Varanasi, India: Beyond

Varanasi, India: Beyond is an exclusive documentary featuring photographer Joey L. Set in Varanasi, India. The documentary by filmmaker Cale Glendening follows Joey and his assistant Ryan as they complete their latest photo series - Holy Men. Almost every major religion breeds ascetics; wandering monks who have renounced all earthly possessions, dedicating their lives to the pursuit of spiritual liberation. Their reality is dictated only by the mind, not material objects. Even death is not a fearsome concept, but a passing from the world of illusion. Set in the breathtaking backdrop of India, this documentary proves that capturing an amazing portrait isn't just about the latest gear or technique, but truly the subject.

OneLove

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Facebook Has Totally Reinvented Human Identity—For the Worse by Susan Cox

Let’s face it: Feminism is hot right now. Like, actually fashionable. Chalk it up to a boom in online journalism critiquing tired media tropes and holding politicians accountable with acerbic wit. But there’s one related trend that doesn’t seem to be getting fashionable again: “Cyberfeminism.” Remember that?

Cyberfeminism envisioned the Internet as a new frontier beyond the oppressive bodily boundaries of race and gender where new understandings of identity could take root. Cyberspace was going to be the stage of cultural transformation! We were all going to be super-cool cybernetic avatars, existing in multiple dimensions with boundless potential. Sadly, all we ended up getting was a bunch of porn and misogynistic cybermobs. (Perhaps feminism has emerged with renewed relevance, because the Internet has actually worked to regressively reinvigorate damaging conceptions of gender and promote hateful divisions.)

But then again, it’s undeniable that the Internet really has been nothing short of culturally transformative. Communication technologies have become woven into the very fabric of personhood. With companies increasingly making employees sign “social media contracts” holding them professionally accountable for their online presence, digital identities are gaining recognition for their representative authority.

Our Facebook profile pictures have symbolic weight, strengthened through the repetitive labor of association. Have you ever changed your Facebook profile picture and not really liked it — but then, after a while, decided it was awesome? Like our face in the mirror after a weird new haircut, we need time to readjust our self-image through repeated association.

It may not be as cool as we imagined it in sleek ’90s sci-fi, but we really are creatures existing in multiple dimensions, transcending space and time with our cybernetic reach. And who controls where your body ends and begins as this unholy fusion of man and machine? Those technologies through which you interface, of course, offering you the shape of your digital self, such as the Facebook profile. Sometimes the reduction of your person to Facebook’s arbitrary determinations can be uncomfortable and insulting.

Facebook has redefined the standard of what information should be immediately known about you as a person. It was a slow process, where it gradually increased the “About” fields, but now when I meet someone, it is somehow appropriate for me to see their exact age, residential history and entire résumé of work experience and education. (No, Facebook, I don’t want to display where I went to high school. Stop trying to guess at it!) Facebook can even reduce your personal journey on this earth to a chronological list of “Life Events.” It knows the true measure of what’s important in this crazy world and can tell you everything noteworthy that’s happened to you in this one helpful list. Facebook has turned our lives inside out to the point where all of this very specific information now seems to be what constitutes a social identity.

(The Facebook generation has gotten so bad that I’ve had to tell friends to inform me when they are making a recording of our conversation, and to not post my complete address online when they tag a photo of themselves at my house.)

What was once nebulous and unknown about a life is now defined and categorized in this culture of hyper-transparency. It is little wonder why the journalistic coverage of Facebook’s recent “real name policy” scandal was as uncritical as it was in accepting of Facebook’s legitimate right to the verification of users’ legal names.

In case you didn’t hear, Facebook was demanding everyone to use their “real names” on their profiles, which they defined as their legal names. Users were shut out of their accounts if they were suspected of being untruthful, and only allowed back in once they uploaded a copy of legal ID. Journalistic outrage over the event largely took a defensive position reporting on why certain people who do not use their legal names on Facebook are not being duplicitous, but have legitimate reasons for their actions. Articles documented cases, such as individuals who are transgendered, or victims of abusive relationships.

Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly affirmed that we only have one identity, and that the idea of having multiple constitutes a “lack of integrity.” Thus, Facebook has promoted a policy of authenticity, where everyone uses their “real name” under the banner of keeping everyone safe. Sounds familiar? If you are an American, you should know by now that invasions of your privacy are only for your own good!

Thus Facebook’s policy is viewed as legitimate, rather than hilarious, when it includes bullet points such as: “Pretending to be anything or anyone isn’t allowed ” That’s right, you must know the truth of your nature before you post anything on Facebook, and all posts must reflect this authentic self. Facebook’s technology is causing an existential shift in what we consider to be our personal identities, and how we interact in the world. This shift is caused by not only the material form of their technology, such as the “About” fields, but also by the discourse surrounding it.

There are great ideological stakes when asking, “What is your real name?” We are essentially asking: “What definitively constitutes a person?”

Historically, identification technologies have served to consolidate people as objects of knowledge into discrete political units. Their regulation is then easily rationalized and demonstrably justified. The question of what should be done with you is much easier to answer when we can definitively say what you are.

The crux of the issue boils down to this: Is Facebook’s normalization of hyper-transparency and information-oriented mode of self-definition conditioning young people to be submissive toward institutionalized forms of subject formation? Does it quell unrest in response to those power structures invested in telling you who and what you are? Will the young people of the future question social values if they are trained from a young age by technological demands to express their person in a corporately constructed template?

The outlook appears grim when the current conversation surrounding identity on the Web has been reduced to an impoverished debate weighing the importance between “safety” (real names + accountability) and “anonymity” (freedom of speech in theory, but trolls in practice).

However, there is still something interesting occurring in the wake of Facebook’s “real name policy” scandal. Facebook apologized for conflating legal names with “real names” and conceded that a legitimate identity may not be constituted by the name you were given at birth. Although Facebook failed to directly apologize to the members of the LGBTQ community disproportionately affected by the incident, Facebook’s concession is, in a sense, a deployment of Trans politics. The conceptual implications of their policy change are: somewhere, somehow, over the course of life, you go through a process of becoming, and your true identity may be something more elusive than what can be verified by a government document.

A rift has opened in Facebook’s discourse of “authenticity” and “safety.” And what do you know … It’s starting to look like something out of cyberfeminism! The revelation of this chink in their ideological armor is actually strangely reminiscent of cyber-feminist prophesies, such as Donna Haraway’s iconic “Cyborg Manifesto.” Haraway famously argues that essentialist ideologies would be revealed as inadequate in a complex world where nature fuses with the artificial; thus overflowing the boundaries of the conceptual regimes used to justify their regulation.

We’ve just witnessed exactly this occurring in the politics of Facebook. The company relied on a certain understanding of authenticity, which was revealed by complex subjectivities interwoven with technology to be a gross oversimplification. Facebook then lost the justification for their power to regulate and was forced to open their concepts to an amorphous process of reconfiguration. As Facebook scrambles to “update” how they verify “real names,” how will this technological giant redefine its reality.

                                                           *************

PS: Get off of Facebook! I have been "clean" for 2 years and it feels great!!! FB does nothing but waste valuable time on people we rarely talk to &, to be honest, don't really know that well. Spend more time with your real friends....


OneLove

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The Stark Facts of Global Greed by Paul Buchheit

We seem helpless, both in the U.S. and around the world, to stop the incessant flow of wealth to an elitist group of people who are simply building on their existing riches. The increasing rate of their takeaway is the message derived from the  Credit Suisse Global Wealth Databook (GWD).  
 
