Introduction
Let's face it. Most of what we are given to read on the internet is of little value. Let's not even mention the mainstream media which is nothing more than distraction.
But even the so-called alternative media falls prey to sensationalism and superficial content.
From time to time there is some really good stuff though that makes you think "wow !".
I am not interested in short term things and the latest of the latest. This web site is not a news web site.
I am usually not interested in politics especially not american politics.
I am interested in whatever point of view on whatever topic that makes you think outside of the square and stays with you for a long time.
This material, although being somewhat "unrelated" to the normal content of these pages about Ecuador and Loja, will be stored here under the title "unrelatedisimo" ...
Read on...
"The simple and in the end only answer is peace and social justice. How to achieve that is a different question. It needs a shift in paradigm. It requires a different human consciousness, one not driven by greed and power, but by a sense of human solidarity, by a desire to live together in harmony and in harmony with nature – a society that is not just thriving on consumerism, on absurd annual growth of consumption – a society that is aware of its surroundings, of Mother Earth, her entire ecosystem, animals, plants, natural unrenewable resources – a society that takes care of and protects its ‘neighborhood’ which is precisely that – the globe’s precious ecosystem. It is generously giving us everything we need for life, for a decent life that is – without having to kill and destroy."
"This consciousness is inherent in human beings. We are all born with it. But it is imminently destroyed as we enter this greed-driven society. Yet, there is in every human brain, call it spirit or soul, a spark that glows up ever-so-often and tells us, there is something wrong with what’s going on around us. We only have to grasp this glow, this warm little light in the back of our minds, and follow it, look where it leads us. It will lead us to the truth. Maybe we have to look for it in alternative media, or just by opening our eyes. It may disturb our comfort zone. That’s the major hindrance for most people who ignore this little warm spark. In fact, crossing that threshold of abandoning our comfort zone, brings a richness of mind from which you never want to return. – That would be the solution."
Peter Koenig, economist and geopolitical analyst
Andre Vltchek - Message and Warning from a War Correspondent
Andre what glorious writing . Thank you for sharing your truly inspiring thoughts and reporting reality.
Even if at times you doubt it, you are not alone, millions share your conviction.
You do justice to the cause and are in good company.
Martha Gelhorn, John Pilger, Wilfred Birchett , Oliver Stone ...all knew and know what it was like to get their arses kicked along with thousands of others who just quietly did the right thing...I salute you ps.....and I thank Tom at ICH for enriching our lives in bringing such soul food to the table...may 2018 see more and more people coming to your marvelous website and 'donating' for that better world you bravely fight for...
Link
Dmitry Orlov - You are not in control
A VERY thought provoking essay by Dmitry Orlov. Do we really really need that car? I ditched mine years ago and I don't really miss it. Granted I have a small motorbike, far less thirsty on that "useless byproduct of petroleum distillation called gasoline".
Living in Ecuador sure helps as millions of people here rely on the public transport system which is generally speaking EXCELLENT and not to be compared with whatever it is that they call public transport in the "developed" world.
Dmitry Orlov makes a compelling case against the car. Not sure all of it is 100% the way he says but nevertheless this is a MUST READ.
"Specifically, what seems to be generally missing is an understanding that the technosphere doesn’t just control technology; it controls our minds as well. The technosphere doesn’t just prevent us from choosing technologies that we think may be appropriate and rejecting the ones that aren’t. It controls our tastes, making us prefer things that it prefers for its own reasons. It also controls our values, aligning them with its own. And it controls our bodies, causing us to treat ourselves as if we were mechanisms rather than symbiotic communities of living cells (human and otherwise)"
Dmtry Orlov
Link
Andre Vltchek - Stop Millions of Western Immigrants!
A fine essay on a very timely subject. And Andre Vltchek hits the nail on the head.
Something to read and re-read and digest and think about for all of us expats living here in this beautiful country of Ecuador. Why are we here exactly? And what do we bring to the country (as opposed to what we take from the country)?
Gaither Stewart sums it up well in his comment below in which he even mentions Ecuador explicitly:
"I think Americans head the list of those millions of westerners living abroad, especially in the so-called Third World.
