshed in a web of trauma. 

Gabor Mate transcript Gabor Mate speaks the truth, eloquently. 10 years ago!!!

It is essential for the emotionally, psychologically and spiritually sick population of the Wealthy western world (derivative and export of our fine hypocritical social and economic system of Capitalism) because healing and awareness is available. 

https://theincubator.live/2016/11/15/dr-gabor-mate-on-the-healing-power-of-ayuhuasca/

this is outrageous! Let’s just keep doing the same routines and not thinking about what is wrong with a system that bails out bankers and cuts education and healthcare to the people, who have huge stresses with high housing costs…

“The portion of American hospital beds occupied by children with suicidal or self-harming behavior has soared over the course of a decade, a large study of admissions to acute care hospitals shows.”

Carol Keiter aka nomadbeatz welcomes donations for her writing, photography, illustrations, eBook and music composition. The PayPal donation button functions in Safari and Firefox, however is broken in Chrome.

Above statue at the grave of Frederick Chopin at Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris. We need less stuff, less occupation with work, and more play, laughter, togetherness, song, dance and psychedelics. Less is more. 

Notch Up the Government’s Role with “ObamaWorks” | A Version of Roosevelt’s WPA | Green New Deal

I originally proposed this in 2012. I decided to repost it presently in lieu of the proposal of the ‘Green New Deal‘.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Rep D-NY discusses the Green New Deal with Bernie Sanders Climate Change – Environmental Policy

My religion and spirituality is the natural world and my relationship to it. I love and adore all of the different species of flora and fauna, the water, air, wind, the soil of the earth. It is full of splendor and awesome. I value human invented relishes much less.

We all need to re-evaluate and repair our connection to the natural world and to value and cherish that of which we are inextricably a part. We need to radically transform our relationship which has been diminished and twisted in the last decades, due to having a perspective and approach that looked at other forms of life as a commodity to use. We need to revive our love and respect for the natural world and become guardians of it, not just for our children, but for the beings that exist before us right here and right now.

Prior to Obama’s win of the 2012 presidential nomination, on the 5th of October I submitted this query to a dozen American magazine publications, and waited for a response. I received only one, a rejection from The Nation. I continued to wait to see if anyone would wish to publish my ideas, which would preclude putting the information onto my blog, for free viewing. Presuming that none will respond, here it is:

Though Obama supporters surely commemorate his intention to employ the federal government to serve the American public, he could even crank it up a bit, by reenacting Franklin D. Roosevelt’s WPA – Works Progress Administration – under the guise of ObamaWorks. “Renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration; the WPA was the largest and most ambitious American New Deal agency, employing millions of people (mostly unskilled men) to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads. In a much smaller project, Federal Project Number One, the WPA employed musicians, artists, writers, actors and directors in large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects.” Wow, is THAT ever fantastic to hear about! The recognition that the arts and literature are all about inspiring and creating the theatre for human evolution! What is that saying? ‘History repeats itself for those who are doomed to forget.’ A mere google away: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” (George Santayana)

In 1933, as the 32nd president of the United States, FDR orchestrated the “New Deal” in his first 100 days of office. His purpose was to transform a shattered economy, following the 1929 stock market crash. This consisted of a series of economic programs to establish “Relief”, “Recovery” and “Reform”, of which the WPA was a substantial mechanism; operating its own projects in cooperation with state and local governments. In the inception of his second term, Obama could emphatically authorize a series of programs needed to make improvements across America; delineating the jobs required to implement them, and build our economy and morale in the process, as had been achieved through Roosevelt’s WPA. The circumstances surrounding each of their administrations are parallel; both enmeshed in war and coming into power following a Wall Street engendered economic collapse. Whereas Obama’s 44th presidency coincided with a recession, FDR’s corresponded with the Great Depression. Since Obama has already demonstrated his audacity in confronting Wall Street with the Dodd-Frank Act, why not engage in another executive order or two, as were prerequisite for FDR to carry out his Works. Now is the critical time to launch an indispensable ObamaWorks plan; to facilitate the investment in a much needed overhaul throughout the country, prioritized according to national as well as regional and community needs.
 
