Wakeful Video Weekend 2022-03-11 (15 videos)

Request: Please share with others. I, for example, can no longer share on Facebook, having been locked out of my account.

Summary: 15 good truthful videos about our corrupt system and how to be real humans. Plus COVID, Ukraine, censorship, economics, fasting for health… Enjoy the weekend! (and share with others)

Stars and channels: Academy of Ideas, johnlennon, Redacted Tonight, The Galen Foundation, The Jimmy Dore Show (w/ Aaron Maté & Lee Camp), Democracy At Work (Richard Wolff), Magestic Tuskers, Daily Mail

Topics:

1. Our “Brave New World” *
2. Remember: We Have Been Dreaming for a Fair and Kind World to Live in For Quite Some Time
3. Ontario Bows to the Truckers Convoy but Pretends Not To
4. Media War (Censorship): Lee Camp On RT America’s Shut Down
5. War: Ukraine – Why & How-Not
6. Ukraine: Update on Ukrainian Neonazis
7. Progressivism Undermined by Non-Real Progressives
8. Health: Fasting for Health
9. COVID: Admitted Adverse Effects (release forced by a judge)
10. Economics: The Truth about “Non-Profit Institutions” (They Profit but Escape Taxes)
11. Economics: A Member of the Financial Mafia Joyfully Predicts Increasing Unemployment
12. A Reminder That Things Can be Different than Oppression, Slaughter, and Profiteering *
13. Humanity Reminder from a Young Kid **

Jesus Upside Down

Note: No video weekend today because I am utterly sick this weekend and had a tough week. So, here is a little article I drafted some time ago:

A weird but not uncommon mentality flaw (typically boosted and imposed by those in power) is: loving and admiring the rich, and despising the poor. This society warp has been around for some time. Even Jesus complained about it according to the Bible, making it pretty long ago by now. This is so badly wrong. We humans should always care about ALL humans (or even beyond!). And the poor are never poor by their own design but by the design from the rich. (And the rich have always (mis-)used religion to oppress the poor and protect their own selfish interests.

It’s ironic when people claim hat it is in fact very difficult for a rich person to live a virtuous life. It is actually much much easier for rich people to live virtuous lives, if they only tried. They cpulf gove away so much stolen wealth or even use it to set up stabilizing institutions. But they never do. I still have to meet one who does; hence Jesus’ promise that the rich will never go to heaven.

There is a nice comment I came across online (on dailykos, which is a platform I rarely look into because it so so DNC-allied; in other words allied with a corrupt elite; blasting Sanders in 2016 and 2020… still, sometimes (very rarely) good folks show up there). Here is the quote:

Jesus was asked by a virtuous rich man what ELSE he could do as he obeyed all the commandments. Jesus told the man the only thing the man needed to do was to sell everything he had and give it to the poor and then, “…come and follow me…” When the rich man refused to give up his riches, Jesus watched the man walk away in tears because the man was so tied to his comforts he could not give them up. Then Jesus turned to the crowd and commented, “Truly, it is harder for a rich man to enter the gates of heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle….” (Matthew 19:16-25).

Yes the next passage (Matt 19:26) is about Jesus’ apostles being astonished when he said that, and his comment that “with God all things are possible…” but again you have to understand it in the context of the times ~ and actually our times as well.

There is a mistaken belief that if you are rich than somehow God loves you more than poor people. This is something the rich hold over others’ heads with all three of these religions in spite of the very strict and quite clear mandate and morals that all say “You SHARE.”

I suspect the man referred to nowadays as Jesus having been one of history’s greatest grassroots activists for solidarity and societal justice, quickly executed by the criminal lords, and then repainted by wannabe lords (preachers / church masters) in alignment with the already existing lords into an alleged promoter for a god and angels and an afterlife. Real Christians would fight for democracy and a no rich and no poor egalitarian society. But where are they nowadays? Most supposed Christians now align themselves with the Hell on Earth power and wealth pyramid, making them Anti-Christians actually. So sad.

