It has been known for several decades that gut health appears to have an effect on mental health and brain health – the so-called gut-brain axis. For example, autoimmune diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease have been linked with mood disorders, anxiety and depression. However, the precise mechanism by which the gut-brain axis functions has been largely unknown – but now, new research is starting to shed light on this matter.
According to research published in Nature and carried out by Weill Cornell Medicine, depleted microbiota in the gut can cause altered gene expression in microglia, which are immune cells found in the brain [1]. This effectively interferes with the connections of brain synapses which should occur during a learning process.
The breakthrough was made during a study of mice. Researchers found that mice treated with antibiotics, which depletes the levels of gut microbiota, showed impaired ability in fear extinction, ie they were slower to learn that a threat was no longer present than mice with normal levels of gut microbiota. When researchers sequenced the RNA in the mice microglia, the altered gene expression was discovered.
The same study also examined mice which had been bred to be ‘germ-free’ (ie without gut microbiota). These mice were found to have altered concentrations of metabolites which have been associated with schizophrenia and autism. Researchers were able to mitigate this by restoring gut microbiota in these mice, but only if they did so immediately following birth – an interesting finding, given that the types of psychiatric and mental health disorders associated with autoimmune disease in humans are often those which are also linked to problems with early brain development.
This research is the first time that a potential mechanism for the gut-brain axis has been scientifically described. The gut-brain axis impacts every single human being, every day of their lives,” said Dr David Artis, director of the Jill Roberts Institute for Research in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. We are beginning to understand more about how the gut influences diseases as diverse as autism, Parkinson’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Our study provides a new piece of understanding of how the mechanisms operate.”
The findings of this study open up potential new avenues for treatment of some autoimmune and psychiatric disorders. With a clearer picture of how diet, infection, and lifestyle influence brain health and subsequent susceptibility to neuropsychiatric disorders, we could potentially gain unique insight into how to treat or prevent debilitating, physically and emotionally painful conditions which are becoming increasingly common. The study authors are hopeful. “”We don’t know yet, but down the road, there is a potential for identifying promising targets that might be used as treatments for humans in the future,” said Dr Conor Liston, an associate professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine. “Brain chemistry essentially determines how we feel and respond to our environment, and evidence is building that chemicals derived from gut microbes play a major role,” adds Dr Frank Schroeder, a professor in the Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department at Cornell Ithaca [2].
These days, the soap is also made with coconut, castor, or hemp oils. Sometimes it’s made with avocado, walnut, and almond oils as well. These oils give the soap its lathering, moisturizing, and cleansing properties.
Castile soap is an exciting product since it’s not only environmentally friendly but also incredibly useful and effective for certain purposes. You can use it on your body, to clean your house, and even on pets.
You may find that a bottle or bar of castile soap conveniently replaces a plethora of other products in your home.
Castile soap is also safe and gentle to use as long as it’s diluted properly.
26 different uses for castile soap
You may be surprised by all of the ways that you can use castile soap. Some types of castile soap are made with essential oils. If you buy plain or unscented castile soap you may choose to add essential oils to the following solutions at your own discretion.
Feel free to experiment a bit with the recipes to find a ratio that works to suit your personal preference. But know that when you dilute the soap, you’re shortening its shelf life, so be sure to use the solution within a few weeks.
1. Wound cleaning
Castile soap can be used to clean minor wounds. Add 2 teaspoons of soap to 2 cups of filtered drinking water to create a cleansing solution.
A 1999 animal studyTrusted Source found that castile soap was effective in healing wounds and lowering the rate of wound complications. It was compared to a saline solution, benzalkonium chloride, bacitracin, and a combination of all of these.
However, research from 2015 found that saline solution works better than castile soap in cleaning open fractures. This research followed 2,500 people for a year and found that people who used castile soap at the start of surgery were 32 percent more likely to require a second surgery compared to people who used saline.
2. Deodorant
Castile soap can be used to make a natural deodorant. Add 1/2 teaspoon of castile soap and 1 teaspoon of sea salt to a small spray bottle and use in the underarm area as needed.
3. Dish soap
Add 1 part of castile soap to 10 parts of water to make a liquid dish soap.
4. Dishwasher detergent
Use a natural option to replace your usual dishwasher detergent. Mix equal parts of castile soap and water in a bottle. Fill your detergent compartment as normal.
5. Window cleaner
Freshen up and shine your windows with a natural spray. Use 1 tablespoon of castile soap in a quart of water to clean your windows. Then rinse using soda water and dry the windows with newspaper.
6. Shampoo
Pre-make a mixture of 1 tablespoon of castile soap in a cup of water. Use a small amount of this diluted castile soap to wash your hair. Or simply work a small amount of neat (undiluted) soap into wet hair.
7. Face wash
Castile soap is mild enough to use on your face and strong enough to potentially prevent acne and kill harmful bacteria. Rub a few drops of soap onto your face and rinse as usual.
8. Body wash
Squeeze a small amount of castile soap into your hands to use as a body wash. Use a washcloth or loofah to gently exfoliate your skin.
9. Hand soap
You can easily make your own hand soap or foaming hand soap. Add 2 tablespoons of castile soap to 12 ounces of water. It’s optional to add 1/2 teaspoon of a carrier oil or any essential oil. Fill your soap dispenser with the mixture.
10. Shaving
You can use castile soap in place of shaving cream. Lather up a bit of pure soap in your hands and then apply it to the area you want to shave. You can add a small amount of a carrier oil to help moisturize your skin.
11. All-purpose household cleaner
An all-purpose castile liquid cleaner can tackle all sorts of cleaning jobs. Use 1 to 2 cups of soap in a quart of water as a cleaning spray.
12. Foot bath
Use castile soap to make yourself a relaxing foot bath. Simply add 2 teaspoons of liquid soap to a small bucket of hot water. You can add a few drops of an essential oil to enhance the experience. Sit back and unwind as you soak your feet for up to 20 minutes.
Make your bath more luxurious by adding 2 tablespoons of liquid soap to a hot tub of water. You can add 1 tablespoon of a carrier oil if you want some extra moisture for your skin.
15. Sinus decongestion
A castile soap steam is a convenient way to clear your sinuses. Simply add 1 tablespoon of soap to a bowl of boiling hot water. Place your face over the water, drape a towel over your head, and breathe in the mist.
16. Mopping
Castile soap can be used to make your floors sparkle. Add 1/2 cup of soap to 3 gallons of hot water and mop as usual.
17. Toilet cleaner
Mix 1 cup of soap and 4 cups of water and put in a spray bottle. Use this solution to clean your toilet.
18. Ant spray
Add 1/4 cup of soap to a quart of water to make a spray that can be used to keep ants away from plants. Always test it on a small part of the plant before using it on the entire plant.
