Egypt Under Sisi

Egyptian Pro Sisi Rally Protected by Military & Muslim Brotherhood Outlawed



Recently tensions have been mounting in Cairo, after the military seized power from the government held under president Morrissey. This faction, lead by the once general Sisi, although spurred on originally to seize power because of a large protest against the regime, has itself recently outlawed protesting without government permission. This comes directly after the military lead government declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization. No surprise there, and I don't think anyone would really disagree with the decision to outlaw the obviously extremist organization.



What is surprising however, was a recent constitution passed under the Sisi-lead government with 98% of Egyptians voting yes on it, that would make protesting without government permission a crime, and also allow for normal citizens to be tried in military courts. These measures seem a bit harsh, but we'll se what happens in the coming weeks. Things are definitely heating up in Cairo.

How to kill a Corporation . . .

Did you know most of your taxes go toward subsidizing corporations? How can we kill them?

The answer is actually startlingly simple; Stop buying their fucking products. Nearly everything that is produced and distributed by corporations is of terrible quality and carries an opportunity cost of a small business that also makes that variety of product going out of business. I know you love your local coffee shop, but they are literally struggling to compete with Folgers and the like of Starbucks. Seriously, RedBox and Netflix have all but annihilated any last scrap of hope there was for small local video stores to survive, and I love those places. So I propose a solution to you: Lets kill corporations. I'll give you the recipe right now.

1. Pinpoint which specific corporation pisses you off the most, or does the most damage to people

2. Discontinue any and all spending that is in anyway funding this corporation

3. Tell many of your friends and family what you are doing and why

4. Sit back and watch the corporation of your choice grasp for it's last breaths

Don't believe me that it's this easy? I assure you that it really is, if you actually follow these steps. Now there is a bit of a trick here; Step 2 is going to prove much more difficult than you have ever imagined, because of how connected most corporations are to each other. (The safest bet is to stop buying anything that allows your money to wind up in the hands of a corporation) Also, Step 3 is assuming you keep nearly a million close friends who value your advice . . . I mean you’ve got a Facebook right?

I assure you that you can do it. So put on your thinking cap . . .  which will you start with? Sysco, Monsanto, of Dupont by chance? How about Nestle or Coca Cola? Really any one you choose is a good one, and remember just what a great service you will be doing for the rest of the world. Thank you, kind and gentle citizen of this planet. I salute you.

If you need some ideas, or another reason to want to kill corporations, here is a great one . . .

TEDxEastSalon - Bjarke Ingels - Hedonistic Sustainability

Hedonistic Sustainability - Bjark Ingels





Bjark Ingels is one of the most inspirational people on the face of the planet, guaranteed. He lives in one of the most inspiring countries in the world, and I have been constantly impressed with Danish citizens. If you are into these projects, and what is possible through design and architecture, combined with the idea of sustainability, check out his website . . .
http://www.big.dk/#projects

Thoughts From Within - Woody Harrelson

Woody Harelson

So, if you already don't love Woody Harrelson, I'm here to tell you that you should look him up. I really love to see those with affluent means using their influence to demonstrate a better way of living to the rest of us. Harrelson has been one of my favorite actors for a long time. He has the innate ability to seamlessly transform a fictional script into a tapestry of reality that is easily invested in. However, my personal love for the man was ignited when I randomly picked up his own documentary film, Go Farther, within which he goes on an epic journey on his bicycle. Trailed by a film crew and a fully equipped motor home housing a personal vegan chef, Woody traveled along the coast of California to different colleges, spreading awareness about sustainability, and the devastation of our nations forests. Amazing film. . . go check it out.

You can watch it free here . . .

http://www.alluc.to/documentaries/watch-go-further-2003-online/402137.html

Also, the man is an incredible poet, and has created a slew of poetry that touches the heart of the matter for citizens here in the states. We vote with our dollar. Every purchase we make is a vote for or against corporate control of our commons. Please make the right decisions. Check out one of his amazing poems. . .

http://youtu.be/Dj0GZQdCct8

All we can do is use our votes, our dollars, to vote out these malicious miscreant corporations. Do not give them your money. Do not give them your energy, and they will have nothing to feed off of. They would all crumble in a matter of days, if we all rise up and stop supporting them. They draw from our veins, like a vampire who has tricked his victim to allow the installation of an IV for a sustained blood supply. We can cut the cord. We have the power to fight the power. They are afraid of us. Otherwise, why would they make such an effort to permeate fear in us through the media. Lets send em running back to the caves they crawled out of tails between their legs. . .

Full-Body Burns

21 People set themselves on fire yesterday in Cleaveland in a successful attempt to break the world record for most people completely set on fire at once, or most participants in a "full-body burn." No, this wasn't a mass suicide attempt. They were all wearing protective gear that prevented any of them from getting seriously injured. I wouldn't say the demonstration set a good example, but it was for a good cause. Most of the proceeds went to the local food bank.

Here's the video

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2013/10/20/nr-lemon-cleveland-people-burning-record.cnn&hpt=hp_c3&from_homepage=yes

Tibetan Self-Immolations

This story did remind me of another under-publicized phenomena that has been going on for several years. Tibetan refugees living in India and Nepal, have been setting themselves on fire, burning themselves to death, in protest of the Chinese occupation and cultural genocide perpetrated in Tibet. 

This graphic display should not be taken lightly. This man, and more than 100 others have been voluntarily consumed by flames since the trend began. It is a horrifying phenomena that must be brought to an end. 