A number of newsletters circulate concerning the cheap life in Ecuador or Cambodgia or in other such places: cheap housing and servants, good food, where either your pension suffices to be able to live like a Pasha, or, for the very rich, enormous tax privileges, in countries Westerners have no intention of amalgamating i or even adapting to and instead they form expat clubs, perpetuate their own foreign life style and claim they saving poor and ex-colonila economies from their own folly of poverty.
But the recent several hundred thousand “migrants”, that is, refugees from western inspired war and the poverty of western exploitation in Africa and Asia who after riskig their lives to arrive want to integrate in Europe are received as simple laborers (without whom industries in Germany, north Italy etc could not survive) and are destined to remain forever second or third class residents."
Link
Charles Eisenstein - The Election: Of Hate, Grief, and a New Story
I have always wondered why it is not politically correct to use the word 'love' in politics and economics and the 'real' things of life.
For once here is an article by Charles Eisenstein that uses the word 'love' in the context of 'politics' in this case the 2016 american elections.
Check out his excellent web site. It is full of enlightening and thought provoking stuff.
"Hate is just a bodyguard for grief. When people lose the hate, they are forced to deal with the pain beneath."
"Something hurts in there. Can you feel it? We are all in this together. One earth, one tribe, one people.
We have entertained teachings like these long enough in our spiritual retreats, meditations, and prayers. Can we take them now into the political world and create an eye of compassion inside the political hate vortex? It is time to do it, time to up our game. It is time to stop feeding hate."
Link
A Thousand Balls of Flame by Dimitry Orlov
Best I have read in a long time..... it both has some kind advise, a hell of a lot of truth... and some black humour or gallows humour if you will (literally in this case)'.
Wonderful, vintage Orlov; penetration to the core of the situation - as usual. Weirdly enough, it's always a great pleasure - sic! - to read these incisive insights, despite the grim topics treated. Not just for the clarifying insights, either. Quality of the writing too, I suppose, as an added bonus; the sort of stylistic gift that devoted essayists would kill for. :) Thanks again, Dmitry. Please keep going whilst you have insights like these to purvey;
Russia is ready to respond to any provocation, but the last thing the Russians want is another war. And that, if you like good news, is the best news you are going to hear.
And so, most of the recent American warmongering toward Russia can be explained by the desire to find anyone but oneself to blame for one’s unfolding demise. This is a well-understood psychological move—projecting the shadow—where one takes everything one hates but can’t admit to about oneself and projects it onto another.
Link
US War Crimes or ‘Normalized Deviance’ By Nicolas J S Davies
Not much to do with Ecuador or Latin America? Wrong! Every single coup that has happened on this continent fits the "normalization of deviance" pattern and it is still going on today more than ever (Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela) and Ecuador next. A must read.
This great essay gets to the gist of most of the problem of the violence inflicted on foreign governments. My whole life I’ve wondered why this nation is always at war which is almost 62 years of continuous conflict including the cold war. What could all those trillions of dollars have done instead of building and deploying a military of galactic proportions? Where do all those sociopathic ‘officials’ come from and what could be done to reign them in? Votes matter not because the US govt does what it always does which continues it’s aggressive destruction of the planet. How does a peace lover such as myself live in a violent world without heavy medication that has already shortened my life? All I hear is how the main candidates will build our insanely obscene military even more. When is enough, enough? Thanks for all the good essays that perhaps the leaders should read also, and I wish everyone peace.
What a brilliant catchphrase. And an excellent article as well, one of the best I've seen all month.
Link
In addition, this excellent documentary about the battle between Chevron and the Amazonian forest illustrates even more how deviance is being normalized
To watch absolutely
A U.S. court just handed another victory to the oil giant Chevron Texaco, in its decades-long battle to avoid paying damages it owes in one of the worst environmental disasters in history.
Watch
SATYRE - Ayahuasca Shaman Dreading Another Week Of Guiding Tech CEOs To Spiritual Oneness
SATYRE from theonion.com
An interesting (albeit ficticious) read regarding Ayahuaska ceremonies for billionaire Silicon Valley CEOs who come to Peru to supposedly find spiritual oneness.
Depressing to be a shaman nowadays !
Being a satyre piece it is of course amplified. But nevertheless the Ayahuaska trend in Peru and to a lesser extend here in Ecuador is very real and just like Orwell's movie "1984" is also fiction work and yes, satyre, our world starts looking more and more like the one in the movie.