19. Fruit and vegetable rinse
Castile soap is a great way to clean any pesticides or residue from fresh fruits and vegetables. Add 1/4 teaspoon of soap to a bowl of water. Soak and then gently rub the produce using your hands. Then rinse with plain water.
20. Teeth cleaner
If you can handle the taste, you can use a drop of soap on your toothbrush to brush your teeth. You may wish to use a peppermint or tea tree oil castile soap.
21. Pet wash
Castile soap can even be used to wash your pets. The exact amount of soap you use will vary depending on the amount of hair and the size of your animal. Use a small amount of soap mixed with water to wash your pet. Then rinse with clean water.
Essential oils can be toxic to animals, so use an unscented soap.
Also note that castile soap is sometimes made with avocado oil. While many parts of the avocado are toxic to animals as well, the oil is generally considered safe. Even so, you may prefer to use a castile soap that is formulated without avocado oil.
22. Plant spray for bugs
Keep bugs off of your plants by mixing 1 tablespoon of castile soap in a quart of water to make a spray.
23. Makeup remover
Castile soap can be combined with witch hazel and a carrier oil to make a natural makeup remover. Mix equal parts of all three ingredients together and use a cotton ball to gently remove makeup. Then use a washcloth with warm water to remove any remaining residue.
24. Mouthwash
Make a mouthwash by adding 1 drop of castile soap to a shot glass of water. Use peppermint soap to improve the taste.
25. Scouring scrub
You can use a castile soap scrub cleaner in your kitchen or bathroom. Mix 1 cup of castile soap and 3 cups of water in a spray bottle. Shake some baking soda and then spray the cleaning solution on the area that needs to be cleaned. Use a sponge or brush to scrub away any dirt or grime.
26. Makeup brush cleaner
Remember to wash your makeup brushes every week if you can. Simply fill a cup with warm water and a few drops of castile soap. First rinse your brushes in water, then place them in the cup for about 10 minutes. Rinse the brushes again and allow them to air dry.
Friday’s Gemini New Moon has just opened an 8 week eclipse tunnel from May 22 to the Cancer New Moon on July 20th. Starting next week on June 5th, there are not 2 but 3 wild card eclipses one after the other. When you emerge later in the summer, you’ll see how these sideways escalators – time/space shifts – have changed everything yet again, giving you an entirely new perspective on the virus and its outcomes.
There are now 6 planets/points in Air sign Gemini – Sun, Venus, Vesta, Node of Fate, Mercury- literally bringing a welcome breath of fresh air from the heavy Earth energy. It’s time to start extracting the learning from our recent passage through global events in Aries and Taurus. This is going to take until Autumn to process -there’s a huge difference between information -knowing something- and wisdom when information has been synthesized into your evolving inner map.
Gemini’s ruler Mercury is at his Tricksterish best/worst in his own sign this week in contact with unpredictable Uranus, slippery Neptune, Mars, the Galactic Centre, Vesta and the Node of Fate- the volatile eclipse degree of the approaching June 21st Solar Eclipse. On Thursday 28 May, the Messenger crosses the world axis into Cancer.
Expect more incoming data than ever before- a veritable Tower of Babel of crossed wires, misinformation, fake news along with new information/decisions from governments contradicting themselves.
In your own life, this is not about trying to make sense of anything – how could you when ,with all the retrograde planets and incoming multiple eclipses ,the ground is going to be pulled out from under your feet? This is about becoming even more skillful and adept at Inside/Out Thinking -understanding that your mind is not a camera but a projector with all the implications that brings.
Click image to view full-sized chart.
The Chandra Symbol for Mercury conjunct Node of Fate Cancer 0:
A Potter at Work.
“You need to be prepared for spirit to do its great work here. And all the steps and stages, all the learning and growth are already part of a guided dance, instrumentally choreographed by those who know. This energy wants a return to what is natural, a restoring of ancient timeless ways. It seeks to manifest a remembrance and a re-dedication. There is this cosmic beholding power, a witnessing intelligence. The guidance is to join forces with the whole of humanity. Then what wants to come through will be popular, obvious, clear, the next place to go.”
Aries Weekly Forecast: May 24-31, 2020
There are currently 5 planets and points in Gemini lighting up your angle of communication like downtown Broadway. Remember, if you combine your own Fire sign together with Air, you create combustion. Then June 5th’s eclipse across this part of your chart will kick off a year when life speeds up rapidly and you’re busy wheeling and dealing, negotiating, making contracts. What interests you is going to change quite noticeably as you decide to study or investigate something intriguing outside your comfort zone. Your mind is going to be buzzing with ideas about life switches in the aftermath of the virus, especially where travel is concerned. You may trade expensive holidays for exploring your own region or city.
Buzzing.
Taurus Weekly Forecast: May 24-31, 2020
All the Gemini activity is going to make you really think about what and who you value the most. This gathering of planets is lighting up your 2nd House of resources and money and when the first eclipse across this part of your life arrives on June 5th, your personal security will be changed in ways hard to imagine from here. Start now to be at cause, not effect, by looking at your income stream and coming up with some new ways of adding more. Factor in that your personal planet Venus will be retrograde until June 25th, so keep spending on non-essentials in check. Make your priority investing time, love and effort into only what you love most, into what really matters when the chips are down.
Do a resources audit.
Gemini Weekly Forecast: May 24-31, 2020
This week a going to give you a foretaste of the first eclipse across Gemini since 2002 arriving soon on June 5th. With 5 planets plus the Node of Fate in your sign, are you feeling the first stirrings of an inner revolution? Maybe just an increased restlessness or boredom with your comfort zone at first followed by wondering how/why you’ve painted yourself in a corner and stayed there. This planetary blast of fresh air is going to blow the cobwebs away and shine some light into the darker corners of negative self-belief. As Venus travels back through Gemini, bring a little more peace and beauty into your life. Ask yourself the Marie Kondo question: what sparks joy?
The end of an 18 year cycle.
Cancer Weekly Forecast: May 24-31, 2020
The planets are gathering in the deepest most hidden part of your chart, Cancer- a sign that it’s time to slow down the pace of your life, to restore and renew yourself and to refresh your hopes and dreams. Frame this a personal retreat, a time to journal your dreams, to notice what and who’s leaving your life, what is outworn and outgrown and what is summoning you on. Next week the first eclipse across this part of your chart will prove how important it is to take a step back and re-group. Your wellbeing is paramount and you’ve taken a mental, emotional, physical and spiritual battering in the last 18 months.
Quieten your mind so you can hear the wisdom of your unconscious.