Although surely politically motivated, in hope that China will someday return Tibetan sovereignty to the Himalayan nation, which was invaded and taken over in 1949, this practice is extreme and my be contrary to traditional Tibetan beliefs. It seems minuscule when compared to the over 100,000 Tibetans that have been killed by the Chinese since the Occupation began in 1949. However, any desecration of human life is seen as a great loss from a Buddhist view. These human bodies have a great potential, because we can use them to benefit others, develop positive Karma, and eventually lead us to enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.

Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje, the spiritual leader of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism has called for an immediate halt to the immolations. Karmapa said, "This is definitely not a practice of Buddhism. I strongly wish this would soon stop. The practice of Buddhist dharma is our greatest inheritance as Tibetans. This enjoins upon us to preserve the human existence. It is through this ... that we are able to achieve liberation.” Karmicly speaking It is said that taking ones own life is equivalent to the intentional murder of 1000 Buddhas. Although what the Chinese have done in Tibet is definitely wrong, and a crime against a culture that is valued throughout the world, suicide is unjustified in all cases.

Karmapa is seen here blessing one of his predecessor's (the 16 Karmapa) students, Lama Ole Nydahl. Lama Ole has taught Tibetan Buddhism to countless students during his nearly 45 years of teaching, and continues to travel around the entire world once a year making the dharma easily accessible to all those interested. Teachers like Lama Ole and the Karmapa help spread an awareness of traditional Buddhist values and teachings that can help lead beings toward the cessation of all suffering, or enlightenment. Self immolation, suicide, and actually all forms of negative actions stemming from the confusion of disturbing emotions, are just a part of the cyclic wheel of existence within dualistic reality, and they only create more negative karma that one will have to burn off through purification in future lifetimes.

Depicted hereis the Tibetan Wheel of Life. It shows the six realms. The lower realms include the hells, hungry ghost, and animal realms, while the upper realms show the gods, demi gods, and human realms. The wheel turns and turns as beings traverse endlessly from one life to the next according to their karma. The only way to escape this never ending cycle is by recognizing one's mind, which is most effectively accomplished within the human realm. 

While each human has this precious human birth, it is best that it is used accumulating merit and wisdom, practicing selfless compassion, and practicing the dharma so that eventual liberation and enlightenment can be reached. Negative actions, especially that of taking ones own life as in an immolation, should be avoided at all cost, because they create obscurations on the path to enlightenment.

Obesity Out-Weighs Hunger

Not that it is a worse problem, just a bigger one, literally. There are many more people on the planet today who are overweight, than there are people who are underweight.

Don't believe me? Check it out . . .

World Hunger
7,186,659,724	current total world population
896,920,322	undernourished people in the world right now
1,581,544,772	overweight people in the world right now
527,181,591	obese people in the world right now
18,590	people who died of hunger today
8,903,447	people who died of hunger this year
Economics
$ 289,276,200	money spent due to obesity related diseases in the USA today
$  71,480,264	spending on food purchased and then tossed by US households today
$ 3,323,688	spending on global food aid today
$ 21,609,215	amount that would allow to feed the hungry today
$ 114,913,634	spending on weight-loss programs and products in the USA today
$ 996,058	food aid budget spent on domesticprocessing and shipping today
$ 581,908	revenue for four large US agribusiness corporations derived from food aid programs today
$ 28,261,834	spending on pet food in Europe and USA today
Food
79,789	tons of food wasted in America today
16,624	tons of global food aid provided today
80%	percentage of harvested corn, grains, and soy beans fed to animals in Europe and North America
78%	percentage of malnourished children who live in countries with food surpluses
90%	percentage of hungriest nations on earth that are net exporters of food to rich nations (36 out of 40)

The funny part is, all or most of both of these groups, obese and starving, are malnourished. Along with the advent of industrialized farming, comes the inevitable consequence of nutrient poor crops. Then along comes nutrient poor animals, and of course malnourished people.

I mean seriously. The obesity problem is big, I get it, but how could we possibly let it get bigger than hunger? Well, to explain it simply, when you are not getting enough nutrients, your body keeps telling you you are hungry, and you continue to eat, even though you have had enough. Also, many of the food additives that exist today like MSG, Aspartame, and others actually turn off your body's natural alert system that tells it you are full, so you eat more.

It is each of our own responsibility to do what we can in our own spheres of influence to combat this imbalance in food distribution, and stop industrialized food production and distribution practices. When people are starving out there, it is up to each and every one of us to stop it. The fact that more people are overweight than starving should disgust you, yes, but it should also prove to you that there is hope. We know we have enough food to feed everyone. We just need to distribute it equally amongst people.

The least we can do is allow small farmers to operate without the same kinds of regulations as multinational corporations, so that at least those of us who are smart enough to know what real food looks and tastes like can have a chance at receiving proper nutrition. Buy only organic and locally grown produce, do not shop at corporations, and for your own sake, KILL YOUR TELEVISION.
Media is a grand manipulative tool that the large corporations use to control the masses. That's us. Good little sheep that just keep getting fatter and fatter, while there are starving people out there. Place the blame where it is due, Corporations are killing what is left of humanity people.

Monsanto, Dupont, and corporations like them have gone too far. They have created a vicious cycle of profit-driven food production, that leaves us as consumers starved for nutrients. First they sterilized the seeds, then the ground in which it grows, and now the sterilization reaches humans.

Eventually, we will be manufactured in test tubes, as genetically altered Corporate slaves, that are engineered from birth to be perfectly obedient little consumers. Stop the matrix from becoming a reality.

Buy Local, Eat Local, Live healthy . . . Kill Corporations