Nik's food for thought

Whitehouse response to NORML's we the people marijuana legalization petition.

2011-10-29T17:35:00.000+01:00

Whitehouse response to NORML's we the people marijuana legalization petition.

Anarchy in the UK - Best of:

2011-10-29T17:31:00.001+01:00

Sgt Shamar Thomas: "My whole family served".

2011-10-28T16:55:00.001+01:00

http://current.com/shows/countdown/videos/occupy-together-sgt-shamar-thomas-calls-on-veterans-to-support-the-movement

2011-10-28T00:13:00.002+01:00

"Chicks with Guns"

2011-10-26T18:09:00.000+01:00

All photo's courtesy of Lindsay McCrum.

2011-10-25T15:18:00.000+01:00

Strictly vibes. A shame i couldn't make it this year.

Piki - Rise Up

2011-10-25T15:12:00.002+01:00

2011-10-25T14:58:00.000+01:00

2011-10-25T14:55:00.002+01:00

2011-10-25T14:25:00.002+01:00

Riot Granny!

2011-10-25T14:18:00.000+01:00

First there was riot-dog. Now we have Riot-Granny!

2011-10-25T13:41:00.002+01:00

2011-10-25T13:38:00.000+01:00

The short-term collective memory.

2011-10-25T13:32:00.001+01:00

Here are some pictures from the various protest movements that have been spreading across the world this year. From Spain to Georgia.

Below are from Georgia this spring. Warning. Some people may find these pictures disturbing.

2011-10-25T13:24:00.000+01:00

2011-10-25T13:22:00.000+01:00

2011-10-25T13:17:00.003+01:00

It's been a while but i'm back. As i don't feel like i have the time to do as much in depth analysis as i would like to, the blog will for now mostly feature photos, vids and documentaries that i find are interesting or important to get out to the masses.

All the best and massive respect goes out to Greenhouse Seeds and Arjan and his staff for making the Strainhunters documentaries!

And some photos from "the other side". "The Mad max War"

2011-04-04T14:01:00.001+01:00

As you can see there are not nearly as many photos available from Ghaddafi controlled areas such as Tripoli. Whether this is due to a media blackout from the government or media bias of western media is hard to tell. Probably a combination.

All photos sourced and borrowed from http://cryptome.org/

Photos from fighting in Libya taken in the last month of fighting. "The Mad Max War"

2011-04-04T13:54:00.001+01:00

Random photos of the Rebels:

All photos sourced and borrowed from http://cryptome.org/

Newly released high-res pictures showing ongoing work at Fukushima nuclear powerplant.

2011-04-04T13:13:00.001+01:00

Pictures sourced from http://cryptome.org/

"The Last Word on Terrorism"

2011-03-03T22:54:00.000Z

James Corbett from "The Corbett Report" on terrorism.

"Guns, Drugs and the CIA."

2011-03-01T21:47:00.001Z

For all fellow information junkies:

2011-02-28T17:45:00.001Z

Info Junkies Unite! Let the powers combine! ;)

In case you like to keep up to date in terms of videos being uploaded online you should defenitely check out: www.liveleak.com

Now, beware. Like a lot of similar sites it is full of idiots and trolls so unless you want to have a stroke from frustration with what has become of the human race, avoid the comments section.

"Hugo Chavez Tweets..."

2011-02-25T13:35:00.001Z

Ok, first of all i find it amusing to hear about more and more unpredicted Twitter users such as for example heads of states, politicians and now most recently Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela. Compared to the "internet generations" these "baby boomers" mostly born in the forties and fifites, do not realise the potential for shooting oneself in the foot by letting their inital reaction to a world event get sent out to millions of people. Even if they naively delete their initial message on Twitter it will already be saved on to hard drives and servers across the world.

