W. David Kubiak has a unique, impressive bio, spanning three distinctly different cultures - the US, Japan, and India. For well over a decade, he has focused on the problem posed by giant corporations, their threat to humanity and the Earth. Big problems call for "Big Medicine," a non-profit think tank focused on "the corporate takeover of our countries, cultures and consciousness" which he founded in 2000.
Born in the US, he majored in psychology, philosophy and pre-med studies, and served in the Peace Corps' first South Korea rural health program until 1970. He then moved to Kyoto, Japan where he studied Eastern medical theory, taught media studies, ran underground event spaces, and worked as an activist journalist. He is married, has three children, and divides his time between Kyoto, Kennebunkport, Maine, and Udaipur, Rajasthan.
Besides provocative publicity stunts like attacking Japanese yakuza gangs, running for Kyoto mayor, or winning the Democratic Vice-Presidential contest in the 2000 New Hampshire Primary, he is best known for his metamedical approach to eco-social illls and activism. Inspired by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, James Grier Miller, Ken Reiner and Eastern medical lore, Kubiak has used media, conferencing and electoral politics to publicize memes for "Big Body" (mega-corporate) disease, immuno-activism, industrial anthroculture, and the transformative powers of human attention.
Once described by Whole Earth Review as "one of the most interesting minds on the planet", Kubiak depicts our era as the endgame in an evolutionary contest between sensual human communities and "Big Bodies", vast corporate entities, which he describes as "alive, in charge and out of control." He argues that insights from superorganisms, living systems theory, and immune cell biomimicry may offer more effective remedies than traditional political activity and that downsizing, decentralizing and democratizing "big bodies" across the board are our only hope of regaining democracy, planetary health or evolutionary control.
His recent writings include- The Belittle Big Bodies Banzai: A Year-End OWS Salute and Immune Key to 2012 and The Contract on Corporate America", Green Tea* 2012 Campaign Pledge to the 99% - with a tip of the hat to the '94 GOP and the devious Dr. Newt which includes-
As the once and future sovereign 99% of the United States of America we propose to not just reclaim our government from corporate usurpations, but even more importantly, to rescue our children, communities and natural world from their cancerous growth and inhuman scale.
That is why, in this era of corporate coin-operated politics, we offer instead a self-fulfilling strategy for eco-social transformation that citizens can execute themselves in the next few years.
2012 offers a chance after five decades of corporate encroachment and dominion to finally expose this coup and inspire countless citizens to confront it without fear. This historic change would end the reign of morbidly huge bodies that promote autocratic values, addictive consumption, and the heedless destruction of cultures, communities and ecosystems worldwide. Given our finite living world, any entities striving for endless growth regardless of consequences are quite literally cancerous and must be combated like tumors before they kill our body politic and consume the biosphere. This battle can renew us as a nation that respects basic human rights, social justice and the sanctity of the natural world.
Like Jefferson, Lincoln, the Roosevelts and Eisenhower, our most corporate-leery presidents,
we intend to expose these growth-obsessed monsters as humanity's greatest adversary in the battle for justice, democracy and planetary health. Beyond exposure, we offer ways and means:
· To evict their henchmen from our statehouses, captured agencies and public nervous system.
· To dissolve or defy the rules that shield them from social justice and ecological redress.
· To legally downgrade them from "persons" to "hazardous instruments" with zero political rights.
· To swiftly shrink them back in scale and power to an eco-socially harmless size.
· To make us all proud again that real human beings with healthy values are back in charge...
It's powerful medicine, indeed! His voluminous activities, writings, videos, insights can be found on his websites, which include- The Magic Ten Percent and Big Medicine Central.
Guest: Greg Coleridge
In the year following the outrageous Supreme Court decision blatantly granting corporations the right to buy elections, Move to Amend inspired by Occupy Wall Street and Dr. Cornel West is calling for a national day of protest and bold actions to mark the second anniversary of the infamous Citizens United v. FEC decision! Occupy the Courts is a call for a one day occupation of Federal courthouses across the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Friday January 20, 2012.
People are responding to the call and organizing actions across the country.
Greg Coleridge Greg Coleridge is the Director of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee (AFSC); member of the Program on Corporations, Law & Democracy (POCLAD) national collective; and an original Move to Amend national steering committee member. He is author of Citizens over Corporations: A Brief History of Democracy in Ohio and Challenges to Freedom in the Future, writer of the documentary CorpOrNation - The Story of Citizens and Corporations in Ohio, and contributor of several articles to the anthology Defying Corporations, Defining Democracy - A Book of History and Strategy. He helped organize a 2008 municipal campaign opposing the privatization/corporatization of the wastewater system and a citizen-led initiative requiring voter approval of any future sale or lease of any public utility.
