Hervé Kempf: Les démocraties occidentales sont-elles menacées par les oligarchies?

aviscitoyens

"Sommes-nous en dictature ? Non. Sommes-nous en démocratie ? Non plus : les puissances d’argent ont acquis une influence démesurée, les grands médias sont contrôlés par les intérêts capitalistes, les lobbies décident des lois dans les coulisses. Nous sommes entrés dans un régime oligarchique, cette forme politique conçue par les Grecs antiques et que les politologues ont oubliée : la domination d’une petite classe de puissants, qui discutent entre pairs et imposent leurs décisions à l’ensemble des citoyens."librairie Harmonia Mundi-Aix

Source: http://paysdaix-ecologie.eu/spip.php?article199

David Rovics: Oppositional Defiance Disorder

AnarchistOpposition

© David Rovics 2004 All Rights Reserved Author: David Rovics

Alex is a member of my record label
Teenager though he is
He joined the Ever Reviled Records collective
And the indy music biz
Well his parents didn't like such turns of events
So they sent off a couple of thugs
To bring him back to Utah, lock him up
And pump him full of drugs
They say he's got problems with authority
Yes this is what they claim
And their psychiatric analysis
Has even got a name

(Chorus)
Oppositional Defiance Disorder
I think I got it, too
Oppositional Defiance Disorder
He's sick and so are you

If you think George Bush is a moron
And Tony Blair's a liar
If you fantasize about setting
Your local Wal-Mart on fire
If you don't like Tom Brokaw
And you think he's full of it
And you feel that a Rush Limbaugh punching bag
Might be kinda fun to hit
If bombing other countries
Makes you feel appalled
You have got a problem
And this is what it's called

(Chorus)

If you think school is boring
And your teacher is a fool
If you don't like your congressman
And you called him a corporate tool
If you were not standing
To sing save the Queen
If you turned down hamburgers
And ate rice and beans
We've got a diagnosis
No matter whether you agree
Just do what the doctors tell you
And thank God for psychiatry

(Chorus)

Created July, 2003
Copyright David Rovics 2003, all rights reserved

Solutions Locales pour un Désordre Global

http://www.solutionslocales-lefilm.com/

« Les films d'alertes et catastrophistes ont été tournés, ils ont eu leur utilité, mais maintenant il faut montrer qu'il existe des solutions, faire entendre les réflexions des paysans, des philosophes et économistes qui, tout en expliquant pourquoi notre modèle de société s'est embourbé dans la crise écologique, financière et politique que nous connaissons, inventent et expérimentent des alternatives. »
- Coline Serreau (Réalisatrice)

Susan Rosenthal: POWER and Powerlessness

http://susanrosenthal.com/audio-books-power-and-powerlessness

To stream this audio book, click on any of the players below to play the associated chapter or visit the A-Infos Radio Project for the downloadable list.

For more information on POWER and Powerlessness, where to buy, or to download the ebook click here.

MD psychotherapist and author Susan Rosenthal on health in a dominance hierarchy

On September 1, 2011, CHUO 89.1 FM (Ottawa) The Train's Denis Rancourt interviewed MD psychotherapist and author Susan Rosenthal by phone from the Greater Toronto Area about health in our capitalist system.

Available to listen to here

Class struggle, medicalization of human emotional reactions, class struggle, sense of threat reaction, anger as natural reaction, class struggle, professional poison, anger as the emotion of justice, class struggle, "Be the change" as sick slogan, rat race, hurtful language, and much more...

Source: http://trainradio.blogspot.com/2011/09/md-psychotherapist-and-author-susan.html

Interview with Will Potter

greenisthenewred.com

We are are excited to post our interview with our good friend Will Potter. Will runs the very informative blog Green is The New Red and is also the author of the recent book ‘Green Is the New Red: An Insiders Account Of A Social Movement Under Siege‘. Will focuses on how the animal rights, and earth liberation movements have been targeted by the Government and labeled as ‘eco-terrorists’ and how dangerous this is for all social justice movements, present and future. After watching the interview, we would love it if you shared it with comrades, friends and family!

Yo me Quedo Aqui - Documental sobre la Agroecología en Ecuador

kurtvermeersch

What problems does the agro-industry entail and what solutions does agro-ecology provide?
----------
Welke problemen brengt de agro-industrie met zich mee en welke oplossingen biedt agro-ecologie?
----------
By Nele Vennekens and Piet Sabbe.

Eric Holt-Giménez: Food movements, agroecology, and the future of food and farming

TransnationalInst

Public lecture: Food movements, agroecology, and the future of food and farming. Today, a billion people live in hunger. Peak oil and environmental degradation threaten the food security of billions more, particularly with half the world's population living in urban environments where they are dependent on industrially produced and imported food. A transition is urgently needed, but how? What alternative policies can enable communities to realise their own food security in the face of environmental challenges, while also improving livelihoods, building resilience, and conserving ecosystems? Many food-related movements have already emerged around the world, but what ongoing challenges do they face?

Eric Holt-Giménez gave this talk at the University of Amersterdam in the Netherlands, on Tuesday 13 December 2011. The event brought together three prominent radical thinkers each with a long background of experience in activism and academic research on transdisplinary but interconnected themes such as conservation, agro-ecology and sustainable farming, political economy and the social sciences:

Tony Weis, (Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Western Ontario and author of The Global Food Economy: The Battle for the Future of Farming), who addressed the economic and environmental problems of the dominant chemical-industrial food system; Miguel Altieri (Professor of Agroecology at the University of California, Berkeley and author of Agroecology: The Science of Sustainable Agriculture), who looked at the alternatives offered by ecological, small scale, local and urban farming; and Eric Holt-Giménez (Executive Director of Food First / Institute for Food and Development Policy, and author of Food Movements Unite!: Strategies to transform our food systems) discussed the emergence of food movements from a global perspective, as well as the divisions between North and South, urban and rural.

This event was co-organised by the Transnational Institute (TNI), the Institute of Social Studies (ISS), and the Real World Economics Group at the University of Amsterdam.

To receive updates and news about upcoming events and new publications, you can sign up the TNI's e-newsletter here: http://www.tni.org/civicrm/mailing/subscribe

Confronting Global Change in the 21st Century: Can We Learn to Share the Earth?

Dr. William Rees at Greenacord 2011

UBC Prof. William Rees: end of the growth ethic

UBCinterdisciplinary

UBC Professor William Rees argues that the current growth ethic has put us into ecological overshoot, citing his ecological footprint analysis tool he developed, and may result in a breakdown in civil order and conflict over scarce resources - with Iraq only the first shot in the wars of the future.

