Indigenous Lessons from Ecuador

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Indigenous Lessons from Ecuador
Aug 9, 2012 | John Perkins

As I travel around Ecuador I continue to be impressed with the strength, resilience, and wisdom of the indigenous people. Two examples – one global and one personal:

The Global

On July 25, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the government of Ecuador violated the rights of the Kichwa people of the community of Sarayaku by not giving them a fair hearing and not providing a platform for informed consultation before starting oil development on their lands in the late 1990s.

The ruling is a major victory for the Kichwa and all of us who believe that indigenous people are trail-blazing the way to a more sustainable and socially just world. And it is much more than that. It sets a precedent for the way governments deal with indigenous communities – and by broader implication, with all communities. In essence it requires that communities give their consent before governments sell or lease land and resources to corporations.

The Kichwa of Sarayaku – supported by many other indigenous communities and NGOs like Amazon Watch and The Pachamama Alliance – have struggled to keep oil companies off their lands for many years. They resisted military intervention, threats, bribes, and a vicious propaganda campaign. They are an amazing model of courage, persistence, and commitment to future generations and the earth. They are an inspiration for all of us who understand that this time of prophecies is a time for rising to higher levels of consciousness.

The Personal

I returned to the home of the Tamayos, an Otavalan family of shamans with whom I first starting working more than two decades ago. I spent many hours talking with three generations – from the oldest, 70 year old Don Esteban, to the youngest, 4 year old Ñusta (who is a shaman in training). We discussed many subjects, but our main focus was on the need for humans to feel our connection to, love of, and responsibility for Pachamama (Mother Earth/Universe).

"We all know that the glaciers are melting," Jorge (Don Estaban's son and the father of my 15 year old godson, Joel) told me, "the world is in deep crisis. We must all come together to change the way we think and live."

I've experienced many shamanic readings and healings during the past 4 decades but none more powerful than the one administered this week by the Tamayos.

They read my energy and saw that, like so many activists, I've been worn down. "There are many forces trying to rob your energy," I was told. "Take that as a sign that you're succeeding." They performed a powerful limpia (cleansing) on me. They used earth, air, water, and fire and evoked the powers of the three sacred volcanoes that surround their community. Afterwards, I truly felt like a new person, one who is reinvigorated to be (as they put it) "a lover of and warrior for Mother Earth."

I do not idealize indigenous people. I know they have their share of problems; they are human. However, they have managed to live in harmony with the earth for millennia. In these times of extreme global crises, they offer insights about how we can change ourselves. We are wise to listen.

By the time you read this, I'll be deep in the Amazon – arriving there by small plane, dugout canoe, and along jungle trails. With about 30 members of The Pachamama Alliance, I will learn more from the Achuar and Shuar— people I first met in the late 1960s. The powerful lessons continue. . .

Above all, the indigenous people teach us to have hope. They know we can shapeshift ourselves and our institutions. Together we will create a sustainable, just, and peaceful world where all beings can thrive.

John Perkins' books on economics and geo-politics have sold more than 1 million copies, spent many months on the New York Times and other bestseller lists, and are published in over 30 languages.

Divide and Conquer by Domestic Terrorism: Progressives Take the Bait

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Divide and Conquer by Domestic Terrorism: Progressives Take the Bait
Aug 9, 2012 | Eric Blair

Recent shootings turn progressives into proponents of fighting "domestic extremism". Be careful what you wish for.

 Progressives are generally empathetic to the suffering of others, which is their most admirable quality. Like all Americans, progressives should be saddened by the recent Batman shooting in Aurora and the Sikh temple shooting in Wisconsin.

Yet, establishment media outlets are quick to blame these incidents on right-wing ideology in a clear attempt to divide and conquer the domestic population.

Comments like "Enough is enough, it's time to ban guns!" echoed beneath countless articles and Facebook posts. Headlines like Right-wing extremist terrorism more dangerous than al Qaeda were featured on CNN. These are dead giveaways to how the agenda is playing out.