It's already been  made clear that the richest Americans have taken almost all the gains in U.S. wealth since the recession. But the unrelenting money grab is a global phenomenon. The GWD confirms just how bad it's getting for the great majority of us. 
1. U.S. -- Even the Upper Middle Class Is Losing 
In just three years, from 2011 to 2014, the bottom half of Americans lost almost half of their share of the nation's wealth, dropping from a 2.5% share to a 1.3% share (detail is  here). 
Most of the top half lost ground, too. The 36 million upper middle class households just above the median (6th, 7th, and 8th deciles) dropped from a 13.4% share to an 11.9% share. Much of their portion went to the richest one percent.  


This is big money. With total U.S. wealth of $84 trillion, the three-year change represents a transfer of wealth of over a trillion dollars from the bottom half of America to the richest 1%, and another trillion dollars from the upper middle class to the 1%. 
2. U.S. -- In 3 Years, an Average of $5 Million Went To Every Household in the 1%  

A closer look at the  numbers shows the frightening extremes. The bottom half of America, according to GWD, owned $1.5 trillion in 2011. Now their wealth is down to $1.1 trillion. Much of their wealth is in housing equity, which was depleted by the recession. 
The richest Americans, on the other hand, took incomprehensible amounts of wealth from the rest of us, largely by being already rich, and by being heavily invested in the stock market. The following summary is based on GWD figures and reliable  estimates of the makeup of the richest one percent, and on the fact that  almost all the nation's wealth is in the form of private households and business assets:  

----> In 3 years the average household in the top 1% (just over a million households) increased its net worth by about $4.5 million. 
----> In 3 years the average household in the top .1% (just over 100,000 households) increased its net worth by about $18 million. 
----> In 3 years the average household in the top .01% (12,000 households) increased its net worth by about $180 million. 
----In 3 years the average member of the  Forbes 400 increased his/her net worth by about $2 billion. 


A stunning 95 percent of the world's population lost a share of its wealth over the past three years. Almost all of the gain went to the world's richest 1%.  
 
Again, the gains seem almost incomprehensible. The world's wealth grew from $224 trillion to $263 trillion in three years. The world's richest 1%, who owned a little under $100 trillion in 2011, now own almost $127 trillion. For every dollar they possessed just three years ago, they now have a dollar and a quarter. 

From New York and LA and San Francisco to London and Kenya and Indonesia,  the rich are pushing suffering populations out of the way to acquire land and build luxury homes. The "winner-take-all" attitude is breaking down society in the U.S. and around the world.
 

There's a lot more in the GWD, and it doesn't get any prettier. It tells us what  unregulated capitalism does to a society.  


Paul Buchheit is a college teacher, a member of US Uncut Chicago, and the editor and main author of American Wars: Illusions and Realities (Clarity Press). He can be reached at paul@UsAgainstGreed.org.

OneLove

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Disruption

This is the story of our unique moment in history. We are living through an age of tipping points and rapid social and planetary change. We’re the first generation to feel the impacts of climate disruption, and the last generation that can do something about it. The film enlarges the issue beyond climate impacts and makes a compelling call for bold action that is strong enough to tip the balance to build a clean energy future. 

Let's get off our collective ass!

OneLove

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Can Capitalism and Democracy Coexist?

I  

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6 

Part 7 

Part 8



Stay alert. 

Onelove

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Musings

OneLove

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Inside the Dark Web

Beware the watchers......

OneLove

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The Egg: A Thought-Provoking Tale

“If an egg is broken by outside force, life ends. If broken by inside force, life begins. Great things always begin from inside.”

OneLove

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Mainstream Bullshit

Ever caught yourself hurling invectives towards your local news anchors from the comfort of your bed or sofa because of some insignificant story deemed "newsworthy"? And to hear them opining about it afterwards just makes it even that much more excruciating. Mainstream American journalism is utter bullshit & it is no wonder that the more intelligent citizens are seeking their news from alternative sources. How are people to make informed choices if their public airwaves are filled with crap? 

