In the News (from Euronews): “In Turkey 20cm of snow fell – the most seen in 50 years.

“Police in Poland say at least ten people froze to death as the weather worsened over night after what had been until now, a mild winter.

“There are warnings the country can expect 30 degrees below zero at the end of the week.

“In the Czech Republic the railways suffered as the extreme weather buckled tracks and engines broke down.

“Romania, central Serbia and Bulgaria are all in the grip of the big freeze with Ukraine reporting over 18 deaths.

“It is not just humans having to battle the cold – in southern Russia severe frosts have caused the deaths of thousands of fish after river levels which were already low completely froze.

“Transport, communications and power lines are all being hit. Several stranded lorry drivers faced a night in their cabs as roads became impassable.”

My Comment: How long should we suffer to realize that all the problems, oddly enough, are caused by human behavior? A human being as the highest stage of development (desire) determines through his imbalance with Nature everything that happens in it.
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In the News (from Bloomberg): “Rioters set fire to as many as 45 buildings during violent street protests against government austerity measures in central Athens late yesterday and overnight, Greek police said.

“Prime Minister Lucas Papademos won parliamentary approval early today for the spending cuts needed to secure an international bailout of 130 billion euros ($172 billion). The measures equal about 7 percent of gross domestic product over three years and include a debt swap that would shave 100 billion euros off more than 200 billion euros of privately held debt. Greece was granted its first aid package of 110 billion euros in May 2010.

“A total of 170 businesses in Athens suffered attacks during the protests, the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry said today in a statement on its website. Initial estimates put the cost of damage to buildings and equipment as well as from theft at tens of millions of euros, the chamber said.

“Seventeen banks, four bookstores, five department stores and shopping malls and 70 clothing and footware shops were among businesses that suffered damage, the Athens-based association said.

“Several national heritage sites were burned including a neoclassical building from 1870-1881, designed by German architect Ernst Ziller, which was gutted by fire, according to an e-mailed statement from the Athens City Hall.”

My Comment: This will only increase social tension. Studies suggest that only the solidarity of society, the proper distribution of income, and a feeling of unity will create a person’s sense of happiness, peace, and contentment, even with a modest lifestyle.

But this form can be achieved only through the preliminary education of people. We need to introduce mandatory education for all unemployed people, including housewives, retirees, etc., and in a few months society can be brought to conscious integral changes.
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Opinion (Robert Neuwirth, in his new book, Stealth of Nations: The Global Rise of the Informal Economy): “Neuwirth points out that small, illegal, off-the-books businesses collectively account for trillions of dollars in commerce and employ fully half the world’s workers. Further, he says, these enterprises are critical sources of entrepreneurialism, innovation, and self-reliance. And the globe’s gray and black markets have grown during the international recession, adding jobs, increasing sales, and improving the lives of hundreds of millions. …

“They see themselves as supporting their family, hiring people, and putting their relatives through school—all without any help from the government or aid networks. …

“In most developing countries, it’s the only part of the economy that is growing. It has been growing every year for the past two decades while the legal economy has kind of stagnated. “Because it’s based purely on unfettered entrepreneurialism. Law-abiding companies in the developing world often have to work through all sorts of red tape and corruption. … It’s also an economy based on providing things that the mass of people can afford—not on high prices and large profit margins. It grows simply because people have to keep consuming—they have to keep eating, they have to keep clothing themselves. And that’s unaffected by global downturns and upturns.

“Half the workers of the world are part of System D [the self-reliance economy, or the DIY economy]. By 2020, that will be up to two-thirds. So, we’re talking about the majority of the people on the planet. …

“[These goods] are sold through tiny kiosks, street stalls, and little informal markets. …

“The biggest flow of goods is from China. …it’s also easy to deal with China.

“… huge international corporations want to get their goods into informal markets.

“…They sell lots of products through the little unregistered and unlicensed stores in the developing world. And they want their products in those stores, because that’s where the customers are.

“Basically, they hire a middleman…—sometimes several layers of local distributors—to get the product from a legal, formal, tax-paying company to a company willing to deal with unlicensed vendors who don’t pay taxes.”