Today Hugo chavez tweets: "Long live Libya and its independence! Gaddafi faces a civil war!" Talk about asking for trouble. Especially considering the fact that his twitter page states that he has 1,249,287 followers. Now i have never liked the way that a lot of countries including the US try and influence south american leadership (see Guatemala, Chile, Venezuela, Nicaragua etc. etc.) and therefore i thought Hugo Chavez first couple of years in power were quite refreshing. I mean, who does not like an underdog who doesn't give a shit of what people think to the extent that he even called George "Dubya" Bush "The Devil" in his speech at the UN a few years back? The problem is that he seems to be supporting the Ghaddafi regime on the sole basis that they/he has controlled the country through some weird, marxist, capitalist fascistic totalitarian concoction that he made up himself and that Libya and Venezuela has shared profitable business deals. (Just like Sweden, France etc. etc.)

If he knew what was best for him, Chavez would understand that this is not, at least according to my analysis, some CIA plot but rather a genuine people movement that stems from four decades of poverty, torture and humiliation without any rights to influence their future. Claiming to be a leader of the people himself he should understand that power ultimately lies in the hands of the masses and that his support for Ghaddafi will be remembered by his own people.

More from RawStory: "Military reportedly used Psyops against US senators"

2011-02-24T17:32:00.002Z

If anyone read my post a year or so ago about how the Pentagon uses Psyops to influence public opinion, they'll recognise this crest.

According to www.rawstory.com a rogue general in charge of a Psyops unit used their tactics to influence four US senators. Apparently one unit refused and cited federal law that prohibits the use of information warfare against American citizens. Interesting indeed. More on their website.

TheRawStory: "DEA to legalize marijuana only for BigPharma"

2011-02-24T17:12:00.002Z

Just as I and many others feared, the DEA are now pushing to make Cannabis legal - only for pharmaceutical companies. This according to NORML's Paul Armentano who writes a more indepth article on www.norml.org. I urge you to read his article. This is very serious.

To try and summarize this in a short text, marijuana or cannabis was made illegal due to lobbying from the petroleum, paper and cotton industry in the twenties and thirties due to the huge potential of hemp that can be used to make pretty much anything and is a lot more effective than the previously mentioned materials. It has been kept illegal due to continuing lobbying from these powerful groups but probably mostly due to intense lobbying from the pharmaceutical industry that stands to loose billions if not trillions in revenues if more and more people would realise the amazing medicinal properties of the Cannabis plant. They have now come to terms with the fact that weed, cannabis or marijuana is here to stay. So what they are doing now is trying to take control of the plant itself in order to synthesize the active ingredients THC and CBD in order to patent them (own them) and use them to manufacture syntetic drugs that they can sell for huge profits in the same way as they do with thousands of drugs now. This will mean that people who want to keep using the natural remedy that cannabis is will keep getting thrown in prison and have their houses raided by DEA paid, Blackwater mercenaries (see picture) while the big corporations can extract the goodness of the plant and make it their own.

It is pretty much the same business model as the one Monsanto uses when it comes to food. Control, patent and own everything. The plants of the earth belong to everyone. "Grass for the cattle, herb for the use of man".

I will follow this development - more later.

Blackwater mercenary handling DEA "evidence".

TheRawStory: "PayPal cuts service to group supporting Bradley Manning: report"

2011-02-24T16:26:00.002Z

This is hardly surprising. Once again i urge anyone who feel that they are in a position to cancel their PayPal account to do so. Please.

Website tip:

2011-02-24T16:16:00.000Z

http://www.globalresearch.ca

Gene Sharp - Author of the nonviolent revolution rulebook

2011-02-24T15:14:00.004Z

A lot of people owe their freedom, or at least parts of it, to this man. Dr Gene Sharp has written the book "From dictatorship to democracy" which is also referred to as the "nonviolent revolution handbook". It was written in 1993 and is a step to step guide on how to topple a dictatorship. Now i have not read the book myself but i know some people have accused Gene Sharp and the book for being a CIA front used to promote US interests abroad and for it to having been instrumental in installing US friendly, so called democracies in countries that can then be influenced by US foreign policy. It might be true that the advice in the book have been used in situations like these but then people need to know that the book has also been used as recently as this year, first by people on the streets of Tunisia in helping to overthrow the dictator Ben Ali as well as in toppling Hosni Mubarak in Egypt.