These tragic events, whether genuine or staged, are clearly being used to drum up support for more gun control and domestic surveillance of Americans. Progressives seem blinded by their sympathy for the innocent victims to see that they are being played against their fellow Americans, and they are literally begging for their rights to be removed.

Well, not their rights, just the rights of potentially dangerous extremists which all of their think tank literature tells them are liberty lovers, defenders of the Constitution, returning veterans, gun owners, and so on.

Since average progressives don't fall into these categories, they seem happy to call for the destruction of their rights in the land of the free. Much like most Americans went along with the USA PATRIOT Act after 9/11 because they were told only foreign Muslims would be spied on and indefinitely detained without charges. Only after the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) did Americans realize that these tactics were actually intended for domestic civilians.

 Now that their beloved Peace-Prize president is openly providing support to Al Qaeda, first in Libya and now in Syria, it was imperative to redirect the vast anti-terrorism apparatus to a credible new enemy.  Right-wing extremists fit the bill perfectly, as they have been predictably programmed to take on that role for some time.

After numerous thwarted "lone wolf" terrorist plots were proven to be FBI patsies and the Fast and Furious government gun-running scandal was proven to be staged to attack gun rights, whoever is coordinating these sinister plots needed real blood to move their agenda forward.

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To non-partisans who have been paying close attention to these events, this has become all too obvious. It has led to an immediate belief that these recent "lone wolf" shootings were in fact staged, of which there is plenty of evidence to suggest this is true.  But none more so than what these events are being used for politically.

It has led to dangerous 'group think' that allows otherwise decent people to not only accept but to demand previously unthinkable punishments like torture and outright murder.

Is it fair to broad brush conservatives as "dangerous extremists" because of these events? Shall we consider all progressives to be dangerous because a progressive president drone bombs innocent civilians in sovereign nations and assassinates American citizens without due process?

Empathy is one of the most commendable traits a person can have. But a truly empathetic person understands that what you do to others is what you're doing to yourself.  In other words, when you demand that people with a different ideology be treated differently then yourself, you aren't empathetic, you're vengeful. And, ultimately, what you wish to happen to them is exactly what you'll get in return.

Because you were okay with indefinitely detaining insurgents without Habeas Corpus, you got it too.  Because you're okay with wiretapping international communications to fight "terror", you got it too. Because you're okay with drones killing by remote control, you got it too. Because you're okay with preemptive undeclared war, you got it too. Because you're okay with stopping illegal immigration with warrantless checkpoints, show us your papers please. Since you think entire groups are to blame for isolated events, you now have the TSA groping or radiating your children. And on and on....

This will continue until both sides of the false political spectrum realize they are being played against each other by a ruthless force that does not care about any ideology except more power and control. They know exactly which emotional buttons to push to get you to relinquish more control to them.

In fact, if you're scared or angry enough, you'll beg for it like you're doing now for more "gun control" and more "surveillance" of your fellow Americans.  Be careful what you wish for, you'll likely get it.

Read other articles by Eric Blair HERE

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Mexican Archaeologists Discover 'Unprecedented' Aztec Burial

© Reuters
Archaeologists work on human
bones found at the Templo Mayor in the
heart of Mexico City.

Mexican Archaeologists Discover 'Unprecedented' Aztec Burial
Aug 8, 2012 | Associated Press

Mexican archaeologists say they have found an unprecedented human burial in which the skeleton of a young woman is surrounded by piles of 1,789 human bones in Mexico City's Templo Mayor.

Researchers found the burial about five metres (15ft) below the surface, next to the remains of what may have been a sacred tree at one edge of the plaza, the most sacred site of the Aztec capital.

The National Institute of Anthropology and History said the find was the first of its kind, noting the Aztecs were not known to use mass sacrifice or the reburial of bones for the interment of a member of the ruling class.

University of Florida archaeologist Susan Gillespie, who was not involved in the project, called the find "unprecedented for the Aztec culture".

