Well we’ve finally swung out of our record cold early spring, and agriculture has been counting the cost– dead sheep are up 16%, and the oilseed rape crop has been halved in comparison to seasonal norms. Britain is set to become a net importer of wheat for the first time in a decade. All these factors will impact on food prices, so if you’ve never turned your back garden into an allotment, now is a good time to start!

Unemployment rose by 70,000 in the 3 months till late February – the second rise in a row. Annual Pay rises were at their lowest since 2001 at 1%. And UKIP is surging ahead in the polls on the strength of its immigration policy, a sure sign that the government is finding it difficult to keep sweeping technological unemployment under its increasingly threadbare carpet!

Prime Minister David Cameron has announced plans to spend tens – ultimately hundreds of billions of pounds we don’t have on a Trident nuclear missile replacement. The only cited threat is that North Korea is developing nuclear missiles – whose range falls far short of the UK. Perhaps he is afraid that an envious Kim Yung sun wants to get his hands on George Osborne’s Quantitative easing technology.

Meanwhile at the HMRC, 55,000 workers staged half-day strike recently. Can this be the beginning of lawful rebellion from the very people that the government relies on for its financial lifeline?

One of the biggest stories of late has been the passing of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Whatever our particular political opinions might once have been (we don’t do politics any more, do we?), we can now look back at Baroness Thatcher as perhaps the last ever British Prime Minister that was worthy of remembrance. Her passing coincides with the demise of the political establishment as a relevant force in human affairs. Let’s hope it won’t be too long now before the rest of the population awakens to this fact!

Fracking expert Ian R Crane has been speaking to The UK column about the implications of the environmental impacts of this technology. 64% of the UK sits over shale and coal bed methane gas . Huge volumes of freshwater are needed for its operation, possibly beyond the limits of our national reserves. A host of illnesses are caused by neurotoxins and endocrine inhibitors that are used in the process. House prices crash on fracked regions. Human symptoms from exposure to the toxins include legs collapsing and induced speech impediments.

Please give your assistance to a student research project

A student research trying to understand how both social media and activism work asked our help in order to gather enough data for her work.

There are 2 forms, one for ‘members’ and the other one for the online community. If you would like to help please download this questionnaire: -

docs.google.com/forms/d/1cpqX4uaESDF254tYpa4ZV_S-9M87XoHmKAQi-esHg0U/viewform

this is the questionnaire for the online members: -

docs.google.com/forms/d/1e2ULGBybEOshi8qXDiI88BoyO_xZnNxHcDr8aUhVC30/viewform

Topic of the month: TZM Education

www.tzmeducation.org

Now that you’ve taken that step of becoming a subscriber to TZM it is our sincere hope that you’ll be open to doing your bit to educate others on the train of thought, and help to ensure that this will be the generation of Monetary Marketopithecus makes his long-overdue transition from caterpillar to butterfly.

Here is TZM co-ordinator Jim Phillips sharing his thoughts about where we all stand on this vital crossroads in human history: -

The scene: A secondary school dining hall in Hertfordshire, showcasing The Resource Based Economic model via a 25 frame ‘science and sustainability’ exhibition.

TZM Education co-ordinator James Phillips is standing in the hall and a 14 year old boy walks up beside him with a look of bewildered wonderment on his face and says…………

Boy: ‘You mean we can build all this?’
James: ‘Yep.’
Boy: ‘Then why don’t we just do it?’
James: ‘Because we don’t have enough money.’
Boy: ‘Money’s dumb.’

I watched Zeitgeist in 2007 and Zeitgeist Addendum in 2008 after the initial recommendation of a friend, but it was not until after two years of questioning the idea of the Resource Based Economic model and attending ZDAY 2010 in London that it finally clicked for me that I must take a stand, so I asked myself the question:

Which group of people are the most likely to get this and be the most likely to make it happen? The answer seemed to me to be glaringly obvious to me….Kids……The destination…… Schools…… The method of approach……..Sustainability.

However this was of course merely a theory that needed to be put into practice, so I set up TZM Education. The aim of the site was to showcase the flaws in the current education system towards creating the train of thought required for a Resource Based Economy to come to fruition, whilst simultaneously providing the materials for TZM members to go into Schools and share the train of thought with students and teachers.

So what have results been thus far? Well in the case of delivering the message to Schools I have been into ten so far at different age groups and been invited back to every single one. In these Schools there has been everything from students taking the argument for the RBE into debating societies, demands for return visits and in one case the cancellation of lessons for the day to ask further questions on the idea. So there is no doubt a hunger amongst young people and teachers to hear of such ideas.