Though it may seem implausible, given that we’re ensconced in an imbalanced Democracy in which Plutocratic powers often determine what the executive branch may or may not do, this is precisely the recipe to revitalize America! The WPA was one bold aspect of the New Deal, which Roosevelt legislated to put millions of unskilled Americans back to work, including the construction of buildings and roads. “Happy Days could be Here Again”, if instead of side-stepping issues, tip-toeing around egregious lobby groups and getting stalled in bipartisan gridlocks, Obama would simply administer a number of definitive projects, ObamaWorks, and set them into motion. These programs would respond to our need for energy independence, and result in the subsequent investment in renewable energy enterprises and environmentally sound ‘green’ building. America has been lagging in developing clean and efficient transportation infrastructures, as well as in education and efficient communication networks. We need to make decisions that will reflect viable options for the generations to come, without obliterating our environment and the delicate balance of the global ecosystem and economic interdependency. In our quest to achieve international standards in education, we have inadvertently started to impinge on creative teaching methods and the hands-on approach in our classrooms. Yet because Americans are innovative and industrious, as we pull our resources together and share our ‘best practices’, we can resolve road-blocks and work through ever evolving solutions to our problems. As ObamaCare can continually be adjusted according to new insights, so can we all work together, community by community, fused by the U.S. Government’s vision and financial backing; prioritizing our most needed investments and emboldening our spirits.

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Jane Goodall Recycle E Devices | Kate Raworth Economy Design – Thrive not Grow

Jane Goodall presently has a campaign:

The Forest is Calling. Answering the Call is Our Only Hope

Jane Goodall Everything is Connected Everyone Can Make a Difference

It was estimated that up to 50 million tons of electronic waste—mainly computers and smartphones—was dumped in 2017 alone (UNEP).

Jane Goodall The Forest is Calling Answering it is our only Hope

Jane Goodall Recycle unwanted Mobile Devices

Jane Goodall Terribly Important Recycle Old Cell Phones

Kate Raworth has an essential concept to consider in her TEDtalk regarding redesigning our economic strategies, away from the dependency on continued growth, in a world with finite resources and space, to one which nourishes the natural world and recognizes the worth of allowing all life to thrive. – an Economy Designed to Thrive not Grow

Kate Raworth Economy Distributed vs. Centralized

Kate Raworth TED talk
Economy Designed to Thrive not Grow

Kate Raworth Economy Ecological Ceiling Social Foundation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carol Keiter aka nomadbeatz welcomes donations for her writing, photography, illustrations, eBook & music composition

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Carol sitting under the trees

Dr. Vandana Shiva | S O I L Not O I L | Warrior for the 99% & All Life On the Planet

Dr. Vandana Shiva identifies herself on her website http://www.vandanashiva.com as an Author, Scientist, Warrior and Mother. I first learned of her two years ago in Paris during the COP21. I dashed across the Atlantic on an 11th hour decision based on synchronicities, intuition and a leap of faith. This was to attend and participate among a hubbub of journalists, activists, entrepreneurs and victims of global warming from all over the world – to share information at the Place To B. This took place at a Hotel in Paris as well as in venues all over the city during the duration of the Paris Climate talks. It just so happened that I knew one of the presenters, whom I had just looked up on Facebook several days before I booked the flight. I had been going through boxes of my possessions (for weeks), after leaving my parent’s home where all my stuff had been stored. The house was going up for sale. I came across these letters. And suddenly my attention was turned to this place, to b. In my mind’s eye I knew that these climate talks were about to take place, and already had a longing to be near this. I had no idea how remarkable this community and organized information sharing turned out to be.

Place to B its time to talk differently about the climate COP21 Paris

I had a hunch and followed it. It was the most wonderful group of people and the most powerful learning experience – with talks, workshops and living among a community of passionate people there to share their knowledge and learn from one another. Mind-blowing really.

I was starting to cook soup yesterday and turned on ‘Democracy Now’ while chopping vegetables, to discover this interview of Vandana Shiva by Amy Goodman on Democracy Now. Vandana Shiva: We Must Fight Back Against the 1 Percent to Stop the Sixth Mass Extinction

As a very intelligent and brave scientist and humanist, she is a powerhouse of information and insight. You have to listen very intently because she packs in so much information in each sentence. Too bad she is not featured in mainstream news channels to educate the public.

