Microradio Blues: SF Liberation Radio's Court Defeat Exemplifies Federal/Corporate Control : Indybay

Microradio Blues: SF Liberation Radio's Court Defeat Exemplifies Federal/Corporate Control : Indybay

Here's an article by my friend, Rubble, about the most recent crackdown on microradio broadcasting.

Free the airwaves. Free our mind!

Donny Fix

Nuclear Waste Cost Estimates will Likely Increase

d07761.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Here is a newly released GAO study on nuclear waste whose title says it all-

Nuclear Waste: Plans for Addressing Most Buried Transuranic Wastes Are
Not Final, and Preliminary Cost Estimates Will Likely Increase.

Agricultural commodities | Biofuelled | Economist.com

Agricultural commodities | Biofuelled | Economist.com

More ammunition showing that as food crops such as corn and soy are turned toward biofuels production, their prices have begun to reflect the (increasing) price of oil. Meanwhile, as more of the world's people become "well-off" enough to consume meat, the grains the steers, milk cows, and chickens feed on are in competition with biofuels cultivation and driving up their cost, so more for meat, poultry, eggs and milk.

Moral: Eat more produce, drive less.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Fruit could make 'powerful fuel'

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Fruit could make 'powerful fuel'

This makes the point that widespread use of this technology could have an adverse effect on food prices, but does not go in to it much.

Still, it is a concern. Other "waste" products suggested as a potential fuel source depend upon an as-yet not developed enzyme as its promise. As I have said, biofuels needs to be approached cautiously, as does any technology that attempts to protect the status quo- in this case car culture.

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | China building more power plants

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | China building more power plants

Here is an interesting story that makes ther point that a good share of China's carbon footprint is the result of a long history of Western nations sending their manufacturing to China to take advantage of cheap labor.

The article suggests that the West could export more renewable technologies to China to help lessen the environmental footprint and give a nudge to renewables. I think we need to rethink the entire area of trade from an environmental perspective. All concerned should consume locally and learn what we can do without, so we don't use so much of our dwindling resources, especially oil which we are in a war for, sending consumables all over the world.

Producing less to consume less is not a popular message to some sectors of capitalist society. But for long term conservation efforts that will reduce our impact on the earth's ability to support us, it will be necessary.

YouTube - Myths of Biofuels

YouTube - Myths of Biofuels

Check out why we need to remain vigilant of energy choices we make. Sometimes, Green(wash) can Kill us.

Donny Fix

Eat the Rich

Review "Escaping the Matrix"

Here is a book review I wrote.

Escaping the Matrix- How We the People Can Change the World

Richard Moore

The Cyberjournal Project - 2005

a book review by Don Eichelberger aka Donny Fix

Escaping the Matrix is methodical and informative, but breaks down in its quest to do too much in too thin a volume. It is a valiant effort, none the less, and I think worth the read.

The early parts of Escaping the Matrix are valuable for the historical overview they provide on how we have gotten to where we are today.It takes its name from the cult movie hit, "The Matrix", where people live an illusion while their real bodies hang unconscious, suspended in a solution that extracts the body’s energy to power the machine that produces the matrix. He calls upon us to look past the intricate “reality” presented as fact and see behind the illusion.

It reviews much of the current literature on alternative histories and globalization, drawing from Howard Zinn, David Corten, Francis Moore-Lappe, Jerry Mander and many others, as well as Internet resources. Examples chronicle the story we were being given, and the truth behind the illusion.

World War I, “The War to End All Wars” is shown to be really a plot to extend Western influence in the Middle East for oil, a long-time goal of the ruling elites. In the process, elites were able to establish the Federal Reserve and offer a means for JP Morgan and other bankers to fund the European war effort, with interest, while establishing an economic model for manufacturing money, transforming a cash and carry economy to one of credit cards and consumerism.

After examining the role elites have taken to mold society and extend their power, the conclusion is that society is in crisis, with many of its very life-giving processes threatened by global corporations and their political benefactors. These ruling elites are seen as the central problem, which continue to stand in the way of very logical steps We the People can take to turn things around.

Moore discusses the need to move from a dominator society to a partnership society. He says this will happen when We the People begin to throw off the dominator ethic and learn to act more cooperatively and in the public interest.

Looking back in history, he shows that things were not always defined by a “survival of the fittest” mentality, which rules our thought today. Early agricultural civilizations, which lasted peacefully over thousands of years, show that humanity has it in us to live differently than the dominator, hierarchical cultures that began taking over in the early ages.

This is where the methodical facade begins to loosen. A profound social change will need to take place before the reality this volume wants us to let in is seen. Once that change happens, Reality As We Know It will melt away and We the People will assume control.

Some of the vision here is attractive. It calls for a falling way of the political system, which, at its base is a mechanism developed by the Matrix to divide and conquer, and keep an elite plutocracy in power.

Instead of representatives voted in along party lines to work out compromises from two dominant points of opposition, he envisions ad hoc community councils that will hold facilitated discussions of community problems, called “Harmonization”, and offer solutions that have consensus approval. No candidates. No elections. Just skilled facilitation that can harness the energy in the room to pull people out of their normal thinking patterns and see the wisdom of the group.

