Why Do We Hate The Rich?

Click here to download this blogcast in MP3 Audio.
My 2nd blogcast! I do need the practice in narration.

Have you ever caught yourself hating someone who is extremely rich?

"With great power comes great responsibility."

"Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers."

"Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities."

“Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.”

“The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor.”

Voltaire, 1694 - 1778

I have begun suspecting that hatred towards those with power actually makes sense. It is not envy that drives us to dislike the haves that we have not. Envy and hate are very different emotions. Hatred is a form of disagreement, while envy is only a personal wish of having what we do not have.

It is our feeling that people with power do not take responsibility for their influence. When you see a person, so poor as to hunger for old bread, and look aside only to see another person, so rich as to throw away fresh bread; that is when we feel anger and hatred toward the rich, and we realize that justice is a truth from within; regardless of philosophical debate.

I do not intend to imply that those who are more able should obey those who are less so! That would be as ridiculous as if it were the opposite.

The importance of this entire realization is that wealthy people do, indeed, have a responsibility towards those who are, at the very least, poverty stricken. It is their responsibility to find ways to calm the anger of those less fortunate, or they will risk justifying that hatred.

I do not believe in socialism. No person should command another to assist others. Help must be a voluntary thing, to be what it truly represents; for it is not the lacking of another and their envy that must be solved; but, it is the anger and hurt that demands reparation.

Interval Back Stretches

I still need to practice my self-portraits! Anyways, I thought I would share this.

Being a regular on the computer chair, it is common to suffer lower and upper back strains. Muscles becoming tense and painful, creating inflammations and echoing the pain towards the limbs.

Once every hour or two, or pretty much randomly, I stand up and purposefully stretch slowly and relax my body. The most important of those stretches is the bending relaxation. Just drop down with straight legs (knees do not have to lock) and pause for a short comfortable while. Feel the disentanglement of your joints!

Spread your legs apart and relax towards the floor,
for up to a minute.

Watching Sons Of Anarchy

Listen to my first ever blogcast:

Click here to download this blogcast in MP3 Audio.

Recorded using my shiny new condenser microphone!

I was wandering the web for something to watch, say educating, say entertaining, and found a not-so-new TV series with the word Anarchy in its' title.

"Is the Sons of Anarchy TV Show a Biker Soap Opera?"
- Biker Law Blog discusses his experience watching the series.

If you could find yourself interested in an Action-Drama sort of show, then check out this trailer and consider. I found myself somehow reviewing my own life, thinking about all the nonsense that the guys on the show pretend to go through. I guess even extreme fantasy can reflect reality.

Autumn Growth & Camera

I just got my new Tatop W858 - see: some lesser known Chinese smartphone, which has a wonderful camera! So, finally, I can show my works here. :-)

I used regular plastic pots, so far, but I am starting to change into plastic bowls, without dripping holes - like the blue one in front. I find it better, in my extremely dry climate, to let the water sit at the bottom and have the plants slowly drink it. Of course, this means that I must be careful about drowning the plants, so I do not let the water level get too high.

Some of my plants are unidentified. Seriously, I just do not know what is going on there. Beyond those, I have Potatoes, Sunroots (Jerusalem Artichoke), Beans (black), Aubergine (Eggplant), Tomatoes, Sweet Beetroot and a bit of garlic. All for the sake of experiment and experience.

I have already enjoyed two tiny harvests of black beans! But, so far, I am not seeing any tomatoes or aubergines. It seems that some plants really do require very certain conditions. I always felt plants were more variable than that, but alas, my spot does have very little sun and only limited watering.

A Life Of Values

ZenPencils shared a very inspiring and encouraging comic strip by Bill Watterson, the creator of the infamous comics Calvin and Hobbes. While I have not read his other works, this is a very well made strip. Click on the following preview to visit the page!

The first page of the strip.

Winter Queued

Touching my skin & whisper aloud,
An emotionless motion that never is bound.

Surrounding my vision & warming my bones,
My nearest lover that I cannot yet hold.

Shackled below & birth is its' ploy,
They give me life and freedom and joy.

Freedom Tactics: Patience Without Sacrifice

Today, we start a new series of articles about the strategies and tactics for freedom.

Freedom, in its most basic meaning, is the ability to take care of ourselves, without the intervention of others. This definition can be applied both to individuals and to groups. Self-care ranges from basic needs, such as food, water and shelter, to mental needs, such as company, expression and safety.

Strategy is the result of designing or planning a flexible set of operations, for one or more specific goals. Each operation is composed of different tactics that reflect the options available to us. This entire process is very flexible in its creation and very fluid in its operation, but it is always defined, as a reference, so as to avoid as many unwanted actions and unexpected results.

