In the News (from Nielsen): “Global consumer confidence increased one index point to 92 in Q3 2012, and is up four index points from the same period the previous year (Q3 2011), according to global consumer confidence findings from Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy. …

“Seven in 10 global online respondents (69%) changed their spending habits to save on household expenses, an increase of two percentage points from last quarter and three percentage points from a year ago. Half of global respondents (52%) said they spent less on new clothes and cut back on out-of-home entertainment expenses (48%). Other actions taken by global respondents include saving on gas and electricity (47%), switching to cheaper grocery brands (39%) and cutting down on telephone expenses (33%).”

My Comment: Forced savings will not save us, but it will help us in the transition to a new economy of reasonable (necessary) needs, and the rest of our resources and energy should be directed at the development of a homogeneous integral society.
[94125]

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In the News (from SHTFplan.com): “Cities from coast-to-coast are facing unprecedented budget deficits that have left government officials with no choice but to strip police forces to a bare minimum. We now regularly hear about new ‘records’ being broken in the resulting crime waves that follow.

“Law enforcement officials in Chicago, for example, have said that their city has deteriorated into a domestic war zone with gang violence leaving scores of people dead on a regular basis. Murder, rape, robbery and assault have skyrocketed in bankrupt Stockton, California, suggesting that local governments are quickly losing control.

“In New Jersey, the city of Camden may soon be granted the dubious distinction of being the poorest and most violent city in America. …

“As local, state and federal officials in the United States realize the reality of our fiscal and economic situations, they will be forced to make serious cuts in areas that have become essential to the American way of life.

“Personal safety, food security, health care and critical public services will inevitably be sacrificed as across-the-board austerity measures become the norm, not the exception.

“Impoverishment will lead to desperation and anger, which in turn leads to “nothing left to lose” attitudes and a rise in violence and criminal activity.”

My Comment: Only one condition should be added to welfare benefits: attending free courses in integral education (where there is free food in addition to the benefits), and all the negative consequences will be turned to positive! Otherwise the neglected and impoverished masses will lead the country to a civil war.
[93934]

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Opinion (Steen Jakobsen, Chief Economist and CIO, Saxo Bank): “We have been surprised how little impact the strikes on the streets of Greece, Portugal and Spain have had on policymakers. But this is finally changing: Eurogroup considers direct transfers to Greece.

Policy makers are finally realising that social tension can overtake much needed reforms and financing needs by virtue of rallying the voters. Note that the groups of people demonstrating across Europe are no longer just unions or public employees. This is now a national issue for many countries. One generation of youth has already been lost, with all the negative consequences expected for productivity, innovation and pure outlook on life. …

“What comes next is one of two things: Radicalisation – Fascism & Communism?

“IF – the policy makers ignore this call for ‘change’, then the voters will be radicalised, moving to the extreme left and right politically. We are considering having an Outrageous Prediction for 2013 that include a serious move back to Communism in Eastern Europe and towards more autocratic states in Southern Europe. …

“In times of crisis people go to extremes – and this is now a full blown crisis, as we have a banking, economic, political and social crisis in place. It can’t get much worse actually, which is probably a good thing.”

My Comment: But is it possible to cause the necessary need for change not by suffering, not by crisis, but by increasing awareness of the need for change long before it manifests itself, according to the rule “The wise see beforehand.” The wisdom of Kabbalah encourages this by offering the method of how to change man and society long before nature forces us to do so by suffering.
[93830]

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In the News (from Euronews): “The President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso has answered questions put to him directly by EU citizens.

“In a special edition of iTalk, held in an interactive Google ‘hangout’, he spoke on issues covering the debt and employment problems facing Europeans, democracy within the EU and further European integration.

“He explained he wanted to see Europe develop into a federation of nation states, while at the same time sharing sovereignty between EU members. He also spoke of the need to focus on growth in order to bring sustainable employment, especially for young people.”

