The ‘Occupy’ movement is intriguing.  The idea of social and economic equality is a continuation of equality movements that have spanned over the past 150 years.  I’m not writing this to argue and protest against The Man and corporate America playing a role into the toilet flush of the world economy.  Instead I want to discuss this movement in terms of this supposed ‘change’ that so many believe or have been talking about with the approaching magical date in 2012.

I’ve written about 2012 before, both debunking and informational posts on the many beliefs, facts, and theories behind it.  To say the least, I’m intrigued, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m a hard core believer – especially when you get all into the alien and sci-fi aspect of it.  If I was to ‘believe’, then I would say my beliefs stem more from the theories of discovery and enlightenment of the Human race that are clearly around us all today.  The ‘Occupy’ movement, Human Genome Project and the advancements in the understanding of our genetics, the exponential advancement of our technology, and the unexplained occurrences: Massive animal deaths (as mapped on Google Maps), increase in major natural disasters (According to the EM-DAT, the total natural disasters reported each year has been steadily increasing in recent decades, from 78 in 1970 to 348 in 2004.), etc.

As far as the ‘Occupy’ movement, the huge global participation is directly attributed to today’s internet and technology.  The internet, in some respects, is the collective subconscious of this planet.  Never before has information been so easily distributed and readily consumed.  One could argue the increase of natural disasters is also a result of internet and technology – 1. We can now live in places never before habitable. 2. News of every natural disaster reaches millions.  So, it’s no surprise how the ‘Occupy’ phenomena has spread so quickly to 1500 cities worldwide.

Is the world finally becoming enlightened and demanding a global change?  Social and economic equality makes sense, but how can that be achieved?  Can the ‘Occupy’ movement really force global change?  All great questions that have yet to be answered. The timing is impeccable though with 2012 right around the corner when mentions from ancient civilizations, modern day spiritualists, and even scientists all theorize one similar concept: Change is upon us.

Think back to when you were born.  How different are things nowadays?  Well now look back 100 years ago.  It’s crazy to think about how much has changed.  Even crazier to think about how much things will change in the next 100 years.

They say that technological advancement is exponential.  Well with that in mind, looking at these changes in the past 100 years, it’s crazy to even imagine what we will see the rest of our lives!!

The year is 1910.
One hundred years ago.
What a difference a century makes!

Here are some of the U.S. statistics for the Year 1910:

The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47

Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.

There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

Alabama , Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California.

With a mere 1.4 million people, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!

The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents per hour.

The average U .S. worker made between $200 and $400 per year ..

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,

a dentist $2,500 per year,

a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and

a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at home ..

Ninety percent of all U.S. doctors had no college education.

Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as “substandard.”

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.

Five leading causes of death in the U.S. were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars.

Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn’t been admitted to the Union yet.

The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!!!

Crossword puzzles , canned beer, and ice tea hadn’t been invented yet.

There was no Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.

Two out of every 10 U.S. adults couldn’t read or write.

Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores.
Back then pharmacist said, “Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health.” (Shocking!)

Eighteen percent of households in the U.S. had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.

There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.

There are many questions I have wondered whether I’d see the answer to in my lifetime:

Will there be an African-American President in my lifetime?  Check.

Will there be universal health care for Americans in my lifetime?  Check.

Will there be flying cars in my lifetime? Depends on how you define a car, Virgin Galactic and Icon Aircraft may have arguments that this is a “Check” too, but I am still waiting for the flying Delorean.

Will Marijuana be legalized in my lifetime?  This seems to be on it’s way.

On this day, Thursday, March 25, 2010, it was announced that California has certified, officially named the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, for November’s ballot Wednesday after backers turned in signatures from hundreds of thousands of voters.  This would make California the first state to legalize marijuana since the 1930s.

Now obviously just because it’s on the ballet, does not mean it will pass, though many speculate there is an enormous amount of support for this.  The reasons for support are not because California is home to an abnormally large population of stoners.  Instead, the support stems more from the economic crisis going on in the grand state of California and many feel the legalization AND taxation of marijuana may be the solution to the crisis.

If it’s approved, adults 21 and older would be permitted to possess up to an ounce of marijuana; anyone could grow up to 25 square feet of plants per residence; and local governments would be asked to craft rules on distributing and taxing marijuana. The Secretary of State’s Office said it would take effect the day after Election Day (Do I see a new Hallmark Holiday in the works?)

The interesting fact that will come into play when/if the initiative is passed, is how the federal government will respond.  Though the state will have legalized it, the federal government will not have. While the Obama administration last year promised to turn a blind eye to sick people, even though medical marijuana also conflicts with federal law, it may not be willing to do the same when it comes to street-corner dealers and people who just want to get high.

No official word has come from DC yet.  Yet Salwa Ibrahim, spokeswoman for the pro-legalization campaign led by cannabis activist Richard Lee of Oakland seems to think not much will be done.  “The federal government is going to allow the state of California to move forward with this.  We’re not worried about it.”

It’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out!

I find these types of “conspiracy theory” videos interesting, but before I jump on the bandwagon with a theory and start preaching to the world, I always do a little research to see if there is any validity in what the message is.  In this case, I was astonished.