I welcome anyone and any litterature that helps people control their own destiny, whether they are arabs, americans, asians, african, hindu, muslim, jewish, christian or atheists. It is obvious that this book can be useful to anyone being opressed anywhere in the world and that can only be a good thing right?

Key points of advice from the book:

Develop a strategy for winning freedom and a vision of the society you want.
Overcome fear by small acts of resistance.
Use colours and symbols to demonstrate unity of resistance.
Learn from historical examples of the successes of non-violent movements.
Use non-violent "weapons".
Identify the dictatorship's pillars of support and develop a strategy for undermining each.
Use oppressive or brutal acts by the regime as a recruiting tool for your movement.
Isolate or remove from the movement people who use or advocate violence.

The rest of the BBC article can be found HERE

Who is Peter Joseph?

2011-02-24T14:51:00.001Z

Peter Joseph is the man behind the Zeitgeist movies and the Zeitgeist movement. I found this interview with the man responsible for the most viewed documentary online - ever. I think a lot of people, including myself, can relate to what he says in this video as well as to the frustration he seems to feel in regards to human behaviour. Although i am personally a bit skeptical as to the proposed methods described in the latest installment, "Zeitgeist - Moving forward" i do agree with most of what Peter Joseph talks about in this interview.

My view is that humanity does need to take a step or two back in terms of technology and reconnect with nature on a more basic level before we can even think about building a technology-centred, resource based economy with super computers calculating our future. If we try and do it too fast we might end up with a totalitarian, new age influenced version of the world described in Aldous Huxley's book, "A Brave New World" rather than the Utopia that we all want and that we all know is possible under the right circumstances.

Below is the full interview.

"Pentagon carves Africa into Military Zones"

2010-05-16T17:39:00.011+01:00

Some people may already be aware of or might have read my post last year, regarding the Pentagons policy of "Full Spectrum Dominance" which basically is what they call their strategy to control the world.

Here are a couple of links to two very interesting articles reporting on the recent activity of the Pentagon - US central command, or as some people may call it, the root of all evil in the world. ;)

Pentagon carves africa into military zones

Pentagon spending

It is hardly surprising that the military command of the worlds only superpower have strategies for how to protect it´s borders and it´s citizens. This is something most stable states around the world have their own strategies for. However, the difference between most other countries policies and strategies and that of the US, is that the home of freedom fries have policies and strategies that specifically outlines how they, in the most efficient way possible, can control the world. Or in other words, how they can achieve "Full Spectrum Dominance".

Aside from the more obvious things such as boots on the ground, logistics and military equipment a very important aspect when it comes to achieve their goal, is "Information dominance" as you can see mentioned in the top picture taken from the US Army website. This is essentially a nicer, more fluffy way of saying "propaganda". This means that a large proportion of their budget goes to trying to influence the information flow that people all over the world, ie you and me, get from different sources such as mainstream media, the internet etc. Trust me, they are doing a hell of a job at basically influencing people´s perception of the world and their/our perception of the role that the US plays in world events.

All this is very official as you can see from the below link and the pictures that come from the US military´s own websites.

Ever heard of the "US Army Civil Affairs &
Psychological Operations Command"? <----Click

Their insignias are on their website and for some reason their motto is: "Persuade, Change, Influence" - This is exactly why you should assume nothing and question everything!!!

2009-11-16T14:34:00.003Z

There are a lot of people both here in europe as well as in America who dont realise the reality of what is going on in Afghanistan right now and the fact that there is a serious war being fought there with civilians as well as soldiers and "taliban" dying everyday.