Nice vision, but it begs the question of who calls the community meetings, how they are noticed, and what measure is used of accountability. His vision is that, when The Change comes, people will no longer be self-serving, and we will learn the importance of working selflessly on behalf of all.

Still, the model of empowering local action on issues through facilitated community discussion and adoption of common goals is something community groups can begin to do now. It is never a bad thing to empower local activity, especially toward a consensus position that is inclusive and representative of all the stake holders. As with all consensus models, it will work if there is a spirit of wanting to arrive at a common agreement because everyone feels part of something larger and more important that can overcome petty differences.

The anti-nuclear movement provided that sense in the 1970’s and ‘80’s. The power of the energy companies was enormous and the odds against us were high. We organized people to take part, even face arrest, by holding potluck meeting discussions and inviting people to join an affinity group and learn inclusive decision-making using consensus process.

This is a process that we as Greens have begun to explore through what we have been terming “Convergences”. We want to empower local, solution-oriented discussions on issues of urgent social concern and how to affect it.

The anti- nuclear movement had a basis of unity around using direct action to oppose governmental policies that supported nuclear power development. Today, there are so many “presenting problems” that it is difficult to find that kind of solidarity on anything, especially a political solution. Indeed, as mentioned, Moore sees the political process as it exists as consciously divisive in favor of maintaining the status quo, and the rich in power.

We need to identify and work from new bases of unity, recognizing the fundamental thing that unites us is this blue orb that rides us through the cosmos, and will provide for the needs of us all, if not ostentatiously.

During the 2005 Convergence at Bohemian Grove, I was acquainted with a book by George Lakoff, The Elephant in the Room. It came to the same conclusion that we need to find our way past the differences that divide us through our realization that we are all in this together.

Lakoff characterized the major belief that distinguishes a dominator society from more cooperative ones is the sense that people are evil and out to get you and you need to work for your own self interests. If everyone does that, they claim, it distributes the resources of life more efficiently. Caring is a feminine principle that shows weakness and should be avoided for the greater good.

Of course, for progressives, it is care for the whole society, not only the individual, which should motivate individual behavior. A sense that no one should prosper until all are fed. That is anathema to the survival of the fittest mentality, which itself is a part of the Matrix that makes people believe that it is their duty to leave the weak behind.

To move toward a more cooperative ethic, Moore feels we need to redefine current conceptions of progressive and conservative, and especially recognize our commonality around issues like wariness of big, intrusive government, emphasis on local solidarity and self-reliance, and skepticism around mainstream media. With openness and good facilitation, he feels we can overcome our superficial differences and discover our role in creating the power of We the People.

· end-

People will join the Uprising when they can hum the Theme Song

In the following article, “Breaking Free of the Cycles of Violence”, I lay out some observations of the problems I see and calls upon all of us to begin to adopt a more critical attitude about the use of violence in its many forms and how we can disengage from this “game”- develop an aware attitude about our acts and how they affect others.

I have been working on his since graduate studies in Social Work in the mid-70’s. I took away much from my studies of systems theory, criminal justice, family and social dynamics and how we find permission for what we do. I have also learned a lot about power relationships from Margo Adair’s writings and workshops, and broadened my awareness of many issues these past 25 years with the help of this odd collection of misfits known as San Francisco.

On Ending the CYCLES OF VIOLENCE

Don Eichelberger

Violence in currently structured society is pervasive. Literary and Biblical accounts date it from before Cain and Abel, to Satan’s war against God. Western tradition since then has been a story of war and subjugation. Individuals within those histories have faced and continue to face oppression and violence.

If we are to break free of the cycles of control and domination that lead to violence, we need to be aware of how the dynamics of violence feed on themselves and perpetuate and escalate violence.

Identifying individual and social roles in the violence process is important. For as we empower personal action to end our “will for violence”, meaningful social change will begin. Internal change will cultivate a desire to end violence.

Just as current culture is built upon a historical foundation of violence, future culture free of violence will be built upon principles of anti-violence now. We are currently living the history that will hopefully form the underpinnings of a more caring future.

Once the internal will to violence is lessened, we can look at social dynamics of violence more clearly. Institutions that perpetuate and thrive on violence can finally begin to be disassembled.

Violence, as defined here, is the imperative to dominate. It is the culmination of a cycle of events and systems based on making life work like a game, with winners and losers. As the systems feed the violence and make it stronger, so the escalated violence feeds back into those systems, making them more violent, spiraling the cycle.

PROPERTY RIGHTS

The cycle begins with the imperative to acquire or preserve property. Whether we are protecting (or coveting) personal property, personal authority over others, or strategic resources for a nation, this dynamic opens the way for violence. This is not the same as acquiring survival needs. Thus, a wolf pack attacking a caribou is not violence.

