Here and Now...What's Happening?

[araucaria]

Posted by Violet (here)
Araucaria, what an analysis!

My motivation not to watch or follow is this: because the poor people of Brasil with tears in their eyes asked us not to.

And that is why.

PS: you forgot equestrian sports in the list of rich people sports . And it is really really a pity because everyone should benefit from the great loving bond that can be built with a horse.

Thanks Violet. Yes, I could have mentioned the cost and benefits of horse-riding, from experience. Regarding Brazil, if you feel you have found a cut-and-dried issue calling for an unambiguous response, then by all means go for it. I personally am in a moral maze 24/7/365 and have no easy answers to anything. The following article more or less to the situation as I see it at this time.
http://www.ibtimes.com/brazilian-wor...d-game-1586666
In particular the beginning:

On the surface, last week’s anti-World Cup protest in Brazil seemed antithetical: Soccer fans in a soccer-obsessed country protesting soccer, of all things.
In fact, protesters took to the streets on Thursday to express their displeasure over the perceived corruption of their national pastime by the World Cup.

The situation is somewhat similar to neutralizing someone with a hostage and a gun to their head. Do we sacrifice the hostage? In this particular case, that is certainly an option. But if things backfire, we will have contrived to rob the almost totally destitute of what little they had. FIFA is the sporting wing of the global mafia running this planet, and has to be dealt with along with the rest of them. It is the same old story of an international corporation interfering in a country’s affairs. Lobbying to have its laws changed for its own private purposes is a clear breach of existing laws when such is achieved through bribing public officials. As I have suggested elsewhere, the proper way to deal with these situations is due process through the courts, i.e. establishing guilt and punishing offenders - instead of taking the moral high ground, tracking down the devil in the details. Justice has to be done, no more no less. Punishment would mean returning the embezzled funds to the people of Brazil. A boycott is simply one way of expressing the will to achieve that end. It is not the only way. FIFA have set up this World Cup like a piece of rope to hang itself. They now need to step into the noose. A boycott might merely cause the trap to fail. They would lose money, but ultimately nothing antisystemic would be gained.

As I say, I have no real answers, only a few thoughts about the moral quandaries we lose sleep over time. First, addressing the issue of doing what the poor ask, specifically in the shape of the individuals one personally encounters. Do you ignore the beggar in the street, knowing for a fact that for some of them working office hours out of a decent home, begging is a nice little earner? If you ignore this fact, how much do you give them? Surely a few pennies is insulting, and even a banknote is barely a token gesture given the size of the problem. And then what about the person on the next street corner, and the next? You don’t need to be very well-off to seem scandalously wealthy in comparison. The answer to poverty is certainly not personal impoverishment.

Second, addressing the issue of tourism to certain countries. Take Greece: do you take a holiday there to boost their economy or do you keep away to avoid seeming to profit from its parlous state? Or take buying Chinese goods: what do the slaves in the sweatshops do for a living if we boycott their goods? What do they ask, and is it the right thing to ask anyway? In a general way, which is better: to turn Brazil into an economic North Korea, or foster exchanges with people from outside, who will hopefully learn a thing or two and also spend a few dollars that won’t fall into FIFA’s grubby hands?

Third, take a group of people who make a request that is fairly specific yet imprecise as to its application: NTBR (not to be resuscitated) patients. There is currently a court case in France trying a doctor who took things into his own hands rather more than is recommended. The outcome was more or less as planned except that the patient died too suddenly for her son, who would have liked to have been consulted. The incident was reported by an inexperienced auxiliary carer just out of college, who may possibly have been overreacting on that account. The judge has got to reach on verdict on this mess. The whole difficulty of legislating about euthanasia is that there are no simple hard-and-fast rules that can be applied indiscriminately without creating a system open to abuse.

The bottom line seems to be that we are using the justice system in areas where it is usually inappropriate, and not in others where it should be.

