<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Thomas Greco</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:thg@mindspring.com">thg@mindspring.com</a>></span><br>Date: Mon, Dec 19, 2011 at 4:11 AM<br>
Subject: 2011 End-of-year Newsletter<br>To: Thomas Greco <<a href="mailto:thg@mindspring.com">thg@mindspring.com</a>><br><br><br>
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt">2011
End-of-year Newsletter<u></u><u></u></span></b></p>
<br>
<b><span style="color:#cc0000">Holiday</span> <span style="color:#006600">Greetings!</span><u></u><u></u></b><br>
<br>
Here is an update on what I�ve
been thinking and doing since my return from Asia two months ago. I
know this
is a busy time of year for everyone, so I�ll keep it brief.<br>
<br>
<b>Michigan conference and presentation links<u></u><u></u></b><br>
<br>
<i>The 2011 International Conference on Sustainability,
Transition &
Culture Change: Vision, Action, Leadership</i> that was held in
Michigan in
November was very productive and enjoyable. Amongst the participants
with whom
I had opportunity to interact were Australian economist Steve Keen,
author of <i><span><a href="http://debunkingeconomics.com/" target="_blank">Debunking Economics</a></span></i><b>,
</b>Nicole
Foss of <i><a href="http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Automatic Earth</a></i>,
and
Albert Bates of the <a href="http://www.thefarm.org/etc/" target="_blank">Eco-village
Training
Center</a> and The Farm in Tennessee. I was also inspired to hear
the stories
of a number of land-based participants from Michigan and the Midwest
who have taken
significant steps to prepare for the transformation and are well
positioned to thrive
throughout the chrysalis stage of the ongoing societal
metamorphosis. <br>
<br>
I gave a somewhat abbreviated version
of my slide presentation on <b>The Emerging Butterfly Society</b>.
This was
recorded, along with the <a href="http://www.livestream.com/localfuture/" target="_blank">rest
of the conference proceedings</a>, and can be accessed at <a href="http://www.livestream.com/localfuture/video?clipId=pla_ade24121-d46d-4448-863c-babe129a604f" target="_blank">http://www.livestream.com/localfuture/video?clipId=pla_ade24121-d46d-4448-863c-babe129a604f</a>
. Be sure to also watch Albert Bates� amazing story about the
history of The
Farm. It�s a remarkable tale of what a small group of people can
achieve to
help others when they have love in their hearts and shared
objectives.<br>
<br>
I was also invited, by one of my
colleagues who lives in the area, to be interviewed for a cable
<img src="" align="left" height="116" hspace="12" width="180">TV series that he
produces (<i>Investigating
Community
Resilience</i>), for a program called <i>Outside
In</i>. On the day following the conference we met at Up North
studio in
Traverse City, Michigan to record two half-hour segments that were
to be
broadcast via cable during the following weeks. These are now
available on the
program website. The first segment can be downloaded at <a href="http://ir.nrec.org/content/author-tom-greco-talk-about-history-money-and-debt" target="_blank">http://ir.nrec.org/content/author-tom-greco-talk-about-history-money-and-debt</a>,
and the second at <a href="http://ir.nrec.org/content/more-tom-greco" target="_blank">http://ir.nrec.org/content/more-tom-greco</a>.
<br>
<br>
I think these went particularly well
because the interviewer, Dave Barrons, is an TV personality with
many years of experience
who has a strong interest in the topics of my books and was well
prepared with
some excellent questions. Please watch these and pass the word along
to your
networks.<br>
<br>
The next in this series of <a href="http://www.localfuture.org/" target="_blank">Local
Future</a> conferences is being
planned for the end of May 2012. Since <a href="http://www.livingeconomies.org/conference-2012" target="_blank">next year�s
BALLE
conference</a> will be held in Grand Rapids from May 15 to 18, it
seems
advantageous to hold it in the same city immediately following.
Watch the <a href="http://www.localfuture.org/" target="_blank">LF website</a> for
details.<br>
<br>
<b>Jubilee: The only way out of the Global Financial
Predicament</b><br>
<br>
As I wrote more than three years
ago in <i>The End of Money</i>,
�the growth
god is dead.� We must face the fact that the limits to physical
growth have
been reached. This does not necessarily mean a decline in living
standards or a
global war for control of resources. There is plenty enough to
provide a
dignified life for everyone on the planet and even two or three
billion more.