Democracy Now feat Dr. Vandana Shiva

She states exactly what i intuited, that by merging with Bayer, Monsanto could conveniently hide its unpopular name – due to all the lawsuits.

The Transcript is included in the link.

Soil Not OIl Vandana Shiva Soil Association

I was pretty happy to see this other interview as well of the author of the Uninhabitable Earth, since I had already discovered this and blogged about it a year and a half ago, though I hadn’t read the book nor heard the author previously talk.

The Uninhabitable Earth: Unflinching New Book Lays Out Dire Consequences of Climate Chaos
This also features a speech by the Swedish 15 year old Greta Thunberg who has lead the youth of the world in her unprecedented decision to strike against going to school and sit before the Swedish Parliament. Her demands – that the government acknowledge and act on climate change, rather than ignoring it – as has been the Western world’s tendency – more concerned with maintaining the GDP and the leverage of corporate money by the industries who pay them.

https://digesthis.wordpress.com/2017/07/16/the-uninhabitable-earth-david-wallace-wells-how-to-reduce-your-contribution-to-climate-change/

The Uninhabitable Earth Book by David Wallace-Wells

The interview of David Wallace-Wells by Amy Goodman is excellent, regarding his book “The Uninhabitable Earth: Unflinching New Book Lays Out Dire Consequences of Climate Chaos”

The broadcast begins with the information, which is yet another startling picture.”New research finds at least a third of the Himalayan ice cap will melt by the end of the century due to climate change, even if the world’s most ambitious environmental reforms are implemented. A report released earlier this month by the Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment warns rising temperatures in the Himalayas could lead to mass population displacements, as well as catastrophic food and water insecurity. The glaciers are a vital water source for the 250 million people who live in the Hindu Kush Himalaya range, which spans from Afghanistan to Burma. More than a billion-and-a-half people depend on the rivers that flow from the Himalayan peaks. We speak with world-renowned environmental leader and ecologist Dr. Vandana Shiva about climate change, seed sovereignty and her new book, “Oneness vs. the 1%.” Shiva is an Indian scholar, physicist, and food sovereignty and seed freedom advocate. She was was born in Doon Valley in the Himalayan foothills.”

Carol Keiter aka nomadbeatz welcomes donations for her writing, photography, illustrations, eBook & music composition

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I Believe in the People’s Climate March Washington D.C. On My Way

Within this blog are links to 340 pictures that I took of peoples’ clever signs from all over the country – young, old, humorous, cheeky. I’m proud of the insightful and thoughtful signs.

And since the Climate March, this is current. Here’s a link for you to sign to send a message to Trump about how important it is to be a leader in the movement towards a healthy climate, and to specifically honor the Paris Agreement. http://act.350.org/sign/paris-response “The Paris Agreement is the backbone of international action to tackle climate change. Donald Trump is considering withdrawing, standing with the fossil fuel millionaires and billionaires. Stand with us to show that political momentum for climate action is unstoppable.”

Make America Cool Again

This guy’s tiny, tiny sign said “reduce” LOL

Together with the Sierra Club, WWF, Defenders of Wildlife and all of the other groups and the masses of people who have the will to make the effort to stand up and out (worldwide), I will be marching in Washington D.C. For those who wish to see a dramatic exodus and transformation from the Profit-Over-Everything-Else attitude of our Oil Oligarchy and Corpocrisy run government >

People’s Climate March April 29th, 2017

NRDC National Resource Defense Council says, “It’s time to stop the backsliding on climate change; it’s time to meet the most urgent challenge of our generation.”

On Saturday, 300,000 people came together for the Peoples Climate March in our nation’s capital, and in communities around America and the world.

Here’s a link http://act.350.org/sign/local-action for what we can do to continue local action towards a movement of sustainability rather than oil dominated environmental futility.

Here’s 350.org’s Facebook page of pics. facebook pics of march

Below are the pics I took en route hitchhiking from Santa Fe, New Mexico and many of the signs at the march.