Back to the poor in Brazil. I suggest that the commonality between dying patients and the poor is that their one desire is quite simply to put an end to their ordeal, but that the details of achieving that involve a degree of (professional) skill that they personally do not possess or even understand. But, given that we want to restore them to life, they need educating. With regard to soccer, some things are already being done off the field to exploit their influence on it by intelligent and sensitive former top players. Socrates was a medical doctor who politicized football:
http://www.theguardian.com/football/...ec/04/socrates

Posted by araucaria (here)
'Winning is nothing' (Socrates*)




*not the philosopher: the former Brazilian soccer captain, who has just died

Now Socrates’ younger brother Rai is directly engaged in humanitarian work. This is from back in 2008. This is the sort of thing we need to hear more of and see more of:

What are these two foundations you're involved in?
The first, Gol de Letra, is something Leonardo [former AC Milan midfielder and occasional BBC pundit] and I put together. We work in the suburbs of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro to give underprivileged children access to education and culture. It's a question of ideology. Education can lead to change and social inclusion. We have 1,000 children who we saved from lives of violence. Now they play sport, go to the theatre and belong somewhere other than the streets. Our idea is that these kids become agents of change in their homes and villages. In Brazil we have democracy now and the economy is strong, but public services are not and health and education are in a mess. We can make a difference.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2008/jun/22/brazil

Indeed we are seeing more of this kind of thing. Foundations like these are working together.
http://www.noodls.com/view/D3AB82AB7...1xxx1399375432

The fact that they have found a corporate sponsor in the shape of ‘gas giant’ GDF Suez will raise a few eyebrows. This is where Ulli’s fine line will be drawn. As long as such projects are in the hands of non-business people of proven ethical quality and the projects do indeed educate agents of change with the necessary human qualities, then the question of where the money is coming from becomes somewhat irrelevant. Money is dirty in the wrong hands, but is definitely in the right hands if spent on teaching people ‘how to fish’. This is a big step in the direction that Michael Tellinger’s Ubuntu Party wants to take South Africa. The simple ‘free energy’ expedient of hydroelectric power as explained here

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=KLIX6nPAg9k

sounds like a good idea for Brazil, which is full of rivers. Maybe those inner city slums could be evacuated to look after the Amazonian rainforest. Just a thought.

The MEP and former student leader in May 68 Dany Cohn-Bendit (still loyal to his values after all these years) is touring Brazil during the World Cup and intends to call in on some of the ex-footballers now playing a social and political role, likes the ones I mentioned. Here are two of the first videos, in French I’m afraid. In the first one he explains the ambivalence of the protesters who have a TV on broadcasting matches even as they demonstrate. They distinguish between the World Cup per se and the FIFA World Cup; and if the team plays well, it will be the one, and if not, the other.
http://www.liberation.fr/video/2014/...peuple_1040102

In the second video, Cohn-Bendit visits a ‘poetry cooperative’, where all generations, men women and children mix happily, reading their literature and poetry.
http://www.liberation.fr/video/2014/...rative_1042432

Basically, what I’m trying to say in answer to Violet is that solutions that are going to work are going to be achieved by positive, joyful, enjoyable togetherness. The poor themselves are disempowered and despondent, and so, coming from a place of depression, their contribution can only be a call for help, not a viable solution.

[giovonni]

thank goodness ...

for people who thinks good ...

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=OPV3D7f3bHY

[RunningDeer]

Posted by markoid (here)
Hi all, long time no post from me though I still lurk regularly as the energy signature of this thread is always nourishing and inspiring... so, many thanks to all participants herein.

I have been having dreams quite regularly that occur underwater in which I have no trouble breathing. In a recent one the water was somewhat murky and I detected a massive shape coming towards me out of the haze. I 'knew' there was some sort of safety zone just behind me so I took a step or 2 back towards it in awe of the size of what was approaching. As It emerged into sight I realised it was a humpback whale and it stopped and hovered directly in front of me. I placed my forehead in contact with the very tip of its 'chin' and stayed in communion for some time... that is all I remember.

I had started to make this animation a year or 2 ago and this dream inspired me to finish it.

Friends returning from a cetacean vacation.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=eJR6oufEVnE

UPDATE: please use this link @ shamanicjourney.com

[ulli]

@araucaria. You are bringing forth the same pro-soccer arguments I have been hearing from my husband for years now.
And I accept them as valid, considering how very complex everything is here on earth.
All roads lead to Rome, in the end.
But we each have our pet peeves, as well as our pet agendas, and I'm sure some could make a pretty good argument against my love of beading, if they just want to go deep enough...from the mining of the raw stones, to the Chinese work conditions in the places where there things are made, and finally to the feeding of a woman's possibly narcissistic need to decorate herself.
Or even my own compulsive need to work with my hands stringing beads when I'm tired of typing.