Moving onto the topic of this article...

Without patience, there is no way to plan our responses to existing and possible problems. It is when we feel hopeless and see no future plan that we choose to make sacrifices.

With patience, we are able to calmly review and resolve. We need not make unwanted sacrifices. We can choose how we respond and spend the resources we find most suitable. Once it is a choice out of many, it is not anymore a sacrifice; it is only a price.

It is impossible to make any choice, without taking the time to consider. Freedom is a choice. Without patience, there is no freedom, at all.

Comment below and say, what you agree with and what you disagree with in this discussion of freedom and choice!

Replace Plastics & Metals With Plants

It is my personal dream that someday, soon, all our useful and brilliant electronic devices will be made from organic materials, from fresh plant sources that do not harm the environment. A biological computer that resembles its' current predecessor, without any relation to the horror movie notion of a man-eating computer-brain monster, if you will.

Step One: Replace oil-based plastic with (fresh) plant-based plastic.

Is it possible to make plastics from fresh plants? Yes! Apparently, using plant starch will let us create bio-plastic, which can have different properties - just like regular plastic does - when mixed with different materials. There are loads of information resources online for this, so you can find different plants (potatoes, corn, others) and different methods (stove, oven, microwave!) for your needs.

Step Two: Replace mineral-based materials with bio-plastic materials.

Is it possible to make electromagnetic devices from plastic? Yes! Sadly, the topic is shushed by the big corporations, due to its' extremely lucrative nature. The first reported discovery of a plastic polymer (mix) with magnetic properties came from America in 2001. Soon afterwards, another report came from England in 2004. Remember that magnetism and electricity go together, so when this competition is over with, we should see a market boom of electric devices made entirely from organic polymers (bio-plastic), with all the benefits of the material.

For some textual specifics, you can check out the Wikipedia page about this.

The Sacred Science [Free Movie]

This ain't some hippie documentary, but a rather investigative review.

We all endure sickness and hardship. It is evident that there are many plants that help us cope with life, and even heal from specific problems, by introducing them into our minds and diets. As an added benefit, spending time in natural, lush and comfortable environments, helps us see things differently, and feel better about our lives.

I quite envy the experience that these adventurous people had, and aim to, someday, enjoy it myself, as well.

Try The Amish

I would like to take this opportunity, and try to learn from the Amish, about social organization and human nature.

The Amish Endurance!

I find it interesting that small communities can have very specific rules, but still be enjoyable to their members. Even now, people choose to enter (and leave) the Amish communities, and other such similar close-knit and strict groups, around the world. Is it possible that the best way for people to organize is in an array of different strict small communities?

The idea that we should all have almost no social rules in our free lives, and that we should all live together in great cities, might not be the best direction for us. Since the dawn of time, people have lived in small and very organized communities. Occasionally, some would change communities and move about. Often, it was due to a marriage or a great need, but sometimes even due to disagreements and conflict.

I wonder if in a truly free world, would people just return to this most basic and simple method? Small groups with very strict local rules that immigrate and exchange with other such-like groups, in other places.

What do you think?

Responsibility VS Ownership !

All human conflict derives from the ideological conflict between responsibility and ownership.

Responsibility is the measure of how much a person is willing to give, time or resources or even risk, in order to support his ideals. A natural example is that of investing in a child. The child is given his needs from the parents, because the parent idealizes, to a degree, the importance of their child.

Ownership is the attempt to control the ideas of other people. In order for a person to own anything, they must convince others that they (the others) have no power, over the choices of the owner, in regard to the owned object. For example, the only way in which I can own an apple, is if other people accept that my choices about the apple are superior to their own ideas about the apple.

It is possible for both ideologies to overlap:
1. Own & take responsibility, over something.
2. Not own, but take responsibility, over something.
3. Own, but not take responsibility, over something.
4. Not own & not take responsibility, over something.

The greatest conflict of interests is when one person or group decides to take responsibility without ownership, while another person or group decides to take ownership without responsibility. I first tackled this issue over at the FDR forums, here:
http://board.freedomainradio.com/topic/36950-responsibility-versus-ownership/

I propose that this is best solved by acknowledging that responsibility is a higher ideal than ownership. I do not propose, however, that ownership does not have a right to exist. Only, that in the case of dispute, that side which proves the need for taking responsibility, must be allowed priority, over the side that claims ownership.

