Entries in the 'Crisis' Category

Davos To Seek Solutions For “Global Burnout”

Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion: (Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF)): “‘One can get the impression that we are faced with a global burnout syndrome,’ said Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), held annually in the Swiss mountain resort.

“‘Capitalism, in its current form, no longer fits the world around us’…

“‘We have failed to learn the lessons from the financial crisis of 2009. We have a moral divide, we are overindebted, we have neglected investments in our future, we have undermined social cohesion,’ he warned. ‘And we run the risk of completely losing the trust of future generations.’

The WEF’s 2012 Global Risks Report lists 50 dangers that echo these ideas.

“The authors said the most serious and credible risks included long-term imbalances of national budgets, income disparities, food and water crises, climate change, cybercrime and corruption.

“Many of these problems could lead into a dark future, ‘undoing the progress that globalization has brought,’ they found.

“Heads of state from nearly 40 countries are expected to travel to Davos to discuss these issues under the motto ‘The great transformation: shaping new models.’

“Activists of the global Occupy movement plan to let forum attendees know that they disagree with this argument, based in an igloo village they have set up in Davos.

“Forum participants were ‘incredibly arrogant,’ said David Roth, a young Socialist politician and co-organizer of the Occupy camp.

“‘All those who caused the crisis meet and pretend to be able to solve these problems,’ he said.”

My Comment: Neither the participants nor their opponents know how to solve the problem. However, the opponents of the forum are right: The arrogance—of both the participants and opponents—will not let them pay attention to the solution offered by Kabbalah.
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A 3D Edible Printer

In the News (From CNN Money): “A 3D food printer sounds like something out of Star Trek, but it’s not out of this world. It’s up and running at the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan — and in five years, it could be in your home.

“It doesn’t look like a traditional printer; it’s more like an industrial fabrication machine. Users load up the printer’s syringes with raw food — anything with a liquid consistency, like soft chocolate, will work. The ingredient-filled syringes will then ‘print’ icing on a cupcake. Or it’ll print something more novel (i.e., terrifying) — like domes of turkey on a cutting board.

“[Jeff] Lipton [a Cornell grad student working on the project] thinks food printing will be ‘the killer app’ of 3D printing. Just like video games fueled demand for personal computers 30 years ago, he thinks the lure of feeding Grandma’s cookie recipe into a printer will help personal fabricators expand beyond the geek crowd.

“‘It’s really going to be the next phase of the digital revolution,’ he says.

‘”One of the main things I hope this machine will let us do is create new textures that we couldn’t get otherwise,’ … says [David Arnold, director of culinary technology at the French Culinary Institute]. ‘This is the first time I’ve really seen this happen.’

‘”This would be a slam dunk for cookies at holiday time,’ he says. ‘Anything that requires a high level of precision that people don’t usually have with their hands, in terms of making icing or decorations, this thing can perform amazingly well.’”

Objection (Irina Yermakova, an international expert on ecological and food safety): “Absolute pluses include: It’s economically sound, convenient, fast, and humane in regards to animals; the entire mankind can be fed.

But could such mass lead to serious diseases, human deaths, and infertility? We are observing the food involution: from natural products to chemistry. The first step is already done—the use of GMO (genetically modified organism). Second step is completely synthetic food out of a printer since the food mass used in a food composer is completely chemical.

The gastrointestinal tract converts food into chemical elements that the body needs. Here we are observing a reverse process: The food printer uses chemical elements to create a final product, while the stomach separates the product into its composites.

How will the human body react to this unusual way of eating? What might be the consequences? It is clear that a mass introduction of such technology must be preceded by lengthy, precise experiments.

Today bioengineers assert that no genetically modified products will not leave the laboratory until they are one hundred percent certain of its safety and have no valid scientific data regarding these products being harmful.

The results of multiple studies performed by scientists from different countries around the world, where they tested on animals the effect of the most widely spread genetically modifies cultures, such as corn, soy, potatoes, tomatoes, and peas, show that the tested animals had the pathology of inner organs, tumors, infertility, and allergies. Many countries report the death of livestock that was fed modified fodder.