How Money is Made / Created: Ben Dyson Explains the Debt Crisis

http://www.positivemoney.org.uk

Ben Dyson gives clear answers to 3 Key Questions: Who creates money? How much money do they create? What do they do with the money they create?

He shares some very interesting and profoundly important facts and shows how far the reality of banking is away from the text-book model of banking and which major implications the current system has on our lives.

How do banks create money out of nothing? How do they create money as debt? Has money been privatised?

We recommend it as an educational tool and encourage the widest distribution and use by all groups concerned with the present unsustainable monetary system.

Presented at the Positive Money Conference in London.

Ray Tallis presents the 2011 Holyoake Lecture

BritishHumanists
 

Ray Tallis presents the 2011 Holyoake Lecture on 'Aping Mankind. Neuromania, Darwinitis and the Misrepresentation of Humanity'.

Neuromania? The possibilities and pitfalls of our fascination with brains

theRSAorg

Philosopher and author Professor Raymond Tallis and RSA chief executive Matthew Taylor debate the competing claims made for the ability of neuroscience to explain human behaviour, culture and society.

Listen to the full audio: http://www.thersa.org/events/audio-and-past-events/2011/neuromania-the-possibilities-and-pitfalls-of-our-fascination-with-brains

Julian Baggini: The Ego Trick - What Does it Mean to Be You?

theRSAorg

Julian Baggini sets out to answer one of the most fundamental of philosophical questions -- what is the self?

Listen to the full audio: http://www.thersa.org/events//audio-and-past-events/2011/what-does-it-mean-to-be-you

TEDxYouth@Manchester 2011 - Julian Baggini - Is There A Real You?

TEDxYouth

One of the best known philosophers in the UK, Julian will ask the question 'Is There A Real You? He will draw on the research supporting his latest book 'The Ego Trick' and challenge our audience to reflect on their understanding of the 'Self'.

Trailer for "Whose World Is It Anyway" (Senegal, Gambia)

RobertoBattista

The Seckou Keita Quartet tour of Senegal and Gambia

In December 2006 and January 2007 Seckou Keita, London based composer and kora player from Senegal, toured Senegal and Gambia with his quartet.
It was the first time that Seckou was going back to perform in his country with a multinational ensemble playing music that is based on the West African tradition but incorporates influences from other parts of the world.
I followed the tour, filming the performances and places, interviewing people and trying to give a portrait of a changing reality.
The result is a one hour documentary made in cooperation with Katia Beltrame, of which this is the trailer.
To order copies of the DVD with the full feature contact Chelima Fade, the quartet's manager at World Artventures.
(Filmed by Roberto, edited by Katia Beltrame and produced by Chelima Fade)

Salif Keita - Cesaria Evora (R.I.P. Dec, 2011) - Yamore!

tiad

"Yamore" - Composed & written by Salif Keita - Acoustic guitar, Lead vocals
Published by Delabel Edition & Editions Africa Nostra

Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate - Soumbou Ya Ya!

tiad

The track "Soumbou Ya Ya" is taken from the fantastic Grammy Award Winner album "In The Heart Of The Moon" (2005) of Ali Farka Toure´ & Toumani Diabate´.

BloomTV: Jabari Exum & Amadou Kouate, Kora and Djembe Virtuosos

BloomBars 

Jabari Exum
huemanprophets@gmail.com
Steeped in the dynamism and social consciousness of hip-hops golden age and his own family's African-centered spiritual and cultural perspectives, Jabari Exum realized his mission of bringing forth balance and understanding to the lives of others through music and poetry at an early age. Jabari is a drummer, rapper, producer, poet, keyboardist, percussionist and dancer. He is also a founding member of the duo - Hueman Prophets, a Washington, DC-based hip-hop duo known for their dynamic and inspiring live performances. Jabari is a born performer and thinker.

Amadou Kouyate
soulsrcher@hotmail.com
Amadou is the first Diali born in the Americas. As heir to the Kouyate legacy, Amadous life revolves around the oral tradition of transmitting and safeguarding the history of his clan through music and the arts. He continues to travel around the world performing with various groups dazzling audiences with his speed, grace and power. He is an avid and professional Kora player and is also proficient in all types of other traditional West African instruments such as Kutiro, Sabar, Djembe, Balafon, Krin and Tama. He is a student at Howard University and teaches Djembe at several other universities in the DC area. Amadou is an official dedicated aficionado of all music.

Solo Cissokho at the Earagail Arts Festival

softirishrain

Solo Cissokho is a seventh generation griot story teller and musician from southern Senegal.The griots, like the Gaelic storytellers in Irish history,played an important role in the mighty Manding empire that once ruled most of West Africa.
Here Solo mesmerizes an audience of young and old with his stories and songs, I only wish that I had sat on the floor with the kids...they got to play the kola.

Kaira - Ellika & Solo plays on Hijazz club in Uppsala Sweden

ellikafrisell

Ellika Frisell violin, Solo Cissokho Kora.

Oumou Sangare : Bi Furu (Modern marriage)

Wassoulou music from southern Mali, West Africa. From the Ko Sira album.

Made in Germany | A Regional Currency

The Cherry Blossom,Plenty and Chiemgauer are just some of the names given to regional currencies that have seen a boom during the global financial crisis.The Chiemgauer,introduced in Bavaria's Chiemgau region five years ago,is the most successful in all of Europe.Many economists scoffed at or dismissed the Chiemgau's regional currency as a tourist gag. But now more than 600 companies use the currency to pay their bills. Regional curriencies help local businesses - not the international financial markets. Reporter Vanessa Fischer traveled to the town of Traunstein to find out what makes the Chiemgauer so attractive.

Tierra! - La Película / Dirt! - The Movie

Un magnífico y poético documental que nos conecta con la insospechada cantidad de vida que atesora el suelo, y describe asimismo desde perspectivas múltiples, la profunda relación de los humanos con eso que llamamos “tierra”. Desde su historia más inaccesible y remota como partículas de otras galaxias, hasta los más diversos usos y aplicaciones del suelo en nuestros días, tanto mediante buenas prácticas sostenibles como de otras muy cuestionables. La propuesta no tiene un único mensaje central, sino que ofrece un abanico de lecturas sistémicas, universales y amplias. Así podemos descubrir enfoques históricos, culturales, éticos, didácticos, científicos, prácticos y hasta espirituales: "Estamos hechos de la misma materia, una materia sagrada que muy pocas veces apreciamos debajo de nuestros pies."