We have been tremendously successful in developing �labor saving�
machinery and
technologies that can make us more healthier and more comfortable.
The problem
is that those benefits have not been equitably distributed and the
whole range
of incentives that are built into the industrial society promotes
waste and
conflict. We can all live much better while consuming less stuff,
but to
achieve that we�ll need to reinvent money, banking and finance.
Accelerating
debt growth cannot continue much longer. One way or another, much of
the
existing debt will need to be written off in the coming years. Will
it be done deliberately,
fairly, and systematically, or in a chaotic collapse of the global
financial
system?<br>
<br>
If you want to understand what is
happening on the global financial front, please watch this dialog
between <span>Chris Martenson and
James Turk<b> </b>as they
talk about Europe and the global economy: </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BsMj59hyJOQ" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BsMj59hyJOQ</a>.<br>
<br>
And for a good understanding of
the underlying factors that are bringing an the end to growth, and
to get some
direction on what to do to adapt, you may want to consult the
following:<br>
<ul style="margin-top:0in" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal">Richard Heinberg (<i>The
End of Growth: Adapting to Our New Economy</i>), </li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal">Michael Ruppert (<i>Confronting
Collapse: The Crisis of Energy and Money in a Post Peak Oil
World </i>and <i>Crossing
the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of
the Age of Oil</i>),</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><span>Chris Martenson (<i><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCcQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chrismartenson.com%2Fcrashcourse&ei=CDbuTo2DEuGuiQL4x-zsAw&usg=AFQjCNE0QXjjXE6AXx3KRZ2FhPtDoJ7sEA&sig2=Bu99kPh6d7859CDC2VaUiA" target="_blank">The
Crash Course</a></i>)</span>.</li>
</ul>
<b>The Occupy Movement<u></u><u></u></b><br>
<br>
<span>Over the past several weeks, I�ve posted a number of
comments and links
to materials about the Occupy movement. The most recent of these
highlights a
panel session that was held </span>on <span style="font-family:"inherit","serif";border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">November
10<sup>th</sup></span> at the New School in New York City. The
panel was
titled, <i>Occupy Everywhere: On
the New
Politics and Possibilities of the Movement Against Corporate Power</i>.
It featured
Oscar-winning filmmaker and author Michael Moore; Naomi Klein,
best-selling
author of the <i>Shock Doctrine:
The Rise of
Disaster Capitalism</i>; Rinku Sen of the Applied Research Center
and publisher
of <i>ColorLines</i>; Occupy
Wall Street
organizer Patrick Bruner; and journalist William Greider, author of
<i>Come Home America</i>, <i>Who Will Tell the People?, and,</i> <i>Secrets
of the Temple</i> (about the Federal Reserve). The panelists
provided some
interesting perspectives on the movement. You can find the video and
a transcript
of the proceedings at the <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2011/11/25/occupy_everywhere_michael_moore_naomi_klein" target="_blank">Democracy
Now!</a> website.<br>
<br>
Yes! Magazine, in conjunction
with Berrett-Koehler Publishers, has just come out with an excellent
booklet, <i>This Changes
Everything</i>, which both
describes and gives some direction to the Occupy movement. <br>
<br>
�<i>This Changes Everything</i>
shows how the movement is shifting the way people view themselves
and the
world, the kind of society they believe is possible, and their own
involvement
in creating a society that works for the 99% rather than just the
1%.� <br>
<br>
It features brief statements by
more than a dozen leading voices, including David Korten, Naomi
Klein, and
Ralph Nader. You can get a copy from <a href="http://store.yesmagazine.org/this-changes-everything" target="_blank">Yes!
Magazine.</a><br>
<br>
I�m confident that what began as a protest and expression of
dissatisfaction with the status quo will quickly shift into a
broad-based
citizens� movement to establish a true government �by the people and
for the
people� and a world that works for all. If you�re not already a part
of this
exciting process, <b><span style="color:#006600">Get Informed and get onboard�<u></u><u></u></span></b><br>
<br>
<b><i>Plato o plomo</i></b><i><u></u><u></u></i><br>
<br>
I recently read the book, <i>Killing
Pablo</i>, a story written by Mark
Bowden (<i>Black Hawk Down</i>).