First, we recognize the fact that being the owner of something, for example a tree, does not mean that you would always have all the rights to it. If the owner does not take care of the tree, so that it is rotting and might fall on others, then it is fair for others to take responsibility, and cut the tree down, for their own safety. This is in the case of the owner not doing so, beforehand.

Second, we realize that it is not enough to simply disagree with the owner's opinions, but that actual proof is required, for intervention. If it is not evident why intervention must be required, then no intervention should exist! When an owner and an interventor (someone who wants to take responsibility) go to court, in order to resolve a dispute, then it is up to social rule to dictate the result.

This is why we talk and argue our ideas. So, that we can imply what is right and what is wrong, in society, as a whole, and so be able to trust our fellow peoples' decisions.

Eventually, I wanted Stefan Molyneux's opinion in the matter; him being a person I share a lot of views in common with and who is able to debate well, and so sent him an email and received this response:

"I think that everything that is enforced rather than inflicted is superior, [so] I think we agree."

I conclude that he, and many on the forums, sum this idea into, 'we either have a contract or we don't.'

This is my final conclusion, which I consider the most practical:

In order to enforce conflict resolutions, we must decide which person has the higher moral ground. The ideals of the Non-Aggression Principle and Self-Ownership are insufficient for the resolution of conflicts, without proper investigation into the facts and nature of each conflict.

Only when there is no doubt that one side has a clearly higher moral position, over the other, then that side must enjoy the support of the community, as a whole, and of us as individuals, in private.

"We" Does Not Exist

There is one substantial difference between the self and the group. The self always exists as itself, while the group is ever changing; to the degree that at different times, the same group can consist of entirely different individuals.

Every time someone says or writes "we", or any derivative of it, a red light illuminates in my mind. It goes something like this:

- "Who are the individuals referred to, exactly?"
- "What are the definite and consistent properties of the group?"
- "Am I part of that group or of any similar group?"
- "What interest does that person, or the people who compose the group, have in being generalized?"

The principle of my suspicion is the threat of being generalized to the extent that I am no longer represented, or that I gain an unjustified bias against another. In any of those cases, the result is prejudice and conflict.

So, while there are fair situations, in which many individuals can be represented in a group, such as the case of a family unit , there is the most common and abundant danger of misrepresentation!

Not seeing the trees for the forest.

Debt Is Bad

I mean, seriously. How can anybody think "debt" and see it in a positive light.

I have been seeing more and more people, coming out and saying that 'if we just handle debt this way, then we can...' blah blah blah. Economists. This is just plainly wrong. It is like excusing a mistake, by saying, 'Hey, what if we try to make it seem more positive?' That does not work.

Click here for some debt advice from Finance Dais' blog.

Just think about it. "Do I want debt?" No. The answer is no. Nobody wants debt. People used to go into debt, because they would starve, otherwise. So, there is no excuse for anyone to go into debt. Our social structure cannot be in debt and work for us. This is evident in modern day life.

So, stop treating debt, as if it were just an empty word, or some complicated economic term that none of us understands. We understand it. Treat it like it should be treated. Like a scourge!

How To Design A Vegan Village

[Click here to scroll to the Vegan Village example, if you already read the original thread.]

I recently enjoyed a thread about Non-Hierarchical Permaculture Designed Community over at permies.com. The thread discussed the idea of designing a new village, in a way that attracts and keeps the most wanted population at any given time, so that it reflects the will of the designer(s). The conclusion, for me, was the following illustration:

It's sorta like from ground to horizon. How neat is that?! :-D

Basically, the point here is that some parts of a village are very fluid, so they should be regarded as "experiments". Other parts are quite static, so we can design them to pretty much be, what we want them to be. And finally, some things are just so random and wild, that we should only design to cope with them, and not for specific results.

The purpose of such a design, is to define, in advanced, what we want built-into the village. It is very hard to decide on how we want our village to be, when we are not even sure what is relevant for the design process.

In this case, I suggest that we design for three goals:
1. Limitations on private experimentation, so that we get people who are either more or less adventurous.
2. Limitations on public experimentations, so that we get people who are either more or less social.
3. Limitations on shared resources, so that we get people who enjoy a life style similar to our own taste.

The focus is the village's intended population and the village's intended functionality. Naturally, this is all in regard to Permaculture ideals, so it will not answer the wishes of many, who do not take interest in bold new ways!

For example, could we design a vegan village?

A vegan diet (or life style) denies two things: animal produce and the preparation of animal produce. Animals, as in husbandry, generally require access to the Stable section of the village, for grazing and happiness. The preparation of animal produce, generally requires in-house equipment and storage, which is under the Private Experimental section.

