Saturday, September 28, 2013

heimgarten ~ herzogstand ~ walchensee

friends, we have been to walchensee (800 m) / herzogstand (1731 m) / heimgarten (1790 m) with the best of all wives in july, you still remember few views? this time it was a completely different. we have started with my father, sister + her boyfriends two hours earlier. yes, we have managed it up to heimgarten and went down different way to the walchensee lake. we have had a nice break at the heimgarten cottage, visited a canyon, drunk fresh spring water, collected few mushrooms, got a light sunburn + heavily aching muscles. our trip yesterday:
  • walchensee - herzogstand (800m higher in 10 minutes by cable car)
  • herzogstand - heimgarten (3h up and down on the mountain crest high above the fog)
  • lunch break at the heimgarten cottage
  • heimgarten - river canyon 'schlucht' - walchensee (3h downhill hiking)
yes, we have had a really great time up there ...

bavaria is so pretty: the hills from down, the church from outside, the pub from the inside :-) 
... down
 outside
inside ...
~~~
heimgarten, 1790 m

lake walchensee

what a nice inversion out there
 
all of us



that's our pizza tablet, my dears :)
good-bye heimgarten aka homegarden, good-bye. more pictures here
eof

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

harald welzer - selbst denken

was für ein tolles buch, meine lieben :-)
quelle: amazon

selbst denken, wie schon der untertitel sagt, ist eine anleitung zum widerstand. und ja, der widerstand gegen den heute fast alternativlosen konsumismus, expansismus, lebensgrundlagen- und umweltzerstörerismus ist auch dringend notwendig, stimmt's?

ich fand es toll, mit was für einer überzeugung und was für einem engagement harald welzer die welt zu retten versucht. analysen, historische vergleiche und vor allem beispiele für echt nachhaltiges handeln auch in den jetzt noch suboptimalen rahmenbedingungen sind echt beeindruckend und ja, vielleicht muß tatsächlich eine kritische masse aus der heutigen gesellschaftsordnung austreten und was neues umsetzen, damit dieses beispiel dann als der neue weg gilt ... reichen dafür  5%-10% der leute, weil die mehrheit ohnehin 'nur' mitläufer sind? braucht somit meine geliebte OccupyWallStreet-bewegung ebenfalls keine 99% sondern auch nur paar vorreiter um das heutige finanz-militärische konglomerat und seine kleinen dreckigen politmarionetten zu crashen? wir werden es sehen ... früher oder später, denn zu lange können wir ohnehin nicht mehr verbrauchen als die erde jahr für jahr aufs neue bereitstellen kann. bei jeder mißwirtschaft ist irgendwann die vorhandene substanz verbraucht, auch die des unseren planeten ...

historische beispiele sprechen leider gegen die 'klugheit' des homo sapiens und das nicht nur die susbstanzvernichtung und folgende absolutkriege statt kooperation auf der osterinsel.

ok, ich möchte ja hier auch nicht zuviel verraten, aber vielleicht nur noch das, daß mich die ganze denke extrem sehr an den jörg bergstedt erinnert hat. ok, bergstedt hat mit seiner projektwerkstatt gleich ein lebendiges und funktionierendes beispiel für das 'gute' errichtet, dafür war jedoch welzer's buch viel leichter und angenehmer zu lesen als das 'meine' vom jörg (Freie Menschen in Freien Vereinbarungen: Gegenbilder zu Markt und Staat).

dann happy reading, freunde ....


... und zum schluß noch der obligatorische link auf meine save the world - link library.

sonst noch was? hmmmm, später oder nie :-)  doch, ich habe heute (11.10.14 eine zsfassung gefunden: http://nachdenken-in-muenchen.de/?p=199 ...

Sunday, September 22, 2013

wahlomat oder direkte wahlhilfe? und merkel sagt die wahrheit (11 sekunden reichten)

wahlhife von occupy frankfurt 
source here
 ziemlich wahr, nur der benz müßte eigentlich ein BMW sein, oder? 

und das hat mir der wahlomat empfohlen:

source: wahl-o-mat

omg, meine top 5 parteien kommen vermutlich nicht über die 5% hürde, nicht mal die total libertäre 'deutsche ron paul partei', die PdV (partei der vernunft), leider  ... und die FDP auch nicht mehr, da hat ja momentan schon fettarme milch mehr prozent als FDP . aber vorsicht, das heißt doch, daß die bevölkerung in deutschland verarmt, schade eigentlich ... und verdammt, meine geliebten PIRATEN (piratenpartei) so weit hinten? hmmmmm, komisch ... aber immerhin es bestätigt sich wieder einmal, daß man es mit pro-freiheit, pro-frieden und pro-umwelt echt schwierig hat hierzulande, leider ... 
~~~
results: the ruling chancellor angie angela merkel won the election with 42% of all votes. it is at the moment not sure if she will be able to form an alliance which will reach more than 50% as her traditional coalition partner, the FDP, couldn't reach the 5% treshhold this time.