Peoples Climate March Washington D.C._2

I’m in! Peoples Climate March April 29th, Washington D.C. >
Packing up my residence in the next hours to move May 1st (from an apt to a yurt), with help from a friend with a pickup and dentist appt in Santa Fe. I’ve booked a flight one-way from DC to ABQ Albuquerque {not knowing until after paying} when precisely it was going to depart that day. Calculating the earliest DC Metro Rail to the airport only arrives at 6am, I breathed a sigh of relief when seeing that the flight was leaves late afternoon. Ran into a friend yesterday I hadn’t seen for many years, who spontaneously gave me the money today to cover the flight. I only realized two days ago looking at the calendar, that there was another day, the 30th, between the March and my move-out day. Anything’s possible. I merely have to get to DC hitching, leaving uh, mañana?

– 27 h 1,877 miles according to google maps.

google directions Santa fe, NM to Washington D.C.

I just spent the afternoon, boxing, packing, organizing so that I’m ready upon my return to move to a yurt, since working 6 to 7 days a week still hasn’t afforded any kind of saved nest egg.

I then worked on creating my newest song which I just started yesterday. Streamlined and packed with beats.

I’m on my way to the Peoples Climate March April 29th in DC. peoplesclimate.org There’s a whole niche of my music all about animal rights, wildlife protection, creating animal bridges and preserving animal corridors…So I’m passionate about making not just Trump, but the Oil Oligarchy listen.

And I went.

Here are another page of pics I took at the march.

Peoples Climate March Washington D.C.

I’ll be playing at the Flycatcher in Tucson, Arizona, Saturday May 6th for their monthly music producers showcase ‘Pushing Buttons‘. This next month features all women producers.

And releasing much more music as it flows.

Soundcloud Playlists More_NomadbeatZ Eco Echo

The Flycatcher
340 E. 6th St.
Tucson, AZ, 85705
Phone: (520) 207-9251

https://soundcloud.com/you/collection
PayPal: carolkeiter@gmail.com

People’s Climate March April 29th, 2017 WWF

Looks like I’m in!

Race to Save the World Dump Trump and Oil Oligarchy

Carol Keiter aka nomadbeatz welcomes donations for her writing, photography, illustrations, eBook & music composition

Carol Keiter the blogger with a selfie prior to getting the ride on return hitch from skiing in Taos

Perspective from Afar | Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver | Millennium: Winners and Losers In The Coming World Order by Attali

I am basically quoting passages in Barbara Kingsolver’s article, “Small Wonder” and including the link of a review of Jaques Attali’s book which she mentions, “Millennium: Winners And Losers In The Coming World Order”

Barbar Kingsolver Small Wonder

At a time when the modern imagination seems fully engaged in discussion of swords of every length and breadth, there’s little room for other kinds of talk. But I’m emboldened by Medea to speak up on behalf of psychological strategy. It’s not a simpleminded suggestion; her elixir of contentment is exactly as symbolic as Jason’s all-conquering sword, and the latter has by no means translated well into reality. The strategic difference is the capacity to understand this one thing: Some forms of enemy are made more deadly by killing. It would require the deepest possible shift of our hearts to live in this world of fundamental animosity and devote ourselves not to the escalating exertion to kill, but rather, to lulling animosity to sleep. Modern humanity may not be up to the challenge. Modern humanity may not have a choice…. The easiest thing is to think of returning the blows. But there are other things we must think about as well, other dangers we face. A careless way of sauntering across the earth and breaking open its treasures, a terrible dependency on sucking out the world’s best juices for ourselves — these may also be our enemies.

The easiest thing is to think of returning the blows. But there are other things we must think about as well, other dangers we face. A careless way of sauntering across the earth and breaking open its treasures, a terrible dependency on sucking out the world’s best juices for ourselves — these may also be our enemies.