I didn�t
seek it out, it just appeared, so I grabbed it. It�s all about
money, drugs,
power, violence, and corruption, specifically related to the
Columbian drug
cartels and Pablo Escobar. It is an astounding example of the
breakdown of law
and order and the corrupting power of extreme wealth, particularly
when in the
hands of ruthless sociopaths. That is not to say that Escobar was
the only one
using the tactics of violence and terror. In the end, it seems it
was the use
of those same tactics by paramilitary groups with shadowy
connections to both
the Columbian and U.S. governments that brought Escobar down. <br>
<br>
This is a chilling story of what
can happen when terror, intimidation, and assassinations become a
way of
political life. The cartels and power brokers had (have?) a way of
posing a
choice to the government and military officials they sought to
corrupt�<i>plato o plomo</i>,
(silver or lead)? That
was no idle threat. The cartel(s) had (have?) the wherewithal to
carry it out. No
one was safe in Columbia during that time. They could protect
neither
themselves nor their families. Police, soldiers, politicians,
legislators, and judges
were assassinated by the thousands, their family members kidnapped
and often
murdered, and innocent civilians killed in frequent bombings. This
is a book
that will cure you of any residual naivet� you may have regarding
money, power,
and politics.<br>
<br>
<b>THRIVE</b><br>
<br>
<img src="" align="right" height="206" hspace="12" width="154">I recently viewed the
movie <i><a href="http://www.thrivemovement.com/" target="_blank">THRIVE: What on Earth Will
it Take?</a></i>,
and attended a discussion group about it in Berkeley. The movie, a
documentary
produced by Foster Gamble, addresses the same basic questions that
set me on my
current path many years ago, namely, why is there so much suffering
and
deprivation amidst great opulence, and why is the earth being
continually
despoiled with no end in sight? What will it take to enable everyone
on the
planet to live a dignified life and realize their full potential?<br>
<br>
While some may not relate well to
the first part of the movie that considers free energy and UFOs, the
movie is
well worth viewing for its description of the domineering mindset
and elite
control that characterize our present reality, and for its
inspirational vision
of what our future could be. THRIVE groups are springing up in many
places as
people seek to understand the dimensions of our situation, and to
help one
another decide on appropriate actions.<br>
<br>
<div align="center">*<span>���� </span>*<span>����
</span>*<br>
</div>
Finally, this verse from a Christmas card caught
my eye:<br>
<br>
<b><i><span style="color:#c00000">��� ��� May
the true meaning of Christmas fill your heart with happiness
all year!<u></u><u></u></span></i></b><br>
<br>
Whatever your religious
background might be, I invite you to contemplate these questions, <i>What <b>is</b>
the true meaning of Christmas?</i> What is it that all religions
are supposed
to provide? How can we make religion a force that brings us all
together instead of one that separates us?<br>
<br>
And here is my wish for the New Year,
and forever more�<br>
<b><span style="color:#006600">���
��� Peace on Earth
and Good Will Toward All!<u></u><u></u></span></b><br>
<br>
Tom<br>
<div align="center">*<span>���� </span>*<span>���� </span>*<br>
<div align="left">Thomas H. Greco, Jr.
<br>
</div>
</div>
<a href="mailto:thg@mindspring.com" target="_blank">thg@mindspring.com</a>
<br>
Beyond Money: <a href="http://beyondmoney.net" target="_blank">http://beyondmoney.net</a> <br>
Tom's News and Views: <a href="http://tomazgreco.wordpress.com" target="_blank">http://tomazgreco.wordpress.com</a> <br>
Archive Website: <a href="http://www.Reinventingmoney.com" target="_blank">http://www.Reinventingmoney.com</a>
<br>
Skype/Twitter name: tomazgreco
<br>
My latest book, "The End of Money and the Future of Civilization"
can be ordered from Chelsea Green Publishing, Amazon.com, or your
local bookshop.
</div>
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