well, let's give angie 11seconds time to tell us the truth: ... "it does not mean that what 'they' tell  before election is what 'they' will do after the election. and yes, this can happen any time in the future again" ... the liar was she herself, my dears ...  (in german):

tells in 11 seconds that (HER) position before election can always change after the win. today she has got 42% anyway ... we germans are stupid sheople, you know?


well, the SPD liars needed 1 minute to lie to its voters 'there will be no big coalition (i.e. with CDU/CSU)' before the election ... and yes, there is one after the election ... i hope there is no further information needed, you understand 'the system' by now, don't you?

what do really vote for?
source: here
eof

Saturday, September 21, 2013

5 Ways To Revolt Without Picking Up a Weapon (by craig boehman)

folks, this is reposted from DemocracyChronicles (follow the link) just for the case, the original disappears for one reason or the other. it is a great blog post indeed, thanks dear craig boehman, thanks ...

let sum it up first, then please read the details below:
  1. Educate Yourself 
  2. Shop Smart & Boycott
  3. Protest 
  4. Form An Affinity Group
  5. Get Others Involved
ok, go to elections does not stand on the list and we have one in germany tomorrow. this picture shows not only the german voter, does it?
source: here
maybe if we didn't vote for 'the system' again but for a new / small / anti-system representatives, it could change s.th. otherwise we have to wait for a real change for a fair, peaceful + sustainable world few years longer ...

~~~
5 Ways To Revolt Without Picking Up a Weapon
September 10, 2013 
by Craig Boehman
September 9, 2013


An undemocratic regime relies on fear and ignorance to keep its population under control. The media serves as the unofficial mouthpiece for the state; its purpose, to spread lies, to omit certain damnable truths, to entertain “the huddled masses” with inane programs of distraction. This strategy ensures that a majority of the public most of the time will be rendered blind to the greater crimes of the power elites. When economic disparity reaches new and ghastly heights, when crimes of bankers and financial institutions can no longer be ignored – even by the mainstream media – fear is utilized by those in power to quash dissent. First, officials react to the outcries of their constituents by promising investigations and a brand new era of transparency. Ineffective laws are passed with loopholes large enough to enable more of the same criminal behavior that brought about the greatest recession since 1929 . Crops of equally corrupted and corruptible politicians emerge touting the usual prefab slogans: reform, change,hope. The newly elected are all backed by Wall Street money – or they wouldn’t have stood a chance in hell of being elected in the first place. Years pass…not one banker is jailed. Not one politician is held criminally liable for the economic devastation that swept through the land like a pack of wild tornadoes. Millions have lost their homes to predatory lending practices and the ensuing housing bubble. Jobs are lost as the economy contracts. Wages and benefits are cut. The middle class shrinks. The low-income and poverty brackets explode, engulfing over half of all Americans. Then when the first real stirrings of mass protests shake the very centers of power with the emergence of Occupy Wall Street – it’s put down with brutal force by a security and surveillance state infected by a virus called the NSA, all in the name of “homeland security.”

After direct challenges to authority are crushed, an undemocratic regime relies on apathy to clean-up the remains of any meaningful dissent. Apathy is the final weapon in the state’s arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. Apathy plays on an individual’s self-worth. It’s apathy that instills doubts in the minds of millions who think they are powerless to stop the great corporate machine ensconced behind the opaque walls of secretive government. In the end, it’s apathy that breeds contempt within us for those who are seemingly too naive to realize they’re fighting a losing fight. It’s apathy that whispers to us that this is just the way it is, there is nothing we can do at all to fight the powers that be. ‘We are powerless.’ ‘We are weak.’ ‘They are just too strong.’ ‘Things will never change.’ ‘Why bother?’ ‘It’s best to stay out of it and live my life to the fullest.’ These are all catch phrases of apathy. These are the afterthoughts of a healthy mind embattled with forces morally reprehensible and ostensibly unbeatable. There is some good news. Apathy is the last line of defense before an undemocratic regime falls.

We are not bound to such a system. A revolt is not only necessary, it’s inevitable. 

