If you would like to know more about local currencies, here are some excellent websites and other resources. Included are a number of websites which are not directly focused on money, but related to global transformation. The Books, Videos, Periodicals, and Media lists relate to both community currencies as well as global change.
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WEBSITES
BOOKS
Women and the Gift Economy: A Radically Different Worldview is Possible is an attempt to respond to the need for deep and lasting social change in an epoch of dangerous crisis for all humans, cultures, and the planet. Featuring articles by well-known feminist activists and academics, this book points to ways to re-create the connections, which have been severed, between the gift economy, women, and the economies of Indigenous peoples, and to bring forward the gift paradigm as an approach to liberate us from the worldview of the market that is destroying life on the planet. Contributors to this volume argue that shifting to a gift paradigm can give us the radically different worldview which will make another, better, world possible. (Carol Brouillet's "Facing the Shadow of 9/11" is included in this volume.)
VIDEOS
MEDIA
- Money- Slavery or Liberation?, June 2023
Monetary creation continues to morph electronically, and dramatic changes loom on the horizon. Will resistance to technocratic slavery be brutally crushed in the future? Or will we be able to deepen everyone's understanding of money and power to create healthier, life honoring, liberating money?Here is my attempt at improving and updating my assessment of money and a solution to the perpetual debt problem.
- The Feminist Perspective, June 1997
In one sentence -- our current monetary system concentrates wealth and power destroying the Earth in the process; we need to create a new system that redistributes wealth and power, healing the Earth in the process. . . .
We are conditioned by society to "win" arguments, to "dominate," to have the last word, to have our opinions prevail. We are not generally taught that our perception of ourselves is not dependent upon other people's opinions or that if we actively listen to, and respect one another, we will learn from one another. We generally unconsciously start debating and defending our views, controlling and dominating others. . . . It is a daily challenge for me to transform myself, to listen, to develop cooperative patterns within my home. Now I realize that they are my teachers, and our lifelong learning adventure is a cooperative one.
- Reinventing Money, Restoring the Earth, Reweaving the Web of Life, September 1996
The largest growing movement in the U.S. today is voluntary simplicity (closely followed by involuntary simplicity.) Generosity, compassion, cooperation and love are the most powerful, invisible forces which simply cannot be quenched by frightened, power-hungry institutions fighting to maintain their credibility and some control over the system. The system is dependent upon massive propaganda, the censorship of vital information and ideas. In other words, these monstrous institutions are doomed. . . .
It would take three or four Earths to pay off all the world's debts. It's not really a question of "if the global monetary system is or is not going to collapse," but "when." We have a rare opportunity to replace a system which depends upon greed and scarcity to a system which nurtures generosity and abundance.
Its time to change the rules of the global money game. Some of the groundwork has already been laid; we need to build upon it. The best way to predict the future is to create it. By creating opportunities for people to shift their energy, resources and time from a destructive global economy to a healthy, meaningful, nurturing economy; we could ease the transition dramatically. . . .
My dream is to create a new global currency, an ethical currency consciously designed to encourage generosity and abundance, build community, restore the Earth, and meet basic human needs. This currency would depend upon the networking of a vibrant, local, national, and international local currency movement and the creation of a chaordic organization, which has no head, and works by cooperative, independent agreement.
- Reweaving the Web of Life, Sojourn, Fall, 1998
As people, we are more alike than different in our common goals of peace, justice, a future for our children, a healthy planet and healthy environments for all living things. As our worldviews are continually challenged by new information, and as we become more aware of the consequences of our collective actions, it becomes harder to live a "normal" life. To live in adherence to our values, we must change not only our living patterns but the basic systems upon which we depend. How we obtain the food we eat, the clothes we wear, our shelter, our means of transportation, and education for our children takes on greater meaning. These activities become political acts-broadcasting our belief system and values-and in the process, each of us must experience the contradictions and paradoxes of transformation.
The Earth, with all its complex, interlocking ecosystems, is the foundation of our lives. The greatest gifts are given freely to all living things. Indigenous peoples recognized that the relationship between humans, plants, animals and all life forms was sacred. They lived within a gift economy where exchanges helped to nurture relationships, communicate and create bonds between people and the natural world.
- End the Fed Rally, 11/22/2008- Report from San Francisco
An overview and the speech that I wrote for the rally.
Paulson’s plan to keep the game going by pumping trillions into the hands of the people who created the last bubble seems criminal at best, and doomed, since no one is interested in purchasing potentially toxic, worthless financial instruments. The bursted bubble is of such a gargantuan size that it does threaten to bring down the entire system, since there isn’t enough money in existence to cover the ever expanding debts and liabilities. The only way to keep the show running is by changing the rules of the game, which is what has happened in the last couple of months, extraordinary precedents have taken place, as unpayable liabilities get shifted to taxpayers and whatever profit can be squeezed out of a controlled demolition of the stock market, economy, is privatized and pocketed by insiders. There is no transparency, no accountability.
I foolishly thought that if people understood the truth about money and the global system that the system would collapse. In the 90’s many of us were advocates of local currencies to build community and at the same time educate people about how the monetary system worked. Local currencies can’t be used to finance wars. The manipulated rates of exchange and conditions forced upon third world countries has allowed the industrialized nations to basically loot and devour the resources of the “undeveloped nations.” The rest of the world has learned the hard way that the IMF and World Bank, corporate globalization, the WTO, are all threats to the environment, workers, the infrastructure- schools, healthcare, public utilities within their nations. Stiglitz, who worked for the World Bank, turned into its harshest critic and clearly identified the steps that it put victim countries through, including social unrest which is the anticipated result of austerity measures that force the majority of people into poverty while raising the price of the necessities of life out of their range.