"Salazar says that if he hears about one more Silicon Valley CEO’s vision for establishing their app’s KPIs (Key Performance Indicator), he might quit his spiritual practice altogether."
"According to Salazar, his despair sets in long before the ayahuasca ritual begins, when the executives arriving at his meditation hut immediately start networking with one another and loudly discussing new start-ups they may want to acquire. Once the ceremony begins, the visibly disgusted spiritual guide told reporters, his ancient shamanic chanting is invariably interrupted by the sound of his guests’ Snapchat and WhatsApp notifications."
Link
We Asked a Veteran Peruvian Ayahuasca Shaman About Dumb Tourists.
Below is another nice read on a similar subject.
"There are now loads of foreigners coming to Peru on "ayahuasca holidays", sometimes taking it without any preparation. How do you feel about that?
It's very dangerous. There are serious travellers who understand the health benefits of this medicine, but there are also a lot of foreigners who see ayahuasca as an interesting way of getting high or drunk. But if you're not prepared, if you don't follow the diet and don't know what you're doing, you cannot benefit from taking ayahuasca anyway. This way, a lot of people end up having bad experiences too. "
Link
Anglo-America: Regression and Reversion in the Modern World
31 May 2016
James Petras is a Bartle Professor (Emeritus) of Sociology at Binghamton University, New York.
He is the author of more than 62 books published in 29 languages, and over 600 articles in professional journals.
I find the article below quite interesting because it really puts the situation in Latin America as people are living it today in Venezuela, Argentina and Brazil in a global perspective.
Nothing is new, nothing has changed. Is Ecuador next ?
Beyond Europe, the Anglo-American onslaught against labor and the working class resonates most directly in Latin America and to a lesser extent in Asia and Africa...
... From Venezuela in 1999, to Argentina in 2002, Brazil 2003, Bolivia 2006 and Ecuador 2007, left and center-left parties capitalized on their mass support and were elected into power...
Link
Cuba Will Not Fall! by Andre Vltchek
Andre Vltchek is one of my favorite writers, always acurate, always deep, always new.. Ths man has traveled to so many countries and written a number of books.
His latest are: “Exposing Lies Of The Empire” and “Fighting Against Western Imperialism”.
Here is what he has to say about Cuba.
I know, admire and love Cuba. It is an exceptionally strong, determined and resilient nation. Reading all the alarming reports, I decided to return and to speak to the Cuban people directly...
... My conclusion is clear and decisive: “No! Cuba is not falling. Cuban people know; they are well aware of what is most likely behind the sweet talk of the US President. They will not yield, and they will not betray the Revolution.”
Link
Reflections in a Petri Dish – May 3, 2016 - The truth seeker
This one is a gem. Talks about earthquakes but could as well be about politics or mathematics. Here are two short excerpts. Click on the link button below for the full article.
"I have less money than most, certainly but… I eat well. I buy great foodstuffs at lower prices and in bulk and I cook. That last feature alone grants one the ability to eat at a quality level and I know how to make pedestrian ingredients sing because I can cook and I pity those who can’t. How it is that someone doesn’t learn the necessary expertise, concerning what they do every day, escapes me. I have always felt that the finest disciplines one can learn, with the highest profit, is to become good at what you do with the greatest frequency. And just about anything you want to become good at, you focus on and concentrate on and do and do and do until you get good at it. You pay attention. Attention and concentration are symbiotic dance partners. The greater one’s ability to concentrate, the more effective one becomes. Here we have to bring up Love again. Love what you do or… move on to something that you do love. Never settle out of convenience or it will become inconvenient and always more difficult as well."
"[Talking about the disparity in wealth between the 1% and the rest of us] I tend to see things through two major lenses; one of them is physics and the other is metaphysics and they are the same except for the one having a wider bandwidth. Some number of the well known and long remembered philosophers were mathematicians and for good reason. I bring this up because there is a predictable and approaching inevitability that is going to play out soon; as early as next week or as long as a couple of years from now and that is the ever increasing disparity in wealth between the 1% and everyone else. This is a mathematical condition that has been artificially created upon the backdrop of archetypes which exist in direct opposition to this construct. Artificial constructs that go counter to the will of the cosmos are granted temporary existence for the purpose of demonstration. They are not allowed to continue indefinitely and they are toast in an apocalypse."
Link