Los subtítulos en español para este documental fueron elaborados por la Red de la Transición de la Comarca Andina.
Información detallada y ficha técnica en la siguiente página: sites.google.com/site/sinpetroleo/cine/dirt

Os Homens do Monopólio / The Monopoly Men

MrDocsBr

Será que existe uma história secreta do governo dos Estados Unidos da América que foi escondida intencionalmente pelos principais meios de comunicação?
Poderia existir uma Sociedade Secreta com homens de negócios, cujo plano secreto foi a causa de todas as grandes guerras e das grandes depressões econômicas?
Será que existe uma Elite Sombria que manipula o nosso mundo para realizar o seu própria programa político?
As respostas podem surpreender-te.

Phenomenon - The Lost Archives - Monopoly Men

OMG7291X

Monopoly Men - The Distant Murmuring of a Secret Government

During the Wilson Presidency, the U.S. Government sanctioned the creation of the Federal Reserve. Thought by many to be a government organization maintained to provide financial accountability in the event of a domestic depression, the actual business of the FED is shrouded in secrecy. People of the world will be shocked to discover that the principal business of the FED is to print money from nothing, lend it to the U.S. Government and charge interest on these loans. Who keeps the interest? Good question. Find out as the connective tissue between this and other top secret international organizations is explored.

TEDxMIA - Scott Rickard - The World's Ugliest Music

TEDxTalks


Scott Rickard has degrees in Mathematics, Computer Science, and Electrical Engineering from M.I.T. and MA and PhD degrees in Applied and Computational Mathematics from Princeton University. At University College Dublin, he founded the Complex & Adaptive Systems Laboratory, where biologists, geologists, mathematicians, computer scientists, social scientists and economists work on problems which matter to people. He is passionate about mathematics, music and educating the next generation of scientists and mathematicians.

Bruce Levine: Get Up, Stand Up (extended)

chelseagreenpub

Bruce E. Levine, Ph.D., discusses his new book, Get Up, Stand Up: Uniting Populists, Energizing the Defeated, and Battling the Corporate Elite, to be published in March 2011.

Read the following excerpt: Toward a Liberation Psychology

Alex Abella: Inside The RAND Corporation (Full Length • HD)

Cuban-born journalist and author Alex Abella was allowed exclusive access inside the RAND Corporation to view their archives. What he discovered was a plot driven by mad scientists, behaviorists, and generals who were intent on starting world war three and fleecing the American people in the process. Once he was a skeptic on the subject of conspiracy theories and the new world order, but after his work with the RAND Corporation he is now convinced that this top secret think tank has been pulling the strings of American government for at least 60 years.

Read more here

Bruce Levine: The Rebel Yell (Full Length • HD)

Prison Planet.tv

Pacifying the population by listing anti-authoritarianism as a mental illness

Clinical psychologist Bruce Levine is the author of Common Sense Rebellion and Surviving America’s Depression Epidemic. He regularly deals with “anti-authoritarian” clients who would be diagnosed by the health care authorities as suffering from “oppositional defiant disorder” or ADHD, and helps them to deal with adjusting to their societal, work or school environment without rebelling in a self-destructive manner.

In a psychiatric context, Levine explains how successful political movements like the American Revolution and the more recent populist uprising are historically led by people who have individual self-respect, something very much lacking in today’s society, as well as collective confidence and trust in one another. “When you’re living in a society that breaks people’s self-respect and breaks their bonds of trust with one another, it makes it very difficult to have any kind of democratic revolutionary movement,” remarks Levine.

Levine identifies the process of “learned helplessness” as one of the primary factors that has led to society feeling broken, demoralized, hopeless and defeated. He cites an experiment involving dogs where both groups of animals were subjected to electro-shocks, wherein one group of dogs was able to stop the electro-shocks and the other was not. The dogs not able to stop the shocks moved into passivity and depression, and even when presented with the opportunity to escape did not even try to take it because they had learned helplessness. Levine compares this to national elections, where people vote for either Democrats or Republicans but still end up with the same consequences, or don’t vote whatsoever but still end up with the same consequences. “That’s learned helplessness,” explains Levine, “No matter what you do you’re going to get that same degree of pain.”

Levine compares the apathy and the lack of demonstrations against the 2000 election fraud controversy in the U.S. to similar examples in Mexico in Iran, where millions of people protest even though in doing so they are risking their lives. He identifies debt as a central contributor to people’s apathy and how populations are broken. Unlike previous generations, every young person who leaves education is now saddled with an average of $20,000 of debt, and so are petrified of losing their job or having their benefits taken away, thus are far less likely to go out and protest against the system that holds them in bondage.

Read more here

The Endgame - 2012 Forecast

wepollock

We are going to move from denial to realization.. Physical world events will drive the process of realization. The primary trend is between stability and instability. We are moving from a multi-class system running from Super Elite to Unperson into a model of have's and have-nots, the unpersons. Labor has become a problem because less than 500 million are involved in life support activities thereby leaving more than 7 billion people very vulnerable to dependency (and treated as expendable containers). We are watching a redistribution process bound towards divestiture as more people become unpersons. Destruction of paper assets, debt collapse, bank failure, and war are all part of the redistribution process. With more unpeople, it becomes easier to reduce population through death and abuse. Our current economic structure has at least six trajectories of support; the physical world, human capital, transportation, technology, rule of law,and money.

Amadou & Mariam - Senegal Fast Food (HD)

amadouandmariam

Official Music Video of Amadou & Mariam "Senegal Fast Food", produced by Manu Chao & from their album "Dimanche à Bamako", available here: http://bit.ly/iTunes-AM-DimancheBamako

Vandana Shiva: Earth Democracy at PCC

PCCvideos

A talk by Dr. Vandana Shiva at Portland Community College in Portland, Oregon, USA on February 24th, 2011.

http://www.pcc.edu/library/news/vandana_shiva.html
http://www.pcc.edu/resources/academic/internationalization/

Dissecting Occupy Wall Street - On the Edge with Max Keiser-13-01-2012

http://www.presstv.ir/Program/221025.html

In this edition of the show Max interviews Danny Schechter; media activist, author and filmmaker.

The program starts with a precedent of Danny Schechter's book, "In Debt We Trust" which is about economic meltdown in America.

Another book discussed by Schechter was "plunder" which was about Lemon Brothers' collapse. He said the financial story in America is not a business story, it's rather a crime story.

Richard Wilkinson: How economic inequality harms societies

http://www.ted.com

We feel instinctively that societies with huge income gaps are somehow going wrong. Richard Wilkinson charts the hard data on economic inequality, and shows what gets worse when rich and poor are too far apart: real effects on health, lifespan, even such basic values as trust.