Leo Weekly Forecast: May 24-31, 2020
The 11th House of your chart which represents your social life, your priorities and your values is forefront and centre stage now. With 5 planets clustered together here, this week is going to bring a preview of June 5th’s eclipse which activates your axis of expansion and creativity. People are your most valuable currency, whether work colleagues, friends, followers on social media, family or your tribes, they all matter more than ever. By “valuable”, I mean that they add to the sum of your happiness. So, take a look around to see who’s for you and who’s against you. Who do you need to build bridges with and who is it time to walk away from?
Do this now as the eclipse on June 5th will permanently change your people landscape.
Virgo Weekly Forecast: May 24-31, 2020
Frame events this week as a preview of what next week’s lunar eclipse across Sagittarius /Gemini might deliver. As a Virgo, this is one of those rare moments when five planets are shining brightly at the very pinnacle of your chart. Think of it as being on stage with the spotlight trained on you, making you ultra -visible. Translated, this means that everything you do will be noticed much more than usual. So, if you are cutting corners, not such good news but if you’ve been quietly doing due diligence, expect rewards or at the very least, recognition. And there could be a sprinkling of romantic fairy dust too as Venus aligns with seductive Neptune 3 times in your angle of long term partnerships.
Seize the day.
Libra Weekly Forecast: May 24-31, 2020
With Air as your Libran element, you need constant input to stimulate your thinking. Lucky you-this week there are 5 planets gathered in fellow Air sign Gemini downloading more data than even you know what to do with. It will be a veritable Tower of Babel-incoming new information from the government, later contradicted, fake news, misinformation all mixed in with some important insights. Be ready for a lunar eclipse in this same part of your chart on June 5th by slowing down to listen to the small persistent voice of your own guidance above the cacophony of noise for the outside. It’s time to think for yourself, throw out old limiting beliefs and make a deliberate effort to broaden your horizons.
Expanding your map of the world.
Scorpio Weekly Forecast: May 24-31, 2020
Both your home and your personal security are high on the planetary agenda. Of course, these are always inextricably tied together but it’s all too easy to go along in the same old way for years keeping things as they are, not noticing what ‘s outworn or outgrown or just not relevant any more. The gathering of 5 planets in your 8th House of money, assets and resources is in Air sign Gemini-you’re being nudged to get more innovative and up to date with how you manage your resources to reduce that nagging sense of insecurity. Are you missing out on savings or living in a place that doesn’t work for you? Are you in debt or undervaluing what you have to offer and under earning? Next week’s June 5th eclipse will change circumstances around you so that you have to think outside the box.
Whose rules are you living by?
Sagittarius Weekly Forecast: May 24-31, 2020
There is currently a gathering of 5 planets in your opposite sign of Gemini ,meaning that your most important relationships are going to be under the spotlight in some way. Luckily, beautiful Venus is spending until late June here, helping to smooth the path of true love. Gemini is always about new information so expect to hear or learn something now that puts everything into a new light. If you’re dealing with work colleagues virtually or at arm’s length at the moment, expect to have to be extra flexible and responsive, rather than reacting in the moment. Next week’s June 5th’s eclipse is going to fall right across your sign and so a changing of the guard is on the horizon.
This is a time when everything you do or say can make a difference.
Capricorn Weekly Forecast: May 24-31, 2020
Since March 21st, your ruling planet Task Master Saturn has been in Aquarius, your angle of income and resources. As this aligned in time with the pandemic lockdown, you’ve had to take account of factors beyond your control to try to stay on an even financial keel. The Master Teacher is heading back into Capricorn until December to start a 6 month phase of cleaning up old business and tying up loose ends. You’ve had peek into a new world of more progressive options and now you realise that you need to clear the decks so that you can update your systems and uplevel your service or business. Alongside that-and equally important-the gathering of 5 planets in Gemini is a reminder not to neglect your health and wellbeing .
Eclipses impact your energy field and the one on June 5th is right around the corner.
Aquarius Weekly Forecast: May 24-31, 2020
Since March 21st when Master Teacher Saturn returned to Aquarius for the first time since 1991,you’ve begun to realise that certain parts of yourself, habits that were seemingly crystallised or cast in stone, could change, deconstruct and liberate you from feeling stuck in a life that didn’t feel like it belonged to you. Just notice if you’ve stopped automatically resisting outside influences, releasing some of the inner stress that you’d come to believe was with you for life. Now that Saturn is retrograde, allow yourself to live along with your world as it reconfigures. Meanwhile, all the activity in compatible Air sign Gemini is nudging you to make everyday life more beautiful, more meaningful, more in sync with what you value the most. Turn wherever you live into a space that reflects who you are now – you need it as a mirror of your emerging self.
Coming home to yourself.
Pisces Weekly Forecast: May 24-31, 2020
In recent years, with so much focus on your career, your role in the world, you’ve felt somewhat exposed, highly visible and extremely accountable. The gift that it gave you was to install a solid sense of all the ways you add value to your community and your workplace, so that you no longer undervalue yourself. The current astrology is shifting the emphasis to your home and what it means to you- from your physical space to your sense of belonging. Questions arise such as: Is where I live where I want to be or just a stop gap measure? How can I make this place more comfortable and more suited to my lifestyle? What and who gives me real sense of belonging and how can I have/create more of it?
Are you putting down roots or transplanting yourself?
Over the past 200 years, Earth’s magnetic field has lost around 9% of its strength. Meanwhile, a large region of reduced magnetic intensity has developed between Africa and South America — known as South Atlantic Anomaly. Over the past 5 years, however, a second center of minimum intensity has emerged southwest of Africa, suggesting that the South Atlantic Anomaly could split up into two separate cells.
Earth’s magnetic field is vital to life on our planet– it is a complex and dynamic force that protects living beings from cosmic radiation and charged particles from the Sun.
The current prevailing understanding is that it’s largely generated by a sea of superheated, swirling liquid iron that makes up Earth’s outer core around 3 000 km (1 864 miles) below the surface. It acts as a spinning conductor, producing electrical currents that generate the continuously changing electromagnetic field.
Image credit: World Data Center for Geomagnetism/Kyoto University
Image credit: World Data Center for Geomagnetism/Kyoto University
For the past 200 years, the magnetic field has lost about 9 percent of its strength on a worldwide average.
Meanwhile, a large region of reduced magnetic intensity has developed between Africa and South America — known as the South Atlantic Anomaly.
The South Atlantic Anomaly refers to an area where our protective shield is weak. This animation shows the magnetic field strength at Earth’s surface from 2014-2020 based on data collected by the Swarm satellite constellation. Credit: ESA
The minimum field strength in this area has pummeled from 24 000 nanoteslas to 22 000 from 1970 to 2020. At the same time, the area of the anomaly has expanded and advanced westward at a pace of around 20 km (12 miles) per year.