Anyone reading this piece is capable of doing any one of the following, if not all. I’ve composed a list of five things that most people can do to revolt against the system without having to pick up a weapon. It is intended for those who are learning about activism for the first time. It isn’t meant to be a comprehensive list, only a starting point. I also hope it serves as a friendly reminder to those who have drifted away from activist pursuits for one reason or another. So if you’re up to the challenge, take up any one of these steps (or all of them!). Then pass along what you’ve learned to someone else. This is activism at its core, doing and sharing – the antithesis of apathy.

1. Educate Yourself 

Read about the issues that concern you. Are you interested in stopping the proliferation of drone warfare? Or the Keystone XL Pipeline? Or how about resistance movements in general, like Occupy Wall Street? What are you passionate about? How can you help? Don’t fall into the trap of believing that your actions must immediately translate into change in society. It doesn’t work that way. Social movements have historically taken years to win major concessions from those who hold power. This is no excuse to wait around, either! Pick an issue that strikes a chord within yourself. You may be surprised where it leads you.

Recommendation:

* No American book-shelf (or e-reader) should be without the late Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States. If you haven’t read it, I’d highly recommend picking it up and starting your journey from there. Regardless of whether or not you consider yourself an activist, this book is, nevertheless, an activist’s guide to America from 1492 to present. History, as they say, is written by the victors. Zinn’s book is a history told through the eyes of the oppressed.

“My viewpoint, in telling the history of the United States, is different: that we must not accept the memory of states as our own. Nations are not communities and never have been. The history of any country, presented as the history of a family, conceals fierce conflicts of interest (sometimes exploding, most often repressed) between conquerors and conquered, masters and slaves, capitalists and workers, dominators and dominated in race and sex. And in such a world of conflict, a world of victims and executioners, it is the job of thinking people, as Albert Camus suggested, not to be on the side of the executioners.” – Howard Zinn

2. Shop Smart & Boycott

If money is the root of all evil, then making sure those who profit off of warfare, sweatshop labor, unsafe foods, etc., do not profit from your own contributions. For instance, moving your money from major (and criminal) banks like Bank of America or Wells Fargo to a local bank or credit union, deprives these companies of capital they would normally use for illegally foreclosing on homeowners. Switching banks keeps your money in your community where it would go to better use – much better than in the back pocket of some grossly overpaid CEO who would use profits to buy politicians off to buffer himself from the next banking scandal. The Move Your Money campaign has drained tens of millions of dollars from the coffers of major banks in the United States and Great Britain over the past couple of years. Don’t underestimate the power of money. Shop smart, and boycott.

Recommendations:

* Move your money to local bank or credit union. TooBigHasFailed.com is a wonderful resource.

* Find a shopper’s guide to GMO-free food online.

* Investigate computer and phone companies (or any company for that matter) before purchasing products from them. Apple was recently condemned for utilizing sweatshop labor for their iPhone line. Walmart has perpetually been under scrutiny for unfair labor practices at home and abroad – they also use factories in Bangladesh with unsafe working conditions that have killed hundreds of people. Don’t give these companies your business! Boycott them.

*Go online and find alternatives. There is plenty of good information out there. There are plenty of people willing to help you find the answers.

3. Protest 

Protesting as an art form is as diverse as there are protesters willing to participate. You don’t have to live near a major population center where protests are more likely to occur – although if you do, there is nothing quite like joining ranks with large groups of people who are agitating for a cause. Not only can such events be inspiring, but they can sometimes be effective in changing public policy. Also, there are plenty of opportunities to meet other like-minded individuals who will share your enthusiasm for the cause and other issues.


Don’t view protesting strictly as a crowd function. The Internet itself has become another platform for protest. I’ve personally been administrating a Facebook page I created nearly two years ago in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement. I’ve helped others set up their pages based around a variety of issues, too. It’s quite easy if you already have an account. When you pair Facebook with Twitter or YouTube, and learn how to use each effectively, you may be surprised how satisfying the feeling is to actually be advocating for a cause. Additionally, you will learn more about your chosen issues from other activists. In the constant hunt for relevant content you will read a lot, converse with people from all over the globe, and likely make some friends and allies along the way.