My Comment: A parallel economic system is created in the world, and this helps it to survive in an environment where corporations want to subjugate everything and grab all the profits. For the time being, these systems support each other, but gradually the formal economy will hang itself on its own rope.  And the shadow economy will work on the principle of reasonable income and necessary goods. For now.
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In the News (from HaAretz): “The end of the world will be coming in just another 48 years, in 2060, according to the father of modern physics, Isaac Newton, who died in 1727. His calculations were not based on mathematical principles or the laws of physics, but instead on the Christian Bible and the Book of Daniel from the Hebrew Bible. …

The time times and half time do not end before 2060. …. It may end later, but I see no reason for its ending sooner. This I mention not to assert when the time of the end shall be, but to put a stop to the rash conjectures of fanciful men who are frequently predicting the time of the end, and by doing so bring the sacred prophesies into discredit as often as their predictions fail. (Source: Wikiquote)

“Contrary to his public image, most of Newton’s work was not devoted to science but rather to theology, mysticism and alchemy. Unlike Newton’s scientific texts, which are owned by the University of Cambridge in England, the 18th century thinker’s theological writings made their way to the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem, and they have just recently been digitally copied and posted on the Internet in cooperation with Cambridge University’s Newton Project. …

“Among the National Library collection in Jerusalem, there are a large number of works by Newton about mysticism, analyses of holy books, attempts at projecting what the end of days would be like, and what the ancient Temple in Jerusalem looked like. The collection also contains maps that Newton sketched about mythical events to assist him in his calculations over the end of days.

“‘From our perspective, there is a contradiction between natural sciences and rationalism and theology, mysticism and faith, but in his mind, as a product of his time, part of the understanding of the laws of nature involved understanding how the world worked,’ Milka Levy-Rubin, who curates the national library’s humanities collection, said of Newton. ‘The stage of history was a field of research for him.’

“Newton’s theological writings have importance beyond the intellectual edification they provide, Levy-Rubin noted.

“Newton belonged to a group of theologians who ultimately managed to change the face of Christianity in general and its relationship with the Jews in particular. Until then, the prevailing doctrine held that the degradation the Jews had suffered over the centuries was proof of the validity of Christian belief. The spirit of the Renaissance, however, prompted theologians to revisit the scriptures, including the Hebrew scriptures.

“In their rereading, they saw the Jews’ place in history in a new light, viewing the historic role of the Jews as one that had not ended. They foresaw a time when the Jews would return to their ancient homeland, after which, in the view of these Christian thinkers, they would accept Christianity, as a prelude to the return of Jesus.”

Newton writes in “Of the Day of Iudgment & World to come: “So then the mystery of this restitution of all things is to be found in all the Prophets: which makes me wonder with great admiration that so few Christians of our age can find it there. For they understand not that the final return of the Jews captivity & their conquering the nations of the four Monarchies & setting up a righteous & flourishing Kingdom at the day of judgment is this mystery. Did they understand this they would find it in all the old Prophets who write of the last times as in the last chapters of Isaiah where the Prophet conjoyns the new heaven & new earth with the ruin of the wicked nations, the end of weeping & of all troubles, the return of the Jews captivity & their setting up a flourishing & everlasting Kingdom.” (Source: Newtonproject)
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In the News (from BBC News): “Greek politicians have approved a bill on austerity measures needed for a new bailout.

“The austerity measures have been demanded by the EU, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank (ECB) – the so-called Troika – as a condition for handing over a further loan.

“The agreement will unlock the latest 130bn euros (£108bn; $171bn) in bailout loans and allow a further 100bn-euro write-off of the country’s debt to private banks. …

“Greece was told to agree to further cuts in government spending equal to 1.5% of GDP, cuts in pensions and thousands more civil service job cuts. …

“Despite the austerity measures taken so far, the Greek government still spends more than it receives in taxes.

“Some economists and Greek unions say the plan is doomed to fail. They argue that by making people poorer the measures will simply shrink the Greek economy, reducing tax revenues and increasing the deficit.

“But EU leaders argue that there is no choice, that spending needs to fall even if it hurts the economy in the short term.

“Further they argue that increasing competitiveness, by lowering wages for example, will attract business to Greece and thereby boost the economy and taxes.”

My Comment: Maybe the EU and the rest of the world will learn from this: Greece must develop an economy of reasonable consumption, and not take the course of growing consumption; Greece must take the course of reasonable and equitable distribution of necessities for existence, and educating the population in the spirit of integration and mutual guarantee. In this case, within a short time, the country will definitely show the way to the entire EU.
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In the News (from BBC News): “Unemployment in the eurozone hit a record high at the end of last year, the Eurostat agency has said.

“The jobless rate in the 17 countries that use the single currency was 10.4% in December, unchanged from November’s figure which was revised up from 10.3%. …

“Unemployment has been rising throughout 2011, as the debt crisis in the region has continued. In December 2010, the unemployment rate in the euro area was 10%.”