My Comment: Stimulating growth means creating bubbles; nothing will come of it, except deepening the crisis. Moreover, the crisis will not end until we understand that we need to transform the world community not competitively, but into mutual guarantee. And for this it is necessary to change the nature of man for which we need the method of integral education. This is the only way to save the world from falling into savagery.
[93718]

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Opinion (Kyle Bass, Larry Edelson, Charles Nenner, Jim Rogers and Marc Faber): “‘Trillions of dollars of debts will be restructured and millions of financially prudent savers will lose large percentages of their real purchasing power at exactly the wrong time in their lives. … We believe that war is an inevitable consequence of the current global economic situation.’

“‘Since the 1980s, I’ve been studying the so-called ‘cycles of war’ — the natural rhythms that predispose societies to descend into chaos, into hatred, into civil and even international war. …

“‘However, there are very few people who are willing to even discuss the issue right now. And based on what I’m seeing, the implications could be absolutely huge in 2013.’

“Former Goldman Sachs technical analyst Charles Nenner – who has made some big accurate calls, and counts major hedge funds, banks, brokerage houses, and high net worth individuals as clients – says there will be ‘a major war starting at the end of 2012 to 2013,’ which will drive the Dow to 5,000.

“‘For one thing, many influential people wrongly believe that war is good for the economy. … A continuation of bailouts in Europe could ultimately spark another world war,’ says international investor Jim Rogers.

“‘Add debt, the situation gets worse, and eventually it just collapses. Then everybody is looking for scapegoats. Politicians blame foreigners, and we’re in World War II or World War whatever.’

“Marc Faber says that the American government will start new wars in response to the economic crisis.

“‘The next thing the government will do to distract the attention of the people on bad economic conditions is they’ll start a war somewhere.’

“‘If the global economy doesn’t recover, usually people go to war.

“Faber also believes the U.S., China and Russia may go to war over Mideast oil.”

My Comment: Today, a strong shock is needed to begin a war. Everyone is afraid of it and agrees to suffer. It is profitable only for the elite… It should be brought to the attention of everyone that we all face one condition: the need to achieve mutual connection—mutual guarantee.

We, humanity, are a constantly and rapidly developing part of nature. New laws appear in our society. Since recently, the law of our mutual connection is manifested more and more. We have to observe it; otherwise, we will increasingly feel opposed to nature in the form of various crises, suffering, and disasters. Wars will not help; we will have nothing to share. Humanity will lead itself to death. This is one of the ways predicted by the biblical prophets.
[93728]

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Opinion (Javier Solana, former Foreign Minister of Spain, Secretary-General of NATO, and EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy): “The European Union remains the world’s largest economy. With a GDP of more than €15.5 trillion, it is larger than that of the United States. And, with 20% of world trade, the EU is also the world’s second-largest exporter and importer, after China and the US, respectively. The EU is, quite simply, the world’s leading commercial power.

“But this data cannot hide the fact that the institutional model that made today’s integrated Europe possible is inadequate to the problems created by the financial crisis. So we Europeans need to deepen European integration with much greater determination and speed. If we do not, there is a real risk that social discontent will undermine the EU’s foundations before we can complete the process of integration that will resolve the problems now blighting the lives of millions of people.

“Europe will need to bet on greater integration in order to escape this predicament. And, unavoidably, integration will lead to a united, coherent, and effective European foreign policy, one that is adapted to a world that is changing at dizzying speed.

“Today’s world is already multipolar. But multi-polarity provides no guarantee that the international system will be capable of being governed by common rules, without which global affairs will become much more dangerous and conflict-ridden.

“It is precisely here that Europe has something to offer the world. It is still the leader in institutional innovation – one of this century’s greatest needs – and is the best and most successful historical example of it, as its Nobel Peace Prize for 2012 acknowledged. …

“Our prosperity and the viability of our socioeconomic model are at stake. That should convince us that Europe’s states are too small to act globally on their own, and that European integration is the only viable path.”