In addition, for the past five years, a second center of minimum intensify has appeared southwest of Africa, indicating that the South Atlantic Anomaly could rupture into two separate cells.
The magnetic field is commonly pictured as a powerful dipolar bar magnet at the planet’s core, tilted at about 11° to the axis of rotation. However, the growth of the anomaly signifies that the process involved in generating the field is more complex as simple dipolar models were not capable of accounting for the latest development of the second minimum.
The South Atlantic Anomaly refers to an area where our protective shield is weak. White dots on the map indicate individual events when Swarm instruments registered the impact of radiation from April 2014 to August 2019. The background is the magnetic field strength at the satellite altitude of 450 km (280 miles). Credit: ESA
Scientists from the Swarm Data, Innovation, and Science Cluster (DISC) used information from ESA’s Swarm satellite constellation to study the anomaly and have a better understanding of it. Swarm satellites are built to determine and accurately measure the different magnetic signals comprising the Earth’s magnetic field.
“The new, eastern minimum of the South Atlantic Anomaly has appeared over the last decade and in recent years is developing vigorously,” said Jurgen Matzka from the German Research Center for Geosciences.
“We are very lucky to have the Swarm satellites in orbit to investigate the development of the South Atlantic Anomaly. The challenge now is to understand the processes in Earth’s core driving these changes.”
Image credit: ESA/ATG Medialab
Scientists have been speculating whether the present weakening of the field is an indication that the planet is heading for an imminent pole reversal, in which the north and south magnetic poles reverse places.
Such events have happened many times throughout the Earth’s history, and we are long overdue by the average rate — roughly every 250 000 years at which the switch occurs.
While the mysterious origin of South Atlantic Anomaly is yet to be identified, ESA said that at the surface level it does not present a cause for alarm. However, satellites and other spacecraft flying through the area are more likely to experience technical malfunctions as the magnetic field is weaker in this region, so charged particles can penetrate the altitudes of low-Earth orbit satellites. In addition, SWARM scientists think the intensity dip in the South Atlantic occurring now is well within what is considered normal levels of fluctuations.
Dolphins Bring Gifts From the Sea in Apparent Response to Lack of Human Interaction
The sea mammals have been lining up to bring gifts ashore – “apparently because they’re missing interaction with humans,” according to a report by 7News.
(TMU) – For much of the world, it’s been weeks if not months since we entered lockdown. And while humanity hitting the “pause” button has seemingly been a blessing in disguise for some creatures who have used the respite to enjoy clean air and water for the first time in decades, other animals actually may miss us human beings.
Such appears to be the case for the dolphins who hang out at Tin Can Bay in Queensland, Australia, where the sea mammals have been lining up to bring gifts ashore – “apparently because they’re missing interaction with humans,” according to a report by 7News.
Barnacles Café and Dolphin feeding is typically filled with tourists throughout the year, and offers visitors the priceless opportunity to interact with wild humpback dolphins. And the wild dolphins do enjoy the opportunity to be treated to fresh fish by happy visitors.
But Australia began imposing strict quarantine rules in the middle of March, visitors stopped lining up to feed the animals – and the humpbacks may be worried about the sudden disappearance of their land-loving bipedal friends.
According to Barnacles, the local dolphin pod has been presenting gifts to staff at the café, ranging from barnacle-encrusted bottles to sea sponges and fragments of coral.
“The pod has been bringing us regular gifts, showing us how much they’re missing the public interaction and attention. They are definitely missing you all.”
A volunteer at the café told reporters from ABC that while the pod has displayed this behavior in the past, the gestures have been increasing since the venue shut down.
For dolphin expert and University of Queensland PhD student Barry McGovern, the explanation for the dolphins’ behavior could be far more mundane.
“Nothing surprises me with dolphins and their behavior anymore. They do everything – they use tools, they have culture, they have something similar to names in signature whistles.”
In general, dolphins are one of the most intelligent animal species on the planet. From their playful nature to their sociability and friendliness toward humans, as well as their legendary interactions with seafarers, dolphins have inspired the adoration of humans since time immemorial.
Increasingly, human researchers are discovering that dolphins display skills and sophistication previously attributed only to the human species, including strong problem solving capabilities and a complex system of communication.
However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that we should project our own feelings of longing borne of the quarantine onto ocean mammals. McGovern explained:
“In all likelihood, they probably don’t miss humans per se … They probably miss a free meal and the routine.”
Dolphins are also generally prone to “play-like behavior.” McGovern said:
“They often play with bits of weed and coral and all sorts of things and just leave it on their rostrum (nose).They’re used to getting fed now, so they’re used to humans coming in. When it’s not happening, maybe it’s just out of boredom.”
Since coronavirus restrictions are being phased out, Barnacles Café has reopened and they have resumed dolphin feeding activities.
There can be no doubt that Bill Gates has worn many hats on his remarkable journey from his early life as the privileged son of a Seattle-area power couple to his current status as one of the richest and most influential people on the planet. But, as we have seen in our exploration of Gates’ rise as unelected global health czar and population control advocate, the question of who Bill Gates really is is no mere philosophical pursuit.
Today we will attempt to answer that question as we examine the motives, the ideology, and the connections of this man who has been so instrumental in shaping the post-coronavirus world.
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As the global health emergency of the coronavirus pandemic begins to wane, the fallout from the lockdowns continues to mount. Each day we see more reports of record unemployment, businesses struggling to survive and critical food supply chain infrastructure shutting down.
At the same time, we see business owners and anyone else who violates the lockdown orders being threatened with jail while actual criminals convicted of serious and violent crimes are released back into the communities.
We are beginning to see that the ‘cure’ is not only worse than the disease, it will have longstanding repercussions as the severity of the crisis appears to have been greatly exaggerated.
In this report, Spiro is joined by multiple Sheriffs from across the country who clearly state their position. Public safety and people’s constitutional rights are their number one priority.
These Sheriffs are true patriots who not only serve the people in their communities by upholding their sworn oaths, they serve as a great reminder of how this country and the rule of law is meant to be upheld, as many state Governors blatantly disregard the Constitution and impose broad and wide-ranging authoritarian lockdowns which many would argue are causing far more damage than the virus itself.
The dramatic, discouraging and dehumanizing, cessation of person to person, face to face, contact we are now experiencing, and the — zoomy, zoomy — simultaneous opening of the portal to the virtual world, should come as a surprise to no one. Well, to no one who has attended any of my A.I. or Transhumanism lectures in the past few years or who watched my riotous presentation on Gaia (which you can watch for free here).
This dehumanization was planned. So was the opening of the portal.