Greg's Blog is Create Real Democracy.
The Committee for the Right to Know is a grassroots coalition of consumer, public health, environmental organizations, and food companies in California that is seeking the labeling of genetically engineered foods (GMOs).
On November 9, 2011, the coalition submitted the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act to the State Attorney General for title and summary, prior to circulation as an initiative measure for the November 2012 election.
The more you know about GMOs, the more that you would like to see them banned completely, but most people don't really know that much about them and have no idea how prevalent they are in our food. The people in Europe have banned GMOs, but the battle against GMOs has been more torturous in the US.
Pamm Larry is a grandmother from Chico, Ca. She calls herself the Initial Instigator of the California Right To Know Genetically Engineered Food Act. Through on-the-ground, grassroots efforts, there are now 115+ community leaders who share her vision and have committed to getting this on the ballot, then won. They are joined by businesses, organizations, and folks from all over the country who want to know what's in their foods. She is Northern California Director of LabelGMOs.org. The Initiative has been approved and they are waiting for a summary, before they can begin gathering signatures. The Initiative process is still daunting in California and requires tremendous effort and grassroots support. It will also have a huge impact upon the entire nation and the food industry, if it passes. This effort is illustrative of the battle between corporate power and profits, and human and environmental health and well being, the challenge of getting out simple truths about what we put inside our bodies, so that we can safeguard our health, the way we feel, our ability to function and act. It also exposes the failure of government to protect people, the collusion between corporations and the regulatory agencies and how the light, the truth can force change in policies that have tremendous repercussions in our health and throughout the world.
Get inspired. Hear Pamm's story and join this epic struggle. We can trump corporate power.
Additional Resources -
The film The Future of Food
The film One Man, One Cow One Planet
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 will mark the decade long anniversary of the first detainees being jailed at the U.S.-controlled detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The terrible conditions imposed upon detainees at Guantanamo has indelibly enshrined torture as a facet of US policy in violation of international law and universal moral ethics. A broad coalition of groups have called for a national day of action against torture. There are plans to rally and form human chains in Washington DC, as well as San Francisco to pressure President Obama as well as Congress to return to the rule of law and to shut down the detention facility. The National Religious Campaign Against Torture,Amnesty International, Center for Constitutional Rights and Witness Against Torture are organizing the DC rally, which begins at noon in Lafayette Park; the San Francisco rally at noon at the Federal Building at on 7th & Mission is being spearheaded by Cynthia Papermaster ofCodepink with co-sponsoring organizations including Berkeley No More Guantanamos, Witness Against Torture , National Accountability Action Network,War Resister's League-West, World Can't Wait, Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club, and the Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance.
National Religious Campaign Against Torture Director for Program Coordination, John Humphries gives an overview of the national and DC campaigns to end torture. He has more than ten years’ experience as a community organizer in rural Appalachia and in Connecticut. A member of the Hartford Friends Meeting, John has also traveled to Iraq in June 2002 with a Quaker/AFSC delegation, and he has helped organize a statewide interfaith network acting to oppose torture and the war in Iraq.
Cynthia Papermaster, is a 40-year resident of Berkeley, with a BA in Political Science and Master of Library Science degrees from UC Berkeley. She has been very involved as a parent with with PTA, and working on educational issues, as well as a champion of impeachment during the Bush reign; she continues to organize against torture and for accountability with Codepink.
John and Cynthia also mentioned these resources:
Website with listings of many solidarity actions taking place nationwide -2012.witnesstorture.org
No More Gitmos - nogitmos.org
Guantanamo, Torture, Accountability & Indefinite Detention: We Are All At Risk Friday, January 6 - 7 pm in the Fellowship Hall 1924 Cedar St. Film Screening "Ending U.S. Sponsored Torture Forever," followed by a discussion led by members of Bay Area Religious Campaign Against Torture about what actions we can take.