Unfortunately it seems like the vast majority of people in the west do not understand how serious the situation is over there mostly due to the way the western mainstream media report things. Most of the time the emphasis has been on the fact that NATO and ISAF are there to "promote democracy" or "to rebuild the country" by somehow imposing a western way of life on that whole region. Now, the above mentioned motives might sound noble and something worth fighting for but in that case it is important to read up on Afghan history at the same time as one studies what is happening on the ground right now.

However, in the last few months there have been a shift in public opinion as well as the way the mainstream media report the war. More and more people in the ISAF/NATO countries keep seeing more and more injured and dead soldiers being repatriated and are starting to question the motives of "why we are there". People who originally might have supported sending the troops there in the first place are now demanding a clear strategy with objectives that can be accomplished so that there is a clear step by step plan as to what the goal really is.

At the moment there seems to be no clear motive other than to clear an area, hold it for a week or a few months only to then withdraw, leaving the area under control of the mujahideen/Taliban again. And then this cat and mouse game goes on and on with scores of civilians and soldiers dying for nothing.

I urge anyone to look in to what the Soviet listed as their motives when they invaded Afghanistan on christmas eve in 1979 and to compare it to what NATO/ISAF are saying about their motives in 2009, 30 years later. I sure as hell don't believe that some of the most powerful and wealthy countries in the world invaded Afghanistan at the cost of a trillion dollars and thousands of casualties, with the sole purpose of "liberating the Afghan women".

For anyone who is interested in seeing the reality on the ground in Afghanistan please check out the video link HERE

"Brother of afghan leader is said to be on CIA payroll"

2009-11-08T17:15:00.002Z

Det har länge varit känt (för folk som vill veta och inte väljer att sätta på skygglapparna för att det är bekvämt) att den afghanske "ledaren" Hamid Karzai's bror Ahmed Wali Karzai länge haft fingrarna i den syltburk som är opium smuggling. Denna "bransch" drar in miljarder(!) dollar per år och kan räknas till en av de mest lukrativa branscherna någonsin.

Det har på senare tid kommit fler och fler mycket oroväckande rapporter och uppgifter som styrker ovanstående teori om att presidentens brorsa fortfarande är aktiv i opiumbranschen. Det finns källor inom den amerikanska administrationen samt armén som hävdar att Wali Karzai under flera år fått lön av CIA för diverse tjänster. Bland annat sägs det att han ibland agerar medlare mellan CIA, amerikanska special styrkor och Taliban sympatisörer. Jänkarna hyr även Taliban ledaren Mullah Omar's före detta "fort" i opium provinsen Kandahar som står under Wali Karzai kontroll och därför måste gå via honom. Från detta fort opererar "Kandahar Strike Force" som står under Karzai's kontroll men som CIA använder sig utav vid räder mot misstänkta fiender. Problemet är att Karzai även använt denna styrka vid minst ett tillfälle för att gynna sin egen agenda genom att skicka dom på politiska konkurrenter.

Mer om vad Wali Karzai har för sig finns i den artikel jag postar här nedan. Frågan vi alla måste ställa oss är: Hur legitim är President Karzai's makt med tanke på den senaste tidens katastrofala valfiasko och är det rätt att Sverige stöttar denna regim med runt 500 miljoner kronor per år när hans bror också som genom presidentskapet gynnats ordenligt, anklagas för att länge ha varit en nyckelperson inom opium smuggling?

Läs mer genom att klicka på länken nedan:

www.rawa.org

Interesting article touching on the subject of why the war on drugs can never be won...

2009-11-08T16:13:00.004Z

It is not common to find articles with the level of open mindedness and free thinking as the author of this article shows...

"Better than Reality" by Clive James of the BBC.

Very interesting thoughts on substance abuse and when it was made "cool" and how. Also he writes quite refreshingly on how decriminalisation/legalisation of certain substances would lower violence and help harm reduction contrary to the current situation where the war on drugs mentality of zero tolerance only contributes to the circle of violence that can only be stopped by taking profit out of the equation. Do you really think for example the mexican cartels would think it was worth fighting eachother as well as the government if it was over a product that was only worth a couple of quid per gram?

