Tuesday, January 18, 2011

V-RADIO review of "Zeitgeist: Moving Forward"

Review of Zeitgeist Addendum
By Neil Kiernan

The official showing here in Michigan is not until the 20th, but thanks to Peter I was able to watch the movie online for the purposes of this blog review. I had meant to do this earlier but a lot of things got in the way.

In any case, what follows is my review of the various chapters of this great film which is arguably Peter's best to date.

The film starts out with one of my favorite speeches that many of you may remember from “Capitalism Epic Fail”:

“You have to ask yourself: When you finally get the ultimate possession, when you’ve made the ultimate purchase,when you buy the ultimate home, when you have stored up financial security and climbed the ladder of success to the highest rung you can possibly climb it, and the thrill wears off–and it will wear off–then what?”
– John Ortberg

After this we get into some powerful imagery. Some time ago I read an article about this area in New York where the wealthy spend their time shopping for $3,000 hand bags while people are lying homeless on the street. They casually walk by these people with no interest at all in their predicament. I remember giving a link about this out to people in the movement. It was powerful to see Peter Joseph put that place to imagery, and he later mentions the handbags later in the film. I wanted to let people know that the imagery presented actually represents something real.

After some awesome animation about Jacque Fresco's early life and an epic quote that I will not spoil for you if you have not already seen the film, we launch right into the act of intellectually kicking the notion of “human nature” right in the balls. With interviews with multiple professionals who are experts in the field of human behavior and genetics including one from Stanford University, a comprehensive picture is painted of exactly how human behavior forms. And that it is entirely influenced by your environment going all the way back to the womb.

One of the experts in question quotes an article that describes the “genetic” argument and therefore the “human nature” argument is an explanation for the way things are that does not threaten the way things are. Another of the experts condemned the notion that violent behavior is inevitable.

At one point in the film it is even pointed out that someone's genetics themselves can change through life experiences. Generally obvious in victims of traumatic experiences, but it was obvious that this would also apply to positive experiences. This is not just in regards to behavior, it also had serious impact on the body as well. A fetus that is growing inside a mother who is being starved are found to develop a tendency to store all of their sugar and fat. I thought further about the implications of this, and it occurred to me that the obvious proof of this notion is clear in evolution. Particularly in the different races of humanity. Skin tone, and other various attributes of race were obvious adaptions to the physical environment of the people in question. Black people for example adapted darker skin to deal with the hotter weather in Africa.

This all clicked into my head in a powerful way. The reason people's “genetics” adjust to violent behavior when they come from violent backgrounds is their personal evolution preparing them to survive in a violent environment. If you are not exposed to violence you will have no need to develop that behavior to survive. You can see this obvious point when you consider that most of the best participants in violent sports such as Boxing or Football come from cultures where violence is more common or even encouraged. I realized finally that every aspect of who we are adapts to our environment. And a child who's parents are violent who is not exposed to violence while having genetics from those parents, is found not to develop violent behavior unless they also are abused.

This whole segment of the film also had a profound effect on my attitudes about parenting. I suddenly became very sensitive to any sort of environmental stimuli in the lives of my own children. And I urge parents to consider this as well.

All of the work that Peter did in this film does an excellent job of providing tangible and credible sources to the material in his “Where are we now?” and “Where are we going?” lectures he did previously, along with some of the information of the orientation guide that was not contained in “Zeitgeist Addendum”. And this was very vindicating for those of us who have been using those lectures as a source in our own debates.

In the next segment of the film we again look at the monetary system. Getting into the origin of the idea of “private property”. Further reflections point to the fact that the GDP of a country does not by any means reflect the quality of life of people living in that country. Further exposing the way we have been conditioned to think that being a consumer is directly linked to our happiness.

A really detailed analysis that is still very easy to listen to exposes a great deal about the falsehoods in the market system, and the inevitability of collapse of the money system. I got another happy moment when an article I had linked to Peter and Roxanne made it's way into the film as MIT did a study about how machines are in fact stealing jobs.

Further analyzing the direct effects of social-economic status of people and their health. With all the excuses other then the lack of equality directly impacting the health of people completely debunked.

The film then launches into what I would have to say is one of the best and most complete descriptions of a Resource Based Economy. Including how resources should be viewed, and a strong explanation of how it will work. Including a great description of how the circular city model works.