Bernard Lietaer - The role of regional currencies in a wider currency union

Bernard Lietaer , Currency systems expert, Research Fellow at the Center for Sustainable Resources of the University of California. Member of the Club of Rome

Richard Douthwaite on the Economy of Debt

BigPictureTV

Post Carbon Fellow and economist Richard Douthwaite looks at the flaws in the current economic model and how it requires constantly tranfered debt. He goes on to imagine what what happen if we changed the system in order to make it more sustainable.

Richard Douthwaite passed away in November 2011 after a long illness. Richard was co-founder of Feasta, an Irish economic think tank focused on the economics of sustainability. He was also a council member of Comhar, the Irish government's national sustainability council. He acted as economic adviser to the Global Commons Institute from 1993 to 2005, during which time GCI developed the Contraction and Convergence approach to dealing with greenhouse gas emissions which has since been backed by many countries. Richard is author of The Growth Illusion: How Economics Growth has Enriched the Few, Impoverished the Many and Endangered the Planet (New Society, 1999) and Short Circuit: Strengthening Local Economics for Security in an Unstable World (Green Books, 1996).

Peak Oil and a Vision of the Future - Randy Udall

newculture
 

http://www.sustainabilityconference.org

Randy Udall is a consulting energy analyst and one of the USA's leading activists in promoting energy sustainability. He is the former Director of the Community Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE) in western Colorado. During his tenure, CORE's partnerships with individuals, governments and utilities led to Colorado's first solar energy incentive program, the world's first Renewable Energy Mitigation Program which has raised $6 million, the world's stiffest carbon tax, and some of the most progressive green power purchasing programs in the country. Udall is a Co-Founder of ASPO-USA and was one of the peak oil experts interviewed by the National Petroleum Council when they researched their 2007 report on the Hard Truths about Energy.

The talk was the keynote at Local Future's 2009 leadership conference on energy, economy and environment, directed by Aaron Wissner.

For more information, visit: http://localfuture.org

Oil, Smoke and Mirrors (Full High Quality)

“I heartily recommend this documentary. It should be watched by every citizen of the U.S.“

- Dale Allen Pfeiffer. Author "Eating Fossil Fuels"

"Oil Smoke & Mirrors" offers a sobering critique of our perceived recent history, of our present global circumstances, and of our shared future in light of imminent, under-reported and mis-represented energy production constraints.

Through a series of impressively candid, informed and articulate interviews, this film argues that the bizzare events surrounding the 9/11 attacks, and the equally bizzare prosecution of the so-called "war on terror", can be more credibly understood in the wider context of an imminent and critical divergence between available global oil aupply and and global oil demand.

The picture "Oil, Smoke & Mirrors" paints is one of a tragically hyper-mediated global-political culture, which, for whatever reason, demonstrably disassociates itself from the values it claims to represent.

While the ideas presented in this film can at first seem daunting, it's ultimate assertion is that these challenges can indeed be met and surpassed, if, but only if, we can find the courage to perceive them.

“Oil, Smoke & Mirrors” is an independent production. The producer has neither association with, nor membership of, any political organisation.

TEDxSantaCruz: Terrie Williams - The Biology of Big

http://www.tedxsantacruz.org/

Terrie Williams, PhD is a Co-Founder of the Center of Ocean Health and Director of the Marine Mammal Physiology Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has spent her life studying how big animals survive on our changing planet, from Alaskan killer whales to African cheetahs. Her research expeditions have taken her to the wildest places on earth. During these expeditions she has witnessed marked human impacts on wild animals. In response she directed the rescue of oiled sea otters following the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill and has been recording the effects of climate change on Arctic and Antarctica marine mammals. Her most recent work involves working with the most endangered marine mammal in U.S. waters, the Hawaiian monk seal. By creating a new research facility that promotes integrative learning between humans and animals she hopes to revive the human-animal bond that is essential for our future survival.

TEDxEast - Tyler Cowen - The Great Stagnation

http://www.tedxeast.com/

Tyler Cowen shows us through economics that we may not be as innovative as we think we are and urges us to change.

TEDxMidAtlantic - Tyler Cowen: Be suspicious of stories

http://tedxmidatlantic.com/

Tyler Cowen occupies the Holbert C. Harris Chair of economics as a professor at George Mason University and is co-author of the popular economics blog Marginal Revolution. He currently writes the Economic Scene column for the New York Times and writes for such magazines as The New Republic and The Wilson Quarterly. Cowen is also general director of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

The Lens - Homo Toxicus

TheDirtyplanet

Each day, tons of chemicals are released into the environment, but do we really know how toxic they are or what their long-term effect is on living organisms? Some toxins are found in everyday objects or in agricultural pesticides used for food production. And they seem to be finding their way into our homes.

When a Montreal filmmaker has her blood tested she learns that there are 110 contaminants in her body. So she sets off to investigate the connection between those toxic substances and rising health issues in our society, such as cancer, allergies and male infertility.

The film is directed and produced by Carole Poliquin (Productions ISCA, Montreal).

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/thelens/2009/homotoxicus/

Carlos Taibo: El decrecimiento como alternativa

imanatfilms

Carlos Taibo, escritor, editor y profesor de Ciencia Política y de la Administración en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.

Yayo Herrero: Postdesarrollo, decrecimiento y relaciones norte-sur

Intervención de Yayo Herrero en la mesa "Postdesarrollo, decrecimiento y relaciones norte-sur, en la que participó junto a Carlos Taibo y Eduardo Gudynas. La mesa forma parte del Ciclo "Avanzando hacia la ciudadanía global: espacio de reflexión y acción".

Federación de ONGD de la Comunidad de Madrid (FONGDCAM) | La Casa Encendida | 14/04/2011

Conferencia Yayo Herrero - Encuentro decrecimiento 2011

http://www.sevilladecrece.net/

Acto-conferencia inaugural del primer Encuentro sobre Decrecimiento como agua de Mayo. Sevilla, 13-mayo-2011
Yayo Herrero, co-coordinadora estatal de Ecologistas en Acción.

Steward Wallis - Breaking the Wall of Misleading National Indicators @Falling Walls 2011

www.falling-walls.com

Wallis urges policy makers to accelerate a transition to an economy that abolishes out-dated economic indicators like the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and instead takes ecological boundaries and real human needs into account. In Berlin, he will present new parameters to assess common progress and show how implementing these will fundamentally change economics.