My Comment: You should immediately begin to create educational centers for the unemployed and those who wish to receive integral education and upbringing. This will calm society and create a good positive atmosphere. Otherwise, conflict is inevitable!
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In the News (from Reuters, the UK): “The downgrade of much of Europe’s credit ratings demonstrates in perhaps the bluntest terms so far the collapse of any lingering — if lazy — assumptions that developed states are somehow ‘safer’ than emerging counterparts…

“The only good news, some say, is that the recent downgrade means Europe and perhaps the wider West is finally confronting its true situation… ‘The main effect… could be more honest dialogue about the real reasons for the crisis… The accounts speak clearly for themselves – no progress, no real plans.

“Whether the political systems that served western states in decades or longer of economic growth can deliver that is another question.”

My Comment: It is very difficult for Europe to admit and accept defeat in a fight with a new wave of development. That it is still powered by its youth is all in the past. It cannot reject this for now. It needs serious re-education that comes from all the media and is welcomed and constantly supported by kings and thinkers, by fascists and socialists.

The task to get rid of the European complex “We are Europe” should be formulated in advance and put at the heart of a new system of upbringing (namely upbringing rather than education). It should be replaced with the goal—adapting to a new world. The restructuring is needed not in political and economic systems, but in the worldview of the Europeans.
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In the News (from Sci-Tech Today): “Complex wind patterns are being affected as melting arctic sea ice exposes huge areas of normally frozen ocean to the atmosphere above. The loss of arctic sea ice could be influencing high-pressure weather systems over northern Russia that bring very cold winds from the arctic and Siberia to Western Europe and the British Isles.

“’The current weather pattern fits earlier predictions of computer models for how the atmosphere responds to the loss of sea ice due to global warming,’ Professor Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany said. ‘The ice-free areas of the ocean act like a heater as the water is warmer than the arctic air above it. This favors the formation of a high-pressure system near the Barents Sea, which steers cold air into Europe.’

“Earlier research predicted colder winters in Western Europe as a result of melting sea ice.”

My Comment: The system of mutual dependence is much more complicated, and everyone will feel unpleasant changes, winter or summer, not only on oneself, but also on vegetative and animate nature (agriculture, health, etc.). If a person brings himself to balance in society, he will reach balance with nature, and there is no other means to achieve homeostasis!
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In the News (from BBC News): “Spain’s unemployment figure passed the five million mark in the last quarter of 2011, official figures show. …

“The rate rose from 21.5% in the third quarter to 22.8% – the highest rate in nearly 17 years.

“Spain already has the highest jobless rate in the 17-nation eurozone and is expected to slide back into recession.

“The 22.8% rate is more than twice the average unemployment rate of the eurozone, which stood at 10.3% in November, according to data released earlier this month.

“The Spanish figures show almost half of all 16-24 year-olds in the country are jobless – 48.6% compared with 45.8% before. …”

Comment: It is necessary to turn the unemployed into students of integral education, rather than depleting the country with high taxes and provoking people to revolt.
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In the News (from Good News): “…According to a new study conducted by the Pew Research Center, 49 percent of Obama’s biggest fans—Millennials age 18 to 29—view socialism in a favorable light, compared to 43 percent who view it unfavorably. (Eight percent had no opinion at all.) What’s more, they like the sound of “socialism” slightly better than capitalism—46 percent of people age 18-29 have positive views of capitalism, and 47 percent have negative views. This is dramatically different from the country’s population overall: 60 percent say they have a negative view of socialism, versus just 31 percent who say they have a positive view. Young people are the only age group whose support for socialism outweighs that of capitalism.

“It’s telling that the number of socialism-friendly young people is on the rise from just 20 months ago, when 43 percent of Millennials favored the word. Between now and then, Occupy Wall Street has swept the country and the headlines, and there are more unemployed teens and 20-somethings than ever. It’s not hard to figure out why our generation isn’t so gung-ho about capitalism—it has disappointed and, in some cases, straight-up failed us.

“Of course, this doesn’t mean Generation Y is necessarily plotting a socialist revolution. It may also signal that socialism doesn’t have the same connotation for us as it does for older people. We’re the first generation with a new bogeyman threatening our democracy and our way of life: terrorism. …”

Comment: The new generation is more willing to accept integral education, than the old. The new generation is not afraid to remove the barriers that separate people, seeing them as obstacles to a safer and more secure future.
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