Experiments have proved that foreign genetic additions easily penetrate the cells of various human and animal organs. It became clear that foreign genes not only penetrate cells and organs, but also get passed on to the newer generations.

Genes can change during the process of implantation, and they can also have a negative influence on the genome of the person’s organism. Activity of the implanted genes can lead to the development of unknown toxic proteins, which cause toxicosis or allergies in people and animals.

Thirty percent of scientists have reported that they were forced to change the results of their studies at the request of their sponsors. Seventeen percent have agreed to misrepresent their data to show results preferred by their their clients. Ten percent have reported that they were requested to do this under the threat of termination of further contracts. Three percent have reported that they were forced to make changes, which made it impossible to openly publish the findings.

It is impossible to stop progress, the development of biotechnology, but it is necessary to have to  evaluate of the impact of transgenic organisms on people and animals objectively. This is not happening. I am afraid that the same might happen with the food printer. Those directly interested in quickly implementing the printer in food manufacturing will be the ones to evaluate it. This is a huge commercial project. We can doom ourselves to extinction by striving to simplify and improve our lives.
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Critical Mass For Consumer Electronics

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from NBC): “Thirty years ago, the average American owned 1.3 electronic devices — one TV, and a third of a radio.

“In 2008, that number jumped to 24 devices: cell phones, iPods, computers, digital cake batter mixers, and the like. In 2011, with the iPad, Kindle and competitors, Android phones, and even more technological treasures for the trove, the number is — still 24.

“This is a ‘gadget plateau,’ in which the consumer of consumer goods can consume no more. This means that companies, rather than creating more and more different gadgets and whizbangs for people to purchase, must improve on what’s already out there, and ensure that different extant devices are compatible with one another, according to the newspaper.

“The slowing down or even decline of consumers’ electronics purchases was inevitable, according to some industry experts.… But after a certain point, there are no more goods to replace or acquire.”

My Comment: The only choice is to either make products with planned defects or to reduce production. Alternatively, we can develop a new attitude to production, society, and life. In any case, we will have to sit down and think….
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Undeclared “Eurogeddon”

Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion (Chris Richardson , Deloitte Access Economics director, from ABCNews): “The latest quarterly Business Outlook by Deloitte Access Economics forecasts that Europe will be the key to growth globally and locally this year.

“The report, titled ‘Eurogeddon,’ warns that 2012 could easily bring a deep recession and widespread bank failures in Europe.

“Deloitte Access Economics director Chris Richardson says there is a 50-50 chance that Europe will muddle through the crisis….

“Mr Richardson says the European Central Bank is containing the situation by pumping money to the banks in the form of discount loans.

“’The money that Europe’s central bank is pumping out is working very effectively as sticky tape,’ Mr Richardson said.

“’It is going to the banks, but the banks in turn are passing indirectly some of it back to governments and that combination is holding Europe together.’

“But even if the sticky tape does hold, Deloitte still expects Europe’s problems to weigh on parts of the Australian economy.

“More finance jobs are likely to go, the unemployment rate is expected to rise to 5.5 per cent, and Mr Richardson, who describes Europe as a “seething cauldron of risk”, says the effects already are being seen in workplaces around Australia.

“’You’re getting employers who are giving employees overtime rather than taking on new people,’ he said…

“’At some stage China will have an ugly year and when they do it will be pretty bad news for Australia.’”

Comment: The sooner politicians and economists learn that the world is completely interdependent, the more chance there is to overcome the global Armageddon peacefully. In the meantime, everyone cares only about himself, blinded by his egoism, not realizing our total interdependence.
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S&P Downgrades Nine Euro Zone Countries

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (From Reuters): “Standard & Poor’s downgraded the credit ratings of nine euro zone countries, stripping France and Austria of their coveted triple-A status but not EU paymaster Germany, in a Black Friday the 13th for the troubled single currency area.

“S&P cut the ratings of Italy, Spain, Portugal and Cyprus by two notches and the standings of France, Austria, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia by one notch each.