Vancouver Cooperative Radio - David Noble: Corporate Climate Coup

Climate Deniers: climate change is not real, not significant, natural and not man-made, will be good & wont hurt you, is worth the inconvenience – the Greenhouse Mafia – carbon emission consumers of producers – coal, oil, gas, automobile, agriculture




Climate Traders: climate change is the single biggest problem and we can deal with it by exclusively focusing on reducing greenhouse emissions, every other problem needs to cue behind it




Climate Justice: global warming and climate change are a symptom of a pathological global system that is based on violence and exploitation. Imperialism, industrial and landed fuedalism, capitalism

Source: http://permaculture.tv/the-corporate-climate-coup/

Chapter 01-1 - Walden by Henry David Thoreau

CCProse

Chapter 1: Economy - Part 1. Classic Literature VideoBook with synchronized text, interactive transcript, and closed captions in multiple languages. Audio courtesy of Librivox. Read by Gord Mackenzie.

Playlist for Walden by Henry David Thoreau: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2958A8F53619D3F2

A Cognitive Perspective on How People Learn: Implications for Teaching

UWMedicine

Norman discusses how the mind interprets and absorbs knowledge, and how educators can benefit from knowing this.

The Legal Landscape of Social Enterprise and the Sharing Economy

"What do you call a lawyer who helps people share, cooperate, barter, foster local economies, and build sustainable communities? That sounds like the beginning of a lawyer joke, but actually, it's the beginning of new field of law practice..." Janelle Orsi

Join Janelle Orsi & Jenny Kassan, Co-Directors of the Sustainable Economies Law Center (SELC), for an entertaining and informative talk about the emerging sharing economy, and its many legal implications.

The Sustainable Economies Law Center facilitates the growth of sustainable, localized, and just economies, through legal research, professional training, resource development, and education. theselc.org

Janelle & Jenny are co-authors of the American Bar Association's soon to be published book, "Sharing Law: Understanding the Legal Landscape of the Sharing Economy".

A Santa Barbara Permaculture Network Event
sbpermaculture.org

Co-sponsors: The Fund for Santa Barbara &
SBCC Center for Sustainability

Event Supporters: Santa Barbara Independent, SBCC Scheinfeld Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Permaculture Credit Union, Nutiva, Loa Tree, Slow Money Santa Barbara Chapter, Island Seed & Feed, Permaculture Guild of Santa Barbara, Green2Gold, Johnny Sacko, the UCSB Sustainability Program, Oasis Design, Isla Vista Coop, SOL Food Festival, Owen Dell & Associates, and The Sustainability Project.

Special Thanks to Logan Nevitt of CommonGood Media for Filming & Editing

Dr. Anthony Herdman: The Human Brain in Space and Time

What we see, hear, taste, feel, and smell are sensations that are transformed in our brains to give rise to perceptions of the world around us. Several steps in such transformations remain as mysteries, but scientists around the world are working hard to understand how the brain works.

Dr. Anthony Herdman discusses how modern technology is helping us uncover what is happening in the human brain.

Prejudice: The Roots of Discrimination may be Deeper than We Think

Psych in the City
 
Dr. Stephen Wright website: http://www.sfu.ca/psyc/faculty/wrights

What does it mean to say that someone is prejudiced? Are things like racial prejudice or sexism a thing of the past?

Research in social psychology shows that prejudice is much more than thinking negative thoughts or treating people from other groups badly. Prejudice can also be found in our unconscious thoughts and feelings, and can leak out in our unintended actions.

The way that we think about ourselves and our own groups can also create and maintain prejudice and discrimination against others.

While alarming and disappointing to people who do not want to believe they are prejudiced, these new ways of recognizing and understanding prejudice also offer important insights into how we can combat it and reduce inequality.

TEDxUSC - Al Seckel: [Y]Our Mind's Eye

TEDxUSC

Cognitive neuroscientist Al Seckel, formerly of the California Institute of Technology, is internationally recognized as one of the world's leading authorities on visual and other sensory illusions. In a transformative talk, Seckel discusses the underlying mechanisms and frameworks of perception, and how they give rise to different systems of belief.

Julio García Camarero: El decrecimiento feliz y el desarrollo humano

Julio García Camarero, Doctor en Geografía por la Universidad de Valencia, ingeniero técnico forestal por la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid y ex funcionario del Departamento de Ecología del Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias. Colaboró durante un año, en Roma, en un proyecto internacional sobre growth analysis promovido por la FAO y ha publicado medio centenar de artículos en revistas científico-técnicas, nacionales y extranjeras, algunos capítulos en libros sobre medio ambiente y tres publicaciones de divulgación técnica sobre desertificación, editados por el Ministerio de Agricultura. Realizó su tesis doctoral sobre restauración de ecosistemas mediterráneos. También fue miembro del Consejo Social de la Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, en la que promovió (en la década de 1980) la creación de la nueva carrera de ingeniería de Medio Ambiente, titulación pionera en España. Fue, en el año 1978, uno de los miembros fundadores (junto con Vicent Marques, Miguel Gil Corell, Jordi Bigas, etc.) de la primera asociación ecologista de la ciudad de Valencia, en el año 1978, denominada AVIAT. Actualmente es miembro de Ecologistas en Acción.

Alberto Acosta: Decrecimiento y Democracia

rosaluxstiftung

Zusammenfasende deutsche Übersetzung als Untertitel - einschalten mit Klick auf "CC") / Vollständige Übersetzung: http://is.gd/bAsdk7] Interview mit Alberto Acosta, ehem. Präsident der verfassungsgebenden Versammlung und ehem. Energieminister Ecuador, Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO) bei einem Besuch in der Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung anlässlich des Attac-Kongresses «Jenseits des Wachstums» in Berlin, Mai 2011.

The Conscious Brain - Professor Damasio

pangeaprogressredux

Antonio Damasio is David Dornsife Professor of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Neurology, and director of the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California.
From one of the most significant neuroscientists at work today, a pathbreaking investigation of a question that has confounded philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists for centuries: how is consciousness created?

Antonio Damasio has spent the past thirty years studying and writing about how the brain operates, and his work has garnered acclaim for its singular melding of the scientific and the humanistic. In Self Comes to Mind, he goes against the long-standing idea that consciousness is somehow separate from the body, presenting compelling new scientific evidence that consciousness—what we think of as a mind with a self—is to begin with a biological process created by a living organism. Besides the three traditional perspectives used to study the mind (the introspective, the behavioral, and the neurological), Damasio introduces an evolutionary perspective that entails a radical change in the way the history of conscious minds is viewed and told. He also advances a radical hypothesis regarding the origins and varieties of feelings, which is central to his framework for the biological construction of consciousness: feelings are grounded in a near fusion of body and brain networks, and first emerge from the historically old and humble brain stem rather than from the modern cerebral cortex.