She said on Tuesday that when the Mayas interred sacrifice victims with royal burials, but they were usually found as complete bodies. And, except for special circumstances, the Aztecs, unlike other pre-Hispanic cultures, usually cremated members of the elite during their rule from 1325 to the Spanish conquest in 1521.

"Although the bodies of sacrificial victims have been found in burials of elite persons in Mesoamerica going back to at least the preclassic period, funerary deposits for Aztec elites have only rarely been encountered," said Gillespie.

The institute said some of the bones showed what may be cut marks to the sternum or vertebrae, places where a ritual heart extraction might leave a mark, but added that it did not seem likely the dead were sacrificed on the spot to accompany the burial because their bones were found separated.

The researchers discovered the skulls of seven adults and three children in one pile, long bones including femurs in another grouping, and ribs in another.

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The physical anthropologist Perla Ruiz, who was in charge of the dig, said that might suggest the bones were disinterred from previous burials and reburied with the woman. While some pre-Hispanic cultures disinterred bones as part of ancestor worship, it is not clear the Aztecs did.

The burial dates to about 1481-1486, based on the "stage" of temple buildings at which they were found. The Templo Mayor, like many sites, was rebuilt by successive generations, one stage atop another.

Another unusual finding was the sacred tree, actually a rather battered oak trunk found planted on a small, round platform near the burial at what would have been the edge of the temple complex. It may be a couple of decades older than the burial.

The Aztecs, like other pre-Hispanic cultures, venerated trees, believing they had spiritual importance.

Institute archaeologist Raúl Barrera said it may be related to the four sacred trees the Aztecs believed held up the sky, but Gillespie noted it could also have been a tree or trunk brought in for an annual ceremony.

"It seems to have been positioned there for a span of time, perhaps for a special ceremony or to create a particular vision of a sacred landscape, but then abandoned as uses of that limited sacred space changed over time," Gillespie said.

Barrera said the tree trunk appeared to have been split, perhaps intentionally.

‘Lord of the Rings’ Volcano Blows

Jason Pratt (CC BY 2.0)

A view from the volcano’s south crater.

‘Lord of the Rings’ Volcano Blows
Aug 7, 2012 | Truthdig.org

New Zealand’s Mount Tongariro, a backdrop for scenes in “The Lord of the Rings” movies, erupted for the first time in 115 years late Monday night, spreading a thick layer of ash for several miles and causing residents to leave their homes and airlines to cancel flights.

—Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly. Follow him on Twitter: @areedkelly.

The Associated Press via The Guardian:
Scientists said they noticed increased seismic activity below Mt Tongariro for weeks but there was no specific warning before the volcano erupted late on Monday night. The eruption of ash and rocks lasted about 30 minutes and did not cause any injuries or damage in the sparsely populated central North Island region, which is a designated national park. … Police said a witness described flashes and explosions followed by a cloud of ash coming from a hole in the north face of the mountain.

Read more

         

August 4 2012 Erupting Magnetic Filament Propelled a Massive CME into Space HD

August 4 2012 Erupting Magnetic Filament Propelled a Massive CME into Space HD
Aug 4, 2012 | Trudi Kay

8/3/2012 -- Severe weather overview -- Tropical storm Ernesto -- Minot ND HAARP ring hit

8/3/2012 -- Severe weather overview -- Tropical storm Ernesto -- Minot ND HAARP ring hit 
August 3, 2012 |  dutchsinse

The U.S.Housing Market is a Black Hole

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The U.S.Housing Market is a Black Hole
July 18, 2012 | Dave In Denver/Golden Truth

We have reached a profound point in economic history where the truth is unpalatable to the political class - and that truth is that the scale and magnitude of the problem is larger than their ability to respond - and it terrifies them...Bad things are going to happen. - Hugh Hendry on CNBC

Once again we're going through another wash, rinse, repeat cycle with the housing market fairy tales. People who bother to pay attention to the news woke up this morning to a report from the Commerce Dept that housing starts rose the highest level since 2008 in June. I'm not sure why that would be considered good news, since 2008 is when the bottom really fell out of the housing market. The other anomaly that contradicts this Government-compiled data is that mortgage purchase applications continue to decline on a weekly basis. Note: the mortgage application data is compiled and released by a private, free enterprise organization so we can safely assume that the data report is infinitely more reliable than that of the Government's Commerce Department.

