Hey PO and anyone else that wants to chime in,
I re-watched Money As Debt ( http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9050474362583451279 as I was looking for a simple way to illustrate the concept of 'fractional reserve banking' for someone ) after a friend loaned me Monopoly Men ( I forgot I had seen it before, but saw as if for the first time http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7065177340464808778 ) and watching both turned out to be perfect timing for me as I was looking for another couple videos that lay things out very simply. Thanks for bringing it up.

Curious to hear how this one rubs your psyche?

Zeitgeist: Addendum
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7065205277695921912


*********
Creative Simplicity related contribution: Anyone know a simpler, more easy to set up and run monetary system locally than LETS: Local Exchange Trading System?

Sorry haven't been here in weeks, life too furious, but just had to quickly share and copy/paste this..The long-held view, and sacred cow is that economic growth is good and must continue forever, finally gets an admission from a science jounal..finally they are starting to admit it, they should have been the first to admit it, it's arithmetic after all but it's a sacred cow and even now they are being attacked for daring to publish this:

Oct 18 issue, cover: "The Folly of Growth"

Editorial: Time to banish the god of growth

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/opinio...-god-of-growth.html

Special report: How our economy is killing the Earth

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/opinio...ling-the-earth.html

"Most of us accept the need for a more sustainable way to live, by reducing
carbon emissions, developing renewable technology and increasing energy
efficiency.

"But are these efforts to save the planet doomed? A growing band of experts
are looking at figures like these and arguing that personal carbon virtue
and collective environmentalism are futile as long as our economic system
is built on the assumption of growth. The science tells us that if we are
serious about saving Earth, we must reshape our economy.

"This, of course, is economic heresy. Growth to most economists is as
essential as the air we breathe: it is, they claim, the only force capable
of lifting the poor out of poverty, feeding the world's growing population,
 meeting the costs of rising public spending and stimulating technological
development - not to mention funding increasingly expensive lifestyles.
They see no limits to that growth, ever."

See above url in New Scientist magazine. See also Chapter 1 of Ecology of Money at

http://www.feasta.org/documents/moneyecology/contents.htm

for those who prefer this (somewhat challenging but still quite
readable and for the general public) format.

"Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a
finite world is either a madman or an economist." -Kenneth Boulding

And followup to the preceding: "Gus Speth, one-time environment adviser to President Jimmy Carter, explains why after four decades working at the highest levels of US policy-making he believes green values have no chance against today's capitalism"

"My conclusion is that we're trying to do environmental policy and activism within a system that is simply too powerful. It's today's capitalism, with its overwhelming commitment to growth at all costs, its devolution of tremendous power into the corporate sector, and its blind faith in a market riddled with externalities. And it is also our own pathetic capitulation to consumerism. Even as the environmental community swims more strongly against the current, the current gets ever stronger and more treacherous, so environmentalism slips under. The only solution is to get out of the water, take a hard look at what's going on and figure what needs to be done to change today's capitalism."

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/opinio...r-green-growth.html

Regarding: Unpasturized goat's milk.

I'm confused. I wish to know how to make goat milk cheese without heating it to the same temperature whish pasturizing requires (165 deg F). Is there a way for this cheess to be unpasturized? Thanks.

Art,

We keep two goats for their company and keeping down our brush. Since they are both male wethers, this issue has not come up for us. I am a subscriber and sometime participant in an interesting and often too active mailing list called Homestead. There are several participants who make different types of goat cheeses and who I am sure would have a good answer to your question. The url for subscribing is http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/homestead if you happen to be interested.

Jerry B

I feel that there is a plague of "false values" in the world. And there is one way to cleanse ourselves of this kind of insane Manufactured Aspirations: choose poverty, choose self-reliance, choose real wealth (i.e. sustainable incomes, control of capital) over the bogus simulacrums of wealth (luxury vehicles, maid service, name brand junk, etc). Also,reject the ideology that poverty is fundamentally a judgment of your self-worth-- i.e. if you are poor you are worthless--is to free yourself of both Manufactured Aspirations and the Empire of Debt.

It is a sad thing, really, to see an entire people, if not an entire species, fall for the scam that personal transformation can be had as cheaply as a fake Rolex, or that succumbing to a lifetime of poverty via crushing debts to acquire "the real thing," whatever that may be for membership in your selected Manufactured Aspirations tribe, is actual "wealth" or "self-worth."

As for self-worth: aspire to the inner wealth of charity, forgiveness, empathy, self-acceptance, self-reliance, humor and a healthy humility about wisdom and how much remains to be learned in life. Regrettably for the Standard Model of Marketing, all of these are hopelessly and irrevocably free.