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https://beanstocksworld.wordpress.com/2021/08/01/wakeful-video-weekend-2021-08-01-11-videos/

Living to Live

The green-blooded moneycrats who rule us, think life is all about money. Well, it is not. That’s why they ruin our lives. Let’s take a look at people who have turned their back on the the corrupt system and hear what they have to tell:

Human connections and interactions count much more in human happiness than material things:

(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for the title: “Route 66: Free living and liberty at a rural commune “)

Comment: In my imagination I would love to live in such a commune (except for my physical handicaps and the gross hunt for squirrels who I see neither as nasty tree rats nor tasty morsels). It would be so much better not having to fight over incomes and savings with my neighbors but rather support one another, be fellows and friends rather than desperate strugglers pitted against each other by a system that is set up to do so.  

Five Economic Reforms Millennials Should Be Fighting For (Rolling Stone)

An extremely good article from 2014, at that, presenting important steps to a bright future (such as a Federal Job Guarantee and Universal Basic Income) with a fitting theme, namely how our current system blows. This is quite short for all the good ideas it presents. Well worth reading, indeed; and so well written I couldn’t add much by commenting. So, without further ado, here is the link for you: Five Economic Reforms Millennials Should Be Fighting For (Rolling Stone Magazine)

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Video Weekend 12-02-2017 (7 Videos)

I really like the story arc of this weekend’s selection of politically educational videos. I am starting with some party politics shining a light on the dog-and-pony show and the dark boardroom deals of our corrupt politicians. Then I have a bunch of illuminating documentaries and discussions about a universal basic income, showing how important our mentality is in finding our way forward. And I finish with an amazing older interview of Richard Wolff which predicted so much of what we are seeing now and addresses the mentality aspect of how we can go from here. Neat. I don’t always manage to find the right videos for a smooth story arc, but this one went pretty well I think. Do you like it?

 

I. Party Politics (fury and fun with Jimmy Dore)

Even life-long republicans see the GOP’s tax scam for what it is:

(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for the title: “More Republicans Denounce Republican Tax Plan“)

 

A rigged democracy is NO democracy:

(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for the title: “Progressive Crowd Boos Bill Maher”)

1:38 min : Oh, election rigging is just fine when one of our political parties does it…

8:17 min: So, what are the “Democrats” saying with their Wikileaks and Russia-Russia-Russia yammering? They are saying that if we hadn’t been caught lying, we’d be running the country right now.

9:29 min : Great closing words by Dylan Ratigan.

 

II. UBI

Getting passive income for being a member of the people rather than a member of the private club of the idle rich who get almost all the free money right now:

(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for the title: “What would you do if you never had to worry about money?“)

 

Folks discussing a UBI from different angles:

(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for the title: “Basic Income – Our Next Moonshot“)

~20:27 min: A UBI, rather than being a novel populist or socialist/communist idea, in reality tries to realize the ideals of our founding fathers and actually resurrects the land grant we had early in our history.

 

What a UBI can do for people trapped in poverty:

(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for the title: “BASIC INCOME WORKS! “)

 

Another interesting UBI discussion. Things like these must be discussed so we can get them right:

(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for the title: “For and against “Basic Income”“)

13:50–24:30 min: A good response to funding and the idea that the universal part of a UBI is wasteful when some of it goes to people who don’t need it.

Another good point made: mentality matters. If we all (or a huge majority, at least) share the ideals of leaving none of our fellow citizens behind, we are already half-way there.

 

III. Amazing Predictive Interview

To finish, an older one, so prophetic and illuminating:

(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for the title: “Dangerous Thoughts: There IS a Tipping Point For Revolution in America: Dr. Richard Wolff”)

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UBI and FJG are Baby Steps towards a Great Future

This article uses a speech by Pavlina Tcherneva given during a discussion round as the basis for painting a bigger picture.

This lady from the MMT segment of discourse participants seems to agree with me that a combination of a federal Job Guarantee and a basic income would be best. If I understand her right, she doesn’t want the basic income to be universal, however, for fear of an inflationary affect. Personally, I think the risk of an inflationary affect is smaller than she seems to think, and that measures can be taken against it. Her macroeconomic view is important but shouldn’t be the exclusive angle from which to view corrective socio-economic measures.