The gods behind Silicon Valley (the generic term for the shills of A.I. and Transhumanism) have long been moving the herd in this direction. It just took two months of house arrest and in your face totalitarianism for the rest of us to catch up with them and to realize these people don’t think much of us as at all. In fact, most of us are “unessential.”
For decades now we have been brainwashed by materialist-minded scientists and A.I. cultists that we, and our biological bodies, are ‘just’ information and data.
That’s right.
Forget about that mushy human you think you are. All those life-transforming concepts like “I’m not soul having a human experience” are nonsense to the gods behind Silicon Valley.
Here is the Great Awakening they wish for you to have.
You, darling one, are just data. From your DNA to your Facebook page you are one data generating machine that they can make/take money from.
Now, they have discovered that a virtual you, called an avatar, can generate just as much data (and cash) as the ‘real’ you. They seek to coax you in to creating a cartoon ‘avatar’ that will be ‘you’ in the online world, only better. Once you get comfortable with the idea of identifying with your ‘data self’ you won’t mind so much what happens to your old and ragged biological self. The reason is because, long after you drop your mortal coil, your avatar will live forever in the virtual universe…or so long as it is still plugged in anyway.
Wait a minute. This sounds nuts. I thought an avatar was a spiritual term for a divine being who incarnates on Earth?
It is. I will get to this on the sunny side of this article. Silicon Valley has co-opted this spiritual term.
Now, they can’t just come right out and tell you that their long term plan is to coax you out of your physical body into their black boxes to permanently exist in the simulated reality they wish to superimpose over this one. But, this is what they want.
“By the 2030s, virtual reality will be totally realistic and compelling and we will spend most of our time in virtual environments … We will all become virtual humans.”
Ever since atheist, futurist and Google’s big brain, Dr. Ray Kurzweil, said this in 2003, these data vampires have been aiming for us to drop this physical piece of you know what, develop our cartoon ‘avatar’ or a digital self, and go live in a virtual or simulated reality in a black box.
Millions of people are on their way to sinking into this black box.
The next step is the deepest.
ON THE HORIZON
Facebook, led by Marck Zuckerberg, who may have a little more than an obsession with Augustus Casear (which explains a lot about his hair cut and the behavior of the human surveillance company he founded), has been dying to shove us off into its virtual world.
As you watch the clips below, keep in mind the present VR world is primitive compared to where we are going (which I will show you momentarily). It is where Hollywood was in the 1920s compared to where we are today.
Whole new impossible worlds await!
Here is 2017 promo clip for Facebook Spaces. Notice how the main character transforms into a ‘light being’ after he puts on his VR goggles and does a primitive upload. Facebook scrapped this in 2017.
Facebook wants us to spend time with friends and family like you’re really together. How about… perhaps… actually spending time with them?
In 2019 Facebook trashed Spaces and brought us Horizons. Its still creepy, but the graphics getting better. And, you still don’t have to worry about legs or sex organs in this digital utopia.
What we are witnessing is the The Matrix manifesting before our eyes.
What is happening with VR will transform every aspect of our society, and every aspect of your life. It is the basis for the ‘new, puking, normal’.
Like all tools it can be used to bring light or dark. I see a lot more dark than light. Sure, it would be amazing to converse with loved ones long after they have slipped into the afterlife.
To make it work for the living all we have to do is get past how it can greatly amplify escapism, depression, porn addiction, gaming addiction and begin to see it as the light at the end of the tunnel to salvation from our ‘miserable’ human existence.
NO LOVE STORY
Until February 2020, I still thought we had a few years before the portal to VR opened. The reason is because no one was buying the VR crap. The whole goggles thing? The brain ache isn’t worth it. So, forget it, said the mall rats checking it out at the Microsoft store.
The mainstream was not having it. VR and its sisters, Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) have been five years away since Al Gore invented the internet. It looked to remain this way.
Still, 2019 was a really big year for VR. The industry was growing. The money was flowing. The portal was sucking in cash.
All the VR gods needed was some Really Big Event to shove open the portal wide and shove everyone in.
In America, the key moneychangers are Facebook, Apple, Microsoft and Google.The usual suspects. The customer is the same, too.
In November 2018 Microsoft won a two-year contract worth $480m with the US government to bring AR headsets to US soldiers, using HoloLens for training and on the battlefield with the addition of thermal imaging. Early versions allow troops to see other soldiers or satellite maps of terrain inside the headset. This contract could result in the US Army buying around 100,000 mixed-reality headsets from Microsoft — potentially making the US Army the biggest users of headsets, and the biggest producers of VR-induced headaches, over time.
“Soldier lethality will be vastly improved through cognitive training and advanced sensors, enabling squads to be first to detect, decide, and engage. Accelerated development of these capabilities is necessary to recover and maintain overmatch,” the US Army said in a tender document. A number of Microsoft employees grew a conscious and protested the company’s involvement in building better killing machines.
Tony Stark must be hearing footsteps at this moment.
TRICKS ARE FOR KIDS
So, here was the dilemma. The military is one thing, but we consumers don’t like being tricked into thinking the fake virtual world is our salvation when it is a pain in the neck to operate (with heavy, clunky backpacks), the resolution is crappy and it makes us dizzy.
Plus, going through the mouth of the AR/VR dragon or portal is fun the first time, but there’s not enough to do once in side the Beast as their is little content.
One reason is these apps require a ton of data. Without 5G it is not practical to offer it. This is why Hollywood and Silicon Valley need 5G everywhere, in everyone, as soon as possible. 5G issimultaneously the lifeblood not just of the new, Transhuman, but also of the VR prison, sorry, portal.
How can the VR developers make the trillions of dollars they hope to make if no one wants what they are peddling?
How can we stop people from flying in our planes, asked ANA Airlines, and buy their “Newme” telespresence technology instead, without 5G and everyone demanding VR?
How can we stop people from going to concerts and conferences and watch them virtually instead?
Hmmm.
CORONAVIRUS
March 2020.
The global Covid 19 virus house arrest begins and the Coronavirus Industry is launched.
Overnight, trillions of dollars are at stake for those who can ‘save’ the humans with vaccines and VR technology.
Overnight, everything goes virtual: conferences, concerts, family gatherings. Everything.
Face to face contact is harmful or so we are told over and over again by the media brainwashers. Humans are dangerous to one another. Yada. Yada. Yada.
Now, people are accepting it as a foregone future. We may never be closer than six feet from one another again.
They are clamoring to make ‘contact’ through the screen.
Big pharma, VR and AI cultists who are cashing in on human suffering are loving it.
Dehumanization complete.
More is to come.
WE’VE CROSSED THE BORDER
We have one foot and half our body in VR land or whatever it is going to be called.
Oh, that’s right. It’s the new, puking, normal.