The laws governing international trade render it more difficult each year to inject moral considerations into the marketplace, frustrating the many nations and individuals who still wish to balance economic motives with compassionate ones. Indeed, international trade laws increasingly restrict access to the very information that makes any such concession possible — witness, for example, the endless battle for accurate labeling waged by U.S. consumers who prefer their food organically grown and not genetically modified. The profiteering drive of commerce owns no malice or mercy, is incapable of regret, and takes no prisoners; it is simply an engine with no objective but to feed itself. And it is a Goliath: A decade ago, the combined sales of the world’s ten largest corporations exceeded the gross national product of the world’s hundred smallest countries put together, and the gap is growing.
Inevitably, hungry souls and angry hands rise up against that amoral giant, and ever-higher walls of armaments are required to keep them at bay. These walls create among us a huge class that the French author Jacques Attali has named the “millennial losers,” for whom the fantasy of prosperity promoted by the media is both a continuous allure and an endless slapdown. The siren’s song calls them toward Paris and New York, glittering Emerald Cities walled off by inaccessibility. In his 1991 book, “Millennium: Winners And Losers In The Coming World Order”

Millennium: Winners And Losers In The Coming World Order

Jaques Attali observed with a chilling prescience

that particularly among those in the Middle East who’d suffered repeated humiliations by the West, the fiercely absent presence of worldly affluence tended to inspire fervent cults of frustration and outrage.

We who are alive in this moment didn’t build these walls, nor did we ignite the fury that has smoldered for eons and hurls itself at us now as a burning question. But we have inherited the urgent necessity of answering it. And possibly we will succeed.”

George Monbiot continues to articulate the problem of the environment in terms of constraints created by the global political elite – in the pockets of the corporate oil oligarchy and such, with his recent post “The Problem With Freedom“. “Propaganda works by sanctifying a single value, such as faith, or patriotism. Anyone who questions it puts themselves outside the circle of respectable opinion. The sacred value is used to obscure the intentions of those who champion it… When thinktanks and the billionaire press call for freedom, they are careful not to specify whose freedoms they mean…one person’s freedom is another’s captivity.”

Funny, attended a group circle of mostly ex pastors in a parish in Santa Fe of mostly the over-80 crowd. All agreed without question in human induced climate change, which they mentioned was the new word after ‘global warming’ became politically incorrect. One of them offered this information, that ideology is the major blocking point. As soon as ideologies become the subject, peoples’ comprehension or ability to even see or discuss an issue, goes out the window.

Each of the above are worth reading.

What can we do? Here are 10 things you can do to impact the environment in a positive way, according to Defenders of Wildlife.

Defenders of Wildlife 10 Things yYou Can Do to Help

Carol Keiter aka nomadbeatz welcomes donations for her writing, photography, illustrations, eBook & music composition

Carol Keiter the blogger with a selfie prior to getting the ride on return hitch from skiing in Taos

Warm Welcome to Obama by Trudeau and Canadians | Obama stresses Pluralism and Tolerance

On June 29th, 2016, President Obama joined with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, hosted by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the North American Leader’s Summit. Obama was given a warm welcome at the event and his speech to the Canadian Parliament and Prime Minister Trudeau received a number of standing ovations. His reception was strong not only because he mentioned a number of Canadian icons, but also because of the resonance that the dignitaries felt when he mentioned that the US and Canada need to work together, leading the world in demonstrable ways to show racial tolerance and in committing to renewable energy.

US President Barack Obama Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto North American Leader’s Summit

Certainly there are transcripts, yet I’ve included the notes that I took, which are extracted highlights of Obama’s address. He stressed many of the values that our two countries share and went on to talk about international trade, security and climate change; mentioning that the latter is not an abstraction, but very real and happening right now.

President Obama stressed tolerance, pluralism and open arms to immigrants and refugees; specifically being inclusive with Muslim communities around the world to provide them with hope and opportunities.

Obama’s opening moments and warm response

He spoke of the need to respect the dignity of all people, especially those who are most vulnerable and of our commitment to a common creed. We must not waver in embracing our best values. Both of our nations are nations of immigrants who must continue to welcome people from around the world. The vibrance of our economies is enhanced through embracing refugees.

“We can’t label people as terrorists, who are the vulnerable people who are fleeing terrorism.”