Reception and Interfaith Service at 3 pm at New York Ave Presbyterian Church following the January 11th DC rally and actions, hosted by the
]]>Dr. David E. Martin is the founder and Chairman of M·CAM Inc., the architect and founder of the Global Innovation Commons and was the founder of Mosaic Technologies, Inc.. The impressive bio on his company's websites states that -
"Dr. Martin... is the author of the international legal framework for the Heritable Knowledge Trust and Heritable Innovation Trust programs. He has pioneered global programs to bring corporate and stock market transparency to multi–national extractive industries and has been instrumental in repatriating value to countries which have been subject to corporate and financial abuses. His work on ethical engagement and stewardship of community and commons–based value interests is at the forefront of global financial innovation. Dr. Martin is a Batten Fellow at the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business Administration. He has been named Chair of Economic Innovation for the UN–affiliated Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Organization and has served as an advisor to numerous Central Banks, global economic forums, the World Bank and International Finance Corporation, and national governments.
"A spokesperson for global financial and intangible asset accountability and quality reform, Dr. Martin has worked closely with the United States Congress and numerous trade and financial regulatory agencies in the United States, Europe, and Asia in advocating and deploying infrastructure to support growing reliance on contract and proprietary rights in business transactions. Under the leadership of Dr. Martin, M·CAM has supported the modernization of banking, intangible asset, tax, and accounting laws through its work with oversight agencies and policy makers."
His novel, Coup d'Twelve: The Enterprise that Bought the Presidency is a fast paced spy thriller that looks at major events of this century, September 11, 2011 and the subsequent financial heists, from the point of view of someone who turned down the opportunity to play a part and profit from the crimes.
Dr. David E. Martin's work has taken him to many countries and he has access and understanding of technologies that many people probably could not dream of or imagine. The main character in his novel is obviously himself and in this interview he fleshes out his own history and details why he wrote the book, and what the early phases of the plot were.
Unfortunately, we did have technical difficulties reaching Dr. Martin in Mexico and the connection was flawed, so some of the words and sound were lost. He did however, verify that many of the events in the novel were based on his firsthand experiences, including the initial meeting of prospective shareholders where he was invited to join the conspiracy. In the novel the shareholders come from many different countries and they do not know who is really in control or the mastermind who brought them all together. There are fewer shareholders at the end of the tale than at the beginning and a couple of key CIA operatives who have coached the CIA Director on his speech are murdered. David explains at the end of this interview that the US Intelligence apparatus is relatively new, that other intelligence networks have been around for much longer. He explains that his novel forewarns of a newly emerging alliance between Iran, China and Pakistan, which is visible on the cover of the novel in the image of a slot machine coming up with the flags of those countries, displacing the US and Britain.
My review of his book is posted at Turning Down the Devil's Offer.
His insightful blog is Inverted Alchemy: An Integral Economy. This is Part III of a series..
Coup d'Twelve: The Enterprise that Bought the Presidency
Dr. David E. Martin looks briefly at what innovation is, and challenges a few popular American myths regarding the origins of inventions which have had a profound impact upon humanity. He looks at the enclosure system, the evolution of patents, and how the current system has been misused to suppress technologies that threaten entire industries. To rectify the situation, He founded the Global Innovation Commons to provide a global repository of innovations which, while possibly protected in one or more countries, can be used in the rest of the world, enabling open source generic production of technologies.
Dr. David E. Martin is also the founder of M-CAM, a public policy advisor, and visionary. He has done pioneering work in unstructured data analysis and linguistic genomics, and ground-breaking work in global finance and ethics. He has woven some of his life experience, obtained in over 120 countries, into his first novel, Coup d'Twelve. Dr. Martin gained international notoriety for his data analysis in disclosure prior to the global financial crisis in 2008. He blogs regularly at Inverted Alchemy: An Integral Economy.
Dr. David E. Martin is extremely knowledgeable and active on many important fronts. This is Part I of a two Part series, and Part II, will focus on his novel Coup d'Twelve.
His address to the EU Parliament on Future of Proprietary Economic Models, on September 17, 2008 complements this interview.
Download this episode (right click and save)
A Conspiracy of Spirits - Wall Street Vs. The 99% is a new novel by William Douglas, author of the award winning 2012 The Awakening. He also founded World Healing Day, and has written books about and taught Tai Chi.
William Douglas is a rather extraordinary person who has lived a courageous, unusual life. Our paths crossed at a critical time for me, and Bill and his wife Angela, appeared almost magically like angels, helping me when I needed help the most. As a political activist, I usually don't have time for "fun," "nonfiction" novels, but I made an exception for Bill and must admit that his novels are so engaging that they are very hard to put down, and I can devour one from cover to cover. I have learned, the hard way, over the years, that sometimes critical information is so heavily censored and attacked when one tries to "break it into the news" that one has a better chance of doing an end run and slipping it into the culture via the arts, through image, film, literature, poetry. Bill's novels are filled with information, ideas, experiences, taboo and alien to the dominant culture. Dressed as fiction, beneath the character veils, one can see Bill, the people he knows and loves, and has worked with, risking life and limb, in service to truth, in service to life, to humanity, to planet, illustrating that the forces of Life are greater than Death, that together our efforts do make a difference, in mysterious ways, perhaps invisible or inexplicable to the boundaries of our modern belief system.