It is unlikely to be able to design any denying mechanism in the Private Experimental section, because a person's home is "their fortress." That is fair enough. On the other hand, for serious meat eating, beasts need proper grazing. If we design the Stable section, which includes all the shared land around and between the houses, so that it is inhospitable to beasts, then we can design the village to be utterly offensive to meat farmers. That would be enough to disgust a prospective buyer that has any ideas about growing beasts for their products.

A vegan vacation! It's vegelicious!

In this very penetrating case, we come to the conclusion that while no one can be forced to be a vegan, in their privacy, by design; it is still possible to design a village, so it discourages meat farmers and meat eaters, away.

Not to mention, we can design a lot of vegan propaganda into the public Experimental section, so that it feels like a horrifying cult to non-vegans, who first see the design. :-P

Watching Violent Movies For Education

We watch action flicks for the heroes; not for the violence or the destruction. How dare I claim such an all encompassing conclusion? Let us break it down:

People watch movies that have conflict without having violence in them. For example, dramas, comedies, adventure films, non-violent children shows and more. Conflict itself is the interesting thing! We all have a strong inner need for education, so we seek the conflict between others, to learn from their experiences.

The Martial Arts
Probably the best example of learning from conflict,
on daily basis.

While we may not actually take interest in which side wins any conflict, or in the result of it, at all, we do want to review the successes achieved in the conflict. By mimicking and understanding the victories, we learn how to defend ourselves and win conflicts ourselves. It is as simple as that! Monkey see monkey do, so monkey want to see.

So, the next time anybody dares claim that we learn 'how to be violent' from movies and games, make sure you remember that it is a false notion! Remember that we learn from all conflicts, and what we learn is how to handle and come out well from conflicts.

Updated Blog Design & Images & Feed Links

Here, here, for the update of my pretty blog!

I have changed the blog's layout from two columns into one column. I felt that it was time to give more space to both the content and sidebar. By removing the left column, I added a bunch of good pixels to both, and now there is more space for the posts aaaand for the important sidebar images and links.

Enjoying the friendly Google Blogger system.

Also, now there is a widget with RSS feed links for different providers, if you scroll below a little. I added the buttons manually, because I could not find anything pre-made. Took me a while to get it all going nicely.

I hope Real Stories! Amazing Adventures! is more readable, now. Do comment and tell me how you feel about my current design and how you would improve it!

Friendly Local Permaculture Talk

Peter Bane - How I'm Preparing for the Local Future: Permaculture

I really enjoyed watching this talk about how they prepare for the future, by having a small plot that they work on, part time. From water cisterns to small animals, fruit trees, and growing veggies for summer and winter. Really a down-to-earth easy on the ears talk about doing Permaculture sensibly.

How Do Bullies Rule Society?

New South Park episodes out!

Who is a bully?

A bully is a person that forces themselves on others, because of their fear of being ignored.

Bullies are the people who are most attracted to positions of power over others, because of their fearful nature.

Why should we be most cautious of cowards?

Bullies, which are a sub-species of cowards, are the greatest threat to us all. It is not the strong and self-confident person who bothers to manipulate those around them. Such a person relies on their ability to cope with problems, and understands that manipulating others would be a waste of valuable time. This time is better used to invest in oneself, rather than attempt to control others.

Oppositely, the bully is not willing to invest in themselves, and therefor is always anxious to find prey. Such prey is their human meat shield against dangers. Those who accompany the bully, the minor bullies, are the first to get hurt, when a conflict arises.

Society can be looked at as a larger scale village. In this village, that counts to the millions and billions of people in our age, cowards will always attempt to take over the rest of us. It is hard to miss that the most control-hungry and cowardly people among us are those in politics, generally. Politicians are those people who invest most of their time in manipulating the lives of others.

Politicians work under the false pretense that they represent others.

For any person to represent me, under any normal circumstance, they would have to hold my recorded consent for representation, and even then it will be a limited consent. No other person can represent me completely, ever.

Lo and behold, today, we are all born into a state of society that lets those strangers, those bullies in politics, to represent us, without our consent, at all. As teenagers, young adults that are already responsible for their own actions, we have no word about who legally represents us. As young adults, over the age of legal adulthood (18+), we are the minority group, and thus cannot democratically have proper representation.

Our generation is even less in Europe!
~160mill' People 34+ > ~70mill' People 18 to 34.
More than twice our generation are still forcing their opinions on us!

This is how bullies rule our society. This is how bullies have always operated. Only those of us who take a stance and insist that only they, themselves, represent themselves, will ever make a society that is not ruled and run by bullies.