Before I go into details, perhaps you may wish to listen to Tcherneva’s speech:

(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for the title: “Marrying the Basic Income with the Job Guarantee”)

The Federal Job Guarantee — What is it?

What is it? How is it meant to work? The below video summarizes it in a nutshell, and my comments put it in a larger perspective.

Having recently presented the combination of a universal unconditional basic income (citizen’s dividend) and a pay-with-assets economic scheme as a shared assets element of a just economy that would best also use a federal monetization of socially important non-market jobs via a Federal Job Guarantee, it is time to present the FJG:

A note about the video: not to worry, the shrill music only hits you in the beginning and end.

(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for the title: »“The Job Guarantee” featuring Pavlina Tcherneva«)

Discussion: 

Video Weekend 11-25-2017 (12 Videos)

Twelve great videos befitting our Thanksgiving week. The first is a report on the current GOP tax scam and the near future our oligarchs are planning for us. Ack! The other 11 videos are thoughts from around the world about the UBI portion of the great future we must fight for. Various angles, differing views… I left out the bogus status-quo-worshipping and economic-evil-justifying claims from disgusting people since I don’t want to spoil anyone’s weekend… luckily I didn’t come across a lot to begin with. Phew! — So, let’s move on to a bunch of thoughtful and uplifting, yes uplifting (except for the 1st one, I suppose), weekend videos.

 

I. The Present Mess:

The future the current lords are planning for us:

(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for the title: “Bankers Unwittingly Admit Tax Cuts Don’t Help Workers“)

 

II. Thinking About the Future — Various Views on a UBI

In my “holy trinity” proposition[1][2][3] of a great economic system forming a shared assets economy using these three parts – a universal basic income (inherited citizen’s dividend), an earned (through work) assets dividend, and a public monetization of needed work (federal job guarantee) – the UBI is one of the currently most discussed measures:

Even the rich see sense in a UBI (mostly a safeguard against our pitchforks, for sure):

(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for the title: “Why the World’s Richest Say a Universal Basic Income is Good Policy!”)

A Beautiful Future (Happy Thanksgiving)

The beautiful vision of an achievable future, this Thanksgiving, is one that goes beyond merely resisting Trump or the GOP’s tax heist. It even goes far beyond merely installing Medicare for All or getting money out of politics. The beautiful vision for this Thanksgiving is one of a Star-Trek-like economy of the “live long and prosper” mantra, in which we all live lives of plenty.

Contrary to the doubts of many, it is eminently achievable in a modern economy where we overproduce and waste food and things like there was no tomorrow, there being produced enough for everybody’s needs (although many never get it), and where the rapid rise of automation will soon make most human labor unnecessary to produce everything we need and want.  

The Shared Assets Economy – Part 2

Yesterday, I introduced Yanis Varoufakis’ proposal of work compensation via shared assets as a means to end the division between an owner class and a working class. These assets would provide an earned residual income combining perfectly with an inherited Universal Basic Income (UBI) and a Federal Job Guarantee, to create a virtually Utopian society of prosperity for all, a society in which everybody would be financially secure and, if they so wished, could earn a desired raise of their income in a fair and reliable fashion.

In this combination of a quasi-holy trinity, the UBI — which is a citizen’s dividend based on our national economic resources that we all, not just a few plutocrats, deserve to inherit upon our birth — would provide a safe minimum income for everybody, gainfully employed or not, while the asset-based work compensation would provide a raise for those who want more money, and the federal job guarantee would provide paid work opportunities often missing in a purely profit-driven “free” market — as the millions of un- and under-employed wannabe-workers who are desperately looking for properly paid jobs these days clearly show.

Since the article was getting a bit long, I decided to perform further elaborations in a second article, which is the one on hand. Basically, in this article, I want to flesh things out a little more, both the current system and the one we can aim for, and also what we must do to get there.