Lastly, don’t rule out your own talents. Are you a writer, musician, or an artist? Almost any issue out there could benefit from these set of skills. Your job or hobby may also help you determine what you can bring to the table. And if all else fails, it never hurts to expand your horizons and learn something new in order to help yourself and serve your community.

Recommendations: 

* Attend an agreeable protest whenever you can.

* Figure out what you can do to protest on your own time.

4. Form An Affinity Group

Affinity groups are usually comprised of three or more individuals who share a common platform or goal. They can be made up of friends, family, co-workers, or even strangers. The purpose of an affinity group is to do something. That something is up to the group to decide. The purpose is oftentimes political in nature or focused around activism, but it need not be. In a sense, an affinity group is a club. There’s one important distinction to be made for affinity groups in the classical sense: the decision-making is accomplished by way of consensus. There is no leader. No one person is ‘the boss.’ Members work together to form plans of action based around their agreed upon platform. The point is to include everyone in the decision-making and to avoid majority-minority riffs in the group dynamic.

What does consensus really mean? It’s as easy as ordering pizza. When a group of people are working together towards a common goal, they must make decisions not only based on their own desires, but on the needs of the group as well. A vegetarian would shun all meat and might require a portion of the pizza be veg (or even an entirely separate pizza altogether). The point is, everyone works together to order one or more pizzas to satisfy the group. It’s a back-and-forth process which aims to arrive at a consensus on what needs to be ordered to feed the hungry crew. No leaders are required for this process. People have been practicing consensus unwittingly for ages, and for things a lot more important than ordering pizza. Communities across the globe practice consensus, also known as direct democracy when referring to governance by the people, like the Quaker community in the United States. You can find a lot of good information about consensus as a decision-making process at Wikpedia’s helpful page on “Consensus Decision-Making“.

Why are affinity groups important? Because ideologies need not be the basis for forming an affinity group. They may exist solely to perform a function or a role lacking in a community. An often-sited example is of a new well needed for fresh drinking water in a rural locale. There’s no money in the budget for it. An affinity group may form around this issue and get the job done utilizing their own resources and skills. Maybe the police have been particularly brutal in the way they’ve been handling youths in the neighborhood. An affinity group may form around this issue to monitor the police. Maybe there’s a subsidiary of an evil company like Monsanto in town. An affinity group may form to perform nonviolent direct action against it. Affinity groups don’t always abide by the law. A great example of this kind of work is performed by anarchists making use of black bloc tactics. Understandably, members of any affinity group would have to decide in advance whether or not their group is to operate within the confines of the law. Most do. Notably, there are individuals of strong conscience who believe that some laws must be broken in order fulfill their goals – many willing to risk arrest and long-term incarceration in their pursuit of nonviolent activism. My hats off to them. We need their daring actions to remind us that true freedom is worth fighting for.

Recommendation:

* Form or join an affinity group if the opportunity arises. They are the building blocks of pure democracy. Side note: my aunt formed a secret affinity group that meets up once a month. I have no idea what her and her colleagues do! But that is their prerogative. The point is that they get to decide what is meaningful and what they should decide to do in their allotted time together.

5. Get Others Involved

This is what I would like to accomplish having written this piece. Once you fall in love with activism, however deeply that passion may extend, you want to share it with others and offer your support whenever you can. You come to understand that mutual aid and a commitment to solidarity is just as important as what you do in your own time to better the world. Working together is key. Getting others involved is the the holy grail of activism. Don’t get tripped up by ideologies and philosophies to justify what you and others do. Diversity is always a good thing. Don’t let diversity become divisive. The only justification you need for doing good in the world is because you can.
~~~
btw, more about gandhi in my old blog post HERE and here is my save the world link library.