“It put 14 euro-zone states on negative outlook for a possible further downgrade, including France, Austria, and still triple-A-rated Finland, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

“Germany was the only country to emerge totally unscathed with its triple-A rating and a stable outlook.

“French Finance Minister Francois Baroin, speaking after an emergency meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy, played down the impact of Europe’s second-biggest economy being downgraded to AA+ for the first time since 1975.”

My Comment: It is time for the governments to revise their outlook on the interconnection of the world and draw conclusions: We must bring ourselves to full integration, to a society of reasonable consumption, and to raise everyone to the level of decent existence. This can be achieved gradually through total mandatory integral education and upbringing.

We need to gradually build this system of virtual learning and make everyone’s participation in listening to the lectures on integral education a condition for receiving salaries or benefits, and so on. In this case, we will appease the frustrated population and with its help, create the network of mutual assistance.
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Russia’s Economy May Get A Double Blow

Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion: (Alexei Kudrin, Russia’s former finance minister): “Russia’s ‘congenital problems’ amplify the effects of the crisis on the country.

“‘One of them is the problem of dependency on energy. Forty percent of state revenues and 40% to 45% of Russia’s GDP come from profits from oil and gas sales. This means that Russia may get a double blow during the second wave of the economic crisis,’ he said.

“Focusing on the national currency alone would be the wrong path to take, he argued.

“Strengthening the ruble would result in cheaper imports and hence damage domestic production, while taking no measures to strengthen the currency might set off uncontrolled inflation, he said.

“He called for a diversified range of measures, including inflation control.”

My Comment: The solution is to correct the use of money as a means of exchange and connection in society, to make it the equivalent of bestowal and connection, rather than domination and power. Without solving this problem, we won’t be able to come out of the crisis. In any case, the crisis will destroy the use of money as a means of accumulation, power, security, and achieving other egoistic goals.
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Money Is Time Divided By Energy

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from Itogi.ru): “While the leaders of the major world powers are trying to find a way out of the economic crisis, and financial managers seek to comprehend its nature, the scientists from Baikal State University decided to look into… the physical nature of money. They hypothesized that the finances are nothing more but a particular kind of matter, and thus they obey the classical laws of physics.

“The researchers concluded that if the term ‘crisis’ is understood as dramatic changes in the properties of an open system, this process will inevitably lead to the emergence of a new, possibly better and more ordered structure of the system. In other words, the greater the economic crisis will be, the stronger and more reliable the global economy will become.

“Money is matter. Consequently, according to physical laws, money exists in some time coordinate and has some energy. As a result, the following formula is proposed: ‘Money is time divided by energy.’ Everything is simple: For a certain period of time, money sets in motion social and political mechanisms and essentially, itself is the carrier of power.

“On the basis of this thesis, the researchers argue, for example, that the concentration of money in one place minimizes its energy. Money should not lie dormant, but work regardless of whether it is a family or national budget.

“The interdependence of energy and money can be easily explained. If the energy of money is materialized solely in the product of production, its rapid growth may lead to the depreciation, nulling of money (the crisis of overproduction, onset of inflation, and devaluation). In addition, the ‘magic’ formula implies the dependence of money on time: The more money a person or state has, the longer it takes to spend, ‘dissipate’ it.

“The scientists are confident that by treating money as a special form of matter that exists in a physical and virtual forms and employing the general laws of motion, interaction, and transformation of matter, it is possible to calculate and predict the movement and energy of finances in a given country or particular regions. In other words, economists who drive cash flows should study physics.”

My Comment: Money is an accurate reflection of our desire: egoistic, if it is aimed at personal gain, or altruistic, if it is aimed at the benefit of society. The use of money depends on us. Money will remain an indicator of the exchange of desires even if money disappears in its material form and remains only in the form of cashless exchange. This is the measurement of our connections. That is why the correction of the crisis depends on the education of people.
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The Disintegration Of Greece Is Increasingly Evident

Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion: (Bruce Krasting, a former hedge fund manager): “Issues related to subsistence have replaced the fervor for demonstrations.

“The closing of stores and shops is escalating. Apparently, 20% of all retail establishments are shuttered. Nearly every block has one reminder of the ongoing depression in the economy.