I won't get into deep descriptions of this, but there was some humor in the film that absolutely took me by surprise and caused me to laugh so hard I had to pause the film while I was watching it. It really takes someone who is a veteran of Peter's typical dark and mysterious storytelling style by surprise.

The ending was also powerful, and emotional. I have had multiple people tell me they were in tears because of it. But they are tears of joy.

In conclusion “Zeitgeist: Moving Forward” I think does an excellent job of finishing what “Zeitgeist: Addendum” started, while completely divorcing itself from any of the controversial aspects of the first “Zeitgeist” film. It did an excellent job of putting all the pieces together of Peter's various other lectures and other information that we have had to previously always have to link to anyone who had only seen “Zeitgeist: Addendum”.

Excellent film. I have heard that the internet release that has yet to come is going to be even longer. And I am looking forward to it.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Exposing the connection between Jerald Loughner and the Zeitgeist films.

Exposing the connection of the Zeitgeist Movement to Jared Loughner
By Neil Kiernan.

When terrible things happen, people do their best to make sense of them. We are desperate to find answers to the question of “Why?” So why did Jared Loughner buy a gun, and shoot Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords? Why did he then turn and shoot everyone in sight including a nine year old child?
Recently Fox News interviewed someone named Zachary Osler who claims to of been friends with Loughner. And this is what brings us to talking about the following quote:

“I really think that this ‘Zeitgeist’ documentary had a profound impact upon Jared Loughner’s mindset and how he viewed the world that he lives in,” he said.”

Fox went on to elaborate that the Zeitgeist series of films railed on currency based economics. They also pointed out that this fellow had not spoken to Loughner in about two years. Meaning it's highly possible that Loughner had never seen “Zeitgeist: Addendum” and obviously never would have had the chance to see “Zeitgeist: Moving Forward” before these attacks. But even the first Zeitgeist film did not condone or suggest violence.

Initially when this tragedy went down the right-wing conservative “Tea Party” movement and their extreme views was blamed. There is one place where the Libertarian movement and Zeitgeist intersected. And that was the portion of the first film about the Federal Reserve. I myself learned about Zeitgeist because a lot of people who were supporters of Congressman Ron Paul suggested that part of the film to explain the Federal Reserve's origins. This portion of the film is also what put Zeitgeist on the government's radar, as we have seen law enforcement documents that link the first film to militia movements, and other organizations suspected of possible terrorist activity.

Since then, Peter Joseph went on to make the film “Zeitgeist Addendum” and now “Zeitgeist: Moving Forward” which both take a stance that is vastly different then the Free Market Economical ideas advocated by Libertarians, Right-wing Conservatives and the Tea Party movement. In fact both of these later films are highly critical of the Free Market ideology. And rightly so.

Anyone who has actually taken the time to watch the Zeitgeist film series knows that there is nothing in any of these movies that suggest violence as a means to achieve political ends. Point of fact the Venus Project which the Zeitgeist Movement is the activist arm of, openly condemns violence or coercion as a tool to reach any social goals. Not only because it is immoral and wrong to engage in such activity, but because it doesn't even work. Acts of violence are a great way to cast your views in a negative light. And that is exactly what is happening here. The difference is nobody in the Zeitgeist Movement, or affiliated in any way with the Venus Project committed these acts of violence. They are being falsely attributed to the Zeitgeist films and therefore the movement itself.

The Right-wing Conservative movement is now seizing an opportunity to save itself by pointing the finger squarely at the Zeitgeist Films. Rush Limbaugh in all of his bluster had this to say:

“It wasn't just Zeitgeist. " According to reports, Loughner's favorites included little-known conspiracy theory documentaries such as 'Zeitgeist' and 'Loose Change' as well as ... 'Donnie Darko' and 'A Scanner Darkly.'" Now, Zeitgeist is "a 2007 documentary that asserts Jesus Christ is a myth, that 9/11 was orchestrated by the government, and that bankers manipulate the international monetary system and the media in order to consolidate power."  So a conspiracy movie (put together by deranged leftists, it turns out) appears to be, according to his best friend, the most influential media of this young man's life.”

Limbaugh's other statements basically go to blame the whole thing on the “Left”. In typical fashion we watch as the people who are still duped into believing that being “Right” or “Left” actually means something point fingers at each other in desperation hoping to use tragedy to sway public opinion against their opposition. This of course goes both ways. The left was very quick to point the finger at the right as well. Which is what provoked Limbaugh's response in the first place.