The other myth being propagated by the media and the economic wizards is that the housing inventory is declining. In fact, this housing inventory has largely been converted to rentals. In particular Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been unloading their foreclosed inventory into institutional investors using Taxpayer money to subsidize the transactions. Interestingly and anecdotally, I was perusing the home rental listings in the Denver area for a friend who may be moving to Denver and I noticed that rents had decreased by about 10% from just 6 months ago, when I was looking for a new rental. If in fact the total housing inventory, for sale + rentals, was declining then we would expect that rents would be stable or increasing.

So where's the black hole disconnect? For one, the data is highly suspect, especially since mortgage purchase applications do not correlated with sales and starts. To be sure, I'm sure home builders are taking advantage of near-zero interest rates and borrowing as much as they can to build. But, as Zerohedge crunched this morning's housing starts numbers, the number of homes actually completed is well below the run-rate of starts. A form of "channel stuffing" for home builders is to start a lot of homes but take a long time to complete them, since the stock market and investors only care about the headline "starts" data.

Even uglier, the "shadow" inventory of housing market is going to start rising rapidly this year. The "shadow" inventory primarily is composed of homes in which the homeowner is in some form of delinquency or technical default. These are homes where the lender/bank has opted to sit on the non-paying mortgage rather take on the ownership responsibilities of foreclosing, primarily real estate tax and HOA dues expenses. If banks thought they could foreclose and sell quickly without incurring a big capital hit, they would. But instead they let the homeowner live "rent free" but still on the hook for taxes and HOA dues. This is especially true in the jumbo-mortgage segment (anything over $417k). In fact, I know of several people who are sitting in high 6-digit and low 7-digit value homes who have not made mortgage payments for at least a year.

These delinquent/default mortgage homes are just part of the shadow inventory. The other primary part is actual foreclosures. We had a moratorium in foreclosures while the mortgage fraud litigation was being settled, of course on favorable terms for the banks. FNM/FRE also delayed their foreclosure process while they unloaded substantial REO on the market. So what is the data showing us? From Bloomberg:

The shadow inventory of homes - those in foreclosure plus those 90 days late on mortgage payments - is on the rise again, a further indication that the supply side has not yet healed. According to RealtyTrac, foreclosure starts jumped 6 percent on a year ago basis in the second quarter, the first year-over-year increase since 2009. There are roughly 4.16 million homes that could begin to flow to market.

What's even more troubling is that the Government's FHA filled in the lending void created by the massive financial troubles at FNM/FRE. In fact, over the past few years, the Government subsidization of the housing market shifted from FNM/FRE to the use of the FHA. The FHA became the predominant source for mortgages and rolled out several no-down-payment/3.5% down payment programs. And now, predictably FHA delinquencies are rising quickly, up a frightening 26% from last year. Why is this "frightening?" One, because it means that the FHA will be forced to foreclose on a huge number of homes, further contributing to the housing market inventory; and two, because the FHA is going to require a massive taxpayer bailout.

How can the housing market possibly be "stabilizing" and inventories be "returning to a healthy level" given all of this evidence to the contrary? The housing market is one giant black hole of wasted resources and fraudulent representation of the numbers. What's worse is that via the FHA, the Government has been using taxpayer money to subsidize a significant portion of the mortgages that have been used to purchase homes since 2008. And now it's the FHA's turn to blow up.

It will be impossible for the housing market to ever bottom and stabilize until this country recovers economically. This means real jobs are created which create real income growth and real employment growth. Furthermore, the totality of the existing REAL inventory has to clear the market. This requires demographic growth that our system can not possibly support until all the problems we know about are solved and put behind us. THAT, my friends, will never happen in my lifetime or yours.