- Report from the Transpartisan Citizens' Summit, Denver February 2009
By synchronicity the Stimulus Bill was signed in Denver shortly after the Summit- This article looks at 9/11 Truth, Money, Power, Process and Purpose...
The Citizens’ Summit identified the values we held in common, the top ones were respect, listening, integrity, transparency, taking action, building trust, compassion, and love. Joseph McCormick, primary organizer of the Citizens’ Summit and co-founder of Reuniting America, deliberately chose the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday as the date of the conference to draw together people with the "courage to cooperate" across traditional ideological barriers. He voiced his concern about the increasing polarization taking place within the country. He showed a map delineating Republican and Democrat counties in 2006 and 2008 that highlighted how the red areas were becoming redder and the blue areas bluer, with very little purple.
Michael Andregg, in his book On the Causes of War, explains that wars arise when there are two distinct narratives to explain “a common event.” Pitting right against left allows the top to control the bottom. The summit was an attempt to bring people from across the political landscape together, and we all experienced the challenges of this attempt. For example, the processes were too “communistic or touchy/feely” for some participants who came to advocate their particular issues. There were some very passionate advocates for radical reforms, but some of them had learned over decades that the best way to persuade people about these issues involved the softer approach of compassionate listening and thoughtful, honest, deliberative dialogue.
- Art, Truth, Masks, Deception and Power August 1, 2009
An essay on art, truth, patterns...
In ancient myths, one of the oldest of the gods is dismembered and the pieces of his body hidden or flung far and wide, but his wife lovingly gathers the pieces and he is resurrected to love again and sire a son. The word “remember” could be thought of as bringing together the pieces of ourselves, or of our past, to become whole again and fully conscious of our identity.
Confusion is paralyzing, to be powerful is to be able to act. Doubt, particularly self doubt weakens ones ability to act. Strong emotions such as love, hate and fear drive people to unconsciously do things that they would never do, if they were in a calm, rational state. Variations of the universal themes recur as tyrants are exposed as insane, damaged beings, engaged in self annihilation as they persecute their imagined enemies. The ultimate battle takes place within when one looks in the mirror and realizes that each of us has the capacity to choose either path, self knowledge or self deception, love or fear, service or tyranny, joy or sorrow.
- Report from the 2009 American Monetary Reform Conference, Chicago, September 2009
Life or Debt?
AMI – Monetary Reform and Liberation
G-20 - Debt SlaveryIn Pittsburgh the G-20 agreed to disagree, thus maintaining the illusion that they have secured the unraveling financial system by instituting the mildest of reforms even while allowing the bankers most responsible for the economic disaster to keep their ill-gotten gains. Simultaneously, in Chicago a less heralded group gathered at the American Monetary Institute (AMI) 5th Annual Monetary Reform Conference to deepen their understanding of the flaws in the dominant debt-based system and the possibilities for transformation. At the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh, protected by brutal military and police forces, world leaders were met by thousands of protesters deploring their policies. At the AMI meeting at Roosevelt University in Chicago, monetary researchers, authors, and activists from Russia, New Zealand, Europe, Africa, Canada, Britain, and across the US were ignored by the press as they shared their insights and experiences and discussed the Monetary Reform and Financial Security Act, to be introduced into Congress by Dennis Kucinich as a first step to ease the debt slavery burdening humanity.
The AMI was founded by Stephen Zarlenga (& Dr. Lucienne DeWulf). Zarlenga, author of The Lost Science of Money: The Mythology of Money, the Story of Power, contends that
“By mis-defining the nature of money, special interests have often been able to control a society’s monetary system, and in turn, the society itself.”
For years the AMI has labored to create a bill that would nationalize the Federal Reserve, prevent private banks from creating money out of thin air (which they do now under the current fractional reserve banking system), and enable the government to spend it into existence by investing in much needed public infrastructure, including education and health. The conferences feature speakers who understand the current process and how our dishonest, private, oligarchic system could be retooled into an honest, public, transparent, and accountable one.
The recent four-day conference in Chicago included outstanding speakers with extensive knowledge and expertise in a wide range of areas, including some who had worked at the Federal Reserve— whistleblower William Bergman and Meredith Walker; authors, economists, and advisors to Congressman Kucinich—Michael Hudson and David I. Kelley; as well as William Black, who led the Savings and Loan rescue effort in the 90s and spoke in detail on “Fraud's Critical Role in Producing the Financial Crisis.” The talk that moved me the most, however, was about the history of Canada’s monetary reforms, presented by Will Abram—- who was born a year before the 1929 stock market crash and vividly described his life during and after the Great Depression.
- Strategy for the Monetary Reform Movement
Presentation at the 6th Annual AMI Monetary Reform Conference in Chicago, September 30, - October 3, 2010
- Money of, by, and for the People OR Money of, by, and for the Corporations?
Report on the 6th AMI Annual Monetary Reform Conference in Chicago, September 30, - October 3, 2010
- Deciphering Patterns, History and Discovering Possibilities
Book Review- Earth into Property: Colonization, Decolonization, and Capitalism
By Anthony J. Hall, 2010 McGill-Queen's University Press
Earth into Property is the second book in a series, the first being The American Empire and the Fourth World: The Bowl With One Spoon, Part I; these books together are the magnum opus of Professor Hall, coordinator of Globalization Studies at the University of Lethbridge. Both books are epic journeys, odysseys into world history, but especially the history of the Americas after Western contact and conquest. There are stories within stories, themes within themes, that weave the immense tragedies, narratives, lives, and ideas into comprehensible patterns, in the hope of sorting fact from fiction, truth from deception, wisdom from insanity, and meaningful possibility from despair.