The novel takes on climate change, suppressed energy breakthroughs, the power of dreams and every individual's capacity to tap into the tao where all is known, all is connected, all is one.
Have the one percent conspired to amass wealth and power at the expense of the vast majority of humanity? Are the 99% actually waking up and figuring out how to exercise their own power, despite the ominous construction of a police state, the rumblings of imminent disasters, the threats of terrorism, wars, unaccountable government, the duplicitous media? Will the 99% be able to take a deep breath together, find support amongst the wider population, steer us away from the endless war, destructive technologies, bleak off the cliff trail that we're on, and forge a better path for the future?
Today was a momentous day, a Global Day of Action for the 99%. For William and I a magical day of convergence, validating our work, and expanding our understanding of reality and circle of allies. As we were speaking, I received a report from the Global Innovations Commons who have extensively researched and identified who has patented and suppressed innovative technologies threatening the dominant oil/nuclear industries and retarded the move towards benign, renewable energy sources. They have also pioneered identifying and encouraging the development of promising technologies in countries not shackled by the horrific patent laws and lawyers that have actively tried to keep a lid on these technologies. They just posted a report entitled Proprietary Environments: Innovation Paradox and Policy by Dr. David E. Martin, Executive Chairman, M•CAM Inc.
My earlier interview with Bill about his novel 2012 The Awakening is posted here.
Download this episode (right click and save)]]>Have you ever been to the desert or spent time in it? For those who know it well, the desert is filled with stories, alive, ecologically and multiculturally rich, comprised of diverse landscapes. The desert is not immune to predatory corporations, the military, to those wishing to hide or bury toxic wastes, dangerous chemicals or nuclear waste, prospectors for more than gold or silver ore.
Ruth Nolan, M.A., is a native of the Mojave Desert and Associate Professor of English at the College of the Desert near Palm Springs, California. She is also a poet, writer, and book editor/publisher, former BLM-California Desert District firefighter, and has extensively hiked, traveled, and embraced the essence of her desert homeland. She has been crusading to raise awareness and protect sacred sites, dense ecologic flora/fauna zones, endangered species, in particular the desert tortoise, and the people who live and breathe in the desert. Their lives are threatened by the federal government's renewable energy policy, the false characterization of the Californian deserts as big, open "wastelands...." the mentality behind thinking that chunks of the desert can be chopped up and allotted to multi-thousand acre sites.
Ruth Nolan is editor of the new anthology, No Place for a Puritan: the literature of California’s deserts, published by Heyday Books. She was awarded a Joshua Tree National Park Affiliate Writers Residency for 2008-09, and collaborated on a film about the park with the UCR/California Museum of Photography. Her poetry has appeared in many literary publications, including Inlandia: a Literary Journey Through Southern California’s Inland Empire, Poemeleon, Askew, Pacific Review, Epicenter, Mosaic, Southern California Haiku Journal, and San Diego Poetry Annual. She co-edits Phantom Seed, a bi-annual literary magazine dedicated to the nuances of the California desert, and is advisor to the College of the Desert literary/visual arts magazine, Solstice. Her poetry collections include Wild Wash Road (1996) and Dry Waterfall (2008.) She lectures and speaks widely on desert literature and related topics, such as desert conservation and California Indian culture.
She believes that the paradigm/thinking needs to shift from "destroying more pristine land" towards "subsidizing more localized renewable energy for homeowners, businesses, communities, public institutions on already-reclaimed land" in order to "go green." She recognizes the problem with the enormous gifts to corporate "investors," who have already taken money, failed to deliver, and are now bankrupt, i.e., Solyndra.
She's concerned that the "whole" desert, is at risk by the many proposed solar/wind projects on public BLM land. We need to re-evaluate the desert as a rare and precious resource, an important wilderness area, a thriving life zone of people, plants, animals, archaeology, culture, history, one that needs to be savored and protected, not exploited by a for-profit renewable energy that is based on a "somewhere-else" mentality, "out of mind" disconnect, as the nation pursues a shift towards renewable energy.
She will also speak about the unheralded, little known, promising efforts being made by various organizations, such as Solar Done Right and the Renewable Energy Alliance.
