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From the GROUND UP a blueprint for human-scaled economics, culture & economy about the project
"My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth." – Abraham Lincoln
The objective of this project is to prompt new (and sometimes old) ways of thinking about the critical – but often hidden – issues that shape our future. Fateful decisions are being made without our input that have global impact. For example, we should all know the answers to these questions: Why are agribiz giants developing and growing Genetically Modified Organisms? Why do Europeans vehemently reject GMOs while most Americans eat them without even knowing that a debate rages in places that still have independent media? What will be the long-term effects on our health, biodiversity, and the food chain?1 Increasingly, decisions that impact everyone on the planet are handed down by multi-national corporations that offer a generic, unilateral solution for all the world's dilemmas: "free-market" globalization, often air-delivered in shiny packages under spurious slogans - "Freedom" - "Democracy" - "Restructuring" - "Development". To many observers on either side of the economic, political and military crosshairs, it's clear that this gun-barrel diplomacy is doing no one any good, except for those doomed souls who make a killing2 from this colossal hoax. Agenda setters such as the G8, World Trade Organization, World Bank, Federal Reserve3 and so on, derive their powers from outside the normal state channels. Intentionally or not, these organizations and their "treaties" are destroying national sovereignty through superimposed trade agreements that squash the rights of property owners, workers, small-business owners, and even nation-states. Backroom deals replace transparent debates because the elites believe that things of such import are beyond the carrying-capacity of the "common" wo/man, thus completely exposing their contempt for democracy and self-determination. Here's how David Rockefeller put it in 1991: "The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination practiced in past centuries." On the policies and consequences foisted by these unelected quasi-governments, we now have a considerable body of data to dissect and analyze. Look at the high crimes and misdemeanors of the day – the global "structured finance" swindle4 fueled by "creative" mortgages; mercury in vaccines; rampant, blatant war-profiteering; the bizarre fact that Americans will soon be eating cloned meat without their knowledge or consent; the mainstream media's refusal to seriously investigate and report on the same – and you will find one thing in common: these critical industries are largely de-regulated, unaccountable, opaque, and increasingly driven by short-term profit motive. According to the Chicago School of neo-classic economic theory, this would imply that we should be approaching a nirvana of efficiency, opportunity, and personal freedom. But in reality, those who control our currency, natural resources, food supply, and information flow are strangling the sovereignty of the individual and nation so that the corporation can enjoy all the rights of personhood without the responsibilities of actually being a person. These multinational enterprises have economies the size of large countries, but they have no internal conscience to answer to, no morals to check their actions, and no body to lock up. A paper entity endowed with such enormous wealth - while possessing all the freedoms of an individual - has a level of power that often exceeds that of elected governments. Hence, "corporate personhood"5 must be abolished, and these faceless constructs must be returned to their original servant status. Some things are too important to hand over to the Enrons, Halliburtons6, and Monsantos7 as private profit centers; "free market" laws do not apply when there are no alternatives (i.e. a free market). To grant the globalists' wish list and make it all "legal", Capitol Hill is overrun by armies of lobbyists whose employers expect big returns on their investments. These come in the form of subsidies, no-bid/cost-plus contracts, and most importantly, personalized legislation. Per the Washington Post: "The number of registered lobbyists in Washington has more than doubled since 2000 to more than 34,750 while the amount that lobbyists charge their new clients has increased by as much as 100 percent. Only a few other businesses have enjoyed greater prosperity in an otherwise fitful economy." [emphasis mine] In other words, there are are approximately 65 lobbyists per member of Congress spending around $2,500,000,000 per year ($4.6 million per congressman!) to ensure they get their take of the loot. In addition to groups like the AARP and Veterans for Peace, most of these deal-makers represent banking conglomerates, big media, agribusiness, pharma giants, and the perennial favorite: "defense" contractors who are arming the same people we are or soon will be fighting in the next phase of the "Global War on Terror." And the cycle continues. _______________ "We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." --- Louis Brandeis, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, 1916-1939 ___________ Given the assorted disasters at home and abroad, courtesy of "think tanks" and other self-appointed rogues, it's imperative that we take the power back (it will not be given) and end the madness. But before we can begin untangling the web, we must first see it clearly. Then we'll begin the work of tearing it down and building anew. The project's purpose, then, is three-fold: Information Clearinghouse - providing resources and information about the good, the bad, and the ugly that are not available through the MSM. Idea Generator and Propagator - a forum for the insights of brilliant and creative minds around the globe who are imagining and building a saner world. Network Hub - a channel for us to come together, pool our thoughts, and share what is working and what is not. Kind of a wiki8 of the new world order that will be created by and for the people. I hope you find this information useful and inspirational and that it is a source of positive change for the future. My goal is to build a collaborative network of experts in relevant fields -- please email any inquiries or related information to add to the conversation. To the Future, Gregg Brazel
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resources & additional info :: corpwatch :: what has iraq war cost you? :: full (true) cost accounting :: evanston artisan cooperative
Participation in a virtual one-party system only validates illegitimate power by Gregg Brazel
"For globalism to work, America can’t be afraid to act like the almighty superpower that it is.…The hidden hand of the market will never work without a hidden fist—McDonald’s cannot flourish without McDonnell Douglas, the designer of the F-15. And the hidden fist that keeps the world safe for Silicon Valley’s technologies is called the United States Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps." — Thomas Friedman, What the World Needs Now, New York Times, March 28, 1999.
related topics (in the works): sustainability · true-cost economics architecture & design · transportation land use · energy · environment natural resources · agriculture · geo-politics of same
notes: 1. Genetically modified fish... 2. Ten most brazen war profiteers 3. Fed reserve: private banking cartel 5. Corporate Personhood is Doomed
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