OneLove

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Morgan Freeman Narrates the Greatest Story of Our Generation

This 6 minute short film tells the story of the human journey at this critical moment in time. Of all the stories to belong to, this is the story to be a part of. Don't watch it from the sidelines. Don't wait for the experts to figure it out. Ask yourself: how can I become one of the weavers of the story? It's a tapestry with 7 billion threads. What contribution do I want to make? If you're not yet contributing to this story in some way, ask yourself why not? This is a story for everyone. 

OneLove

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Over-Criminalized

It’s simple. Diversion programs work better than incarceration – for everyone. In cities like Seattle, San Antonio, and Salt Lake City, we see that successful solutions are a viable option to help end serious social problems. These services alter the course of people’s lives in a positive way and save taxpayers huge amounts of money. We cannot continue to isolate and imprison people who suffer from mental illness, substance abuse, or homelessness. We must treat them with compassion and care to better serve our communities and our pocketbooks.

It's time we got serious about pulling our money out of incarceration and putting it into systems that foster healthy communities. Hundreds of thousands of people are locked up not because of any dangerous behavior, but because of problems like mental illness, substance use disorders, and homelessness, which should be dealt with outside the criminal justice system. Services like drug treatment and affordable housing cost less and can have a better record of success.

This summer, news stories from around the nation provided the American people with a litany of issues about how police officers respond to community members. By highlighting programs like Crisis Intervention Training (CIT), Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD), and Housing First, Over-Criminalized explores the possibility of ending incarceration for millions of Americans who, through successful intervention programs, can put their lives back on track.

OverCriminalized focuses on the people who find themselves being trafficked through this nation’s criminal justice system with little regard for their humanity and zero prospects for actual justice. They are victims of unwillingness to invest in solving major social problems, and the consequent handling off of that responsibility to the police, the courts, and the prisons. They are the mentally ill, the homeless, and the drug addicted. Sometimes they are all three.

(Source)

OneLove

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Engines Of Domination

Political power -- armed central authority, with states and war -- is it part of human nature? Is it necessary for human communities? Or is it a tool that ruling elites use to live at the expense of communities? A tool that does violence to human nature and the world? Engines of Domination offers a theory of political power as a tool for making tools of human beings -- an engine that converts human energy into authority and privilege for the rulers. Invented in the Bronze Age, brilliantly refined for six thousand years, today the engine has caused a human emergency that threatens to destroy our world. This documentary makes a powerful argument that there is only one way to save the future. Armed central authority must be abolished, giving way to a world of peaceful voluntary communities -- in other words, an argument for anarchism. 

These m*f*ers will not stop until we are all gasping our last breath.....

OneLove

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Study: Smelling Farts May Be Good For Your Health

The next time someone at your office lets out a "silent but deadly" emission, maybe you should thank them. A new study at the University of Exeter in England suggests that exposure to hydrogen sulfide — a.k.a. what your body produces as bacteria breaks down food, causing gas — could prevent mitochondria damage. Yep, the implication is what you're thinking: People are taking the research to mean that smelling farts could prevent disease and even cancer.

The study, published in the Medicinal Chemistry Communications journal, found that hydrogen sulfide gas in rotten eggs and flatulence could be a key factor in treating diseases.

"Although hydrogen sulfide gas is well known as a pungent, foul-smelling gas in rotten eggs and flatulence, it is naturally produced in the body and could in fact be a healthcare hero with significant implications for future therapies for a variety of diseases," Dr. Mark Wood, a professor at the University of Exeter, said in a statement.

While hydrogen sulfide gas is harmful in large doses, the study suggests that "a whiff here and there has the power to reduce risks of cancer, strokes, heart attacks, arthritis, and dementia by preserving mitochondria," Time reports.

Dr. Matt Whiteman, a University of Exeter professor who worked on the study, said in a statement that researchers are even replicating the natural gas in a new compound, AP39, to reap its health benefits. The scientists are delivering "very small amounts" of AP39 directly into mitochondrial cells to repair damage, which "could hold the key to future therapies," the university's statement reveals.