Download this episode (right click and save)]]>Part II
The SACRED SITES PEACEWALK FOR A NUCLEAR FREE WORLD has begun. In Part I, I spoke with two of the organizers of the walk who have been working hard to shut down Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power plant, especially in the wake of the disaster of Fukushima. Working with the Mothers are a Japanese Buddhist order, including Jun-san and two native American groups dedicated to preserving sacred sites, Indian People Organizing for Change and Protect Glen Cove with Johnella LaRose, another main organizer of the walk. The Diablo Canyon plant was built, over community protest, on a site sacred to the Chumash people.
This is an unusual, rare interview with Gilberto Perez, a Buddhist monk from the Nipponzan Myohoji order, which was begun in Japan named "Guruji" by his friend Gandhi -- who developed the practice of walking and drumming with the Lotus Sutra to proclaim the message of nonviolence, when Japanese imperialism returned in the early 20th century. Gilberto Perez and the monks generally don't give "interviews" or do "public relations." Originally from Cuba, he joined the Sacred Sites Walk yesterday in Oakland. A foot injury and spontaneous "need" allowed him to take time to patiently answer questions and offer his insights, and stories.
Jun Yasuda in solidarity and support with the indigenous people was a major impetus to organize the walk. Jun-san, as she is affectionately called by those who know her, is an extraordinary woman. In this interview, Gilberto describes how Jun-san was mugged years ago in Oakland... as we talk about the events that took place in Oakland on November 2nd and in the early hours of this morning when there were violent clashes between police and people wielding shields in the streets. When the Peacewalk arrived and prayed at Occupy Oakland the energy was definitely positive, peaceful, creative, and hopeful.
Walking for peace, justice, against the nuclear industry is not a new idea, but a powerful tool to raise awareness, build community and draw public attention and support to the important struggles that are far too often ignored by the press. Recently there have been anti-nuclear walks in Australia, France and New England.
The first Wall Street occupation only attracted a handful of people and, the occupations and walks continue to attract more and more people and support, as they weave those powerful bonds of love, friendship, support and understanding that nourish powerful social movements.
The walks have intersected the Occupations and the schedule has changed, so that the walk arrived in Oakland in support of the November 2nd General Strike. Tonight they will be in Oakland. They are scheduled to be in Berkeley on Friday, November 4th, at BFUU at 6 PM for potluck dinner with Joanna Macy.
The general public is warmly invited to take part in the peace walk; volunteers may elect to walk for an hour, a day, or the entire walk. To connect with the actual march, the East Bay schedule is postedhere, for the exact locations - call 805-234-1769.
Bill Veltrop
The Occupy Wall Street Movement has broken through the media barrier and provoked an international conversation about the problem with a system where less than 1% of the population lay claim to the world's riches and rule with impunity over the 99% whose lives, health, lands, homes, livelihoods are threatened by an unfair economic system. Clearly it is time to change the rules of the current economic game, including the political game where politicians and legislation is written of, by and for powerful corporations siphoning off the rewards and saddling the public with unpayable debts.
Bill Veltrop is a pioneer of The Infinite Games, a resource for those seeking breakthrough approaches to organizational change and leadership development, it draws from the collective experience and wisdom of senior practitioners, thought leaders and organizational change champions spanning over 35 years of innovative organizational design and change work.
As the Occupy Movement struggles with survival, the challenges of police action, meeting the basic needs of the occupiers, communications within constantly expanding and shrinking groups, as well as with the media and between themselves and other groups, the individuals within the movement and the collective groups are faced with the challenge of figuring out how to draw out their collective wisdom, make decisions, improve the quality of their ability to determine and convey their messages effectively. They need to be able to identify and exercise their collective power, and channel it into realizing the changes they want to manifest in the world.
If you've been to one of the General Assembly Meetings or observed one, you will know that half of the early meetings have been devoted to process. Understanding consensus, facilitation skills, are in high demand. I found such a wealth of insights, including Generative Capacity-Building as a Core Organizing Strategy, that could assist those involved in and supporting the Occupy Movement.
In this show, Bill looks at the fatal design flaws of the existing Finite Game System:
1) Myopic, short term view
2) Striving to control, become permanent
3) They are serious
Whereas Infinite Games:
1) Aim for the largest possible picture, the well being of all
2) Co-create, co-operative, designed to evolve and grow with feedback loops
3) They are playful, fun
or
The finite game is played for the purpose of winning,
an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play,
...and bringing as many persons as possible into the play.
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