deconsumption

Oh yeah. Iraq. So what's up with that whole thing nowadays?

It's hard to come up with any fresh comments on the Iraqi situation lately on account of how desensitized I've become to it all. Like the daily destruction of American's hard-fought freedoms, political and corporate exploitation of our workers and tax dollars, the coming energy decline....it's all just "in one ear out the other" for this good ol' boy anymore....

But I suppose now is as good a time as any to direct my two-minute attention beam over to that whole Iraq thing. And since the media isn't really any more interested than most of the rest of us are, let's give someone with an actual stake in the game a chance to speak:

Baghdad Burning

"The latest horror is the study published in the Lancet Journal concluding that over 600,000 Iraqis have been killed since the war. Reading about it left me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, it sounded like a reasonable figure. It wasn't at all surprising. On the other hand, I so wanted it to be wrong. But... who to believe? Who to believe....? American politicians... or highly reputable scientists using a reliable scientific survey technique?

...Everyone knows the 'official numbers' about Iraqi deaths as a direct result of the war and occupation are far less than reality (yes- even you war hawks know this, in your minuscule heart of hearts). This latest report is probably closer to the truth than anything that's been published yet. And what about American military deaths? When will someone do a study on the actual number of those? If the Bush administration is lying so vehemently about the number of dead Iraqis, one can only imagine the extent of lying about dead Americans…"

Speaking of reputable scientists (who've had extensive opportunity to study Iraq before and after the war and who've firmly refuted from the get-to that there were any WMD's there anyway), Hans Blix offers this assessment: Iraqi's were better off under Saddam Hussein. "Blix said the situation would have been better if the war had not taken place."

And so the war was a mistake wrapped up in a lie, and now an incomprehensible number of people are now dead or suffering. And so...what?

And so what. So what.

Hey, don't look at me for answers. I've already said that I'm against this whole war-which-was-declared-to-be-over-three-years-ago thing. I think I even signed a petition or participated in a survey to tell people I wanted it ended right now! And I'm certainly not going to vote this November 7th for any of the people who started it. Instead I plan to stridently support only those people who've said they think it should be stopped someday! I mean, sure, it'd be nice to vote for some real independent politicians--political "outsiders" who base their campaigns on firmly held ideals and beliefs instead of personal ambition and monetary motives. But c'mon, let's get real. That would be stupid. It's practically just giving the election back to the conservative Republicans. Voting for third-parties is a luxury that we cannot afford during times of crisis. In times like these it's crucial that we all pull together behind the only real, legitimate party we've been given which can oppose the Iraq war.

No. All told, the only practical decision is just to tow the line, rock the vote, and let this whole war thing play itself out. Besides, to pull out now would only make the situation worse over there, right? Everyone agrees about how our U.S. forces are the only stabilizing influence they have. If the media would just report the good instead of the bad, then perhaps Congress would approve the kind of financial support the DoD needs to get the job done right. And besides that, it's clear that the majority of people--both in America and around the world--are against the war now, so eventually this groundswell of dissent will have to win out....

No. I bet this war won't go on for very much longer at all.

And besides, what can I really do about anything anyway?

I have to apologize for dropping off the face of the earth. I've spent a lot of time out of town lately, and even when I'm back at home I'm not afforded any computer time.

The good news is that I closed on my home in Minneapolis, and I only dropped the price about 15% to do it. The most interesting comment I can make is about how our realtor (a savvy guy with over 20 years experience in the neighborhood) kept repeating "Unbelievable" after the money had been officially handed over. Evidently people aren't even looking at homes near downtown Minneapolis right now. The fact that we had one showing (after the first closing-debacle I wrote about a few weeks ago) and that it resulted in a purchase was, well, "Unbelievable" to him. "I don't want to get spiritual on you, but you two must live under a lucky star"....

Here at the homestead I'm working on putting together a flyer to see if I can get a peak oil prepardness group together. I want to try to stir the community toward evaluating themselves for how we might better prepare now for what might be to come.

And I'm still involved in the search for land to build on, which is a terrific experience. The concept of owning land is...well, I can only compare it to being single and active in the dating scene. It's titilating and frustrating and exciting and fearful and even downright sexy. A friend here who owns 40-odd acres described how she can't help but go looking at other land that's for sale. "I feel like I'm cheating", she admits, "but I would never sell my own land!" she hastens to emphasize, "I just want to see what else is out there...". I understand completely.

Also, I'm currently in talks with a fellow to buy his business, although I really can't afford to do so. He sells "green" home remodeling products, paint, insulation, flooring, etc. I think it's a really good niche, and he's barely even gotten it off the ground yet. He would rather spend his time being a farmer. That's the way things are around here--a lot of people would rather work less and live more self-reliantly. Still, the reservations abound. I mean, I absolutely long for hanging out my own shingle, but is that really a smart thing to do at this stage of the game? Will there still be a niche market of people looking to buy sustainable and environmentally-correct home remodeling products two years or five years from now? Perhaps, though, this is exactly the kind of market that will grow over the coming years? I do need a job....but then I also really need the money to build a home...