What we have now and have had for at least the last 20 years under the veil of prohibition is the most profitable market ever known to man... Due to the extreme cost on the street of most illegal substances the mark up for the "distributor" is also extreme... It's an all too easy way for young people in deprived areas to make a shit load of money in a very short period of time. If the possibility to make extreme profits in no time is taken away by regulatng and selling (certain substances, not all) substances over the counter, where is the incentive for anyone to stand on a corner trying to sell something that is hardly worth anything?

www.norml.org
www.leap.cc
www.cato.org
www.drugsense.org

How Weed Won the West - Official Trailer #1

2009-09-23T16:24:00.002+01:00

New documentary by Kevin Booth - How weed won the west

Here is the trailer for the new documentary by Kevin Booth, director of the below mentioned, award winning, "American Drug War". Here follows more information and the description of the soon to be released movie:

"While California is going bankrupt, one business is booming. "How Weed Won the West" is the story of the growing medical cannabis / marijuana industry in the greater Los Angeles area, with over 700 dispensaries doling out the buds. As a treatment for conditions ranging from cancer and AIDS, to anxiety, ADHD, and insomnia, cannabis is quickly proving itself as a healthier natural alternative to many prescription drugs.

Following the story of Organica, a southland dispensary which was raided by state and federal agencies in August of 2009, the film shows that although much has changed with Obama in office, the drug war is nowhere near over. From Kevin Booth, the producer/director of Showtime's "American Drug War", "How Weed Won the West" puts California forward as an example to the rest of the country by documenting how legalizing marijuana can help save the economy. "

2009-09-13T19:11:00.003+01:00

The CIA Crack Cocaine Drug Trade Exposé

Please watch this people!!! Quite an old video touching on a subject that have been talked about since the 80's. Several of the clips in the vid are also featured in the awesome documentary "American drug War - The last white hope" directed by Bill Hicks former manager, Kevin Booth.

Are you surprised? I'm not saying that it all happened in the way they state in the video but if you think that an organization like the Central Intelligence Agency would never do something like this you should look up the hundreds of documents that have recently been declassified. There are a lot of incidents that have in the past been dismissed as conspiracy theories that through these uncovered documents have been proved to be correct.

2009-09-13T18:06:00.003+01:00

Full Spectrum Dominance and the NWO

This is a very interesting interview with the author of a new book, William Engdahl, describing the policy of the Pentagon after 1945 - "Full Spectrum Dominance" and how this affects most things currently happening around the world.

Now this is cool! Tesla Coil!!!!

2009-09-08T17:36:00.003+01:00

Man tries out his home made tesla coil!

Did you know?

Nikola Tesla was a Serb-American scientist credited by the american supreme court to have invented the radio.

He was working on a project providing an intercontinental transmission of industrial power levels. Some people say he finished the project but that it was supressed by the oil and synthetics industry and the military industrial complex because it would have basically provided the whole earth with constant wireless electrical power using similar devices as the one shown in the video above. And who would have stood to gain from that? Well, the answer is, the majority of earth's population but the poor old chaps owning all the oil and chemical manufacturing wouldn't have made any money from it...

Why have something for free serving humanity when you can charge shitloads for it even though it's harmful to ourselves and the environment AND inefficient as means of fuel? (petrol)

Chosen Guns: Rambo Rabbis Grab Revolvers for Synagogue Defense

2009-09-08T17:19:00.005+01:00

As you can see from the linked video below, not only american, right wing christians arm themselves in church, so do the Rabbi's!

Rambo rabbis!

Oh yeah, and who knows, the moon might fall down and hit you on the head so you're probably best of always wearing a helmet....im talking 24/7... I will provide the training... Im a qualified moon helmet instructor...