- A Vital Piece of the Puzzle November 29, 2001
An expanded book review of Dollars for Terror- The United States and Islam
In 1994 Labeviere's friend, Ali, a Muslim, was assassinated by an Islamist organization. Ali was savagely opposed to the Islamists who are "mutilating their religion and betraying their country,"(1) he would tell anyone who would listen. Labeviere began his investigation to try to understand his friend's death.
The path inevitably led to the financial circuits of terrorism- the banks, the businesses, both legitimate and illegitimate, to the official and secret structures of Saudi finance, the Muslim brothers, to the oil monarchies allied with the United States, to the intelligence agencies, the CIA, and its Saudi and Pakistani counterparts.
Based on a hundred interviews, numerous journalistic investigations, years of archival research and travels, Labeviere painstakingly deconstructs the notion that the U.S. is a beacon of democracy. America's imperial intention is fed by an alliance with the Islamists, new worldwide circuits of organized crime, a transnational hybrid of business and politics. Islamist ideology blends perfectly and complements neoliberalism where the true god is "money." The subordination of everything, national borders, institutions, cultures, states, and nations, in pursuit of profits is the keystone of a totalitarian New World Order. This supranational order comprised of the richest and most powerful transnational corporations bullying governments through the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, World Bank… military coersion complements Islamism which mainly seeks to accumulate money and power, destroy the secularized state, turn citizens into subjects, and annihilate the rights of women.
- F.T.A.A. Threatens Women, Statement to my senators, February, 23, 2001
Hundreds of people gathered to protest the "Free Trade Agreement of the Americas" and to march in solidarity with the Zapatistas who will march down from Chiapas to Mexico City. During our procession, we stopped at corporate criminals' buildings and spoke out against U.S. militarisation, Citibank, the Gap, accompanied by the police and Critical Mass. There were huge puppets, many banners and torches; people helped one another, we sang,our brothers and sisters from Mexico told us of the plight of the Zapatistas- the president will not allow the Red Cross to accompany them and their lives have been threatened. The FTAA poses an unprecedented threat to working people, the environment, students, teachers, public health, immigrants, farmers, indigenous peoples and communities in North, South and Central America, and the Caribbean. A delegation of fourteen people representing the diversity and strength of our opposition to the FTAA visited the office of Senator Feinstein to meet with her staff and a staff member of Senator Boxer's office to demand that they publicly oppose the FTAA and Fast Track Legislation.
Women have suffered the most under "globalisation." The Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the U.S., the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the General Agreement on Trades and Tariffs, are misleading terms, a more accurate title for the treaty would be "Deadly Devouring Extraction Orders." All these rules allow transnational corporations to force deadly policies that rapaciously exploit the environment, labor, and in particular, women. The wealthiest in all countries, and the affluent within industrialized countries, get to consume 80% of the world's resources, while the vast majority of humanity struggle to survive, and die of hunger, disease, lack of the vital necessities of life- nourishing food, clean water, health care, education.
The Rules of the corporations, by the corporations and for the corporations are antithetical to life. By putting profit over people, they have destroyed millions of lives, driven farmers from their land, obliterated 90% of the edible food species in the last hundred years. The dumping of cheap foodstuffs makes it harder and harder for the small or subsistent farmers to keep their land, and feed their families. If the man goes off to find a job; it is the woman who does the farming, as well as child-rearing.
- Hope for Love and Peace Blossom in DC October 2001
For months I had planned to go to Washington DC to protest the IMF, World Bank, FTAA, Bush, and to help organize the next World Social Forum. In August I joined with others from the Bay Area who wanted to go as an "affinity group." The first time we met, we shared all the various issues which we were concerned with and brainstormed on an "umbrella" theme. We became very creative and excited over launching a campaign against child slavery, the consumption of cheap goods that come at an incredibly high human and environmental cost (our focal point- cocoa, where 43% of the world's supply comes from the Ivory Coast and child slavery). We became "The Chocolate Block" and began doing research, dreaming up skits , props, labels which we could create to launch a boycott against chocolate, and raise consciousness about all the other issues linked to the production of "consumer goods" and human and environmental exploitation.
On September 11th, we were all so profoundly shocked and upset by the attacks that I seriously doubted if I would go to Washington, D.C. under the circumstances. Although the movement in general has been deeply opposed to the W.T.O., I.M.F., World Bank, and militarization, such violence seemed utterly without purpose, as I could not imagine how anyone could benefit from the attacks. In a weak joke, I said that the only one I knew who would benefit would be my son, Jeremy, because his birthday is on September 29th, and I would be home instead of in Washington DC. I was horrified by the "war mantra" that I heard from the mainstream press and the Orwellian rhetoric spouted by Bush.
The Chocolate Block met in San Francisco and we poured out our hearts to one another, and wondered what we could do, as activists, to ameliorate the suddenly grave crisis- World War III- which seemed to loom upon the near horizon. The closure of the Washington DC airport logistically prevented our beloved April from even getting to DC! Bombarded by renewed mass media threats of the likelihood of future attacks- nuclear, biological, chemical, as well as hijackings, fear seemed to be the prevalent mood of the country- paralyzing many activist groups as well as individuals.