PROPRIETARY RIGHTS

Once the need to defend property is established, it builds a mindset that widens the definition of property and asserts our right to control it. Propriety rights (read territorial imperative) involves controlling not only real goods, but also people and institutions. The patriarchy claims control of women, children, workers, economic and political processes, and future outcomes.

AUTHORITY AND CONTROL

This is the tactical mechanism for enforcing proprietary rights. It is a system of rewards and punishment that enforces property rights.

Positive reinforcement is given to people & and instituting that consolidate control. Reinforcement is withheld (political contributions, grants, jobs, favors) from entities not toeing the line. Corporal ad capitol punishment, police, military and economic power are the coercive arms of the process.

WILL TO VIOLENCE

Will to violence involves creating the apparatus to provide the system with willing and unwilling participants. This is the socialization structure, and it invades all social institutions. Patriarchal western culture centers around creating children obedient to authority- the mission of families, schools and churches. When children gain the age to begin to assert their own authority, two paths open.

The “lucky” ones go on to higher education, where their violence is refined and focused on the competitive art of achievement. Through camaraderie in sports, frat parties and the paper chase, a new generation is trained to “get their share” of power and authority.

Power equates to money, and authority is the control apparatus (largely bureaucratic and/or hierarchical) of the corporation, state, church and military.

The unlucky ones go into military, prisons and/or an oppressive wage slave existence, often in heavy industry, weapons work, mining, etc., or else in menial labor or service jobs. Military and prisons are both “monster factories” that teach and reinforce the most hands—on forms of violence. Class, race and gender divisions in these two paths are stark.

The most brutal violence happens in populations where large numbers of people have been in military (especially combat) situations again socioeconomically determined. The criminal justice system’s injustice is most evident among groups of people unable to afford the price of justice. These systemic inequities feed into the cycles of frustration/rage that precipitates much domestic violence and child abuse.

INSTITUTIONAL DIVISIONISM

This critical process creates the battle ground where violence is allowed expression. Patriarchy provides the first institutional cleavage, pitting men against women, Man is superior. This is probably the oldest institutional cleavage, and is woven intrinsically into the fabric of today’ systems in all but a few societies.

Institutional divisionism is rooted in creating an us—them mind set that can perpetuate barriers between people and separate people from the natural world. Its function is to mobilize divisiveness, is an educational process of dividing and controlling. Besides sexism, it manifests as racism, religious bigotry, patriotism, homophobia, regionalism, gang warfare, and all divisionistic practices.

The mind—set is hierarchical—pitting one entity against another using some adopted standard of “worth”. Hierarchical institutions spread this standard- patriarchic family structures, church establishmentarianism, and educational institutions, including schools and the media.

Popular news often focuses on violent attacks (“if it bleeds, it leads”) and helps spread the veil of distrust among individuals. War rhetoric and terrorist sensationalism help drive wedges among nations. The propaganda machine is consciously driven by forces bent on maintaining their power. It is not above product media that stirs deep—seated divisions (e.g. racist stories, sexist advertising and jingoistic movies and music).

Sports as media also helps keep a population aggitable. Passions stay stirred from the World Series to the super bowl, NBA play—offs Stanley Cup and Big Time Wrestling. The Olympics opens the way for the rawest kind of nationalism, giving this divisive dynamic an international flavor. Competitive political battles, long on rhetoric and media imaging and short on substance oils the machinery with its slime.

Besides institutional processes that divide people from each- other, other processes work to separate humans from the natural order. This process, termed “desacralization by Jeremy Rifkin , places humans on a hierarchical scale above the rest of creation. Desacralization feeds back into the beginning of the loop and our definition of property.

High tech medical practices continually try to overcome the world’s most natural processes, birth and death. While some headway is being made to retrieve the art of midwifery and reinstate home birth and “natural birth” as the norm, much of Western medicine continues to negate the body’s role in maintaining health. Hospitals and the funeral industry have placed an antiseptic veil around the most pervasive of human experiences, being born and dying, a isolating us from the profoundness of our mortality.

Food production and distribution further alienate us from the natural cycles. High tech growing has relegated the land to chemical dependency, robbed food of nutrition and placed agricultural workers into a malnourished and oppressed subclass.
The real estate industry has made the life-giving earth into property, where market value transcends intrinsic value, transforming nature into a commodity or a “resource”.

Food processing and marketing help push the violence cycle in several ways. Processed foods, higher in sugar and additives, triggers bodily responses that can lead to agitation and direct violence (e.g. the “Twinkie Defense”). Economic violence is done to the lowest socioeconomic rungs in inner city neighborhoods, usually located farther from large food outlets, where prices are lower. And long bins of cut up animal flesh further separates humans from the suffering of beings “lower” in life’s hierarchy, and further desensitize
humans from the cycles of life at death.

This is not a definitive analysis of institutional divisions that feed the violence. These are illustrations of a wide range of ways the cycle functions, and that is its purpose. Locating our place in that cycle can suggest where we as individual feed into the cycles, and hopefully suggest ways that we can begin to take action in our personal lives to disengage from and dismantle the cycles. Then begins the challenge of creating life—affirming cycles to replace them.