Lovely dream, but what does it take to see it happen?

Bernard Lietaer talks about the relationship between the money system and sustainability

While there are those within institutions that see the problem, I find there are far less who understand the fundamental issues that are being ignored that will have a dramatic impact on the outcomes expected from current investments of majority of attention and resources.

In Cultural Fusion I find an opportunity to explore a radically different conceptual basis for open system organizations or frameworks. Art based solutions allow a depth and breadth of perspective that does not seem possible (or natural)within knowledge silos or through the lens of judgment.

After I get this sorted out I will move most of it to the comfusion an new Oci Novosti websites.

Instead of telling someone else what they should not do, what would happen if I paid attention to what I was doing? Then it is more natural to be inspired - paying attention without negative emotional charge. And that's an important part of flexibility of perspective.




Had a chance to work on revisions to my play, tentatively called "In Your Own Backyard". One of the big issues now resolved was framing a tawdry drama inspired by my early observations and frustrations developing multifaceted programs to address homelessness/poverty/domestic violence/HIV/AID prevention and interventions within a specific community.

The play explores first the region as community. It is a hot spot for STDs including HIV/AIDS, political corruption, intangible deficits of all kinds and how they translate into a series of events that will redefine community and define a region for decades.

It was inspired by three southern communities ranking first, second and third in the nation for chlamydia and syphilis. After noticing discrepancies in the local numbers for the counties and CDC (center for disease control). Closer attention to what was driving these stats and how a drama

I learned what "community revitalization" really means. It is part of that Orwellian inspired industry of Spin Doctoring, which one refers to the people who manage dialgues. This seems intended to suggest a distance between the the carrying out of a misdeed and spinning of it.



Based on my observations I developed this idea to engage more people in the BIG ISSUES by breaking them down to a scale of impact that people can conceptualize. The time for this to happen is sooner rather than later.

In times of distress - domestic abuses increases. This has never been a good situation but in light of mandatory furloughs for state social intervention agencies and insufficient funding of community based programs - without attention could have increasingly tragic results.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008 :As families confront the impact of the current economic crisis, social service agencies across the US are seeing growing numbers of cases of domestic violence and child abuse. The correlation between financial stress and the growing incidence of such cases is shown in increased calls to hotlines, visits to emergency rooms and the utilization of social services and shelters.

My informal survey from contacts I have in grassroots advocacy report a similar story...shelters are seeing almost daily increases. Considering the numbers falling through the cracks before all this the prospects are troublesome of more being doomed to be cast in invisible shadows. Although no one will say the words, actions and priorities speak quite clearly about what (who) is valued and who is not.
For example, what is the message when billions are committed to financial sector bail out due to circumstance they created, and cut backs for those that serve the people impacted? These messages are internalized and to play out to have political, social and economic impact on larger scales.

Looking at my own little sphere of "what can i do?" I am allowing expressions of solutions in the context of seeing what is being dealt with and transformed.

I could write more white papers, articles, research papers but fewer people would digest the information. Therefore the impact would be limited because it would perpetuate an underlying belief about value or rather values.


Tiger Woods A Game

Today Jeremy reminded me of what it takes for Tiger Woods to maintain his A Game. Listen to the show to see what he said about that.



Of course most of us know this intellectually - many of us want it for ourselves. But how many people think of this for people who are considered poor, who have survived being abused, or witnessing abuse overcoming serious odds to break cycles of violence?

It is no secret that these questions are connected to issues of incarceration because a significant number of people in prison could have been diverted with successful intervention providing them with personal development tools alongside opportunities to realize their potential professionally, and express themselves creatively.

I am writing my play as a series of connected stories because I want to explore the complexity of this tangled set of "facts" and observations for example - Consider that at least sometimes privatization of prisons has been used as a perverted kind of economic stimulus and redistricting tool. If we want to reduce crime - increase the peace - -then it is important that we begin to see where the underlying attributes are institutionalized?

Who is considering the long term impact of this kind of thinking?
And regardless of what your ideas are about the situation, the reality is that are more people are released from prison we must find way to
1.minimize the damage to children left behind
2. successfully re-integrate them into society if we want to reduce crime and the costs of managing the crisis caused.

There have been numerous academic studies and policy reports and journalistic accounts analyzing our prison boom, but this phenomenon cannot be fully measured in numbers.....America is expert at turning citizens into convicts, but we've forgotten how to transform convicts back into citizens...And so the legacy of our prison boom continues—and we continue to be defined by our desire for punishment and revenge, rather than by our belief in the power of redemption.

Now to be honest as I write this I know it is not an easy thing to learn forgiveness but having dealt with these issues personally I believe the rewards are worth the effort.

It is no small thing to have ones self survive and thrive despite such harsh conditions. When people have been encouraged by something i shared, i feel that i have been given a gift. To avert the worse case scenarios we have to set about the business of creating alternative structures and programs that can support regional collaborations. However, I believe that what a region is will come to be redefined with the evolution of cyberinfrastructure.

BUT what can we learn from people that make it? What is making it?

I am learning to be curious about what others believe before jumping to judgment. Does the need for resistance decrease and does less resistance translate into more efficiency over the longer term. By that i mean might it be worth looking at how personal intervention - focused on those that are already committed and motivated but just need access to resources pay off many times over.

What changes if we make that adjustment in our attitude?

"FREE Video Reveals The Amazing Money-Making Secrets Of A 28-Year Old Convicted Felon Who Earned $100 Million Dollars in Online Advertising!"


Because much of what has been done will not work in this emerging context- it is important to identify what information to build upon- that which can shift much faster than our organizational dinosaurs, individuals creating the trends in P2P, open source, social enterprise development, employment & social media will command the expected attention.