What gives me strength and energy is my love and passion for life, for my children, my husband, my family, my friends, for nature, for people; what I hate most is fear and pain. I have always tried to never let fear prevent me from doing what I want to do, no matter how "dangerous" the path that I choose appears to be. Knowing that there would be major demonstrations for Peace, and knowing how strongly needed such demonstrations were at this moment in history, I couldn't let Fear prevent me from going. It was also wonderful to have a few of the Chocolate Block commit themselves to going. On Sunday, before the big demonstrations, we gathered again in San Francisco to talk, eat apple pie, but primarily to paint a banner which we could carry in the demonstrations.
On pale turquoise cloth we painted a mantra, a quote from Alice Walker, "One Earth One People One Love" encircling an image of our planet with a heart imposed upon it surrounded by a group of people holding hands. The next day, a wonderful woman and her ten year old friend came to my house to help me sew up the banner. We added purple edges for the bamboo poles and I added a pale yellow backing with the words One Air One Water One Hope- Respect All Life with an image of three connected circles. Since my friends were connected with the pagans, and we had originally thought to do some theatre and perhaps represent the elements; I also made sashes to represent Earth, People, Love, Air, Water, Hope which we could wear during the demonstrations.
- Deadly Connections: Corporate Globalization, Space and War, May 2002
At this point, the words “us” “them” “we” “U.S.” “transnational elites” become a bit cloudy, just as fascism has evolved from a couple of countries to a phenomena recognized as “Corporate Globalization” which institutionalizes the dominance of corporations over governments, removes decision making from elected officials to unelected trade bureaucrats, allows corporations to sue governments to wipe out any environmental or pesky labor laws which stand in their way of “profits.”(10) Military pressure is applied to gain local (sometimes state or national) compliance with the transnational corporate agenda. Global elites, such as Henry Kissinger, play dual roles, guiding the hand of the C.I.A. to overthrow “out of line” heads of state, (such as Allende), orchestrating the bombing of Cambodia and other countries (when that seems “necessary”), then putting on a new “hat,” advising Chinese oil companies, in the wake of 9-11.(11) While Clinton was in power, the Bush gang were investing billions and making deals with the countries of Asia. (12) These global statesmen, certainly are not thinking of “America” first… as they create the architecture for a “New World Order” where corporations rule. Despite the rhetoric that demonizes our enemies, including China, on September 17th, China quietly joined the World Trade Organization; the Chinese elite and the American elite have far more in common with each other (making profits and controlling the masses) than differences. ..
Those in power live in fear, and the dominant system depends upon Fear and Greed to control humanity.Much as I abhor the policies of the Bush Administration, I do feel sorry for “Dubya,” imagine having Bush Sr. as your father, Director of the C.I.A…, getting initiated into the Skull and Bones at Yale. I fear that the global elite were traumatized as children, and never really bonded with their parents or learned to love. I believe it is our love of life which makes us human, and care so deeply about others, the planet.
- 9-11 for Peace and Justice July 2, 2005
Notes on some of the contest entries and some art.
- A Book Review of The War on Freedom July 26, 2002
Direct link to the book... The War on Freedom
This book, on many levels, is a miracle, not unlike the mysterious process of Birth, and revives our collective aspirations for Hope, Peace, Justice, Joy and Life to prevail against those in power who scream for War. Piercing the smoke and mirrors of propaganda, misinformation, the largest psychological “Special Operation” ever pulled on humanity, the book calmly, carefully, meticulously examines the facts, the evidence of the crime of the century, and documents the clear need for a real, open, public inquiry of 9-11.
Much of the C.I.A.’s budget is devoted to controlling the public mind, for there is no greater threat, today, to the powers that be, than an informed American public. Enormous resources have been squandered to distract, mislead, deflect, frighten attention from a deep understanding of the events of September 11th, what actually happened, why it happened, who has benefited, and who is paying the price. Outside the U.S., the veil is perhaps easier to see through, Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed has the advantage of distance, living in England. He also has drawn from his work on the history and development of the conflict in Afghanistan, and the rich insights of others, freely scattered across the Internet, to pull together a clear, coherent understanding of the geopolitics of a war that had been planned for many, many years...
The clash of “civilizations” is a “smokescreen” for a clash of “worldviews.” There are those who believe in Bush, capitalism, the integrity of corporations and their ordained right to govern the world they own, the evil of any who "oppose them," and then there are those who believe in- the goodness of humanity, human rights, freedom, peace, justice, the interdependence of humanity with the web of Life. Will the forces of “Fear and Greed” triumph over the desire for “Peace, Life, Freedom?” We are all part of the public mind; will we allow it to obscure Truth, embrace Denial, be frightened into Obedience? Or can we play our part to further the cause of Truth, Peace, Justice, Freedom by helping to raise consciousness on the most critical issues of our time. Will we hold those in power accountable for their actions, and their crimes against humanity? Process must match purpose; democracies demand transparency; dictatorships demand deception.
- The Truth About 9-11, November 2002
“As every flower fades, and all youth departs, so life at every stage, so every virtue, so our grasp of truth, blooms in its day, but may not last forever.”
From Stages, a poem, in Herman Hesse’s Glass Bead Game
Our grasp of truth, evolves, as we evolve; as our illusions are shattered, and replaced by intimate, direct knowledge of the world we live in.
Many Americans are born into a cocoon, which protects and cushions them from harsh realities experienced directly by minorities within the U.S. and the people living under dire circumstances in the Third World. Insulated by material comfort and a fabricated reality which seamlessly permeates and dominates the cultural landscape, privileged Americans must have contact outside of the protected enclaves, or must undergo some dramatic personal experience, or see some powerful film/documentary which contradicts and shatters mainstream illusions, pierces the propaganda veil, and challenges “the official truths” to emerge and become aware of a larger reality.