If you read in the article related to the video it states that the "former NYPD officer" was actually fired from the force in the early 90's. Im dying to find out why!!!!

And what if american muslims in mosques start doing the same thing... People would go nuts!

Any religion + Guns = dead people

dead people = grieving families etc. etc. the list goes on...

I should have received a better grade in maths!

Now this is interesting!

2009-09-04T16:35:00.003+01:00

http://www.biomedexperts.com/Profile.bme/78637/Moshe_Bar-Joseph
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread493785/pg1

On August 12th a biological scientist by the name of Joseph Moshe made a phone call to a radio talk show hosted by a Dr Tru Ott. He said that he had information showing that the pharmaceutical company Baxter, who are licensed to manufacture a majority of the swine flu vaccine intended for the US population, had/was manufacturing a bioweapon that will be spread through the vaccine.

He was asking for help to contact the states attorney in order to disclose the information he was in posession of.

The day after on the 13th he was driving his VW beetle towards the Israeli consulate when he was surrounded by an army of police and SWAT teams. There was a standoff and they tried getting him out using teargas, robots and finally succeeded after several hours after tasing him and dragging him out the window.

Joseph Moshe has not been heard from since and most people believe he was deported to Israel immediately after his arrest and is in detention there.

Is all this a coincidence or did he, as a scientist, have access to important information regarding the swine flu and the vaccine being pushed in the media around the world. You be the judge people!

Here is how US media reported on the incident: Joseph Moshe standoff

This is one of my top5 favourite blogs - Crazy shit!

2009-09-03T15:51:00.004+01:00

Corruptio.blogg.se - Avslöjar makten för vad dom är - Maffia!

Mostly in swedish but there's some stuff in english...

"Pfizer whistle-blower's drug fears"

2009-09-03T15:26:00.002+01:00

Pfizer tries to push four different drugs for conditions they were not even approved for.

Oh, what a surprise! A pharmaceutical company trying to get away with murder... If this is the one story that gets mainstream media cover, imagine how many similar things take place every year that no one whistle blows about or that no media outlet believes is sensational enough to cover.

The largest street gang in America - a compilation.

2009-09-02T15:26:00.012+01:00

The largest street gang in America

I stumbled across this video yesterday and just thought it is something everyone should watch, american or not...

The reason why i think it is relevant is because abuse of power is something that exists across the world, even in so called democracies...

This issue is something very close to my heart simply because i have myself been victim to the abuse of power by police... I would like to clarify that i do not, nor have i, engaged in criminal activity... Still i have had cocked and loaded guns pointed at me from close distance and have been threatened and handcuffed for no reason...

Just the other day i was travelling back from London via stansted airport and had just passed through the security check, put my belt and watch back on and gathered all the coins and put them in my pocket.
Once this security check is completed they make you pass through this narrow kinda walk path where customs and border officers(?) stand taking notes on notepads. I started walking towards their desks to proceed in to the waiting area with all it's shops and food places when, from nowhere, two huge police officers with the biggest, most kitted out assault rifles ever, approach me and ask me to stop. They ask me for my passport which i give them. They ask me where i am going, where i have been and if i live or work in the UK or not.

From a start they were quite intimidating and firm and i am the type of person who's mind starts going apeshit and heart starts pumping even though i know i have done nothing wrong or have anything dodgy on me.

They start looking very closely at my passport and then radio something to what sounds like a superior or command centre. They spell my name "November, India, Kilo....." and after a minute or so of silence except for the beating of my heart they hand me my passport and wish me a nice flight.

At least the british police have more manners than police in a lot of other countries, assault rifles or not...

Having almost been blown up by a suicide bomber a few years ago i still feel like i would rather live in an open, checkpoint free society and run a one in a million (probably more) risk of being blown up, maimed or killed by some misguided nutter than to be controlled by fear and get my life, dna and shopping habits stored on some government database while being stripsearched on every streetcorner in the name of "war on terror".