The merits of such an approach for the movement shine through in the example given at the beginning of this article, and this is by no means an isolated case. Most groups who come through to the exhibition walk away with a flyer, as well as receiving a warning to make sure they check out what I am saying to ensure it stands up to burden of evidence. This is always a welcome but somewhat shocking revelation to the kids who are of course locked in an environment where questioning authority and the validity of the information being taught is the governing syntax.

However in the area of bringing more members around to the merits of this approach I would say by my own standards admittedly, I have not been as successful as I would have liked. This is the purpose of this article and the next phase of TZM Education.

A long awaited update to the site is underway including a revamping of the activism section to make it as user friendly as possible for TZM members. Coupled in with this will be a worldwide movement project through Chapters to commit to going into at least one School in some capacity as a starting point for a worldwide effort by TZM to approach the education system with this information.

As a movement who seeks a change in the ‘cultural zeitgeist’ to one that is more orientated towards utility, sustainability, collaboration and true efficiency, we regularly profess two extremely important statements in our materials. These are:

It’s all about the train of thought. We are an educational organisation who seeks to orientate society towards more sustainable set of social and cultural values via an understanding of what is technically possible should we choose to apply the scientific method and the systems approach to the social system directly.
You must become the light of change you wish to see in the world. If we do not actually put this aim into practice using the same logic we advocate then we are engaging in a false enterprise.
So it seems to me that if it is an educational movement who wish to speak to the people who are ready to hear what it is we have to say then the evidence is in. The answer is in our Schools.

Remember that Children still have that sense of wonder at the world. They have not yet been convinced that they cannot change the world or that do not have the power to do so. They still imagine. They still dare to dream. They have not been out in the big wide world and been told to fall in line, get a job and follow the presubscribed plan set out for them. It is our duty to inform them that the sustainable world their teachers only allude to in gesture is achievable, if they dare to question and believe they can be the author of their future rather than just perpetuating the prior generation’s limitations. This leads us to point 2. ‘Be the light of change you wish to see in the world’.

These are easy words to write on Facebook and speak to your friends and family, but saying and doing are two very different things. As a member of an organisation who seeks a change in the way the whole world works, to say that we have our work cut out is an understatement. So without making a plan and working our backsides off at making it happen then I am afraid we are what we say we rally against: hypocrites.

By all means if after an honest look at yourself you can say that there is nowhere in this notion of approaching the School system that you feel you can apply your abilities to this provably effective route then fair enough.

However, if it is just fear of what the kids, your family and friends, teachers and others may think of you, then I would suggest you take a long hard look at point 2 again. Really look at the wording and ask yourself if it is an explanation you are making, or an excuse?

Don’t misunderstand me – I’m no saint. Occasionally I relax but then I take one look at the totally unnecessary inefficiency in our social system and needless suffering of nearly all of the only family, on the only planet, in as far as I am concerned the only life I will ever get and I say to myself, ‘sorry James, time to get up off your arse and get back to work sunshine.

’Life is not about a finish line. Those who live a life through the prism of integrity have no other option but to act, regardless of the result. If you class yourself in this bracket, and the evidence presented in this article strikes a chord with you then I need your help.

Please visit www.tzmeducation.org and get in touch with me through the contact section for an activism pack and to discuss how we might go about this task.

Our children deserve a better future than the one currently on offer. The time to make that future a reality, is today.

James was also interviewed recently on the Star trek podcast, and you can listen here www.trekmate.org.uk/trek-mate-a-star-trek-podcast-episode-63-past-present-future/ (1hr 30 min into the transmission)

Be part of a local sustainability initiative

And finally, we’re looking for members who would be willing to participate in sustainability initiatives in their local area. We already have charitable organisations such as the Food banks, some of whom are finding that the numbers of people needing emergency food support have doubled over the last year. We at TZM know that human problems need technical solutions, and we need to respond by forming partnerships with such organisations with a view to developing technical solutions that can provide life-supporting resources locally and sustainably. Would you be willing to be part of a local charitable unit that grows food, generates renewable energy, composts and recycles sewage waste and 3d prints household items?

Please email us at www.tzmuk.com/contact_us and let us know the level of participation you are able to give.