Obama acknowledges Maryam Monsef Canadian (MP) member of parliament who is an immigrant from Afghanistan

With respect to his point of the obvious need to be tolerant and receptive to immigrants and refugees, Obama mentioned Maryam Monsef, an Incoming Liberal (MP) Member of Parliament sitting there in the session. “She was only three years old when her father was killed, caught in bloody crossfire at the border of Iran and Afghanistan. This link in the Ottawa Citizen includes an interview with her.”

Maryam Monsef Afghanistan immigrant now MP in Canada interview

Here are my highlights of his speech:

He started by claiming that the long border shared between Canada and the United States has maintained the longest period of peace of any border worldwide.

The transatlantic values we share as liberal based democracies are still strong.

The circumstances of Brexit may be unique to the UK, yet the frustrations people felt are not. Working things out on the short term is one thing, but the long term trends of inequality, dislocation and resulting social division can’t be ignored.

How we respond to the forces of globalization and technological change will determine the durability of an international order that ensures future prosperity for future generations.

We share the values of pluralism, tolerance and equal opportunity.

He referenced a quote; A country is something that is built every day out of shared values” and that.with respect to this, what is true of countries is true of the world.

If our recent financial crisis and recession taught us anything, it is that our countries do better when everyone has an opportunity to succeed.

If a CEO makes more in a day than an employee makes in a year, it is bad for the economy; that worker is not a very good customer for business.

If a young man in Ohio can’t pay his student loans or a young woman in Ontario can’t pay her bills, it tamps down on the possibilities of growth. We need to embrace policies that will lift everybody up.

The measure of an economy is how the people are doing.

We may think that drawing a line around our borders for more control is the way to go. However, restricting trade or giving in to protectionism in this 21st c economy will not work.

When combined with investment, research & development… we can spur the connectivity that makes all of us better off.

We need to look forward, not backward.

Thanks Canada for hosting the negotiations with the Cuban government.

Justin Trudeau and his wife responding to Obama’ words

Wealthy countries like ours cannot reach our full potential when other countries around the world are mired in poverty.

With our commitment to new sustainable development goals, we have a chance to end the outrage of extreme poverty. Bring more electricity to Africa, banish the Zika virus, our goal of the first AIDS-free generation. Working to replace corruption with transparent institutions that serve their people.

Development is not charity, it is an investment in our future prosperity. Our own security is enhanced when we step up for all nations to have the right to security and peace.

Multilateralism is not a dirty word. (In 1990, Robert Keohane defined multilateralism as “the practice of coordinating national policies in groups of three or more states.)

We will continue helping forces to push back comprehensively against terrorist networks.

We will work with partners around the world, in contrast to the hatred and nihilism of terrorists. I looked up the word Nihilism = the rejection of all religious and moral principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless.

Being inclusive in particular with Muslim communities; to offer a better vision, path of development, opportunity and tolerance, because they are and must be our partners in this effort.

We will be more secure when every NATO member contributes all of its forces. NATO needs more Canada.

Our two countries are leaders in humanitarian aid. We are going to work as hard as we can to help Syrians to live in peace.

The threat of climate change is not an abstraction. It is happening now. Last year he was the first US president to visit the Arctic. The tundra is burning, permafrost is thawing.

Climate change is not just a moral issue, it is not just an economic issue, it is an urgent matter of our national security.

Carbon emissions in the US are back to where they were two decades ago, even as we’ve grown the economy.

Alberta is working hard to reduce CO2 emissions, while still promoting economic growth.

If Canada can do this, the whole world can do this. We can lead the world. We need to bring it into force this year. The whole world can unleash economic growth while still protecting our planet.

Paris just had the most robust Climate Summit and we need to follow through with implementing these goals.

Let’s generate half our energy from clean energy sources within a decade. This is achievable.

We need to save the planet, and America and Canada are going to have to lead the way.
(As I listened to this I thought to myself that actually Germany is already leading the way in terms of implementing renewable energy. They stopped all nuclear power plants following the Fukushima incident. And in their green revolution, the southern city of Freiburg gets 100 % of its power from renewable energy.)

Freiburg, Germany is 100 % renewable, leads in green energy revolution

We believe in the right of all people to have the right to succeed in our society.