“The Greek Diaspora is in full swing. People are leaving the country, old and young alike.

“They leave their homes, as there is no future there, but all the time they wish they never left.

“As the shops close and the people leave, the economy shrinks. …The country is imploding.

“People are feeling hopeless, and the situation is getting worse. …there is not a chance in hell that Greece will avoid a default.

“A transition from the Euro to the Drachma would cause huge additional pain. It would devalue the pensions of every citizen by at least 50%. …a default would mean that Greece would be a debt pariah. In spite of this, [many prefer] that it would come sooner rather than later. … There is nothing desirable about this choice. It’s now just inevitable.”

My Comment: This is how a hurricane, tsunami, mudslide, or any other disaster is approaching us slowly—so as to give us time to realize that the reason for what is happening is the lack of correspondence of our egoistic connections with unified nature. As soon as we start considering and treating the world as a single whole and ourselves as its part, we will immediately feel that the blow is retreating and giving us time to adapt.
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The Crisis On The Internet

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from ABCnews): “The so-called SOPA blackout — protesting the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA for short) in the House of Representatives and the Protect IP Act in the Senate — has spread across the web today, perhaps the most widespread online lobbying effort ever coordinated by Internet entities.

“Sites checked by ABC News did not actually ‘go dark’ as originally threatened. Instead, they posted appeals to users to get in touch with their Congressional representatives to argue against passage of the two bills.

“The bills were intended to protect movie makers, music publishers, and other providers of online content who fear that in the digital age, people can copy what they’ve created and spread it without paying for it.

“The companies said the bills could require your Internet provider to block websites that are involved in digital file sharing. And search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing could be stopped from linking to them — antithetical, they argue, to the ideal of an open Internet.

“Congressional staff, meanwhile, sent out messages defending the bills. ‘Websites “going dark” today in protest of the PROTECT IP Act will not be affected by enactment of the legislation,’ said one. ‘None of the following websites meet the definition of a site dedicated to infringing activities: Wikipedia; YouTube; Flickr; Twitter; Google; craigslist; eBay; The Huffington Post; Yahoo!.’”

My Comment: There are two ways: censorship or education. Censorship is not correction. If we do not begin to correct, to educate ourselves, the Internet created by us will “eat” us alive because it represents our own ugly reflection. Instead of limiting the Internet, we need to educate humanity. This is what the Internet should be engaged in! If an alien entered our Internet and saw who we are, wouldn’t we be ashamed of ourselves?
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A Letter To Capitalists From Adam Smith

Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion: (David Rubenstein, managing director and a co-founder of The Carlyle Group): “Countries teeter, protests rage, unemployed multiply, deficits abound the virtues of capitalism are questioned.

“I always felt there were two principal flaws – and we saw them come to a head over the past few years. The first is that unfettered exuberance about wealth creation will produce unsustainable booms and inevitable crashes. The great recession, fueled by cheap credit, is a textbook example of this flaw.

“The second is the inequality that results when the charge towards wealth creation leaves behind those less able (in most cases through no fault of their own) to adapt or to compete with the hard-chargers.

“While there is no simple cure to capitalism’s two big flaws, here is what I would do in 2012 to get the system back on its feet and to modulate income disparities.

“1. Save the euro and the European Union. A functioning and vibrant EU – the world’s largest economic unit – is essential to global prosperity.

“2. Fix the US debt and deficit. …This is not acceptable, nor is it good for capitalism.

“3. Integrate the emerged markets. The world needs to acknowledge that the centre of capitalism is shifting to the emerging markets – where most of the growth will occur in 2012. …If they are not, the capital needed to solve many of the developed markets’ current problems, especially residual issues of the great recession, will not be available on tolerable terms. Again, this will hurt the poor more than the wealthy.

“4. Educate. Educate. Educate. Perhaps the greatest cause of income inequality is the dismal state of primary and secondary education.”

My Comment: Capitalism has exhausted itself; it cannot be integral as Nature requires because it is built not on reasonable consumption, but on the continuous growth of production and consumption, which is unfeasible due to limited markets and natural resources.
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