Just as in a Hollywood story, the whole thing seems scripted, because it was. Just who the writer and director is we do not know…yet. We have a pretty good idea.
Enter mad scientist software engineer and leader of one of the biggest VR developers, who also happens to dream of gouging needles in people’s arms filled with Satan knows what kind of vaccine and nanoparticles and you have a perfect sinister character.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not opposed to VR. I can envision a couple of killer apps myself. Facebook’s Portal can keep families together, even under pressure.
What is troubling is the way in which he have been dragged into VR insanity and the way in which its promoters are dehumanizing users.
What is our response?
THERE IS ONLY ONE ANSWER : THE SUNNY SIDE
We only have one response. We have to become a real life, biological avatar. Or, call in Avatars who can help us attain the higher consciousness of the actual, spiritual avatars, not the fake Silicon Valley ones.
As I have previously discussed, just as the gods behind Silicon Valley intend to prove that we live in a simulated reality (and that you don’t have an existence outside of this reality), we must counter with proof that the spiritual world is real and that we do have an actual existence outside of this matrix.
When the world is in the grip of pain, misery, suffering and chaos, an Avatar manifests who will push the world in a spiritual direction.
Yogananda said that an avatar “is born not to show us how great he was, but to give us hope that the state of consciousness he had attained, we too can attain.” (2)
The Bhagavad Gita declared thousands of years ago:
When goodness grows weak,
When evil increases,
I make myself a body.
In every age I come back
To deliver the holy,
To destroy the sin of the sinner,
To establish righteousness.
The Avatar awakens humanity to its true potential, not the one promised by technology (that evaporates with the flick of the off switch).
Truth and love absolute are the essence of the divine teachings of the true Avatars.
Silicon Valley cannot be naive enough not to know this. It seems more likely they are using the term ‘avatar’ in a mocking sense, just like everything else they do with Transhumanism.
“Avatar” is a Sanskrit word that means “descent”. It is the material appearance of a divine being or a deity from heaven on earth. Think Krishna, Zoroaster, Christ, Buddha, and Mohammed. Often, the Avatars descend in order to fight a demon on Earth.
This is exactly what is happening with VR. Humans are descending into a black box world under the control of psychopaths and totalitarian dictators.
A Sufi saying goes: “The fall of an angel is the birth of a man.”
Is the fall of a human into the digital prison the birth of a new man?
Are we to somehow suppose that we are supposed to choose to “fall” into the black box as some kind of spiritual heroes? In their fake online worlds they promise that you can be anything and anyone you want, hence, the term avatar.
No way.
A ‘real’ avatar is one who is freed from illusion or delusion and is here to help others wake up.
This is why Silicon Valley’s use of the term is a ruse. The lure of fake power in a fake world is devlish.
Is a mass human sacrifice is coming vis a vis translation into digital beings? Not if we can wake them up first.
Still, we are being prepared for this by movies, such as Steven Spielberg’s ReadyPlayer One, that stark bit of brainwashing in which young people enter a VR world and stay there…to save the planet. In 2045 the planet is on the brink of chaos and collapse, but people find salvation in the OASIS: an expansive virtual reality universe.
Then there is Upload, the sci-fi comedy series.Its premise is that, in 2033, humans are able to “upload” themselves into a virtual utopian afterlife of their choosing.
I know. It sounds bizarre that we have opened a portal to another world, but it is occurring right before our eyes.
Get ready for it. We are being primed. Will millions soon choose to flick off their body and escape to digital heaven?
Not if we wake them up first.
Will they permanently choose to live in these digital cities and worlds? Or, will they be able to “bounce back” into a flesh and blood body?
This could never happen in the real world, right? People would never, under any circumstances, suddenly, willingly, blindly give up all their rights and submit to house arrest. Right?
Humans would never elect to drop their bodies and go live, permanently, as an elf in Elvenaror Forge of Empires. Right?
This is the same as Christianity promising ascension to a cube-shaped celestial city. Right?
Wrong.
In Christianity’s promise you get to keep your soul.
In Silicon Valley’s promise you don’t even have a soul. But, if you do, they will take it as payment for entry into their digital afterlife.
But, not if we can wake them up first.
FAKEBOOK’S AVATARS
If you don’t think Facebook is trying to coax us into a black box utopia, think again.
Have you seen Facebook’s stupid Avatar app?
While all the world is under house arrest and looking for a way to stay healthy and alive, Facebook took it upon itself to dictatorially censor any health informaton they wished. Not because it was wrong, but because they did not agree with it.
You mean Facebook acted like a dictator and profited from human suffering?
The company took further advantage of the Coronavirus crisis to launch their Avatar app.
The feature allows Facebook users to create a cartoon look alike avatar of themselves. You can use the avatar in comments, Facebook stories and messenger. Now, everyone can have their own digital Avatar.
While you may think this is cute and fun, it serves Facebook’s larger agenda: to make insane amounts of money of your data self. Soon, your Avatar will be making them money, too. Facebook aims to monetize Avatars directly. You’ll soon be dressing your fake data self in expensive digital clothing, buy it jewelry. You know, more of the same crap we want in the ‘real’ world. And, to shift you into the black box of no return.
With Avatar Mark Zuckerberg has the foundation of a digital identity that could travel with us alongside our data, personalizing every online interaction. You, your Avatar, will be an embodied version of you online. As noted, it will live so long as the black box is plugged in.
This is only the beginning of the new life you will lead online.
In fact, you will wonder why ever consented to be born in a physical body again.
RISE OF THE AVATARS
In the next five years, concurrent with the widening of the portal, we will see the rise of digital humanoids or avatars who will take the place of flesh and blood humans.
Corporations are already vying for supremacy in creating “the most human A.I.” workers.
Meet Amelia, your “digital colleague”. She can do the job of thousands. Meet your competition.
It won’t be long before when you call customer service you will be greeting by a virtual being, instead of just a voice..
Same thing at the grocery store check out, the retail store, the restaurant, etc.
By the way, you won’t actually visit a bricks and mortar store either. Through VR or AR you will shop from home in a virtual version of these stores.
Meet Baby X. The Baby X project, led by special-effects artist Mark Sagar, aims to teach a digital infant via a virtual brain powered by neural networks.
This is a new type of being. Created in a lab she has a patented digital brain. She even has the face or image of Sagar’s own daughter.
Now, say hi to Sam and Roman. Creators Soul Machines call them Digital People. While human to human contact is being discouraged, okay outlawed, the A.I. wizards are improving human to machine contact.
Meet Wendy. She’s another A.I. digital human who is capable of recognizing and responding to customer’s emotions as they chat onscreen.