and yes, you can find my own experience with the american OccupyWallStreet movement here (august 2013).

 
thus my friends: OccupyWallStreet + OccupyWarStreet + OccupyYourStreet + OccupyTogether = RealDemocracyNow :-) ... and yes, let's do it even when few of us get arrested for few hours / days like during the protest concerning the 1st OWS anniversary on sept 17th 2012 (see pictures below). if we are many enough, they can't arrest / harass us anymore :-) 
source: here
some details about the 2013 event are in that the reuters report

any additional ideas out there? and yes, see you on the street some next time fighting for some good idea, ok?

Sunday, September 15, 2013

one earth, one world, one humanity

source: here
one world => one humanity :-)
source: here

friends, it is really that way. i have been to so many countries this year: poland, germany, austria, vietnam, switzerland, egypt, jordan, israel, usa, belgium, netherlands, luxemburg (if i remember the string in the right order :-) and you know what? there is just one world, one earth, one planet. even we folks are so similar: need some food, the same air to breathe. we are happy when not hungry + not thirsty + have shelter + enjoy our time with people we like or alone in the nature ... we have so much in common and there is so little difference ... do not believe that nationality, religion or the like divides us in completely different universes as the politics of the current financial-military-industrial complex and its small dirty mainstream media is trying tio suggest us. do you still remember that all recent western imperialistic wars (iraq, afghanistan, libya) were based on lies? so be careful if the 'system' will attack syria + lebanon + iran + south korea or any other country which is not willing to 'give' all its resources to the huge corporations ...

what not to do? of course, do not destroy life (stop wars) or nature and do not support people / political parties / organizations (NATO) / corporations etc. which are involved in the destruction process ...

what to do? that's easy, but please DO SOMETHING good ... protect the nature, clean-up the nature whereever possible, eat less meat, consume less and try to buy sustainable products, support peace and freedom, join movements which are against wars + unfairness, like the OccupyWallStreet (OWS) movement, greenpeace, WWF, ... damn, there are so many movements for the good, just support / join the ones which fits to you :)

btw, when in or close to NY on sept 17th, you could join the OWS fellows at their 2nd anniversary demo in NYC (zuccotti park ~ former liberty square):
source: here .. and here is a nice report about how the event was + what to do next

and always remember, there is no planet B.

source for both planet pictures: here

if you have time, maybe you would like to read / watch more about 'safe the world' issues? well, i have few link libraries with interviews, videos, movies, pictures here:
anything else? coming soon or never ...

Saturday, September 7, 2013

luxemburg

the last stop on our BE-NE-LUX trip was the city of luxemburg (luxembourg) ... a rainy saturday, really cheap gas, a really small city centre without any really interesting buildings .... a huge traffic jam by our way into the city and a traffic jam by the way out ... hell, why does a country with the highest GDP per capita ON EARTH (wikipedia 11. sept 2013) not build roads with needed capacity? anyway, we have been tired after belgium and holland and so have had our lunch in a nice mexican restaurant at one of the two main squares in the city centre, a nice discussion with a young polish couple next to our table (luxemburg has 44.5% foreigners according to the german wikipedia site, you know?)
more pictures here

adieu my dear benelux :-)

Friday, September 6, 2013

gent, belgium

gent, ghent, gand ~ what a beautiful flemish city, my dears. i have visited many famous, big, historic, unesco heritage listed, exotic and other cities this year ~ heidelberg, NY, jerusalem, aqaba, petra, lucerne, schaffhausen, hanoi, dinkelsbuehl, dillingen, weissenburg, ... but gent was the biggest positive surprise for me and probably the nicest of all :-). why? i do not even know .... maybe because the street we lived in (vlaanderenstraat #54) looked like the main street in my native city of kosice, slovakia? or maybe because we didn't expect anything special, didn't inform ourselves before the arrival and just visited it because our belgian friend told us we should better visit gent than bruegge? anything completely different? who knows? anyway, the number and the beauty of so special old buildings and the friendly flair there was just overwhelming. wed liked also our flat-like appartment 😍, today it is probably airbnb
 
 
1618

 
 
more pictures here.

anything else? coming soon or never