So lets break this down a bit further. Does it even make sense that someone supposedly inspired by “Leftist Conspiracy nuts” would take a mind to shooting a Democratic Congresswoman? Considering the Democratic party is deeply rooted in the left? Obviously that's silly. In the recent 2010 election Congresswoman Giffords was a political target for the right-wing Tea Party movement. This is where the infamous “cross-hairs” pictures associated with Sarah Palin and her political action committee came from. On the website there were cross-hairs over a picture of Giffords along with other members of the Democratic Party in Congress. The Tea Party rallied in support of her opponent in the race, a Republican by the name of Jesse Kelly. So again, why would someone inspired by extreme leftist views decide to shoot her?

It is true that the first Zeitgeist film was very critical of the government. But that is not something that by any means is exclusive to the left. As I previously pointed out I found out about the first Zeitgeist film because of my previous deep involvement with the right. “Loose Change” is not what I would call “Left-Wing”. In fact the filmmakers work closely with Alex Jones who is quite obviously on the right, and advocate of Free Market ideology who frequently has Congressman Ron Paul and the new Senator Rand Paul on his show. “911 Truth” is not right or left. There are people on both sides who have this interest.

“Zeitgeist Addendum” is a film that is critical not only of governments but of corporations. And the monetary system itself. It goes after the bankers, and then it goes after money and the profit motive. It then goes on to suggest that war, corruption, poverty, etc are all caused directly or indirectly through the use of money. It strongly advises that people look into renewable energy sources, and ecologically sound practices. These messages are also conveyed through the Venus Project. First, lets take a look at the reported political views of one Jerald Loughner.

Jerald Loughner was really big on the Constitution.

In a video called “Introduction: Jared Loughner” he writes, “No! I won’t pay debt with a currency that’s not backed by gold and silver!”

In his youtube video series he seems to go back and forth between the idea that we should bring back the gold standard, and the idea that people should just make their own currency. His videos are largely full of rambling. At no point has he ever suggested a Resource Based Economy as proposed by the Zeitgeist Movement.

The idea of returning to a gold standard is highly popular in circles on the right, Ron Paul and his followers have spoken highly of such an idea. The idea of getting rid of the Federal Reserve is very popular in that circle. A gold standard however is not at all suggested in “Zeitgeist Addendum” or “Zeitgeist: Moving Forward”. Neither is the idea of making one's own currency. We advocate using technology to evolve mankind beyond the need for currency or monetary exchange at all.

Fox News claimed it had seen a Department of Homeland Security memo which said Jared Lee Loughner, 22, had ties to American Renaissance, which is staunchly anti-immigration, anti-government and anti-Semitic. 

Arizona Republican Gabrielle Giffords, the target of the mass killing, is ‘the first Jewish female elected to such a high position in the US government. She was also opposite this group’s ideology when it came to immigration debate,’ according the DHS memo.

There is not a shred of anything racist, much less anti-Semitic in any of the Zeitgeist films. The Zeitgeist movement seeks a world that will eventually be without borders, and obviously has no issue therefore with immigration policy.

So taking all of this into account, lets look for a moment at what kind of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was. She was given a progressive (left) score of 41 out of 100 by “That's my Congress” due to her voting record. She was only given a Conservative rating of 11 out of 100. Again, this is not making a good case for the idea that some evil leftist documentary convinced someone to kill her.

Most of her voting record was fairly typical politician. She supported a lot of centrist views. But was really big on one issue that was very important to most members of the Zeitgeist Movement. Renewable energy.

She voted in favor of and sponsored several bills in support of renewable energy, and always praises efforts of various government agencies to switch to renewable energy. This is a statement from her website:

“I believe we need to move towards energy independence both for our national security and for the safety of our planet.  That is why my sixth vote in the 110th Congress in support of H.R. 6 was to repeal subsides for oil companies and invest those funds in renewable energy.
As a member of the House Committee on Science and Technology and its Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment, I remain committed to making energy independence one of my top priorities in Congress. 
Ending America’s addiction to foreign oil, investing in renewable energy—especially solar—and achieving energy independence is the Apollo mission of our generation.  The U.S. Energy Information Administration states that Arizona’s large desert areas offer the highest solar power potential in America.  Arizona has over 300 days of sunshine every year, and, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, we have the potential to produce over 150% of our state’s energy demand with solar energy.
Solar energy is clean, safe and noiseless.  However, we currently only get less than 1% of our energy from solar power.  We should do much more to make Southern Arizona the “Solar-con Valley” of the nation.  I have introduced two bills in Congress to make this vision a reality and developed my Community Solar Energy Initiative—a four point plan to promote solar energy, including: legislation, education and outreach, accountability and transparency, and a solar energy advisory committee.   
  I am determined to lead America in energy independence.  I support:
a goal of 20% renewable energy use by 2020;
increasing fuel economy standards for our vehicles to save drivers money at the pump, lessen our dependence on foreign oil, and reduce air pollution and greenhouse gases;
increasing and extending federal tax credits for homeowners and businesses who install solar panels;
encouraging the development of fuels like ethanol and bio fuels, and
increasing research and development for renewable energy, such as solar, wind, and geothermal.
The road to energy independence will take cooperation and leadership at the local, state, and federal levels of government.  I am committed to working across the aisle to make it possible for our children and grandchildren enjoy a clean, healthy environment in our beautiful state of Arizona and across the nation.”

On that same website pictures of solar panels decorate the top margin.

I would point out that her support for renewable energy projects is directly in line with the principles of the Venus Project and the Zeitgeist Movement. Would be nice if she would catch up issues like the Iraq War. Though she does support a reasonable time frame for withdrawal, but not an immediate one.

In short, I see no reason at all why anyone influenced by any of the Zeitgeist films would hate this woman. Let alone want to shoot her. It's pretty clear people on the right didn't like her politics.

So what motives do we have that are likely?

Well, for one Loughner was known as obsessed with lucid dreaming. And did a lot of hallucinogenic drugs. Friends of his stated that he used a lot of Salvia. And an ex-girlfriend recently interviewed stated he used hallucinogenic mushrooms. He was extremely into the idea that people could mold their own reality. And therefore showed a lot of signs of being out of touch with it. People stated that he had an interest in rocking the boat and pushing people's buttons. Supposedly this is why he listed Mein Kamph as one of his favorite books. He apparently had a lot of problems with authority in general. And like many people who have gone down that road he also seemed to feel that the authority of reality itself should not apply to him.

For this reason Jerald Loughner's crime can exist without a tangible motive. Meaning that whatever he may of dreamed up in his head could have been the cause. His shattered sense of reality could of produced any number of reasons that did not in any way have to adhere to logic. As Peter Joseph stated in his own statement on the matter, the real culprit here is the system that creates these people.

In conclusion, I am sure many of you have heard me say on my show and in my blogs that the right or left paradigm is a distraction. As people rush to point their fingers at the opposing side in situations like this the real root causes will be forever lost to most people. The right will continue to say it is the fault of the left. The left will continue to say it is the fault of the right. When the real culprit is the elephant in the room. The problems that both the right and the left ignore or leave out of their ideologies. And like many other situations just like this the truth of the matter will be buried underneath layer and layer of propaganda. Forever blinded by their need to gain rank over their opposition, reality of these situations is a casualty of war, the war for your mind.

In exposing this "connection" as the media has called it, we find no connection at all.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Public statement from Peter Joseph about the recent shootings in AZ.

PUBLIC STATEMENT FROM THE CREATOR OF THE “ZEITGEIST FILM SERIES”, PETER JOSEPH:

RE: THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA ASSOCIATION CREATED BETWEEN “ZEITGEIST” AND THE TUCSON MURDERS.

It has come to my attention that various mainstream news organizations are beginning to run an association between my 2007 performance piece/film, “Zeitgeist: The Movie” and the tragic murders conducted by an extremely troubled young man in Tucson, Arizona. They are also slowly beginning to bleed the obvious line between my 2007 documentary work, my film series as a whole and The Zeitgeist Movement, which I am the founder. Frankly, I find this isolating, growing association tremendously irresponsible on the part of ABC, NBC and their affiliates - further reflecting the disingenuous nature of the America Media Establishment today.