But in view of the greater awakening process going on around us, namely the discovery of humanity's manipulation,
from the gene level, to the psychological, where only a small percentage can manage to escape,
when one would love to see everyone to wake up to their full spiritual potential, I find it really,
really frustrating to see all these efforts being made that keep competitiveness going,
to create heroes exclusively from the ranks of male athletes, and otherwise brainwash billions of people
ever deeper into duality thinking, while suppressing those who want to bring their knowledge regarding the origin of mankind,
or how to shift to a true free energy society to light.
This is the context in which I see the World Cup.

[araucaria]

Nice to know I’m in good company But it’s not about competitiveness, Ulli: as I said, “Winning is nothing”. The true value of sport is in playful emulation: making each other shine and reach beyond themselves. We do it in intellectual matters too =; when we say something interesting or insightful, it is the outcome of a kind of mental stretching. And pedagogy is all about making the student make that little extra leap from known ground into the unknown. And the same goes in spiritual matters: what we mean by love is perhaps simply playful spiritual emulation.

I have nothing negative to say about those beautiful mind-numbing beads of yours: except perhaps ‘include me out’

I have Scheherezade on the radio just now: the ultimate resolution of the male/female conflict. But we’ve had this conversation before…

[ulli]

Play President.
Which US president are you?

http://bitecharge.com/play/president...70723179727793

I got Abraham Lincoln

¤=[Post Update]=¤

Posted by araucaria (here)
Nice to know I’m in good company But it’s not about competitiveness, Ulli: as I said, “Winning is nothing”. The true value of sport is in playful emulation: making each other shine and reach beyond themselves. We do it in intellectual matters too =; when we say something interesting or insightful, it is the outcome of a kind of mental stretching. And pedagogy is all about making the student make that little extra leap from known ground into the unknown. And the same goes in spiritual matters: what we mean by love is perhaps simply playful spiritual emulation.

I have nothing negative to say about those beautiful mind-numbing beads of yours: except perhaps ‘include me out’

I have Scheherezade on the radio just now: the ultimate resolution of the male/female conflict. But we’ve had this conversation before…

I was thinking more of the spectators, while you were obviously thinking of the players.

[giovonni]

Which US president are you?

FDR

[dan33]

I'm finishing BOUNCER, a Western that has the style and the smell of the 70's movies. Written by Alejandro Jodorowsky, drawings by Boucq.













In every cat, there is a drop of god.
http://planosinfin.com/en-cada-gato-...ro-jodorowsky/

Hugs to Carmody, Araucaria and Ulli.

[RunningDeer]

Posted by ulli (here)
Play President.
Which US president are you?

http://bitecharge.com/play/president...70723179727793

I got Abraham Lincoln

Me, too. Abraham Lincoln

"You have real, honest heroic qualities like the great American icon. You are one of the most respected people in your circle and a strong symbol for peace and courage for everyone that knows you. Your wisdom shines and everyone wants to learn from you!"

[RunningDeer]

These days, I’m on information overload. I’ve recently learned that I (soul) lives in an extra large tuna can. And I’ve lived in many of them for life times before. Or it’s it at the multi-D?

I’m second guessing everything I thought I knew. Add to that, “How do you know someone isn’t making you think those thoughts?”

Several times, in the last year, I’ve tossed out all comforting beliefs, even my guides and angels. They understand it’s important for me to conjoin with higher self, and see what I see. Of late, I question my higher self. Who’s inner knowing/inner voice is it really? It has never been more clear this separation and duality. Is it ego, or it is something more nefarious?

So on my walk, I put it out there that I need to understand truth of the larger picture. That I am aware that when I am confused, it often means, I’m balking at movement and to understand.

Fast forward a couple of hours, I walked a different way in the yard to pick up garbage someone tossed in the road. And there was the “Michael Feather”. Every year around his birthday, I get a feather. His birthday isn’t until June 19th. They aren’t usually this big any more. I’m taking that as part of my “Stay the course. It’s all there, only I’m still seeing it from a linear perspective.”