Each person has a unique story, is touched differently by the currents of history, the waterfalls and eddies, which affect their lives, and which they, in turn, affect. I have often felt my life to be but a drop, part of a wave of human history, leading and pushed, surrounded by powerful forces of which I have no real control, but of which I am a part, hoping to turn a tide away from death and destruction, towards life, peace and hope.
I sincerely believe that the “Truth about 9-11” and humanity’s understanding of those events will help us to grasp and understand the past, the present, and most importantly shape the future. I believe my life, our lives, our hopes for a future depend upon a revelation of the truth, the transformation of the current system, raising human consciousness, so that people cannot be manipulated, and controlled, through fear.
- Aftermath of Aftermath- Unanswered Questions from 9-11-
from an Organizer's point of view, May 2003
( Grassroots activists are generally broke, and for the past few years what I could do as an activist has been limited by my imagination, and how I’ve been able to stretch my “grocery money” into copies and flyers. As of September 2002 that situation suddenly changed for me; the resource materials on 9-11, books, magazines, and videos that gradually appeared, we tabled at my weekly demos, anti-war rallies, and events. People were hungry for the information and the donations came in fast. The first several hundred dollars that I raised went into the first batch of Deception Dollars- ten thousand of them, all in green which we just gave away. In December I had more money and we decided to print one hundred thousand in black and green, and Global Outlook discovered that people liked them so much that they were willing to buy them! By the time of the big January rally, we had run out of them! I raised as much as I could for the February printing, even borrowing money on my “March household allowance” to cover the printing costs. Deception Dollars became one of the most successful political flyers of all time; people were donating $300 a case for 8000 Deception Dollars, and orders for them were coming from all over the country. In March, we were running out and printed our first million dollar run. The orders, plus our tabling efforts raised over $8000. The artist of the Deception Dollars, a Canadian 9-11 activist, Blaine Machan, agreed that we could use all the money we raised to do a big 9-11 event in San Francisco to try to break the story. Michael Ruppert agreed to come for an event; I hoped Nafeez Ahmed would also come. The Herbst and Spangenberg were both available on the 21st and the 22nd of April, so I went ahead and booked the theatres and pushed forward.)
I called an emergency meeting in San Francisco, to ask for help from our 9-11 activist community to pull off two major events. We had some difficulties- a very short lead time, less than three weeks, no non-profit organization willing to move forward and act as a fiscal sponsor, no organizational infrastructure. We had some advantages- Blaine could design the flyers, posters, and ads (He had already done the art for the Aftermath video), GNN was supportive and had their networks of communication/publicity, we did have a lot of people willing to help spread the word, get out flyers, posters, and help with the physical work involved with the events.
- 9-11- New Books, Videos, the Growing Movement for Truth and Accountability, August 5, 2003
I have come to the conclusion that “the definitive video” on 9-11 has yet, to be made- we still DON’T KNOW what really happened. We do know that the government/corporate press lied about what happened and are engaged in a massive cover-up. Some brilliant, outstanding, research has been done by a number of people exploring different aspects of a large, complex, “special operation” which has government finger-prints all over it, but we have yet to put together all the pieces of the puzzle. The researchers have yet to meet in one place and put their heads together and compare notes/evidence/theories. Ken Jenkins and I have been speaking publicly on 9-11 and are using film clips from a number of documentaries to give an overview of our own understanding of what happened, and what we can/should, do with our understanding/ information, to expose the “Big Lie” and rein in those behind “Terrorism, War and the bid for Global Dominance, Control of Resources, and the Institutionalization of a Police State.”
- Facing the Fourth Reich, October 24, 2003
We have a special responsibility, as Americans, to hold our government accountable, before China, France, Germany or the United Nations decides we need help with our “regime change.” We would do well, if we could also dissolve the corporations most responsible for crimes against humanity and distribute their assets to their victims, rather than shift the burden of reparations from some victims to other victims.
How do we do it? When we marched on our Senator’s office demanding an investigation of 9-11 back in January 2002, I passed out worksheets that Bill had made mapping out the 8 stages of social movements, and the roles, both effective and ineffective that activists play at various stages. The first stage, can be initiated by just one person, that is simply to let people know that a problem exists. We’re beyond that now with 9-11, Bush actually helped us by appointing Kissinger to head the Independent Commission. That was raising the red flag to the whole world that a cover-up was going on, clearly getting us past stage two- the failure of existing institutions, propelling us into stage 3, where we are, today, Ripening Conditions. The tide has turned, more and more people question the official story, Bush’s credibility and popularity are plummeting. We have more room to get our message heard, but there are also strong forces who would prefer to co-opt or mislead the movement to serve a different agenda.
- Report on the San Francisco International Inquiry into 9/11, Phase One, May 20, 2004
- Questioning 9/11 Loudly, Publicly in San Francisco, Toronto, and New York, May, 2004
Official history refuses to recognize facts that inconveniently do not support the official narrative, facts are being rewritten, erased daily, in our current Orwellian world in order for the Big Lie to succeed. Fear and denial are still rampant. People who do not want ‘to know” refuse to contemplate facts, history, data that challenge their comfortable worldview.
To win over the vast majority, we must come up with a better story, one that resonates with ordinary people, that gently helps them to overcome their own fears, and engages them to move from being spectators to actors, and to discover their own power and strength. Stage Seven of Social Movements is Success- when the majority oppose current policies and no longer fear alternatives, for example shifting the resources out of the military to meeting human and environmental needs. Success means changing policies, changing powerholders, changing the system.
