Voluntaryism

Rooftop gardens growing in popularity in notoriously smoggy Mexico City

"A green revolution is sweeping across the car and concrete jungle of Mexico City, an infamously smoggy capital that was once dubbed 'Makesicko City' by novelist Carlos Fuentes. Residents are growing vegetables on rooftops, planting trees where buildings once stood, hopping on bicycles and riding in electric taxis, defying the urban landscape in this metropolis of 20 million people and four million cars. 'This is our vote for the environment,' said Elias Cattan, a 33-year-old bespectacled architect pointing to the lettuce, onions and chilies growing in a planting table and inside used tires on the balcony of his rooftop office." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRooftop gardens growing in popularity in notoriously smoggy Mexico City

Occupy debt-relief campaign buys, forgives $100,000 worth of debt

"Members of a debt relief project borne from the Occupy Wall Street campaign said Wednesday they have purchased more than $100,000 worth of medical debt in a second trial run for their efforts. Thomas Gokey, a spokesperson for the Rolling Jubilee campaign, said the debt was purchased for $5,000. Earlier this year, the group bought $14,000 worth of debt for $500. 'We are buying debt that is being sold on the secondary market for pennies on the dollar,' Gokey said in a conference call. 'We are doing it in exactly the same way that [debt collectors] do it, with one big difference: we are abolishing the debt as we buy it.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOccupy debt-relief campaign buys, forgives $100,000 worth of debt

The Nearly-Free University

"The entire education industry on the U.S. is based on an inflexible, increasingly marginal-return 'factory model.' We are 'training' millions of people in an assembly-line based on the assumption that academia is a limitless growth industry, when in fact it has reached the zenith of diminishing-return complexity and cost. Student would be encouraged to earn money via the work projects undertaken. Instead of owing $120,000 after four years of passive study, students might complete their University experience with earnings in the bank. The Nearly Free University model would educate the 95% who do not need PhDs." Continue reading →

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Brooklyn pot dealer donates proceeds to hurricane survivors

"A man in Brooklyn says that he raised $700 for victims of Hurricane Sandy in two days by selling pot. The marijuana dealer told The Huffington Post that he came to the conclusion that storm victims without power in Rockaways, New York needed money more than they needed weed. The dealer said that he told his customers that he would be donating money to buy 'hot meals, diapers, formula, clean water and other supplies' so they stocked up on pot for the cause." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBrooklyn pot dealer donates proceeds to hurricane survivors

Where FEMA Fell Short, Occupy Sandy Was There

"This stretch of the coast remained apocalyptic, with buildings burned like Dresden and ragged figures shuffling past the trash heaps. There was still no power, and parking lots were awash with ruined cars. On Wednesday morning, as the winds picked up and FEMA closed its office 'due to weather,' an enclave of Occupiers was huddled in a storefront amid the devastation, handing out supplies and trying to make sure that those bombarded by last month’s storm stayed safe and warm and dry this time." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhere FEMA Fell Short, Occupy Sandy Was There

Queens residents arm themselves in the post-storm blackout from looters

"Ever since Sandy strafed the Queens peninsula and tore up the boardwalk, it’s become an often lawless place where cops are even scarcer than electrical power and food. Locals say they are arming themselves with guns, baseball bats, booby traps — even a bow and arrow — to defend against looters. Thugs have been masquerading as Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) workers, knocking on doors in the dead of night. But locals say the real workers have been nowhere in sight, causing at least one elected official to call for the city to investigate the utility." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingQueens residents arm themselves in the post-storm blackout from looters

Voters Interviewed at Gun Point, Realize the Shocking Facts of Their Political Views

"Do you have a choice not to pay Government programs you don’t like? If you have to pay for things you don’t want, are you free? Obama, Romney, it makes no difference. How do you feel about that? Chris Writing asks people on the street." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVoters Interviewed at Gun Point, Realize the Shocking Facts of Their Political Views

CTRAFFIK -”What if Nobody Showed Up to Vote?” (Official Video)

"What if someday an entire population was enlightened enough to withhold from participating in their local elections? What would that day look like and what would be the ramifications for everyone involved? Explore how the people free themselves from tyranny via non-violent means and how the politicians are always the last ones left clinging on to their delusion." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCTRAFFIK -”What if Nobody Showed Up to Vote?” (Official Video)

Amid Austerity, Greek Doctors Offer Help to Poor

"Until recently, Greece had a typical European health system, with employers and individuals contributing to a fund that with government assistance financed universal care. Things changed in July 2011, when Greece signed a supplemental loan agreement with international lenders to ward off financial collapse. Now Greeks must pay all costs out of pocket after their benefits expire. The changes are forcing increasing numbers of people to seek help outside the traditional health care system. Elena, for example, was referred to Dr. Syrigos by doctors in an underground movement that has sprung up here to care for the uninsured." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmid Austerity, Greek Doctors Offer Help to Poor