A side note: while writing up this post, I got a strange call. The caller ID had my name and phone number. It was a hang up call. That’s never happened. I’ll take it as another confirmation to ‘stay the course’.

<3

[giovonni]

Some

Simply Minds

Music

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=5GsbCeyDx8Q

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZhaHLoK3CF4

[meeradas]

Posted by ulli (here)
Play President.
Which US president are you?

http://bitecharge.com/play/president...70723179727793

JFK.

PS:

Unicorn!

[meeradas]

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=nS9M8P2YSLk

PS:

[ulli]

[Carmody]

Abe .

[RunningDeer]

UPDATE: please use this link @ shamanicjourney.com

[Carmody]

We need an 'electrified banana' smiley.

That would be handy.

(change the story to an electrified floor instead of a hosing, which is one that I read)

[RunningDeer]

Drats, I lost my post. Shorten version. Server went down, and it's now acting quirky (slow) as I type here.

"...Culture is created over time, and often habits and practices are instilled and repeated without anyone knowing the origin of the behavior.  But to be accepted, most people diligently follow the behaviors or the others in the group will work to reinforce and maintain the current culture.”

[article]

Five monkeys - how to create a mentality of 85% of the people that we call MASS ?

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=y-PvBo75PDo

[Violet]

Posted by araucaria (here)
[(...)

Thank you, Araucaria,

To respond to the poor people of Brasil's request not to watch/come to/participate in/... the WC does not entail a direct condemnation of soccer nor does it deny how soccer (and players using their income) in itself can be used for bettering socio-economical situations of both poor, middle-classed and upper-classed people (every body undergoes effects when things change). There's a reason some countries are willing to give a fortune to get that WC in their country and believe you me: it's little to do with football...The people in the favelas, though poor in understanding other things due to lack of education or general calm in their lives, got this one alright.

The anti-thesis. It's not that complicated. The locals must've reasoned like so: the WC is going to bring in lots of (both direct and indirect (tax from restaurants, hotels, purchases made in stores, etc.) revenues to people in charge who are mandated with the protection and provisions for the people but they're just going to put it in their pockets and afterwards they're going to come back and punish less-off locals for having misbehaved in the whole event (e.g. strikes, violence, opening up about national affairs to international media),...So, considering all this, it doesn't matter that he/she is a soccer fan or that the country is soccer-obsessed.
These people are separating their passion (soccer) from their very true needs, which is probably a general form of stability and predictability - something that a lot of "poor" countries are missing, not because of lack of income: some of the countries richest in resources have shameful conditions for their local people. Apparently or so I've heard it's very hard for these people to as little as at the end of a gala evening not throw remaining full buffets in the trashcans, under security simply to prevent the hungry "beggars" waiting outside from getting to it. Yes.

I'm sorry for my slow linking skills , I fail to see the hostage-gun similarity.

What can be done by the rich? Well, who said anything about money?

It is not necessary for the rich to impoverish themselves. It's the standing structures that need to become poor and weak and fall, so that better working ones can be set up in their places. Amendments here and there would also be acceptable for a start. And it so happens that rich people are in the right places to do this. They don't need to drive around the country and give people dollar/euro/...-notes, they just need to sign or not sign the right papers. Report abuses when they see them, and not make a good deal for themselves. Respect and apply all the rules that apply for other people, etc. The money (and its improved flows) will follow from itself.

And yes, unfortunately, every time the same thing is said about boycot, which is why it's becoming stigmatic: that the yields will be small, that if you want to boycot, you have to be consistent (which is nearly impossible, but then again, doing nothing makes everything increasingly more impossible for increasingly more people).

The good thing is that in the end none of us has all the answers and that this is a feeling that we can all share and not feel guilty about.

[markoid]

@Paula: Thanks for the lovely comments re animations.. and yes I wrote and play the song.
Thanks also for the animal spirit info... fits just right for me.
What a beautiful phenomenon your annual Michael feather is.. what a sweet blessing for you.

@Ulli: Loved the humpback whale synchronicity!