2012 Time For Change

"2012: Time for Change" presents an optimistic alternative to apocalyptic doom and gloom. Directed by Emmy Award nominee João Amorim, the film follows journalist Daniel Pinchbeck, author of the bestselling 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, on a quest for a new paradigm that integrates the archaic wisdom of tribal cultures with the scientific method. As conscious agents of evolution, we can redesign post-industrial society on ecological principles to make a world that works for all. Rather than breakdown and barbarism, 2012 heralds the birth of a regenerative planetary culture where collaboration replaces competition, where exploration of psyche and spirit becomes the new cutting edge, replacing the sterile materialism that has pushed our world to the brink.

Humanitarian Issues: How effective is the humanitarian aid system?

A first-of-its-kind report presenting a snapshot of the humanitarian system shows that aid organizations are responding to more people affected by natural disasters and emergencies than ever before. 

The State of the Humanitarian System gives a snapshot of performance to help formulate a strategy for the future. It covers all aspects of the humanitarian system, from pooled funds to aid effectiveness and the security of humanitarian workers, and it provides a methodology for regular assessment. 
 
The global humanitarian system “lacked systematic means to evaluate collective performance,” said Mr. John Mitchell of theActive Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action, who produced the report. 
 
The report notes that the growth in needs is due to various factors including an increase in the number of natural disasters. From 2009 to 2010, aid organizations responded to 103 disasters. This is an increase of 10 per cent since 2007 and 2008, during which time 92 disasters were registered.
 
The report contains information from a survey of aid recipients from Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Pakistan. Other sources include interviews, descriptive statistics, aid organization mapping and financial analysis.
 
The report found that the number of humanitarian workers has continued to grow. In 2010, there were 274,000 aid workers responding to millions of people worldwide, representing an increase of 4 per cent since 2009. Humanitarian funding has also increased, although growth slowed during the peak of the financial crisis. 
 
“There are now more actors, especially NGOs, in the system; more money available; more technological innovation and increased individual giving,” said UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos. “Agencies are getting humanitarian aid to people in very difficult operating conditions.”
 
Although the system has become more diverse, with over 4,400 NGOs, its reach and resources remain concentrated among a core group consisting of large international NGOs, UN agencies and the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement.
 
Funding for humanitarian operations has also diversified, with a fivefold increase in private funds from corporations, foundations and individuals. However, financial support fluctuated depending on the emergencies: high-profile disasters received more funding compared with chronic conflict situations or cyclical crises.
 
For example, UN agencies and humanitarian partners responding to chronic drought and food insecurity affecting nine countries across West Africa’s Sahel region have only received a little over 50 per cent of the US$1.6 billion needed this year. 
 
The report calls for improvements in the relevance and appropriateness of humanitarian aid, including a better understanding of the local context, partly gained through communication with people receiving aid. 
 
“There is a growing recognition that strong involvement of national and local actors and affected people is necessary to ensure that humanitarian action can respond to real needs,” said Ms. Gwi-Yeop Son, Director of Corporate Programmes at OCHA.
 
She added that OCHA is adjusting to these changes by identifying new ways to engage with new actors and new voices. 

Bernanke’s Stimulus Simply Following Global Elite’s Directives to Implode the US Dollar

According to the Census Bureau , 15% of the US population descended into poverty in 2011.

That amounts to 46 million Americans at or below the poverty threshold with an average household income of $23,200.00 annually for a family of four.

Socialist programs like social security benefits assured that 21 million people were kept out of poverty.

At the same time unemployment benefits floated 2.3 million people from being totally destitute. Food Stamps have increased to help 3.9 million people.

The fact is low-paying jobs and the unemployed are causing our American economy to continue to flounder. This is a direct causation to the destruction of the middle class in America.

Retirement and investments are the last thing on American’s minds when trying to make current ends meet on $4000 per month.

As the majority of Americans become impoverished, the wealthiest 1% have seen their net worth skyrocket above 288 times the average median household.