Fuck off, you might as well call it a war on people.

"US pastor opens church to guns"

2009-06-28T15:27:00.004+01:00

"US pastor opens church to guns"

I have mixed feelings about gun laws in the US. But at the same time i can understand why so many people stick to their guns. It is down to not having faith in the people in power and the government. I do think one has to admit there is a link between high levels of gun violence and high levels of gun ownership but the reason why the 2nd amendment was introduced was to give the people a means of defending themselves, both from outside threats but mostly against a government abusing it's powers. The amendment would give the citizens means to organise militias, arm them and withstand any threat to their freedoms.

There have been fierce debate for decades between the gun lobby usually headed by the NRA (National Rifle Association) and various anti gun groups. They have never been close to any agreement or compromise. It's two completely different ways of thinking between, in a lot of cases, two completely different groups/citizens of society.

Since Obama took office ammunition and assault rifles such as the AR-15 and the AK-47 have increased at least 4 times in price, creating a huge market at the same time as ammunition, especially for the mentiones weapons, has pretty much sold out across the country. People are buying up as much as they can and stockpiling it. This used to something a small amount of usually, rightwing christian doomsdayers did up until after 9/11. Then everything changed. People are not sure what to believe anymore. And it didn't help when the FBI earlier this year released a report highlighting the increased threat from gun owners, militia members, soldiers coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan(!), Ron Paul supporters and labelling them as terrorists.

This will be interesting....

"WWII poison darts secret emerges"

2009-06-27T17:22:00.004+01:00

"WWII poison darts secret emerges"

"Stoned wallabies make crop circles"

2009-06-27T17:16:00.002+01:00

"Stoned Wallabies"

hehe, just thought this was a bit funny...

2009-06-27T17:04:00.003+01:00

"Executive order that will allow indefinite detention."

Ok, this is another dissapointment for all of us who when Obama was elected took a breath of relief in hope of another direction for the US. This is yet another proof that Obama might not be the saviour everyone expected him to be after all...

"White house denies indefinite detention order"

This will be interesting to follow considering his first major step after being elected was to issue an order to close down Guantanamo Bay... Lets see what happens...

"It's the end of the world as we know it, and i feel fine!"

2008-09-20T19:41:00.006+01:00

The "Credit Crunch" - What went wrong?

Well, the answer to this question is that nothing went wrong, it's just the way capitalism and the current economic system works. Now i'm not an economist and therefore i wont even try and get in to the details of how the banking system works even though i do have some understanding of it. My view on the last week (or year) of turmoil is more philosophical and from a historical perspective it is just a matter of time before the world as we know it changes.

To me the way the monetary system works have never made any sense. I have always been amazed by how people in general have so much confidence in the way things work economically and particularly the babyboom generations; they take for granted the fact that you buy a new TV at least every year because "the new HD model is out" or whatever.

Well, the sad fact is that in the last 30-50 or so years (depending on country) the western world have lived in unprecedented prosperity(in world history) with cheap goods, groundbreaking technological breakthroughs and what seemed to be an unlimited supply of natural resources. And for understandable reasons most people have prefered to bury their heads in the sand and point fingers at anyone critizising our wasteful way of living as being everything from unpatriotic to being afraid of progress and wanting to destroy the "fun".

I think most people, like myself, with any sort of understanding of the world have felt deep inside that this is not sustainable but the reality is that people have families that depend on them, food to put on the table and bills to pay and sadly feel like they have no time to think about these things. Another reason why one would want to avoid it is also because it is not the most uplifting stuff to think about.

However, i believe that in order for humanity to stand a chance of survival, every man and woman needs to think about these crucial things such as sustainability of environment, fair distribution of resources, peace and stability etc, daily whether they like it or not. Knowledge is key and from knowledge comes ideas and confidence in coming up with solutions to problems. It is one thing to be busy with work and feeding ones family but another to spend all your freetime shopping, watching TV or playing sports(even though it is obviously healthy and fun).