If history has taught us anything, it’s that large empires only manipulate and persecute the majority population (often times the poor) for the better of the small, but powerful, wealthy sector of society.  Mankind has evolved…right?  We showed our evolution of these principles when we stopped Hitler…didn’t we?  In a way, yes.  But I also see that the world domination conspirators might have evolved in their methods as well.  It’s no longer possible to take over the world by force without nuclear destruction of the planet.  What about a strategic takeover through an idea of world unity through governments, currencies, and controlled media.  If ever a way to take over the world in this day and age, this would be the method.  Does this sound improbable?  Here’s some conspiracy vocab to think about: RFID Chips, 9/11 conspiracy – did we do it to ourselves to create this so-called war on terror?, global economic crisis – interest rates lowered, credit easier to get – all decision our government made…which has led to this recession, war on Iraq – Iraq happens to be in a very strategic location for military attacks on Iraq and Syria, U.S. supplying Georgia with weapons and training in support again Russia – all of these question raised by very public actions taken by our government.

The U.S. Government may be the best PR agency in the world.  With our standards of democracy, they cannot control the media like China or similar factions do.  Our government had to evolve with the times and become a PR expert that can covey a controlled message across our media to influence the public.  Here’s a great example:  We not only condone, but we emphatically support this so-called “war on terror” as we invade countries in search of terrorists.  Our own constitutional rights are compromised with our own support due to this message of “it’s a national security issue”.  There are families voluntarily implanting RFID chips in their children which now place them forever under the surveillance of satellites in response to fears brought on by these so-called terrorist threats.  All of this accomplished primarily through the media communication this message of terrorist threats and national security issues.

The New World Order as explained by Wiki, refers to a new period of history evidencing a dramatic change in world political thought and the balance of power. However, in conspiracy theory, the term “New World Order” (the capital letters are distinguishing) refers to the advent of a cryptocratic or totalitarian world government.  Is this happening now?  Let’s look at some examples of some current government movements and decide for yourself.

RFID Chips – Reference: http://www.jonesreport.com/articles/301006_id_cards_2008.html

Last year there was quite the controversy surrounding our very own U.S. government pushing these “revolutionary” ID cards.  These ID cards would carry RFID chips that would carry every bit of information on each one of us as an individual that our government has on file – Social Security, credit history, legal history, etc.  These were supposed to be implemented May of last year…obviously the American people had a different feeling about that happening.  Oh, yeah and these chips…traceable anywhere in the world by satellites.

The North American Union – Reference: http://www.google.com/search?q=north+american+union&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t

The North American Union (NAU) is a theoretical regional union of Canada, Mexico, and the United States similar in structure to the European Union, sometimes including a common currency called the Amero. The idea of regional integration has been discussed, proposed, ^[1], or debated amongst former government officials with business leaders in academic and scholarly circles for many decades,^[2] but nothing approaching the integration suggested by a “North American Union” has ever been seriously considered by leaders of the three nations, and government officials from the nations say there are no plans to create such a union.^[3] The formation of a North American Union has also been the subject of various conspiracy theories.^[4][5][6][7] It is said to be a conspiracy theory, yet there have been several reports over the past couple years, like http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=49877, stating that George Bush was actively pursing agreements with Mexican and Canadian officials to make this union happen.

Iraq – Reference: http://www.accuracy.org/newsrelease.php?articleId=1246

We all know about the war on Iraq.  And I think many of us have our concerns with the motives (**cough** OIL **cough**) behind our invasion of that country.  Not to say that Saddam wasn’t a tyrant and deserved to be removed, but we must question the “big picture” that the Bush administration had in mind.  Did he really feel compelled to invade Iraq just to liberate the Iraqui people?  When you take into account countries like Iran and Syria that are conveniently located nearby, questions of strategies to use Iraq as a strategic military base against those countries make a lot of sense for oil domination…which in turn may be world domination.

U.S. and Israel help Georgia fight Russia – Reference:http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-57569

Why did we care?  Russia is a long time “enemy” yes.  But when you look more into it, look at the location of that area.  Yet another strategic military location the U.S. could use in it’s efforts to take over the oil-rich Middle East.  And if Russia controlled that area, most likely they wouldn’t be so quick to allow our military to occupy it.

Is this all paranoia?  It seems a lot of people are picking up on these trends.  Yet the overall public awareness does not seem to follow suit.  Is our media and entertainment industry yet another point in the plot for global domination – One World?  Hulu’s commercial jokes about a plot to take over the world by turning brains to mush by feeding it meaningless “entertainment”.  Perhaps that message is not too far off.

We’re social. Follow Us!

LIQUID ASSETS

If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Delta Airlines one year ago, you will have $49.00 today
If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in AIG one year ago, you will have $33.00 today.
If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Lehman Brothers one year ago, you will have $0.00 today.

But, if you had purchased $1,000 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the aluminum cans for a recycling refund, you will have received $214.00. (This varies depending on which state you live in!)

Based on the above, the best current investment plan is to drink heavily & recycle. It is called the 401-Keg plan. 

It’s almost nauseating that this joke could actually be true.