The crux of Americans are living on savings, trying to stay afloat while their stream of income rapidly dwindles. This trend will come bearing down on US citizens as hope for the future becomes a financial unreality.

The days of eliminating unnecessary expenditures are proving to be impossible as Americans can no longer cut out any more money from their daily standard of living.

A result of the planned implosion of 2008, the homes of most Americans have been taken, forcing them to either build tent-cities or moved in with relatives who had not been foreclosed on.

When the economy removed more than half of the employment in America, those who lost their jobs simply stood in welfare and food stamp lines for a hand-out. At what point will the American public stand up against this banking cartel-controlled destruction of our Constitutional Republic?

Ben Bernanke, chairman of the privately-owned central bank called the Federal Reserve, was expected to announce their technocratic answer to the manufactured destruction of our American economy and US dollar.

Bernanke stated that the Fed would purchase $1 trillion in mortgage-backed securities over a 2 year period, thereby combining feudalism with monetary implosion. Without determining the exact time frame of this “policy stimulus”, the Fed will have over-reaching control as never before.

The technocrats, an arm of the global Elite, have Wall Street and Capitol Hill waited with baited breath, wondering how US stocks, investors and the value of our monetary system will be dealt with.

The Fed will release projections concerning the economy including import and export. There is also the threat of the Fed printing more money, misleadingly called quantitative easing, encompassing US Treasury bond purchases, mortgage-backed securities and debt issued by government-backed agencies such as Fannie Mae.

In April, Bernanke announced that in the event of another stock market crash the Fed would take over monetary policy as an excuse to usurp more power over the financial future of the American public.

The Fed’s policymaking committee has stated that they will buy an estimated $40 billion of mortgage-backed securitized debt that was created by the mega-banks within America at the directive of the central banking cartels.

The statement reads:

“If the outlook for the labor market does not improve substantially, the committee will continue its purchase of agency mortgage-backed securities, undertake additional asset purchases, and employ its other policy tools as appropriate until such improvement is achieved in a context of price stability.”

The US dollars’ worth continues to fall while US stocks gain ground and gold soars.

The inception of QE3 is the next step in the implosion of the US dollar by the banking cartels.

Climate Viewer 3D

Climate Viewer 3D contains Google Earth real-time data overlays, images, and links regarding climate pollution, nuclear test/power/storage, radar and laser locations all around the globe, as well as climate/real-time data. While focusing on climate change, the database covers locations and data ranging from Star Wars to Climate Gate. It’s what you get when you mix George Jetson with Google Earth.

This page was made for YOU! Help this project grow by submitting locations & links! Like my project on Facebook and spread the word!

Beth Noveck: Demand a more open-source government

What can governments learn from the open-data revolution? In this stirring talk, Beth Noveck, the former deputy CTO at the White House, shares a vision of practical openness -- connecting bureaucracies to citizens, sharing data, creating a truly participatory democracy. Imagine the "writable society" ...

A lawyer by training and a techie by inclination, Beth Noveck works to build data transparency into government.

Africa: Feeding the rising urban population

More than half the world's population already lives in cities and the urban population of sub-Saharan Africa is projected to double by 2030.

According to a report by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), 600 million people in Africa will be living in 24 of the 30 fastest-growing cities by that time.

More than half of all residents in African cities currently live in overcrowded slums - many of whom survive on less than $2 a day.

The situation presents an enormous challenge to governments across the continent.

"African policymakers need to steer urbanisation from its current non-sustainable path towards healthier cities that ensure food and nutrition security, decent work and income, and a clean environment for all their citizens," says the FAO's Modibo Traore.

He says the production and supply of food is rarely considered when designing and managing cities.

"The perception has been that because food is available and can easily be bought in supermarkets or along the streets, that food will always be there," says Alexander Muller, of the Food for the Cities initiative.

"But when prices peaked in 2007-2008, and more than 20 countries faced food price-related riots, this perception began to change," he adds.

Furthermore, it is acknowledged that the consumption of processed foods, combined with sedentary lifestyles, increases the risk of heart diseases, diabetes and certain forms of cancer.

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