There are discussions going on whether all these "distractions" have been deliberatelly designed by people in power to stop people from thinking too much or if they have just naturally grown in to existence because it was meant to be. It doesn't really matter. What matters is that the picture i see in front of me are (if of course there are any humans left on earth) people hundred of years in the future reading about people in the 20th and 21st century and learning that, just like the Romans, their empire fell because of their complacency, arrogance and ignorance.

Some people might argue that all empires fall, it's just a question of how hard while others of course keep their (to me fascinating) positive outlook and argue that "everything will be alright!". Somtetimes i secretly wish that i could be that ignorant. ;)

May 8th 2008 - Babylon is having a field day!

2008-05-08T15:22:00.000+01:00

Whagwaaan! Its been a while... Have been busy looking for a new job as i was recently made redundant by my last employer. It sucks having to look for jobs again but at the same time it was the best thing that could have happened. It was a shitty, greedy and unprofessional company! maybe once they give me my money i'll name and shame them...hehe

Looking through the countless job listing websites i came across an interesting but extremely worrying article on the BBC News website. ---> Innocent until proven guilty?

"To critics it sounds like a scenario from some Orwellian nightmare.

An online database of workers accused of theft and dishonesty, regardless of whether they have been convicted of any crime, which bosses can access when vetting potential employees.

But this is no dystopian fantasy. Later this month, the National Staff Dismissal Register (NSDR) is expected to go live."

To summarise it this article is about the launch of a national register for employers(bullies) to add details of any previous employees that in some way misbehaved. This includes the obvious things such as stealing, damage etc. But it also includes people who have been called for a diciplinary and choose not to attend and leave the job.

I thought that this was why i am asked to put references on my CV when applying for new jobs. How hard is it to make a phone call to a previous employer?

This is the part i find most interesting: "The register is an initiative of Action Against Business Crime (AABC), a partnership between the Home Office and the British Retail Consortium."

Just imagine the potential for abuse... Who in a company is authorised to put these details on the register? Is it the director? I doubt it. Is it the owner of the company? I doubt it. It will be the managers and supervisors. When was the last time you had a manager you did not get along with? It happens to everyone. The difference now though is that they have the power to destroy your life.

I mean, this is getting ridiculous. New Labour are so worried about public support that they get Jacqui Smith and her Home Office to throw out new schemes left, right and centre to tackle any sort of imaginary issue they can find and make a national epidemic out of.

A scared and worried population is easy to control. This is why everyday on the news there is a new "damning" report about either, immigration, binge drinking, cannabis, anti-social behaviour.

Politics is getting more and more corrupted. It is al about spin these days. The legislators should spend less time catering to the Rupert Murdoch media mob and look deep inside themselves and ask: Am i doing this in the best interest of the public and the future of this democracy?

If they really did we would se policies based on common sense and expert advice and not policies based on fear and control through technology.

I think the government is scrambling for votes. But i think a big reason why they did so bad in the local elections last week was because the very issues i have brought up above. People want to be trusted enough to take care of themselves and not have to live in a nanny state.

Drunkednesssssss

2008-04-26T04:57:00.000+01:00

Hey folks....so, afeter another taxed bottle of wine im drunk...

and thats pretty much it for today...

Thanks,

nik

Introduction: Life for someone born in the 80's

2008-04-23T19:35:00.000+01:00

Hey there,

My name is Nik and i am fairly new to this whole blogging thingie. Since i am and have always been a very thoughtful, curious and philosophical person, i felt it would be cool to start a blogg where i can write about what circles around my brain constantly-current events, foreign policy, human rights, justice, critical thinking, music, alternative medicine etc.

I am basically an information junkie... I now intend to put some of that information and maybe some thoughts about them here on my blogg!

Please feel free to post comments or holler at me about anything, anytime....

Bless Nik