Damasio suggests that the brain's development of a human self becomes a challenge to nature's indifference and opens the way for the appearance of culture, a radical break in the course of evolution and the source of a new level of life regulation—sociocultural homeostasis. He leaves no doubt that the blueprint for the work-in-progress he calls sociocultural homeostasis is the genetically well-established basic homeostasis, the curator of value that has been present in simple life-forms for billions of years. Self Comes to Mind is a groundbreaking journey into the neurobiological foundations of mind and self.

Susan Savage-Rumbaugh : Apes that write, start fires and play Pac-Man

TEDtalksDirector

Savage-Rumbaugh's work with bonobo apes, which can understand spoken language and learn tasks by watching, forces the audience to rethink how much of what a species can do is determined by biology -- and how much by cultural exposure.

Dan Siegel: The Neurological Basis of Behavior, the Mind, the Brain and Human Relationships

GarrisonInstitute

At the Garrison Institute's 2011 Climate, Mind and Behavior Symposium, Dr. Dan Siegel of the Mindsight Institute discusses the neurological basis of behavior, the mind, the brain and human relationships. He explains one definition of the mind as "an embodied and relational emergent process that regulates the flow of energy and information," and describes the role of awareness and attention in monitoring and modifying the mind. Dr. Siegel puts forth a method of expanding the sense of identity so as to include other people, species and the planet and proposes the concept of "we maps." He recommends using the notion of health as a means of linking individual, community and planetary wellbeing.

Dan Siegel - The Human Mind and the Cultivation of Well-Being

An SPPD Special Event

UCLA Professor Dan Siegel earned his medical degree from Harvard University and currently serves as a NIMH Research Fellow. Dr. Siegel, executive director of the Mindsight Institute, has published extensively, including his most recent book, Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation. Our mission is to provide a scientifically grounded, integrated view of human development for mental health practitioners, educators, organizational leaders, parents, and others as we promote the growth of vibrant lives and healthy minds. His academic research was featured on the PBS Special, "This Emotional Life," and he has presented to the Dalai Lama, Google University, Pope John Paul II, the Goldie Hawn Foundation, TEDx, and the King of Thailand. Many of these talks can be accessed electronically at http://drdansiegel.com

The Heart-Brain Connection: The Neuroscience of Social, Emotional, and Academic Learning

edutopia

Neuroscientist Richard Davidson presents his research on how social and emotional learning can affect the brain. Read more about the topic, including how to use social and emotional learning to stop bullying, on our Edutopia website: http://www.edutopia.org/social-emotional-learning

The Neuroscience of Social Emotion & it's Importance to Learning

ResponseEd

The Neuroscience of Social Emotion & it's Importance to Learning. Part 2
http://youtu.be/JbGNS2ByXX4

The Neuroscience of Social Emotion & it's Importance to Learning. Part 3
http://youtu.be/hHvvNX6es_Y

The Neuroscience of Social Emotion & it's Importance to Learning. Part 4
http://youtu.be/2t5C8J_cTr4

The Neuroscience of Social Emotion & it's Importance to Learning. Part 5
http://youtu.be/yxmNTi4ifzo

The Neuroscience of Social Emotion & it's Importance to Learning. Part 6
http://youtu.be/W-Fw8j_Ou8Y

The Neuroscience of Social Emotion & it's Importance to Learning. Part 7
http://youtu.be/pSlp4TAPc2M

On the 10th of November 2011 the Hunter Institute of Mental Health (HIMH) hosted a workshop with special guest Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Ed.D., a cognitive neuroscientist and educational psychologist who studies the brain bases of emotion, social interaction and culture and their implications for development and schools. This is a recording of the 3 hour workshop presentation titled Embodied Brains, Social Minds.

TEDxSF - Louie Schwartzberg - Gratitude

http://tedxsf.org/videos/

Louie Schwartzberg is an award-winning cinematographer, director, and producer whose notable career spans more than three decades providing breathtaking imagery for feature films, television shows, documentaries and commercials.

This piece includes his short film on Gratitude and Happiness. Brother David Steindl's spoken words, Gary Malkin's musical compositions and Louie's cinematography make this a stunningly beautiful piece, reminding us of the precious gift of life, and the beauty all around us.

As a visual artist, Louie has created some of the most iconic and memorable film moments of our time. He is an innovator in the world of time-lapse, nature, aerial and "slice-of-life" photography - the only cinematographer in the world who has literally been shooting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week continuously for more than 30 years.

Louie was recognized as one of the top 70 Cinematographers for the On Film Kodak Salute Series. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

Louie is credited by many with pioneering the contemporary stock footage industry by founding Energy Film Library, a global company with a network of 12 foreign offices, which was acquired by Getty Images in 1997. Motion picture clients of his cinematic artistry include Sex in the City, The Bourne Ultimatum, Die Hard 4, Syriana, Crash, Men in Black and classics such as American Beauty, Koyaanisqatsi and E.T. among others.

Louie went on to found BlackLight Films, a creative production company specializing in producing original theatrical feature, large format films, HD and TV programming.

In 2004, BlackLight Films completed production of the theatrical feature film, America's Heart &Soul, distributed theatrically by Walt Disney Pictures. In 2006, BlackLight Films completed a series of HD shorts, Louie Films, for the launch of Buena Vista Home Entertainment's Blu-Ray DVD releases. In 2007, the company produced a 1-hour special, Chasing the Light, which aired nationally on PBS.

Past projects include the 35mm film Seasons of the Vine for Disney's California Adventure Theme Park and a 26-half hour series, America!, for The Hallmark Channel.

Louie has won two Clio Awards for Best Environmental Broadcast Spot, an Emmy nomination for Best Cinematography for the Discovery Channel Special, Oceans of Air, and the Heartland Film Festival's Truly Moving Picture Award for Walt Disney Pictures' feature film release America's Heart & Soul.

Louie completed production on a feature length nature documentary, Wings of Life, to be theatrically released worldwide, under Walt Disney Pictures' new production banner, Disneynature. The film was released in France (March 2011) under the title Pollen and won the Roscar Award for Best Cinematography at the 2011 Wild Talk Africa Film Festival.