Samsung “the artificial human company,” envisions a world filled with AI assistants, but not the sort of chatbot-powered assistants we’ve become accustomed to. The Seoul-based company that we used think just made crazy phones and great TVs unveiled Neon, a project developed by subsidiary STAR Labs that ambitiously aims to deliver “immersive … services” that “[make] science fiction a reality.”
Promising a “new kind of life”, Neon’s avatars look more like videos than computer-generated characters, and that’s by design — beyond media, they’re intended to become “companions and friends” and stand in for concierges and receptionists in hotels, stores, restaurants, and more. These realistic chatbots aren’t meant to replace humans but “to make us more human,” says Samsung.
These avatars look like real humans. “Neon is like a new kind of life,” says STAR Labs CEO Pranav Mistry in the release. “There are millions of species on our planet and we hope to add one more.” (Because nothing says “I have a god complex” like a tech executive comparing his work to the creation of life.)
The key is that the caped corporate gods want us to think these beings are just like us. They’re just doing their job. They have emotions. The are “just humans” made digitally perfect.
Wow!
It must be amazing to play God.
GOLEM
As I wrote in my 2017 article, “Creepy Valley : The Soul In The Land of Transhumanism”, Facebook’s avatars, like all the others, are spiritually troubling. I don’t know if Mark Zuckerberg is a practicing Jew or not (he seems to lean toward atheism), however, his rabbi would warn him that what he is creating is a digital golem. In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, an artificial / fake man, that is created entirely from inanimate matter. The word means “my light form”.
Light form? Wait. Isn’t that what Facebook is trying to get you to create with its stupid app.
Yes, darling, it is.
Facebook is in the golem business.
Mark Zuckerberg is the new god in the garden. Or is he the serpent in the garden?
The roots of the legend are ancient: the Talmud claims that Adam, the first human, himself — and thus, theologically speaking, all of humanity —was a golem until God breathed a soul into his nostrils.
In Jewish lore, the most famous other golem was one created in Prague in the 16th century as an avenger and protector. This golem was supposed to have been made of clay by Rabbi Loew or Leib, a Talmudic scholar, a renowned Cabbalist and also a worldly man for one in his time. Brought to life by Cabbalistic magic (he wrote the letters aleph, mem, tav, which is emet and means “truth,” on the golem’s forehead and the golem would come alive), its purpose was to defend a synagogue.
While he zealously promotes golem-making to an unsuspecting audience, Zuckerberg may wish to review this story as it did not turn out well.
Playing God never does.
In the story, the golem turned on its maker.
In short, Zuckerberg better watch out for the consequences of what he is unleashing.
Then again, he may see himself as above and beyond karma.
The bottom line here is that TIME IS UP.
AUTHENTIC AVATARS MUST AWAKEN if we wish to see the ‘real’ human race survive much longer. If we don’t wake up the next step will be for the “Digital” humans to revolt against their creators, step over the glass, and take on biological bodies. Then, the real fun will begin.
Many US states have seen LOWER infection rates after ending lockdowns that are are now destroying millions of livelihoods worldwide, JP Morgan study claims
A JP Morgan study suggests lockdown measures have not only resulted in economic devastation but could have also resulted in more COVID-19 deaths
Strict stay-at-home orders put in place in most states to stop the spread two months ago has so far seen nearly 39 million American lose their jobs
There are now more than 1.6 million infections in the US and over 95,000 deaths
The JP Morgan report says that restarting the US economy may not lead to a second surge in infections that health experts have feared
Report says infection rates have been falling seen since lockdown measures were lifted in parts of the country
Alabama, Wisconsin and Colorado are among those that saw lower infection rates (R rates) after lockdown measures were lifted, according to the report
The R rate is the average number of people who will become infected by one person with the virus
Coronavirus lockdowns have ‘destroyed millions of livelihoods’ but failed to alter the course of the pandemic given many US states have seen lower infection rates after easing restrictions, a JP Morgan study has claimed.
The statistical analysis has raised questions about the effectiveness of the lockdowns put in place across much of the United States two months ago to stop the spread of COVID-19.
It suggests that the lockdown measures have not only resulted in economic devastation but could have also resulted in more COVID-19 deaths.
The strict stay-at-home measures put in place by the governors of most states in mid-March has so far seen nearly 39 million American lose their jobs and forced businesses to close.
There are now more than 1.6 million infections in the US and over 95,000 deaths.
‘Unlike rigorous testing of potential new drugs, lockdowns were administered with little consideration that they might not only cause economic devastation but potentially more deaths than COVID-19 itself,’ author Marko Kolanovic, a trained physicist and a strategist for JP Morgan, said.
+6
The JP Morgan report says that restarting the US economy may not lead to a second surge in infections that health experts have feared given the falling infections rates seen since lockdown measures were lifted in parts of the country
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The report also includes a chart showing that ‘the vast majority of countries had decreased infection rates’ after lockdowns were lifted. The chart, however, doesn’t specify which country is which
The JP Morgan report says that restarting the US economy may not lead to a second surge in infections that health experts have feared given the falling infections rates seen since lockdown measures were lifted in parts of the country.
Almost all states have seen lower infection reproduction rates (R rates) after lockdown measures were lifted, according to the report.
Meanwhile, Nevada, Rhode Island, Texas, North Dakota and Pennsylvannia are the states where infection rates increased after lockdowns ended, according to the report.
Infection rates have continued to decline even once a lag period for new infections to become visible is factored in, according to the report.
A chart included in the report shows that many US states have seen a lower rate of transmission (R rate) after full-scale lockdowns were ended.
The R rate is the average number of people who will become infected by one person with the virus. Researchers and health experts have said a rate below 1.0 is a key indicator that the spread of the virus has been maintained.
Reproduction rate data from Rt.live on Friday showed that all but two states had lowered the rate of infection.
According to that data, Minnesota’s R rate was 1.01 and North Dakota’s was at 1.02.
The report also includes a chart showing that ‘the vast majority of countries had decreased infection rates’ after lockdowns were lifted. The chart, however, doesn’t specify which country is which.
Reproduction rate data from Rt.live (pictured above) on Friday showed that all but two states had lowered the rate of infection. According to that data, Minnesota’s R rate was 1.01 and North Dakota’s was at 1.02
All 50 states have at least partially reopened this week by relaxing restrictions on businesses and social distancing in varying degrees across the country.
Kolanovic said governments had been spooked by ‘flawed scientific papers’ into imposing lockdowns that were ‘inefficient or late’ and had little effect.
‘While we often hear that lockdowns are driven by scientific models, and that there is an exact relationship between the level of economic activity and the spread of [the] virus – this is not supported by the data,’ the report says.
‘Indeed, virtually everywhere infection rates have declined after re-opening even after allowing for an appropriate measurement lag.
‘This means that the pandemic and COVID-19 likely have (their) own dynamics unrelated to often inconsistent lockdown measures that were being implemented.’