- Prime Suspect of the Largest Mass Murder in U.S. Nominated to Head C.I.A. Fourth of July, 2004
If there were honest, investigative newspapers in the U.S., this would be the appropriate headline, however in our Orwellian world, there is scant critical information published regarding the dubious history, associations, behavior of someone who should be under criminal investigation, rather than nominated to head the largest covert operations center in the world.
Global outrage over the first candidate to head the so called “Independent Commision into 9/11”- Henry Kissinger, as well as Kissinger’s reluctance to reveal his financial ties, prompted him to resign. There should be a similar outrage over the suggestion that- Porter Goss, who should be thoroughly investigated for his own role in the 9/11 attacks- should be elevated to a position of extreme power that transcends that of the Presidency. Tenet “served Clinton and Bush;” the funding for the muhajadeen began under Carter; Presidents come and go, but the consolidation of military and corporate power march on relentlessly serving the necrophiliac elite who believe that if they can’t own or control something; they have the right to kill it. Only the raising of consciousness of the vast global majority, who respect life, truth, justice and desire peace, freedom, and a future for all, can, through their civic outrage- world opinion, put a halt to the utter criminalization of the state, by casting the spotlight on Bush, the Cover-Up Commission, and the proposed “Intelligence Czar”- Porter Goss. Outrage over Porter Goss's nomination would be a good place to start.
- Letter to Congresswoman Anna Eshoo-
Co-Sponsor of H.R. 4104- The Intelligence Transformation Act
(the Global Police State Proposal) August 19, 2004
After World War II, the CIA came into being; it’s stated purpose was “To prevent another Pearl Harbor.” However any critical examination of the CIA’s covert operations over the past fifty years reveals that the CIA’s main purpose has not been to safeguard American lives or territory. The CIA has a very dark history of waging terrorist attacks upon other nations, overthrowing democratically elected leaders, rigging elections, serving large corporate interests over the interests of native populations.
When the White House refers to “National Security Interests,” whose interests are they referring to? The corporate interests of Enron, oil companies, banks, other large multinational corporations, or the health and well being of ordinary people? The CIA has helped innumerable countries identify and liquidate thousands of dissidents. The CIA has done more to sow distrust, enmity and hatred of the United States, than any other organization (with the possible exception of the US military). A larger, more powerful, CIA is more likely to cause, create, fund, instigate more terrorist attacks outside and within the US, to serve the interests of multinational corporations, who benefit from a war economy. Already the “Counter-Terrorism” FBI and other government Agency task forces are targeting Peace groups and non-violent protesters who pose absolutely no threat to the country, but a political threat to those in power.
- The 9-11 Truth Movement Rises Up, September 12, 2004
“Blow the Whistle on Cheney, the 9-11 Cover-Up! No to the Global Police State!” was the theme of the most recent of a series of 9-11 protests that took place in San Francisco. Over a hundred people rallied, marched, and paraded from the Panhandle, down Haight Street, and through Golden Gate Park to the 6th Annual 9-11 Power to the Peaceful Concert which drew upwards of 50,000 people. The unpermitted march with its whistles, chants, music, banners, signs was gently escorted by police through Golden Gate Park and warmly welcomed by the crowd at the Concert/Social Justice Festival.
While Cheney tries to terrorize the population with the threat of another 9-11 should Bush lose the election, increasing light is being cast upon the dark aspects of a regime whose power hinges on deception, fraud, force, fear and the promise of unending war. At the heart of the 9-11 movement is faith in humanity’s ability to grasp the truth, reject tyranny and war, and seek peace, justice, liberty and respect for all.
- Facing the Shadow of 9/11, November 13, 2004
After a second stolen election and another murderous assault upon Iraq, the dark side of the US government should be obvious. Yet, when confronted with news of a terminal illness, disaster, individuals experience a range of emotions, the first being- denial.
Behind denial lies fear. Fear, “the mind killer” destroys rational thought; “war” itself is recognized as “collective insanity.” Wars, however, are not spontaneous; they are planned; they serve powerful interests; aggressors are generally trained mercenaries, following orders. Historically, wars are engineered, benefiting the merchants of death and financiers. In Yugoslavia, the IMF and the World Bank prepared the way for the dismemberment of the country. Victors claim the spoils, while victims pay the price. The most lucrative business on Earth is war.
The World Wars were marked by the rise of national fascism; the Millennium is witnessing the rise of transnational fascism, where imperial powers share in the looting of conquered nations. In the era of “globalization,” new alliances pit corporate interests against the vast majority.
- Tripping the Four Horsemen, March 6, 2005
Collectively, the country is in the midst of an identity crisis. The White House thinks they can “spin reality” into their chosen vision, despite bothersome physical reality which keeps intruding to challenge their words, and projections. The Orwellian media landscape, has split the public into the “believers and the non-believers,” of media in general, and of the government, in particular.” In this polarized country of deeply conflicting worldviews, with unending, impending war, and new terrorist threats, people want to live in ignorance, feel powerless, or are hungry for ideas. People want to know what actions that they can take, to redirect the course of history from the current suicidal, bleak, apocalyptic rush of the neo-fascist horseman. The fear within the Bush regime is revealed by their actions; they cannot bear questions beyond their control, the truth; we can trip them by being honest, loud, truthful, and overcoming whatever barriers the corporate press throws our way. We can follow in the footsteps of Martin Luther King and Gandhi who believed in the power of truth “Satyagraha,” and the power of love to overcome the power of violence.
January 30th began the “Gandhi and King Season of Non-Violence” which will last through April 4th (See “64 Ways in 64 Days Daily- Commitments to Live By” at http://www.agnt.org/snv64ways.htm). This is the season to study the history and evolution of non-violent social movements and learn how each has built upon the insights, mistakes of the past, and try to creatively evolve and nurture an effective non-violent movement that can disarm the warmongers.