Louie spoke at the TED 2011 conference in Long Beach, CA and has been a regular presenter at the annual Bioneers Conference in San Francisco. Currently, Louie is in production with National Geographic to produce Hidden Worlds, a 3D Imax film.

event video by: http://repertoireproductions.com/

Today on Your Call: How can we create a more just economy in 2012?

http://www.garalperovitz.com/abc/

 

By Malihe Razazan
 

On the next Your Call, we’ll talk about concrete ways we can resist crony capitalism – and narrow the gap between the 1% and the rest of us.  What should we be demanding – and what are some real victories we can win?   And how can we keep economic inequality in the conversation during this election year?   Join us live at 10 or send an email to feedback@yourcallradio.org. Where do you see glimmers of hope for economic change? It’s Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

• Listen

Guest:

Gar Alperovitz, the Lionel R. Bauman professor of political economy at the University of Maryland, and author of America Beyond Capitalism

David Korten is co-founder and board chair of YES! Magazine, and author of Agenda for a New Economy

Source: http://www.kalw.org/post/today-your-call-how-can-we-create-more-just-economy-2012

The Neuroscience of Social Emotion & it's Importance to Learning - Part 3 of 7

ResponseEd

On the 10th of November 2011 the Hunter Institute of Mental Health (HIMH) hosted a workshop with special guest Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Ed.D., a cognitive neuroscientist and educational psychologist who studies the brain bases of emotion, social interaction and culture and their implications for development and schools. This is a recording of the 3 hour workshop presentation titled Embodied Brains, Social Minds.

Do 2.5 Million Children Really Need Ritalin? An Integrative Approach to ADHD

http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=23045

Dr. Sanford Newmark, explores the importance of the Integrative Approach-seeing the child in the context of family, friends, school and community, rather than as a set of symptoms that need to be fixed. Topics include an overview of the genetic, environmental and neurobiological aspects, non-pharmaceutical therapies including nutrition, food sensitivities, vitamin and mineral supplements, parenting, school, and complementary therapies. Series: "Integrative Medicine Today"

Eric Kandel: We Are What We Remember: Memory and Biology

The Graduate Center, CUNY on FORA.tv

Eric Kandel, who received the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, is professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and a senior investigator in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He was also the founding director of the Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, which is now the Department of Neuroscience at Columbia.

Kandel has recently authored In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind (W.W. Norton), which chronicles his life and research. The book was awarded the 2006 Los Angeles Times Book Award for Science and Technology.

Eric R. Kandel: Memories are Made of This

Eric R. Kandel, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, examines whether the brain's two major memory systems, implicit and explicit, have any common features. Implicit and explicit memory both have a short-term component lasting minutes, such as remembering the telephone number you just looked up, and a long-term component that lasts days, weeks, or a lifetime, such as remembering your mother's birthday. Short-term memory is mediated by modifications of existing proteins, leading to temporary changes in the strength of communication between nerve cells. In contrast, long-term memory involves alterations of gene expression, synthesis of new proteins and growth of new synaptic connections.

Eric R. Kandel: Mapping Memory in the Brain

Eric R. Kandel, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, probes into the mind to demonstrate how it is much more complex than just a series of processes carried out by the brain. The brain produces our every emotional, intellectual and athletic act. It allows us to acquire new facts and skills, and to remember them for as long as a lifetime. Memory exists in two major forms, each located in different brain regions. Explicit memory is for people, places, and objects. In contrast, implicit memory serves perceptual and motor skills. In concert, these two memory systems help make us who we are.

Mahzarin R. Banaji - The Hammer of Ideology

PLMSTube

Mahzarin R. Banaji's presentation from the 2008 Project on Law and Mind Sciences (PLMS) Conference.

"If you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Ideology is like that, psychologically orienting us to hammer (almost) every judgment and decision with it. I will offer data on the conscious and unconscious manner in which the mind so hammers, and its consequences for fairness in law."

For more speaker videos and to find out more about this year's conference, please visit the PLMS website.

The Situationist Blog: http://thesituationist.wordpress.com/

The Neuroscience of Social Emotion & it's Importance to Learning - Part 2 of 7

ResponseEd

On the 10th of November 2011 the Hunter Institute of Mental Health (HIMH) hosted a workshop with special guest Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Ed.D., a cognitive neuroscientist and educational psychologist who studies the brain bases of emotion, social interaction and culture and their implications for development and schools. This is a recording of the 3 hour workshop presentation titled Embodied Brains, Social Minds.

The Neuroscience of Social Emotion & it's Importance to Learning - Part 1 of 7

ResponseEd

On the 10th of November 2011 the Hunter Institute of Mental Health (HIMH) hosted a workshop with special guest Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Ed.D., a cognitive neuroscientist and educational psychologist who studies the brain bases of emotion, social interaction and culture and their implications for development and schools. This is a recording of the 3 hour workshop presentation titled Embodied Brains, Social Minds.

TEDxManhattanBeach - Mary Helen Immordino-Yang - Embodied Brains, Social Minds

TEDxTalks

Talk title: Embodied brains, social minds: How admiration inspires purposeful learning

The science of neurobiology is changing our understanding about social emotions, showing us how inspiration is intertwined with our biological survival as a species. People feel deeply moved when they hear inspirational stories about other human beings, for instance stories of hardship and tragedy overcome by virtue of hard work, determination, smarts and grit. Science is showing that when we hear these extraordinarily inspirational stories, more blood flows to our brain stem - the very part of our brain that makes our heart beat, regulates our breathing and keeps us alive. You are literally feeling inspiration on the very substrate of your own biological survival.

Mary Helen Immordino-Yang is a neuroscientist and human development psychologist. In her work she studies the neural, psychophysiological and psychological bases of emotion, social interaction and culture and their implications for development and schools. A former junior high school teacher, Mary Helen earned her doctorate at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. She is an Assistant Professor of Education at the USC's Rossier School of Education and Assistant Professor of Psychology at the Brain and Creativity Institute. She's also the inaugural recipient of the Award for Transforming Education through Neuroscience.

Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Ed.D.

Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Ed.D. is a cognitive neuroscientist and educational psychologist who studies the brain bases of emotion, social interaction and culture and their implications for development and schools. She lectures nationally and abroad on the implications of brain and cognitive science research for curriculum and pedagogy.

Music and the Brain: The Music of Language and the Language of Music

LibraryOfCongress

In our everyday lives, language and instrumental music are obviously different things. Neuroscientist and musician Ani Patel is the author of a recent, elegantly argued offering from Oxford University Press, "Music, Language and the Brain." Oliver Sacks calls Patel a "pioneer in the use of new concepts and technology to investigate the neural correlates of music." In Patel's presentation, he discusses some of the hidden connections between language and instrumental music that are being uncovered by empirical scientific studies.

The Music and the Brain Lecture Series is a cycle of lectures and special presentations that highlight an explosion of new research in the rapidly expanding field of "neuromusic." Programming is sponsored by the Library's Music Division and its Science, Technology and Business Division, in cooperation with the Dana Foundation.

Aniruddh Patel is the Esther J. Burnham Senior Fellow in Theoretical Neurobiology at the Neurosciences Institute.