You'll have to decide for yourself, though, whether exposure to hydrogen sulfide in flatulence is worth the potential health benefits. 


Let it rip....

OneLove

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Musings

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

OneLove

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Latin America’s Nelson Mandela

You might not believe it, but Jose Mujica, president of Uruguay since 2010, is known to be the
 world’s poorest president.

Jose donates more then of 90% of his $12,000 per month salary to benefit
 the poor and to help small entrepreneurs.  If we need more of anything
in this world, it would be more people like this!

This man doesn’t put value on his appearance or clothes.  He is
criticized for his posture and clothes, but Jose puts more value on
other things in life instead.



Before his presidency, he was a guerilla fighter for Tupamaros, which
acted like “Robin hood.”  They literally robbed banks, gun clubs,
and other businesses to give to the poor. He truly believed that his
value was not in gaining more money, it was in the well-being of his
country and people.  He was imprisoned 2 times for a total of 14 years
and shot 6 times after an escape attempt, But he still continues to
fight for the people even in his high office now as president of
Uruguay.

Mujica could live in this beautiful Presidential house, but has chosen a
 more humble place to live.  He is a honest example of a president that
gives up his own comfort for the well-being of others.




…And this is where he lives, on a farm with his wife and dog.  He is
also working to change the fancy presidential house into a museum that
pays honor to past presidents.  There’s no  nice place to sleep when you can be humble and live on a farm.  This president lives the life!



His part time farming job, keeps him aware of the struggles and life
that most other people of his country go though.  He also grows and then
 sells flowers from his farm.  You can see him frequently driving his
old 1987 Volkswagon Beetle.  He doesn’t need a fancy Bentley, because he
 doesn’t care about having a extravagant appearance.  His people are
what matters and what matters are his people.



Jose’s protection consists of two guards and his 3 legged dog named
Manuela.



Even though he is known as the poorest president, he strongly disagrees.
 He says, “I’m not the poorest president. The poorest is the one who
needs a lot to live… My lifestyle is a consequence of my wounds. I’m the
 son of my history. There have been years when I would have been happy
just to have a mattress.” 

This president’s example is a testament to how we should live our lives.
  We don’t need more things to be happy.  In fact, some of the most
wealthy people in the world, have their wealth stored in the currency of
 unselfishness, kindness, and true love.  Maybe its time for a change?

The world needs more people like this to light up the Darkness...The Guardian has a great story of this exceptional leader. Check it out here.

OneLove

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Maya Angelou on Facing Evil

This is powerful. Maya's reading of Paul Lawrence Dunbar's "Masks" towards the end will shake you and bring the tide of history to your doorstep.... 

 OneLove 

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Musings

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”~~F.Douglas

OneLove

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Death From Moral Injuries

It is heartbreaking to hear of the suicide - or as some call it, the death from moral injuries - of Jacob George, 32-year-old Arkansas farmer, musician, activist and veteran of three tours of Afghanistan who came home shattered by post-traumatic horror that he insisted was not a disorder, but a natural human response to the inhumanity of war. George fought hard to heal his pain and grief: Riding his bike 8,000 miles over 3 years to sing his songs and tell his stories, testifying wherever he could about the hard truths he'd come to, seeking some semblance of peace with brothers and sisters who shared his sense of betrayal by his country, returning to Afghanistan to work with young Afghan anti-war activists, and on what he sometimes called his best day, throwing his medals back to the generals who sent him to the wars that broke him. Let's honor him by staying attuned to what is really going on in the world & resisting the darkness that threatens us all.


OneLove

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White Privilege, Explained in One Simple Comic

White privilege can be a tricky thing for people to wrap their heads around. If you’ve ever called out white privilege before, chances are you’ve heard responses like “But I’m didn’t ask to be born white!” or “You’re being reverse racist.” or "My best friend is black". Self-delusion is so utterly pitiful....

...aaah yes....

OneLove

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