- Report on the Premieres of "The 9/11 News Special You Never Saw" in California March 9th-12th, March 16, 2005
The first night at the Guild Theater in Menlo Park, the theater was packed and they had to turn away 75 people. Fortunately, we were able to offer the DVD to the people who couldn’t get into the theater, and suggest that they attend the other showings. We probably broke a fire regulation rule or two, and squeezed at least three hundred people into the Guild. The dialogue lasted “formally” past ten o’clock, and informally until past midnight. The audience was very receptive and Peter Phillips made a pitch to send the DVD to universities and colleges throughout California, and received $5000 just for that. More money (an additional 7,300) was raised that night and on further nights for the Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance and Project Censored who wants to earmark resources just to the “unanswered questions” of 9/11.
Our second night at the Grand Lake Theater, we also had a full house (about 570 people) and a great audience. The editor from the San Francisco Bay Guardian interviewed Barrie, Peter and others. We ran out of the new version of “The 9-11 News Special You Never Saw”- which included the powerful segment on the collapse of building #7 narrated by Michael Kane which wasn’t in Version #1 because it simply didn’t reach Toronto before the production deadline. “The Great Conspiracy” originally premiered at the last anniversary of September 11th in New York and Marin. Our rallies, marches, protests kept us too busy to organize earlier showings, especially with the distraction of the stolen election and our counter-inaugural activities.
- Why the Green Party Should Champion 9-11 Truth, December 9, 2005
With the “Take Off “Stage eminent, damage control by the Power Elite might be to convict Bush on lesser charges, which won’t cast light on the complicity and support of the Democrats/other players in the whole drama. The Democrats have been as “pro-war” as the Republicans, although they usually aren’t as blatant in their rhetoric and documents. There is a Democratic faction that wants to concentrate on “Al Qaeda” rather than Iraq and perpetuate the bogus “War on Terrorism,” and beef up “Homeland Security.” With the failures of the major parties to seek “truth, peace, and justice,” the Green Party is uniquely positioned to champion the grassroots movements deepest desires for truth, impeachment of corrupt, criminal, treasonous, government officials, repeal of the Patriot Act, the end of imperial, aggressive, unpopular wars.
The Green Party’s key values and vision are key to engaging, empowering, and politically organizing the vast majority of Americans who are not being served by the reigning institutions. We are at a critical stage which demands a rational, clear, understanding of the current situation, problems, and offers hope, a concrete vision of change that is less scary than the Neo-Con promise of perpetual war. The Bird Flu scare is part of the “War of Terrorism” against Americans, another lie which deserves to be shattered, legislation is currently being turned into law which would enrich giant corporations and allow intrusive government control over targeted populations. However, strategically, we still must convince the majority of people that the Commission’s Report is a lie, before we can move them to a deeper understanding of our situation.
... The 9-11 Truth movement continues to grow, to penetrate the press, academia, and reach into the corridors of power where it is an issue which has, and will, force people out of office.
- Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday Rally Speech, January 15, 2006
We need a national dialogue on Impeachment, and the responsibility of the American people and Congress to rein in a criminal regime.
Impeachment, Repeal of the PATRIOT Act, peace, are our best hope for the country, the world. Apathy, Disengagement, Fear and Cynicism are the forces which perpetuate a war economy. Engagement, Empowerment, Hope, Courage, Truth, Humor, Compassion can transform it to serve life.
- A Time for Courage, Speech at the Grand Lake Theater, February 23, 2006
at the Question 9-11- A Call to Activism event.
Our world has been in crisis/turmoil since 9-11, desperate for genuine leadership. Bush and Cheney have shown us the sort of leadership that mobsters use when they break a few windows and shakedown the storekeeper to hire them to protect themselves against vandals. We need to show the kind of leadership that exposes the “fake protection racket” and frees all of us from “extortion, fear and the threat of more violence.”
- Report on Question 9-11- A Call to Action Event, February 26, 2006
- Strategy for the 9/11 Truth Movement (speech/with powerpoint) for the opening plenary of the Strategy Session of the 9-11 Revealing the Truth, Reclaiming the Future Conference,on June 3, 2006,
- Review of the film- Who Killed John O'Neill?
Written June 24, 2006
- Book Review- Waking the Global Heart- Humanity’s Rite of Passage from the Love of Power to the Power of Love, June 27, 2006
- The Next Stage of the 9/11 Truth Movement Published in Global Outlook #11 Spring/Summer 2006
This has been updated with additional notes from the workshop and closing strategy plenary at the 9-11 Revealing the Truth, Reclaiming the Future Conference
- Crashing the Party, November 2, 2006
On the eve of the November elections, here's a last shout on the internet to let the press and public know that there is opposition to "The War on Terrorism" and a genuine movement for "9/11 Truth, Impeachment, Peace" that has been ignored by the press.
- Running in Circles, November 28, 2006
2006 9/11 Truth/Impeachment Congressional Campaign Report From Beginning to End, and Where Next?
- Truth versus the Lie, February 12, 2007
Reflections Inspired by 9/11 and American Empire: Muslims, Christians, and Jews Speak Out (Volume II)
Edited by Kevin Barrett, John Cobb, Jr. and Sandra LubarskyAt the heart of the Abrahamic religions, as well as Hinduism, Buddhism, and paganism, is a challenge to all “rulers” who believe themselves to be “God’s equal” and exercise divine rule over their subjects. The radical suggestion to “love one’s neighbor and one’s enemies,” to recognize the divine spirit in all human beings and all of creation, directly challenges the notion that any particular person is inherently superior to another and capable of deciding whether another person should live or die. While I would argue with Sun Tzu’s classic-- The Art of War-- there is no doubt that his thoughts have been foundational to the military mindsets that have dominated the planet for thousands of years.