TEDxCanberra - Thomas Pogge - Reimagining pharmaceutical innovation

TEDxTalks

By reforming harmful supranational regulations, Thomas Pogge is developing a complement to the patent system to stimulate pharmaceutical innovations that would be accessible, without delay, to poor and affluent patients alike around the world.

In this talk at TEDxCanberra 2011, ANU and Yale academic and ethicist, Professor Thomas Pogge outlines an idea that could revolutionise health outcomes and distribution of pharmaceuticals in both the developed and developing world.

Justice and Equality - Thomas Pogge

Watch Professor Thomas Pogge (Yale University) discuss Justice and Equality.

This speech was recorded in Stockholm at the "Justice and Equality for the Good Society Conference" organised by the FES Stockholm, Arbetarrörelsens Tankesmedja and Social Europe Journal on 14/15 April 2011.

Banca JAK - La banca ciudadana

Miguel Ganzo nos explica que és la Banca JAK y cómo funciona. Más información en nocreceenlosarboles.blogspot.com/

The empirical impossibility of growth-based development

Departing from the metaphor of Hans Rosling's magic washing machine, the ecological economist and political activist Dr. Gualter Barbas Baptista, from Research and Degrowth, develops a critique on mainstream development theory and practices, while presenting the degrowth debate as a necessary step to deal with the ecological and economic crisis, as well as with increasing global inequalities. This was a keynote presentation at the closing session of the conference «Global Development and the new EU Member States - time for a relaunch?», organised by Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH), GDRG and the United Nations Development Programme. 26-28 May 2011, Warsaw.

Source: http://blip.tv/gandhiano/the-empirical-impossibility-of-growth-based-development-5848625

Beau Lotto - Seeing Myself See

http://www.thersa.org/

Experimental neuroscientist Beau Lotto shows how our perception and conception of the world reflects our past physical, social and cultural interactions.

Beau Lotto: Optical illusions show how we see

http://www.ted.com

Beau Lotto's color games puzzle your vision, but they also spotlight what you can't normally see: how your brain works. This fun, first-hand look at your own versatile sense of sight reveals how evolution tints your perception of what's really out there.

V.S. Ramachandran -The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human

http://thesciencenetwork.org/

V.S. Ramachandran is Director of the Center for Brain and Cognition and Professor with the Psychology Department and the Neurosciences Program at UC San Diego. A former BBC Reith Lecturer, he wrote Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind (with Sandra Blakeslee), and is the author of A Brief Tour of Human Consciousness: From Impostor Poodles to Purple Numbers. His latest book, The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human explores human uniqueness and illustrates how we can better understand the normal by studying the abnormal. Called "The Marco Polo of neuroscience" by Richard Dawkins and "The modern Paul Broca" by Eric Kandel, Ramachandran has also been celebrated in the epidemic of medical melodramas: in the episode "The Tyrant" of the television show House, MD., Dr. House cures phantom limb pain using Ramachandran's mirror box.

Dr. V.S. Ramachandran: Art, Reality, and the Brain: The Quest for Aesthetic Universals

AsianArtMuseum

Dr. V.S. Ramachandran, Director of the Center for Brain and Cognition and Distinguished Professor with the Psychology Department and Neuroscience Program at the University of California, San Diego at the San Francisco Asian Art Forum for Museum Directors at the Asian Art Museum (November 8-9, 2011)

Killer Stress - A National Geographic Special with Robert Sapolsky

http://www.pbs.org/programs/killer-stress/

Stress. In the beginning it saved our lives. It's what made us run from predators and enabled us to take down prey. Today, humans are turning on that same life-saving stress response to cope with 30-year mortgages, four-dollar-a-gallon gas, difficult bosses and traffic jams — and we can't seem to turn it off. As a result, we are constantly marinating in corrosive hormones triggered by the stress response.

Now, scientists are showing just how measurable and dangerous prolonged exposure to stress can be. Stanford University neurobiologist, MacArthur "Genius Grant" recipient and renowned author Robert Sapolsky and National Geographic reveal new answers to why and how stress is killing us in "Killer Stress: A National Geographic Special."


Throughout the film, discoveries occur in an extraordinary range of places: with baboon troops on the plains of East Africa, in office cubes of government bureaucrats in London and in neuroscience labs at the nation's leading research universities. In each location, scientists are discovering how stress works and how lethal it can be. Years of ground-breaking research by multiple scientists are revealing surprising facts about the impact of stress: It can shrink our brains, add fat to our bellies, even unravel our chromosomes. Yet, understanding how stress works can help us figure out ways to combat it and how to live a life free of this present-day plague.

For three decades, Sapolsky has been advancing our understanding of stress, in particular how our social standing can make us more or less susceptible. Along with scientists from the University of North Carolina, the University of London, Rockefeller University and the University of California, San Francisco, Sapolsky is part of a group of cutting-edge researchers whose collective work now gives stress a new relevance.

Throughout the film, Sapolsky weaves the grim reality of the impact of chronic stress with his wry observations about life. Describing one of his most intriguing early findings, he says, "Chronic stress could do something as unsubtle and grotesque as kill some of your brain cells."

"The reality is I am unbelievably stressed and Type A and poorly coping, and why else would I study this stuff 80 hours a week? No doubt everything I advise is going to lose all its credibility if I keel over dead from a heart attack in my early 50s. I am not good at dealing with stress. But one thing that works to my advantage is I love my work, I love every aspect of it," he says.

The film is based partly on Sapolsky's best-selling book "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers: Stress Disease and Coping." In addition to his professorship at Stanford, Sapolsky is a research associate with the Institute of Primate Research at the National Museum of Kenya. He is also the author of "A Primate's Memoir" and "The Trouble with Testosterone," a Los Angeles Times Book Award finalist. Sapolsky's work has been published in Science, Lancet and Journal of Neuroscience, and he has contributed articles to Discover, The New Yorker and Men's Health. He lives with his family in San Francisco.

Senior executive producer of "Killer Stress: A National Geographic Special" is John Bredar, and the producer/writer is John Heminway. Executive producer from Stanford University is Randy Bean; co-executive producer is William Free.

Source: http://press.nationalgeographic.com/pressroom/index.jsp?pageID=pressReleases_detail&siteID=1&cid=1216046425623

Robert Sapolsky: Are Humans Just Another Primate?

worldinformant

Dr. Robert Sapolsky discusses his work as professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University and as a research associate with the Institute of Primate Research at the National Museum of Kenya. His enviable gift for storytelling led the New York Times to print, "If you crossed Jane Goodall with a borscht-belt comedian, she might have written a book like A Primate's Memoir." Dr. Sapolsky's account of his early years as a field biologist. He is sure to dazzle and delight with tales of what it means to be human.