What a powerful message of reconciliation around the world when Justin, your government pledged a new relationship with the First Nations.

Democracy is not easy. There are those that offer a politics of “us verses them”, a politics that scapegoats others, the immigrant, the refugee, someone who seems different than us.

We have to call this mentality what it is: a threat to the values that we profess, the values that we seek to defend. It’s because we respect all people that the world looks to us as an example. Our Muslim friends who are our neighbors, serve in our government We need to stand up against the slander and the hatred of those towards people who look or worship differently. Obama mentioned that he has a bias (having two daughters) and wants all woman to have the same opportunities as men.

He professed to the audience not to shy away from speaking about these values of pluralism, tolerance and equality. These are universal values, inalienable rights, the rights of citizens to speak the truth, the rights of journalists to speak the truth.

A respect for the dignity of all people, especially those who are most vulnerable. Our commitment to a common creed. We must not waver in embracing our best values. Both of our nations are nations of immigrants who must continue to welcome people from around the world. The vibrance of our economies is enhanced through embracing refugees. We can’t label people as terrorists, vulnerable people who are fleeing terrorism.

We were all once strangers. Your grandparents were strangers; they fumbled with language, faced discrimination and had cultural norms that didn’t fit. At some point somewhere, your family was an outsider. We will continue to welcome refugees and ensure that we are doing so in a way that maintains our security. We can and we will do both.

Increase our support to central america.

The coming global summit this autumn on refugees, we must step up and meet the needs.

People of good will and compassion show us the way.

Obama gesticulating in his speech to the Canadian government and North American Alliance

How blessed we are to have had people before us, day by day who built these extraordinary countries of ours.

Barack Obama ended his speech saying “What a blessing”…and what a positive and lovely, gentle way to end of speech, to communicate such a positive concept to let this ripple through the room and the world’s stage.

Thank you Barack!

Carol Keiter aka nomadbeatz welcomes donations for her writing, photography, illustrations, eBook & music composition

carol_before_hitching_to_SF copy

Journalist who Reveals the Truth | George Monbiot

Eureka, yesterday I made an astounding discovery, the writings of George Monbiot. I feel like I’ve struck gold. Perhaps this reveals my naïvité. I hadn’t been familiar with his name or writings, having not been a regular reader of the British Newspaper “The Guardian” among the places he has contributed. Monbiot’s candid humor amuses and his scope pierces your awareness. Recirculated by The Mind Unleashed | Uncover Your True Potential Monbiot’s article “The Eco-Apocalypse in Indonesia That No One is Talking About” was extracted from his writing within his website category Environment and the Natural World, Nothing to See Here. He states, “In the greatest environmental disaster of the 21st Century (so far), Indonesia has been blotted out by smoke. And the media.”

His website http://www.monbiot.com features a ferocious list of categories of articles he’s written about. The blog posted yesterday within this same category, is provocative, to say the least.The Dolphin Killers of Cardigan Bay/ Subtitled and predicated with the statement “Why does the Welsh government propose this gratuitous act of destruction? It refuses to say.” He talks of the absurdity that the primary place where dolphins gather in the British Isles, Cadigan Bay, which is – his words, ‘on paper’ – a ‘Special Area of Conservation’, is precisely where Welsh scallop dredgers and beam trawlers are given reign to destroy the seabed; the primary source of food for young dolphins.

Here’s a picture of George Monbiot as guest blogger on rspb | Royal Society for the Protection of Birds | Giving Nature a Home

His writings are crisp exposés, rather than soggy, one dimensional limping around the truth. His broad perspective brought to every analysis comes from his driving thoroughness in investigating the topic and background interest in the environment, politics and economics. This makes all of his writings on whatever subject refreshingly clear, in how he pierces into the truth rather than the typical white-washed and watered down mass media glimpses into a story.