It appears to have begun with a comment on NBC news referencing my film along with other “influential” films as well, such as Richard Kelly's film “Donnie Darko” and then spreading to ABC News where it singled out "Zeitgeist: The Movie" and the Series itself, stating:

“Osler pointed to an online documentary series called "Zeitgeist" as a possible influence on the man.
The series rails on currency-based economics.
"I really think that this 'Zeitgeist' documentary had a profound impact on Jared's mindset and how he viewed that world that he lives in," Osler said.”

abcnews.go.com/US/tucson-shooting-friend...ed/story?id=12597092

When we reflect on the history of seemingly random violence or other forms of highly offensive, irrational, aberrant behavior, we see a common pattern of reaction from the public and media in their attempt to explain such extreme acts. Rather than deeply examining the Bio-Psycho-Social nature of human social development and the vast spectrum of influences that create and morph each of us in unique and sometimes detrimental ways, they take the easy way out. The first thing they do is simply ignore all modern scientific, social understandings of what generates human motivation in both positive and negative regard, for to do so can only call into question the social system itself and hence the “zeitgeist” (meaning: spirit/intellectual climate of the time/culture) at large.

Generally speaking, it is historically accurate to say that the Mainstream Media simply isn't in the business of challenging the Status Quo. The limits of debate are firmly set. Virtually all ideas, persons or groups who have succeeded in changing the world for the better, later to be hailed as heros in the public mind, started out being condemned by those in the Mainstream Media who latch on to the dominant world view of the time. Even Martin Luther King Jr., a peaceful, loving, wonder of a man who contributed more to our social progress than likely any humanitarian in the US history, was followed by the CIA and publicly humiliated as a “Communist” which he even had to defend in front of a Congressional Committee. In fact, you can rest assured that if King were alive in the current paradigm today and seeking an equal form of justice - he would be given the name: “Terrorist”.

So, again, rather than taking the scientific view, the Mainstream Media often seeks out or implies one point of blame and runs with it. After all, it is much easier, presentable and more simplistic for the public to think that the troubling reality of seemingly random acts of mass murder is the result of a “singular influence” and hence the logic goes that if that one influence is removed, then the world will be back in balance. This gives the public a false resolve and position of focus in an otherwise ambiguous, complex world of social and biological influences. And as far as the scapegoat itself, very often any group, media or dataset that is counter-culture or even hints at wishing to challenge the status quo, is a magnet for such blame.

For example, musical groups of a counter-culture nature have been a favorite scapegoat for acts of murder/violence historically. In 1990, the rock band Judas Priest was actually taken to court for their “role” in the self-inflicted gunshot wounds in 1985 of 20-year old James Vance and 18-year old Raymond Belknap in Reno, Nevada. In 2008, the band Slipknot was publicly tied/blamed to a high-school murder in South Africa. Even the Beatles song “Helter-skelter” was associated to the murders incited by Charles Manson. It goes on and on... and, frankly, it's simply pathetic - avoiding the true nature of the problem - which is the Socio-Economic Environment itself.

Make no mistake: The Social System is to blame for the rampage of Jared Loughner – not some famous online documentary which is known as the most viewed documentary of all time in internet history. Are the other 200 million people who have seen the film also preparing for murder sprees? I think not.

In my new film: "Zeitgeist: Moving Forward", I feature a prominent Harvard Criminal Psychologist by the name of Dr. James Gilligan who headed the Centre for the Study of Violence at Harvard Medical School for many years. In his life work of personally engaging the most dangerous, violent offenders the US system produces, he found some basic trends. The most common is the social issue of “shame”. Our socio-economic system inherently breeds social division and there is a natural demeaning of others generated as a result. It is a scientific fact that mass murderers and those who many just dismiss as “evil” today, are the product of years of being shamed, humiliated and demeaned. Their acts of violence is a reaction from these highly oppressive feelings and the real resolve to such acts can only come from removing the real source of such emotional hurt. You will notice that most other countries don't come close to the level of violence we see in the United States. The US is the capital of violence with 30-300 times more acts of violence than any other country. We have produced more serial killers in America than all other countries combined. Why? You will notice the Mainstream never asks this question.

If anyone would like to understand why more and more people in the modern world end up like Jared Loughner and why these patterns are only going to get worse as time goes on in this system, I suggest the book “Violence” by Harvard Criminal Psychologist Dr. Gilligan.

In conclusion, let it be stated that the Zeitgeist Film Series is about critical thought regarding various social issues which challenge many erroneous notions held as fact in the modern culture. It also explicitly promotes non-violence, human unity and prosperous human development based on truth and science.

Anyone who wishes to really understand the works can view them for free online at zeitgeistmovie.com and my new film, which will detail how a new, humane social system can work, will be in 315 theaters in 60 countries and 30 languages starting Jan 15th 2011. www.zeitgeistmovingforward.com

I am also in contact with my legal team and considering legal action against ABC.

-Peter Joseph