Alternatively, why not join our urban farms project facebook group on www.facebook.com/groups/328362650594797/

Address : 

Martineau Gardens, 27 Priory Rd Edgbaston Birmingham B5 7UG

Time : 

From 11.00am

Contact Info

Nick - 07979 026 688

Links : 

Event on the Calendar

Facebook Event Page

TZM West Midlands Facebook Groups

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Regular meetings are held every other Monday evening from 9pm (pop along from 8:30pm if you’re new to TeamSpeak). All are invited, please join us next time.

As a way of introduction & and to help us gauge where we should focus our efforts, would you take a moment to introduce yourself and mention what it is that brings you here today? Perhaps you just saw one of the documentaries on-line & are looking for more information? Or maybe you are interested in any upcoming events in your area… Whatever it is, we would love to hear from you.

If you have the time, please write in the comments below.

Many Thanks.

Tzm Admin Team

Hello and welcome to the Zeitgeist UK newsletter for April 2013 – By David Lucas

As that hormonal adolescent-race ‘Monetary-marketopithecus’ sleepwalks on zombielike through this dying paradigm, weather extremes and social instability abound across his stressed home planet. A year after the driest March on record, Britain has just come through the wettest winter and coldest March on record, and the record freeze continues into April. America is still recovering from Hurricane Sandy – their fiercest ever storm, while Australia has just had to add a new category of heat level to their firestorm events. They have also seen the arrival of a whole new weather phenomenon – the firenado.

In Canada, The Green party has proposed spending $5 billion to pre-emptively burn off the methane gas escaping from the Arctic Tundra as the region warms and begins to thaw for the first time in recorded history. Methane is a far more effective greenhouse gas than CO2, and this action would help to reduce a positive feedback event which would otherwise further accelerate warming of the arctic in a vicious circle.

In Britain there are further signs that our public are giving up on mainstream political parties and that those who still vote at all are seeking alternatives. Last month saw the Eastleigh by-election, in which the Conservative party came third behind UKIP.  The growing support for UKIP’s stance against immigration is a worrying sign that nationalist fervour could be on the rise in the UK as our economic situation worsens.

Meanwhile in the USA (and largely under the radar of the mainstream media) the economy has finally dropped over the fiscal cliff. President Obama has signed the order to begin cutting 85 Billion dollars from the annual budget. Luckily though, the US Government found there was still enough money available to invest in 7,000 armoured vehicles, 10,000 rifles and a million rounds of ammunition for homeland security – in case those ungrateful American citizens don’t appreciate all that their public servants are doing for them! Time will tell what humanitarian impacts these events will have on an already stressed population as they leave their foreclosed homes in droves and set up tent cities in forests.

And at number-one in Cyprus recently was ‘we’re all going on a bank holiday’ by Fiscal-Cliff Richard! The latest emergency Euro bailout has been agreed just in time to prevent a disorderly exit from the Euro. Confidence is the only thing keeping the beleaguered and leveraged European banking system in play, and there can’t be much of that left after billions are literally being stolen from savers in order to qualify for the latest ECB bailout! The biggest losers in this deal are likely to be Russian Oligarchs who hold billions offshore in Cypriot bank accounts. Hopefully, they won’t miss it too much, and will brush the whole thing off with that well-known forgiving sense of humour of theirs! This move is being seen by some as a ‘Canary in the mine, a small scale test to gauge the level of public outrage and civil unrest before the same policy is implemented in larger countries of the Eurozone.

In China, Terry Gou, CEO of Foxconn – component manufacturers for the iphone – has announced a freeze on hiring workers following a spate of high-profile worker suicides at the plants. He plans to install a million new industrial robots, stating that these are more economical, and won’t commit suicide or demand coffee breaks. Technological unemployment is coming big-time to the world’s premier manufacturing economy.

France is moving in the direction of Greece as the trade gap with Germany widens.  Pierre Jovanovic has told Max Keiser (the Keiser report, RT/ Youtube) about the Goldman Sachs suggestion to reduce French salaries by 30% to stave off the need for another huge bailout. Let them eat cake!!

And from the world of energy production, recently published figures show that the Peak oil phenomenon is well under way. Averaged production figures from five of the world’s leading international Oil companies show a steady decline 2.1% for each year since 2004.