My Comment: I would add one more condition: If the EU does not adopt an integral method of correction of the crisis (integral education), it will become a bad example for the whole world!
[93630]

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In the News (from The Wall Street Journal): “Spanish government and opposition leaders are moving toward an agreement to loosen century-old housing-foreclosure laws amid an uproar over the suicides of two homeowners who were facing eviction. …

“Housing foreclosures are one of the most visible human dramas of Spain’s economic crisis, with the number of court-sanctioned evictions climbing steadily since the collapse of a decade long housing bubble in 2008. Rising unemployment, which now exceeds 25%, is aggravating homeowners’ difficulties in meeting mortgage payments.

“Spanish courts authorized nearly 19,000 evictions during the second quarter of 2012, compared with 5,614 in the first quarter of 2008, according to Spain’s General Council of the Judiciary.”

My Comment: From here, it is close to a rebellion and civil war. Only the introduction of mass integral education is able to calm and organize life because it explains to people the cause and meaning of what is going on and how to act in this case: In the created integral community everyone needs to change their attitude from mutual hatred to mutual guarantee and love.
[93522]

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Opinion (Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister): “Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría said that Spain must be united in tackling the crisis and called for the difficult situation to be handled with shared determination, both nationally and internationally, to avoid ‘cracks’ that would make us vulnerable and ‘to strengthen and shield ourselves from uncertainty.’

“Regarding the reform of the public administration services, she highlighted the need to promote a ‘far-reaching’ reform that avoids duplication, saves money and improves the service; in short, one that provides ‘coherence’ and better channels resources. She insisted that this reform is the most important structural reform currently being implemented by the Government and announced that ‘an important merger process’ will take place at the end of the year because ‘21st Century governments cannot function with 19th Century structures,’ she said.”

My Comment: This is how nature will gradually force us to accept its higher general law—all its parts tend to a single form, mutual connection, and equilibrium. Of all the still, vegetative, and animate parts of nature, it is the human being who is an offender of balance. Our egoism wants to grab and use the whole world for itself. Suffering or reason or their combination will force it to be tamed. The example of Spain shows that they are close to the realization of the problem.
[93431]

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Opinion (from Utro.ru): “Europeans celebrate the re-election of Obama, who has proven himself a ‘friend of Europe.’ For Europe, Obama’s victory means maintaining predictability. Romney would not deal with the allies in crisis and would begin to support the U.S. economy to the detriment of European economy.

“However, the EU economy is sinking deeper into recession, and the United States is beginning to focus on the development of relations across the Pacific Ocean. However, Obama’s re-election will do little to help the EU to deal with the crisis. Meanwhile, the situation is worsening.

“Europe desperately searches for the way to overcome the crisis. America does not close its economic relations with the EU, but does not develop them either. But the U.S. ties with Asia are booming. The USA is conducting a strategic dialogue with China. The USA is not alone in cooling relations with Europe.”

My Comment: It is possible to get out of the crisis only truly united; going against the laws of humanity is to the detriment of everyone. Caring only about oneself will lead the world to war.
[92933]

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In the News (from The Atlantic): “Can 30 creative thinkers make a difference to a city in need? A Detroit economic and entrepreneurial development organization called The Collaborative Group is betting on it.

“Devastated by the collapse of the auto industry that fueled the region’s growth, Detroit has fallen into dire straits. The city, which has a poverty rate of 37.6 percent, is the poorest major city in America. Residents are moving out in droves: Detroit’s population has shrunk by a quarter in the past decade.

“The 30 Challenge Detroit Fellows are a mix of recent college graduates, artists, lawyers, urban policy specialists, and other innovators. As Fellows, they’ve received year-long job placements with local host companies from large businesses like Quicken Loans and Chrysler, to startups like ePrize and HiredMyWay. …

“Fellows work at their jobs four days a week. Each Friday, they join together to participate in ‘team challenges’ devised by local nonprofit groups, tackling a new project each month.”

My Comment: This sounds like the anecdote when the patient lying on the operating table before a serious operation asks the surgeon not to forget about the small wound on his leg. The problem is not in one city but in the world economy, in changing people’s attitude towards themselves, society, and the world. Instead of studying Kabbalah’s opinion and its application, humanity wastes time allowing the crisis to damage society more deeply.
[92716]

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