Someone somewhere once commented that we make the childish mistake of thinking that life presents us with decisions, with simple choices of "either-or" between different paths or selections. The truth is, however, that decisions are easy, but we are only rarely given things so clear-cut. More usually we're plopped square in front of a need. And then to answer that need we have to work to forge our own consensus from a myriad of facts and conditions, to sift through and evaluate from an abundance of data and possibilities and to discover the best route we're able to recognize.

Anyway, on another note my other major obstacle to keeping this website on track is personal: my wife can't imagine how spending more than a few minutes at a computer during the day is in any way justifiable. It's an old argument. People who like to be doing things frequently have a hard time understanding how intellectual study or creative work can actually have any importance (granted, however, that on the flip-side, artists and scholars often do have a difficult time emptying the sink of dishes and getting the checks out on time...). I think of it as "the tyranny of practical decisions", because to my mind it's precisely the ceaseless demands of ordinary daily life that enslave most people, and blind them to finding a larger sense of purpose and direction. It's the same "forest for the trees" way of life that leads corporations to exploit the planet today even when it brings about all of our destruction tomorrow. Of course, too much fruitless daydreaming doesn't benefit anyone either.... I suppose, like everything else in life, it's all about finding the proper balance.

But what it amounts to is that so as long as I'm unemployed--and cherish a happy family life--I won't be posting very often for the time being.

Organic®

[This post is a bit patch-work really, but I'm posting it as is since I find my tangible world is overwhelming my virtual world for the time being].

Kevin at Crytogon.com recently reported this news (from MSNBC):

"Now companies from Wal-Mart to General Mills to Kellogg are wading into the organic game, attracted by fat margins that old-fashioned food purveyors can only dream of. What was once a cottage industry of family farms has become Big Business, with all that that implies, including pressure from Wall Street to scale up and boost profits."

To which I would add this recent corporate announcement:

"Target Corp. said Thursday that it's entering the growing market for organic foods by starting its own brand, Archer Farms."

And perhaps you even remember this news piece from Nov. of 2005:

"...last week, Senate and House Republicans on the Agriculture appropriations subcommittee inserted a last-minute provision into the department's fiscal 2006 budget specifying that certain artificial ingredients could be used in organic food

The Organic Trade Association, an industry lobbying group that proposed the amendment and spent several months pushing for its adoption, says that the measure will encourage the continued growth of organic food.

...The amendment injects Congress directly into the debate over whether certain artificial ingredients and industrial chemicals should be allowed in products labeled organic."

...which is no doubt just where they would like to be. It's surprising how quickly grassroots social movements get co-opted by Big Bureaucracy--the theory seems to be that if a large enough group of people begin to adopt a new way of acting, there must be a need to manage them. BTW, the Organic Trade Association is largely the string-puppet for pushing the corporate organic® agenda.

Now admittedly none of this is actually going to be "news" to most readers, but nevertheless I think it's always helpful to bear in mind that for every positive effort people adopt as a society there are powerful forces that wait at the ready to pounce the new opportunity this presents, and they invariably seem to pervert these efforts in the name of profit. It's not a conspiracy of evil-doers, it's simply built into the nature of our Empire culture to turn everything and anything to our advantage.

Perhaps you've already seen this wonderful graphic outlining how the Organic® food industry is organized (visit the linked website to see the larger version doesn't appear to be saving properly with my server):

I suppose it boils down to a question of convenience really, which might be defined here as "the path of quick advantage". I mean, on one hand it's certainly very convenient that Wal-Mart will soon be offering Organic® food to people in rural Kansas, where there may well be no co-ops or fair-trade coffee houses to be found. But then we begin to approach the question of whether communities should be responsible for nurturing their own organic movements? If a community has traded its family-farm base for supermarket distributorship, then to what degree is it up to them to revive that base?

Then too there's also a larger question of just how many people can the more "purebred" organic movement really support? Commenter auntiegrav posed the question just the other day: "...there is no way to have everyone eat well. There simply isn't a way to mass produce good food. The two concepts are mutually exclusive." More and more people are beginning to wake up to the need for real, unadulterated, nutrient-dense food. "Organic" is really just an initial step in this transition. But as auntigrav points out, organic is not compatible with mass-production. And certainly, if we wish to have "pastured" chicken in every local Safeway there are more than a few corners that will need to be cut. And for many chicken-factories this means hustling the birds outside the warehouse for 10 minutes once a day. And even then that's likely only if someone is actually keeping watch....

Once again, it seems to me, we come back to the need for localized, de-centralized economies. Regionalized economics inherently serves a higher purpose than mere profit or convenience.

I've always liked this Adbusters anthem on consumption:

"BUY NOTHING.

And if you cannot buy nothing, then
BUY LOCAL.