Those dynamics may be influenced by increased hand-washing and even weather patterns but seemingly not by full-scale lockdowns, the report suggests.
‘The fact that re-opening did not change the course of the pandemic is consistent with studies showing that initiation of full lockdowns did not alter the course of the pandemic either,’ it says.
The JP Morgan analysis linked the decision to impose lockdowns to ‘flawed scientific papers’ predicting millions of deaths in the West.
‘This on its own was odd, given that in China there were only several thousand deaths, and the mortality rate outside of Wuhan was very low,’ the report says.
‘In the absence of conclusive data, these lockdowns were justified initially. Nonetheless, many of these efforts were inefficient or late.’
All 50 states have at least partially reopened this week by relaxing restrictions on businesses and social distancing in varying degrees across the country
Kolanovic says that lockdowns had remained in place even as ‘our knowledge of the virus and lack of effectiveness of total lockdowns evolved’.
‘Despite the conditions for re-opening being mostly met across the US, it is not yet happening in the largest economic regions for example California and New York,’ he said.
‘While our knowledge of the virus and lack of effectiveness of total lockdowns evolved, lockdowns remained in place and focus shifted to contact tracing, contemplating second wave of outbreaks and ideas about designing better education, political and economic systems.
‘At the same time, millions of livelihoods were being destroyed by these lockdowns.’
The US and other countries in lockdown are having to blow huge holes in their budgets to counter the economic standstill that is forcing millions of people into unemployment.
The report cites ‘worrying populism’ as an obstacle to re-opening the economy, for example in the US where senators passed an anti-China measure this week.
It warns that economic activity in the US is ‘now largely following partisan lines’ as Republican and Democratic governors adopt different strategies for their states.
As well as casting doubt on the wisdom of imposing lockdowns in the first place, the report suggests that economies could now be re-opened more quickly.
In other parts of the world, Denmark is among the countries that has started re-opening its economy without seeing a new surge in virus cases.
Americans across the country have protested the strict lockdowns. Pictured above are protesters in Lansing, Michigan
People walk along a street closed to vehicle traffic as the city expands areas for pedestrians to walk and to keep a recommended safe distance in New York City
Zoos, museums and cinemas have re-opened early in Denmark with many children now back at school after scientists said the R rate had continued to fall.
Germany has also been confident enough to scale back the lockdown after the R rate mostly stayed below 1.0 following an initial lifting of restrictions.
However, chancellor Angela Merkel has repeatedly urged caution and warned that a second wave of virus cases could leave hospitals overwhelmed.
The UK government has similarly warned that some restrictions could be re-imposed if there is a ‘sudden and concerning’ rise in new cases.
Sweden has never imposed a lockdown, and its per-capita death rate is better than Britain’s – although worse than that of its Scandinavian neighbours.
The World Health Organisation has urged ‘extreme vigilance’ about lifing lockdowns, saying there is ‘always the risk that the virus takes off again’.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that some countries such as Germany and South Korea had systems in place to respond to a new surge.
Tedros said that a ‘comprehensive package of measures’ is needed until a vaccine becomes available, which is likely to be many months away at least.
It is not yet fully clear how many people have been infected or to what extent they are now immune, but most people remain susceptible.
The world’s tech titans are amassing some of the biggest fortunes ever created. Some, like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, are giving most of it away. While there have been somedissenters, the general reaction to this kind of philanthropy has been positive. Bill Gates has the highest net favorability of any major political figure not named Colin Powell; he’s seen as warm and competent.
“Big Philanthropy is definitionally a plutocratic voice in our democracy,” Reich told me, “an exercise of power by the wealthy that is unaccountable, non-transparent, donor-directed, perpetual, and tax-subsidized.”
This was not previously a minority position. If you look back to the origins of these massive foundations in the Gilded Age fortunes of Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, their creation was massively controversial, Reich said, and for good reason.
“A hundred years ago, there was enormous skepticism that creating a philanthropic entity was either a way to cleanse your hands of the dirty way you’d made your money or, more interestingly, that it was welcome from the standpoint of democracy,” Reich told me at the Aspen Ideas Festival, which is co-hosted by the Aspen Institute and The Atlantic. “Because big philanthropy is an exercise of power, and in a democracy, any form of concentrated power deserves scrutiny, not gratitude.”
Both Teddy Roosevelt and union leaders like the AFL-CIO’s Samuel Gompers decried the creation of the Rockefeller Foundation. Roosevelt’s presidential opponent, William Howard Taft, criticized legislation that would have enabled the foundation as “a bill to incorporate Mr. Rockefeller.”
Our era has not seen similar skepticism, despite the wealth inequality that serves as the precondition for such massive foundations. Though perhaps it is returning. In addition to Reich’s book, Anand Giridharadas will publish an adjacent argument in August about the new philanthropy, Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World. Joanne Barkan has published in Dissent, The Guardian, and other publications about big philanthropy’s foibles, too.
Reich’s work, however, is compact, and comes direct from the heart of the new wealth in Silicon Valley. He can tick off the problems with each structural component of foundations.
First, big foundations are unaccountable. They answer neither to voters or to marketplace competition.
Second, they do not have to be transparent. They file one tax form. The $8 billion Simons Foundation International doesn’t even have a website.
Third, they are donor-directed. The employees—the people on the ground— “can’t determine the mission” of the organization.
Fourth, the donor’s intent must be respected even when the donor has died. Societies grow and change, but the mission defined by the creator of the foundation remains the mission in perpetuity.
And fifth, on top of all this, foundations are tax-subsidized. “We’re at a moment in American society in which the winners in the marketplace attempt to diminish their tax burdens, both corporately and individually, as low as they can legally go,” Reich told me. “Then having diminished their tax burden as low as it can go, they turn around and set up a private foundation, taking a further tax break.”
Then, with money that would have otherwise have gone to the government, where at least there is nominal democratic control over spending priorities, the philanthropists use that money on whatever social purpose they’ve decided to support.
Is this system, as Reich describes it, really one that any democracy would want?
“Instead of extending our enormous gratitude to the greatest philanthropists among us as these icons of civic beneficence, we should be scrutinizing and criticizing them,” Reich said. “Not because philanthropy is necessarily bad, but because it is an exercise of power.”
Reich does have some hope for the foundations—a suggestion for how they could do their work in ways that benefit democracies like ours. “Foundations,” he said, “should be making long-time-horizon, risky experiments in social innovation that the government won’t do and the marketplace is unlikely to do.”
Link to the Reich Book: JUST GIVING: WHY PHILANTHROPY IS FAILING DEMOCRACY AND HOW IT CAN DO BETTER: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691183497/just-giving
By Nikki Harper