The inherent assumption in “The Art of War” and in the increasingly complex psychological operations being directed against Americans, and other countries, is that a “superior being, a ruler,” has the right, and perhaps obligation, to sacrifice lives, to deceive, and to wage war for the benefit of those that he rules, and himself. While Sun Tzu states “All warfare is based on deception,” he overlooks the self-deception of rulers who believe in their divine authority and moral superiority over others.
- The Art of War by Sun Tzu (The Failure of Military Logic)- The Art of Life by Carol Brouillet (The Power of Truth, Love, Art)
The Art of War
Sun Tzu: The art of war is of vital importance to the State.
The Art of Life
Carol Brouillet: The State is the greatest threat to humanity and life.
WAR: It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected
LIFE: In the past hundred years, more people have been killed by their own governments than in conflicts between nation states: civilians, unarmed men, women, and children outnumbered the soldiers who were killed. State-sponsored violence and war divert vital resources from human needs, causes unnecessary suffering, and the devastation of the natural world.
Respectful, peaceful co-existence between humanity and the natural world endured longer than the empires that concentrate wealth and power while destroying their ecological base.
- Spiraling Between Worlds, November 1, 2009 (Photos and Description of the Death of the Empire and Dollar, Birth of Life Honoring Community Currency Altar at the 30th Annual Spiral Dance.
The direct actions that I participated in, drew me into the Bay Area pagan circle, and their big annual ritual- The Spiral Dance. In an Orwellian world, the direct, humorous, no-nonsense candor of the pagans, especially the gifted Starhawk (whose books, words, actions are legendary) is vitally refreshing, because it is direct, intentional, meaningful, hopeful, and clear, despite the seemingly insurmountable odds stacked against us. In this fragmented, atomized, compartmentalized world, where control is exercised by media censorship, the creation, dissemination and dominance of public myths and status is determined by how well one serves the reigning institutions, pagans and anarchists are the radical fringe. For those who know history, indigenous people, pagans, rooted in the land, honoring the ancestors, the Earth, Sun, and life, used to be the vast majority, and are still struggling in defense of their beliefs, their land, kindred spirits, both human and non-human. Where empires divide and conquer, the wise women try to heal, weave, make connections, remember in order to renew and assist in the process of childbirth.
This year has been a year of significant changes for the entire world. Obama won on a campaign of hope and change, but the world has seen more of the same, more carnage, more war, more occupation. Whether one has a job or not, a house or not, healthcare or not, offshore banking accounts or not determines whether one views the economic situation as a recession, depression, boon or far worse.
- Magic, September 2001 (Written for a Short Story Contest in the Palo Alto Weekly)
One of the most magical moments in my life happened at a party in Berkeley years ago. A film called "Who's Counting? Marilyn Waring on Sex, Lies and Global Economics," was produced in Canada. I figured global economics was the big umbrella issue under which all the other issues fell and that the film was a great one to increase understanding of how the entire global economy is a war economy. I persuaded the National Film Board of Canada to send out the director, Terre Nash, to the premier, to help promote the film, and I tried to do publicity for it. Some people who had previewed the film, invited Terre and I to a party, along with some very famous people (none of whom showed up). The party was quite normal until a funny looking guy with a beard held up a rock and asked for silence, "I like circles," he said and introduced himself and started passing the rock around the room. Each person shared their story, of how they came to be at that place, at that time. By the time each person had spoken, we had become a close group of people who shared a powerful vision. In a very spontaneous way, and in a short period of time, we became a non-profit organization, dear friends, and very successful in promoting the film, and processes to challenge the dominant economic paradigm.
The funny guy, Tom Atlee, of the Co-Intelligence Institute, was fascinated at how to develop "group wisdom." Circles, talking sticks, giving people the chance to speak, and listen was transformative. Like tossing a pebble into a pond, I have witnessed ripples expanding across calm waters.
In Denver, Colorado, at the G-7 Summit in 1997 there were a few hundred activists at "the People's Summit" and maybe a thousand protesters. In Genova, Italy, at the G-7 Summit in 2001 there were thousands of activists at the "Genova Social Forum" and hundreds of thousands of protesters. The circles grow and multiply.
In some ways the world is like a giant puzzle, every living thing holds a piece of the "truth." To increase our understanding of the world, we need to listen to many stories, to observe many things, and to recognize how deeply connected we all are, no matter how many apparent differences there are between one person and another.
- Why? In Memory of Sonya Raymakers, June 2009 (Written for those who knew Sonya, a 17 year old gifted student who committed suicide in Palo Alto on June 2, 2009)
The most important lesson I learned when I was twenty-two years old. My friend, Pierre, a very dramatic Frenchman with a large mustache, who had saved my life, threatened to commit suicide, if I walked out the door (which I intended to do) to end our friendship. The 45 second mystical revelation that I experienced, profoundly transformed my life. I ended up spending a year, writing a book (800 pages long), to share what I had learned with people of my generation. Actually, I learned a very simple lesson (the hard way), and it is a lesson that is at the heart of every major religion and philosophy, but it is more challenging for people to accept some lessons on an emotional level than an intellectual level; it is easier for us to control our thoughts than our emotions.
- Report From the January Gathering, 1998
- Report From the February Gathering, 1999
- Book Review- The Growth Illusion, 2000
- Report from the World Social Forum/Call for Mobilization, 2001