And if you cannot buy local, then
BUY REGIONAL.

And if you cannot buy regional, then
BUY NATIONAL.

And if you cannot buy national, then
BUY INTERNATIONAL.

And if some crazy reason you cannot
buy any of the above, then go ahead
BUY A CORPORATE BRAND"

I should create a bumper-sticker that says "Question Convenience"--but I won't because I really dislike bumper-stickers. Instead then I'll quote this longer-than-a-bumper-sticker Shakespearean meditation on convenience, which he termed "commodity":

"...rounded in the ear With that same purpose-changer, that sly devil,
That broker, that still breaks the pate of faith,
That daily break-vow, he that wins of all,
Of kings, of beggars, old men, young men, maids,
Who, having no external thing to lose
But the word 'maid,' cheats the poor maid of that,
That smooth-faced gentleman, tickling Commodity, Commodity, the bias of the world, The world, who of itself is peised well, Made to run even upon even ground,this vile-drawing bias, This sway of motion, this Commodity, Makes it take head from all indifferency, From all direction, purpose, course, intent;

...And why rail I on this Commodity?
But for because he hath not woo'd me yet"

An for those who're interested I believe the full King John soliloquy comprises the single longest run-on sentence in the Shakespearean portfolio, which makes for a heckuva challenge on the actor.

So I would propose then that the opposite of convenience is responsibility.

We need to be more responsible for what we do and for what we allow to be done. And also for what we eat. "Know What You Eat". It isn't trivial, if you ask me. Nearly everything flows from this.

DuMars Engraving

Some of you may already have clicked-over to DuMars Engraving, the business site of regular Deconsumption commenter Jason DuMars. If you haven't, I highly recommend it--it's an impressive display of a kind of artisanal craftsmanship that I wasn't aware existed.

Jason's evidently an engraving artist who specializes in decorative brass instruments--anything from flutes to saxophones to tubas if you wish. Heck, if you play a sassy Jew's harp I don't doubt he could trick that out as well. His rates seem quite reasonable, too.

Looking to set yourself apart from all those other jazz trombone street-buskers down at Fisherman's Wharf?

Anyway, click on over and check out his "Favorites" page if you will. You'll also want to take a gander at "The Gallery", where Jason features works by some of his major influences. Jason's weblog features even more pics, as well as updates about projects he's been working on.

Wouldn't this make a great birthday gift for that brass musician you know?

NY Times Picks Up On Goldman Index-Manipulation Story

As a follow-up to a piece from last week called Priming the Pump I have to mention that even the NY Times is asking questions. They're not demanding any real answers of course, just asking questions:

Change in Goldman Index Played Role in Gasoline Price Drop

"Politics and worries about oil supplies may have caused gasoline prices to go up at the pump earlier this year, but one big investment bank quietly helped their rapid drop in recent weeks, according to some economists, traders and analysts.

...Goldman Sachs declined to comment."

Bill Herbst's Latest...

I just about missed the September newsletter by Bill Herbst. So get it before it's gone! (just kidding...he keeps an archive of course...).

It's a goodie, too: Bill has outlined a 5-year astrological timeline for how he reads certain developments unfolding here in America. He's promising to give more detailed analysis of this initial overview in coming months.

"In general, people cannot now foresee the revolutionary upheavals coming over the years ahead, first with Saturn-Uranus and then Uranus-Pluto activations. The bulk of the population won’t recognize the changes until they arrive, starting in 2008 and gearing up until hitting full bore in 2012 and beyond. Sitting as we are now in the tepid pool of Saturn-Neptune exhaustion at the endless lies, distortions, and self-delusions of life in America, imagining the incredibly high energy of disruption and radical change that awaits us is a huge leap.

When I began writing this series, I tried to remind readers of the experience of the 1960s—how we felt in
that turbulent decade, with its awakenings, its shocks and tragedies, its exhilaration and excitement.
History alone, however, is insufficient preparation. What’s coming is not simply a replay of the past; it is
an unprecedented phenomenon that builds on that past, but takes what once was into new and unfamiliar
territory."

Interestingly, Bill doesn't see 2007 being the pivotal year that I'm assuming it will be, calling it only a continuation of the kind of "uncomfortable limbo" we've been seeing for the most part in recent years. Which also means he doesn't see any lasting shift in the winds coming out of next month's elections. 2008, he says, will be the year when conditions finally become right to usher in these long-anticipated tipping-points and breaking-points, crackdowns and revolutions. The succeeding years then will be characterized by a steadily developing friction of Freedom vs. Authoritarianism, and Counter-Cultures vs. Status Quo-ters....all of which should mushroom out toward 2012 or longer.

Oh, and he's anticipating Election Day 2008 to be a real shock to the system.

And as a final note let me just add that even if you don't dig astrology, I think you'll at least find it's worth skipping to the "Footnote" to September's newsletter. In it, Bill offers an excellent (non-astrological) summation of the soon-to-be fatal hubris of Empire culture.