Interesting talk by Prof Steve Keen at the London School of Economics

A very good talk to anyone wanting to understand the economic system as it is, not as a dogma you believe.

Around minute 15, it's interesting how he compares Greece and Spain.

He start with "what should be done in Greece?" Then he mentions, how many people would argue that what happen is Greeks fault. And then he says how you can not say that about Spain, where the same thing happened, and as a Spanish it is a really nice thing to hear, but to the point. Just before the crisis Spain was doing everything right according to the EEU (Debt to GDP, Public Debt to GDP, no deficit there was even a surplus), so then, what happen to end up like the Greeks if we were doing what we were suppose to do?

That is actually a really good point to start questioning Neoliberal Economics when they fail to explain reality.

I think this is a very interesting talk and although I am not an economist, just a normal person interested in economics, you can follow and understand what he is saying.

The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible - Charles Eisenstein [Official] - YouTube

I think I have read some where that imagination is one of the things that differentiate us as humans from other animals.

In this video I specially like the challenge to imagine. It's time to choose what do we want to imagine. Do we want to imagine ugly, or do we want to imagine BEAUTIFUL. What ever our choice it will be fulfilled, so choose wisely.

And this is to spark your imagination and to fall in love with Earth.

Benjamin Franklin and the Colonial Scrip

In this very interesting article about Fractional Reserve Banking and the similarities of it with a Ponzi Scheme there some very interesting stories and quotes. 

I specially liked this one of Benjamin Franklin:

When the directors of the Bank of England asked what was responsible for the booming economy of the young colonies, Franklin explained that the colonial governments issued their own money, which they both lent and spent into the economy:

“In the Colonies, we issue our own paper money. It is called ‘Colonial Scrip.’ We issue it in proper proportion to make the goods pass easily from the producers to the consumers. In this manner, creating ourselves our own paper money, we control its purchasing power and we have no interest to pay to no one. You see, a legitimate government can both spend and lend money into circulation, while banks can only lend significant amounts of their promissory bank notes, for they can neither give away nor spend but a tiny fraction of the money the people need. Thus, when your bankers here in England place money in circulation, there is always a debt principal to be returned and usury to be paid. The result is that you have always too little credit in circulation to give the workers full employment. You do not have too many workers, you have too little money in circulation, and that which circulates, all bears the endless burden of unpayable debt and usury.”

I recommend everyone to read the full article. It's time for people to understand the current monetary system is not what we have been told or lead to believe. It's time for people to realised there are alternatives that would work much better for society, and these alternatives are actually not a new thing, but things that have been done and that have worked successfully in the past.

If you are interested in learning about money creation you can take a look at Positive Money.

About rape-ish, consent, feminism and Fifty Shades

Lately I am reading everything that crosses my way about women, violence about women, women in adverts, women in positions of power, anything related to feminism.

Today I read this article "My boyfriend 'sort-of' raped me. But I didn't break up with him" and here are my thoughts about it. Some surprising thoughts even to myself.

I think the most important thing to start talking here is CONSENT. We men and women need to re-educate ourself, and truly understand consent. It should the taught by heart and deep to the bone that consent in sexual intercourse is essential, fundamental and an absolute must all the way through with no grey areas. And for that, we need to talk about it, and the person telling her story is very brave to do so in order we get there. 

To decide if it is rape? or not rape? legally a crime? or whatever, I don't know because I am not a lawyer.  But what I know is that it was something totally unacceptable, it was an aggression and it was about power. Here the problem is not the amount of harm, the problem is the attitude toward women in today society and the many doubts about what it's acceptable or what is not.

What I think is very sad is that, like her, so many women after something like this happening to them, they will stay with the guy, and minimise the thing going around if it was or not was rape? was it legally rape? what it actually was? In any case and in lack of a descriptive or legal definition, it was unacceptable and totally lacking of CONSENT. And not being able to see this instantly says a lot of where we are as society in terms of feminism. Meaning we are in a not very good place. Not men, but neither women, if we are not able to realised when sex it's used to assault us. And when you say no, it is assault.

And now I am going to be polemic. I would not have thought so deeply about consent, the concept and what it really means, the importance of vocalise it, if I had not read Fifty Shades. It is not only about being able to say no, consent is also about saying yes clearly.  Whatever people say, consent is essential all the way through the story and it is there from beginning to end. Anyway, don't bash at me yet. I have learnt it is an immediate reaction to anyone saying anything good about Fifty Shades. But let's remember this is a fictional novel, and because I am a curios person, after reading the books I did my internet research about kinksters. And ok, some of the stuff is clearly not for everyone. But I will tell you what should be for everyone and what we can learnt from them. The principles they insist on and repeat over and over again: trust, respect, safety and CONSENT. You may like or not what they do consent about, but that's a different matter. 

Trust, respect, safety and consent, the lack of them, apply perfectly to the story we're discussing. The grey area we place them because this may be not a rape but a rape-ish thing it's appalling and depressing. Realising that I have learnt there is no grey area about consent thanks to Fifty Shades of Grey and reading in kinky websites is surprising and ironic. But it is what it is!

Lost

Revisando mis notas de cursos de postgrado para una solicitud de empleo, todo 9's y 10's. 

Checking my postgraduate qualifications for a job application. All 9's and 10's (1st in UK). I actually forgot that! I was fucking good at being good. But in the end good has not been enough. 

Remembering the good times, that in fact weren't that good, hurts anyway when the future gets so blurry and you are lost.

I was so good also, at making so many many plans... until you realised how life is so good at laughing at your plans and you stop doing them. Or maybe I was actually not that good at making plans and my plan making sucks.

Well, if I could only remember how to do plans, not good plans but just any plan. But that's the problem. Just any plan. Where do you get the energy and enthusiasm to do just a plan? So much trouble for just a plan that most provably is going no where (reasons above) And anyway, I don't want just a plan, I want a great plan and I run out of ideas and will.

Nevertheless, what can we do when we are lost, but keep wondering around with the hope to get somewhere, to find our place, or at least a path that, not necessarily goes somewhere, but if only it would keep us entertained with just enough trouble but out of too much suffering.