Some have no choice in being poor but the lifestyle is the same whether it's chosen or not. I know it runs counter to everything we are supposed to cherish about the "American Lifestyle," but it seems to me that being poor/living poor has all sorts of advantages. To list but a few:

1. Smaller cars are easier to park and cheaper to own/drive. A Toyota or Honda will last for 15 or 20 years with routine maintenance, while the luxury brands are rusting in the junkyard or requring thousands of dollars in repairs.

2. Cooking real food is cheaper, tastes better and is healthier for you by far.

3. Teaching kids self-reliance and thriftiness (basically the same thing) cures dysfunctional dependence; cancel the maid service, stop buying expensive coffee & sports drinks as everyday treats, etc.

4. Having a cellphone glued to your ear does not make you a bigshot. 80% of all "communication" is distraction. Creativity and innovation are not nourished by being overwired and distracted.

5. Being a renter is much easier than owning a house. When something breaks, you call the landlord or porperty management company. Once you buy a house with a mortgage, it's costly to align the mortgage to market forces; it's fixed unless rates fall and even then you have to pay thousands in refinancing fees. Rents are open to market forces so you can negotiate lower rents or move to a cheaper place without losing 10% of your capital (selling a house costs 6% realtor fees plus closing costs).

6. Second-hand stuff is treated as tainted by a "buy new" middle-class, but used is smarter. The first owner took a 90% loss, or a 50% loss for a recent auto. The second owner gets all the benefits with very little loss of intrinsic value.

7. Not buying anything new is best for the planet. Even a "green" Prius uses hundreds of gallons of oil to manufacture, extract the iron, make the steel and plastic, etc. It takes more oil to manufacture a Prius than the vehicle will ever consume. If you want a Prius, buy a used one.

8. The Web is mostly free (this site included). That makes it the greatest bargain of all time. Yes, a monthly access fee is required but these are less than cellphone plans. Or you can log onto free public wi-fi networks.

9. The real world trumps electronic simulacrums, which inevitably leave users with a strange inner hollowness and ennui. It's free to go outside, free to learn new things off the Web, free to do situps on your own floor, etc. etc.

10. "New" is oversold. We seek novelty but novelty does not have to be purchased.

11. Drawing identity from Consumerism (in any guise) is true inner poverty. Focusing on being a better parent, smarter investor, mentoring younger colleagues, etc. are all free; they build an authentic identity that has no need for superficial externals for verification.

12. What you consciously give up as not in your own best self-interest you no longer miss: sodas, chips, ridiculously overpriced football games, ice cream, fast food, cable TV, etc. etc.

Edited by author 10-28-2008 09:51 PM
Well said Kevin,
   and I learned a new word: ennui :) I now don't eat any of the food listed in #12 cause I know/feel how it affects me (very obvious, but subtle ) and how it divorces me from nature. I've been eating near 100% organic food for at least 1.5 yrs+ . Writing of which reminds me of an article I recently enjoyed reading:

Organic farming 'could feed Africa'
Traditional practices increase yield by 128 per cent in east Africa

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/af...-africa-968641.html

Excellent post Kevin!

I am a lifelong renter. The only quibble I would say is that renting is not always a good deal..there are places where you are stuck with "slum lords" who never repair and still very expensive rents...so I personally do not tell those people they must rent...Or course, the real best thing for them to do is get out of the inner city or even out of the middle class areas of the city, and rent somewhere else, where it's cheaper, plus cleaner air, plus a landlord you know and who is reliable...instead, too many get sucked into buying a big expensive house. Oh how my friends had told me, what a "Great" time it is to buy a house, back in 2004...and what a better time it is to buy, by 2007...I did not buy a house then, glad I did not...

One question or request, is it ok to share your post Kevin your 12 points, somewhere else? -PO

Surprise! Organic Beekeepers Reporting Zero Losses
http://www.groovygreen.com/groove/?p=1388

somebody please send me a link to Kevin and Donna's website, I have lost all my favorites! boo hoo thanks.

donsgal

donsgal,

Here you go ..

http://earthstar.newlibertyvillage.com/

thanks carla

donsgal

This monologue a little over 2 minutes, is from Tarkovsky's last film, Solaris...and captures many key parts from Earthstar philosophy..no wonder some of us appreciate both this website and the late great director.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8XVayMChGc&feature=channel_page

(The above is the monologue with Earthstar related philosophy..if you want a 1 minute long overview of Tarkovsky's work, see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25LlcZDHhXg&feature=channel_page )

Well wishes also to everyone whether they celebrate Kwanzaa, Christmas,
Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, and/or other traditions or spiritual paths.

How does a person order the bread video? The email link appears to not be working.