Life-changing for me, because he’s a true journalist who cuts to the core, uncovering and revealing stories from multifaceted angles. “The Eco-Apocalypse in Indonesia That No One is Talking About” reveals promptly the difference between typical mainstream journalism and his crisp dissection of the real issues and correlation to the real sources of the problem. In this case, the continuing practice of clear-cutting and burning rain forests in Indonesia, to support the lumber and palm oil industries, which together with El Niño and climate change, are manifesting as the worst ecological disaster and highest input of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, to date. His exposé of the political and economic culprits behind this manmade disaster lie beneath the story of the damage that is being done to the inhabitants, wildlife and nature there.

Upon reading the title of one of his books, “The Age of Consent; A Manifesto for a New World Order”, I immediately thought of Noam Chomsky’s “Manufacturing Consent; The Political Economy of the Mass Media”. Chomsky proposes that the mass communication media of the United States are a system of effective and powerful ideological institutions carrying out messages that reinforce certain ideals and tendencies among the population – propaganda. He states that the former ‘anti-Communism’ model of social control was replaced by the present ‘War on Terror’. In The Age of Consent, Monbiot writes that “Our task is not to overthrow globalization, but to capture it, and to use it as a vehicle for humanity’s first global democratic revolution.”

In Michael Meacher’s “ review of Monbiot’s The Age of Consent ” for the Guardian, Meacher states, “This is an extremely important book. George Monbiot offers a searchingly rigorous analysis of the sources of American power and presents a package of proposals that would radically redraw the present world order. It is breathtaking in its radicalism, but for anyone who is serious about tackling the current US hegemony, it is difficult to fault the logic.”

There are plenty of topics George Monbiot has written about, which you can read and educate yourself to your heart’s delight.

http://www.theguardian.com/profile/georgemonbiot
http://www.monbiot.com

Joe Paterno’s ‘old school’ values | not bought-out by BIG Money |

Having watched the memorial service for Joe Paterno and attended Penn State University when I lived in Happy Valley for two years, I was really moved and inspired by what I witnessed in those two hours. Joe Paterno – as a coach, teacher and mentor – influenced so many peoples’ lives in such a positive way. A kid who was raised in Brooklyn and went on to coach college football for over 40 years; he left a legacy of honesty, loyalty, integrity and commitment. Beyond what has become the big business of football, Paterno was never bought-out. He remained loyal to his commitment to Penn State and to the players, whom he personally recruited and remained in touch with throughout their lives. He encouraged each player to strive for discipline and excellence; not only in sports, but also scholastically; emphasizing to ‘do the right thing’ ethically. Paterno communicated to each; to think first and foremost about the team, to play fair and to respect their opponents. He recognized that whereas success is measured externally by society, personal excellence is something internal, involving the satisfaction and clear conscience of knowing you have done your best.

There are a list of great quotes that Joe Paterno made, one of which one player stated has remained with him as a personal challenge throughout his life; “Today you’ll either be better or worse, but you’ll never stay the same … which is it going to be? It’s your choice!” His message always emphasized the “we” and “us”, recognizing that we are all in this life together, and that it’s up to each of us to help one another grow, and to make an impact towards making this world a better place! I’m humbled and honored by this man’s life, who has inspired so many to strive to be at their best, and to work together – regardless of race, creed, socioeconomic standing, for the sake of all.

Paterno represents an ‘old school’ of thinking, that our country has been moving away from; when credit and notoriety come to a person or establishment commensurate with what achievements and values they display, instead of being measured and valued quantitatively, by monetary means alone. A message diametrically opposed to what has overtaken our country today; in which BIG money infiltrates the media, government, sports and other arenas. A world in which “corpocrisy” surrounds us, and short-sighted goals are dictated by a few (the 1%), often resulting in crippling the lives of the rest, in addition to causing environmental degradation. These values that Joe Paterno revered were once the prevalent messages that the United States had imparted to the world, with great leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., before the myopic, economically driven pandemic rose, in which money has become THE incentive, choking out the spirit of these loftier aspirations. We absolutely need to honor leaders of this caliber, to disseminate similar messages, that will inevitably ripple throughout the world.

A fuse has been re-ignited today for me to presently write further on the topic of BIG money, which I’ll be posting on my other blog http://digesthis.wordpress.com/2012/01/29/the-collusion-of-big-money-eroding-the-quality-of-life-for-alls /