Food for thought: The hundredth monkey

A few years after World war 2, a nuclear bomb was test detonated on a remote Pacific Island. A key experiment was being conducted to see how long it would take for a living ecosystem to be re-established following a direct nuclear blast. The highest animal native to the island was a monkey species – a colony of some 10,000 of which were temporarily re-located to a safe haven during the test. The scientists re-located the colony to the island once the radiation levels had reduced to a level deemed sufficiently safe. The main threat still facing them was elevated radiation levels in debris that had accumulated on the husks of the island’s coconuts – the monkeys’ main food source. So the scientists conducted another experiment – in primate social behaviour. They took a group of about ten monkeys and trained them to wash coconuts in a fresh water stream before eating them. Then they released them onto the island with the rest of the colony and observed. Gradually, other monkeys would start to copy the washing behaviour one or two at a time. This gradual adoption of the behaviour continued until the converts reached one hundred in number. Then something curious happened. After the hundredth monkey started washing its harvest, the remainder of the 10,000 all spontaneously adopted the behaviour as well. Something in the monkeys’ psyche had triggered a group behavioural tipping point after just 1% of the population had transitioned into a new paradigm.

Will you be the one that awakens humankind’s hundredth monkey?

What could I be doing?

Well we’re all stuck with the existing system for now, but what could we all be doing in the meantime to make the best of life, prepare for the approaching storm and be an inspiration to those around us?

Here are eight ideas to consider as to how you can make some small steps in the right direction: -

• Dig for victory! – During the Second world war, recognising our vulnerability to disruption to food distribution, the government introduced the ’Dig for victory’ campaign to encourage everyone to grow their own food. Gardens throughout the land were dug up and turned into allotments and chicken houses. Window boxes were put up and panted with herbs.We are already seeing food prices steadily rising and average earnings declining.  As our economy declines, food supply chains will become increasingly vulnerable. Do you have the use of a spare plot of land or even just a window sill? Now’s the time to roll up your sleeves and prepare for the spring planting season. And why not give your spare seedlings to friends and family and encourage them to do the same.
• Home composting – Don’t throw away your raw vegetable waste and grass cuttings. Put them in a compost bin and recycle them back into your garden soil. You could even take it one stage further and install a composting lavatory in your home. Safe and hygienic systems are now available that make it possible to make your home part of a closed-loop ecosystem.
• Install DIY wind turbines and solar panels for home power generation – or if you’re a technical wiz in this area help others do the same. Information on DIY wind turbines is onwww.mdpub.com/Wind_Turbine/. You may be interested in joining Open source ecology who are making plans freely available for anyone wishing to develop their own sustainability initiatives:opensourceecology.org/wiki/OSE_Europe/UK. There is also the transition networkwww.transitionnetwork.org/
• Build a biomass stove to heat your home, using brushwood as fuel. Here’s a website to show you how: -www.richsoil.com/rocket-stove-mass-heater.jsp
• Failing that, why not switch to a more ethical provider of electricity? The RSPB are partnering with Ecotricity who are committed to turn away from fossil fuel sources in favour of renewables:  www.ecotricity.co.uk/for-your-home?partner=RSPB1
• And talking of switching to more ethical providers, are you still banking with any of the big banks? Then be sure to switch your account to one known for more ethical practices, such as the Co-operative or even a credit union.
• Would you be willing to spend a free afternoon distributing some flyers to help raise awareness for TZM? Or can you get along to your local university or college, leave them some flyers or even offer to give them a screening of Zeitgeist: moving forward? Please get in touch with us atwww.tzmuk.com/contact-us
• Get streetwise about where you stand with Common law, and avoid falling victim to unscrupulous companies out there who would have you believe that they have the jurisdiction and right to label you as an offender, and use the accusation as justification for demanding money with menaces from you. For example, did you know that when private parking companies send you a ‘fixed penalty’ notice for overstaying in a car park, they are in fact trying to trick you into accepting a contract with them – which is only valid if you choose to accept their ‘conditional offer’. If you receive any such penalty notice from these companies, simply write on the envelope ‘No Contract – return to sender’ and pop it back in the post to them!
• This must see video www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME7K6P7hlko reveals the secret of the ‘Strawman’ legal fiction used by Government agencies to keep you subservient to their corporate rulebooks. If you or your family are struggling with debts,  then www.getoutofdebtfree.org   is another site you might want to consider joining.

Z-day

And finally, a series of very informative and well attended Z-day events were held in The UK, USA and elsewhere around the world last month. To see video footage of some of these events, go towww.tzmuk.com/zday-2013-hub

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Please share the following message on your social networks to help promote the day and the movement. Feel free to use the images.

Happy Zeitgeist Day! Broadcasting live now from London:
www.tzmuk.com/zdaystream

What is the Zeitgeist Movement?
www.tzmuk.com/about/what-is-the-zeitgeist-movement

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