6 Things You Should Know About the $21 Trillion the World's Richest People Are Hiding In Tax Shelters

© unknown
"Money Laundering American Dreams"

6 Things You Should Know About the $21 Trillion the World's Richest People Are Hiding In Tax Shelters
July 25, 2012 | Sarah Jaffee


A new report from the Tax Justice Network found trillions of untaxed wealth that the world's richest people are hiding. Here's what you need to know.


While governments slash spending and lay off workers, citing a need for “austerity” because of the slow economy, the ultra-rich—fewer than 10 million people—have stashed an amount equal to the US and Japanese economies combined away from the tax man. This is according to a new report by the Tax Justice Network, and their findings are shocking. The lost tax revenue from offshore tax shelters, they note, “is large enough to make a significant difference to all of our conventional measures of inequality. Since most of the missing financial wealth belongs to a tiny elite, the impact is staggering.”

James S. Henry, who was former Chief Economist for McKinsey & Co. and is the author of the book The Blood Bankers as well as articles for publications including The Nation and The New York Times, dug into information from the Bank for International Settlements, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the United Nations, central banks, and private sector analysts and found the outlines of the giant pool of cash floating in that nebulous location known as “offshore”. (And this is just money—the report leaves out things like real estate, yachts, art, and other forms of wealth the super-rich are hiding, untaxed, in offshore tax havens.) Henry refers to it as a “black hole” in the world economy and notes that, “despite taking pains to err on the conservative side, the results are astonishing.”

Read report..

Why You Should Plant More Trees – Research Shows Trees Grow Happier People

© naturalsociety.com

Why You Should Plant More Trees – Research Shows Trees Grow Happier People
Aug 1, 2012 | Elizabeth Renter

Trees and nature don’t only provide us with oxygen to breathe, they provide us with peace. According to a review of studies, the number of trees in your neighborhood, along with your proximity to a park, plays a significant role in your mental and physical wellbeing. So it may be time to plant more trees.

Incredible Benefits of Nature and Why You Should Plant More Trees

People who live around trees are generally happier, have healthier relationships and are generally less stressed.

Read more..

South American sea bird stuns researchers

South American sea bird stuns researchers
Aug 1, 2012 | Terra Daily / SPX

A team of researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the National Research Council of Argentina recently fitted a South American sea bird called an imperial cormorant with a small camera, then watched stunned as it became "superbird" - diving 150 feet underwater in 40 seconds, feeding on the ocean floor for 80 seconds where it eventually caught a snakelike fish, before returning to the surface 40 seconds later.



This is the first time researchers have been able to watch first-hand the amazing feeding techniques of these fascinating birds, which occur off the coast of Argentina.

The footage shows the cormorant briefly on the surface before diving for the bottom. The camera is attached to the bird's back, so the view is of its head as it pumps its feet to swim deeper.

When it finally reaches the ocean floor, it explores a vast area searching for food. It eventually finds an elongated fish, which it brings to the surface to eat.

The footage came from Punta Leon in Patagonia, Argentina, a coastal protected area supporting more than 3.500 pairs of imperial cormorants. A WCS scientific team, led by Dr. Flavio Quintana, has been studying the cormorants' feeding behavior for the past ten years.

The team was joined by Dr. Carlos Zavalaga along with Ken Yoda from the University of Nogoya, Japan to fit the camera on the bird.

The WCS team has tracked more than 400 cormorants along the Patagonian Coast of Argentina using cutting edge technological tools such as multi-channel archival tags and high resolution GPS-loggers.

This information will help identify priority feeding areas to help design new protected areas and to understand environmental conditions that affect cormorant populations.

WCS has worked in Patagonia for more than five decades and has helped establish a series of protected areas to safeguard local wildlife, including penguins, albatross, and elephant seals.

With the support of the Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg Foundation, Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas, and other generous donors, WCS has worked in Patagonia for more than five decades. Our efforts have helped establish a series of protected areas to safeguard local wildlife, including penguins, albatross, and elephant seals.

The video footage is available online.