I'm sorry, I have no idea what happened to my message.  Anyway, here goes again. 

Please go to the site http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/index.html  then click on the video at  [ send green star]

Please go to this site http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/index.html then click on the video  [ send green star]

I am glad to see you guys responding to this topic.  It is easy to see how corporate greed is causing world poverty.  It is evident that we, as citizens with more power than in other nations, act and start the revolution.

Great posts Mena and Simon.

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I think that when we unite and organize, we can achieve anything!

In specific terms for example, labour unions, peasant organizations, progressive political parties, NGOs, etc., can unite the working classes and other poor people globally in democratic and grassroots networks, and can then negotiate with the corporate bosses from a position of strength....

and the people's movement(s) can grow from there and sooner or later - through education, inspiration, etc. - can replace corporations in controlling the economic life of the planet

I see such revolutionary change as very possible, especially since so many people in the world, living in such dire circumstances, have so little to lose and so much to gain. My main concern is that authoritarian forces might take power as in most revolutions of history - e.g. the industrial revolution(s) ended the rule of kings and lords, but a capitalist ruling class of rich and powerful (bougeoisie) took their place.

A solution to this danger is to ensure that enough people are politically conscious enough to keep all power spread out in democratic and egalitarian forms, and not to allow any "bullies" to coerce others into serving them and obeying them, which is the seed of authoritarianism and oppression. Thus I propose that we focus on raising the political consciousness of people - the more, the better. I am proposing a transformation of society by soicety, freely chosen by a maximum number of people - because this kind of change involves a minimum of coercion and a maximum of happiness

I think there is a lot of truth in the words "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely". Let us keep coercive power over others to a minimum, and let us exercise personal freedom, and inspire compassion as the motivation to help others.

Let us create a society based on love, on compassion , rather than fear, hate, greed and dogmas.

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First of all, people need to voice up. "Slave wages" as they are called, will exist so long as someone is willing to work for them and not say anything. And, there will always be someone who will do this. To settle for this is just the way it has always been. There are unions out there in some companies, that are supposed to protect workers, but I can tell you, they do nothing. What would it take if everyone who worked for the bare minimum, knowing full well they deserve more to say "ENOUGH"? I don't know. I work in the health care industry and make quite good money doing so, some would say comparitivly, I am overpaid. The truth is I am dealing with people's lives everyday, and I know some people who work for Aldies and make as much as I do sitting at a register. We need fair wage control. And, the only way to get this ball rolling is to make a big statement. How about we all rally around and call for a "Worldwide Strike", no-one works until our companies start to value us. If noone went to work there'd be a major shutdown with these big industies taking advantage of underpaid, overworked employees. Hope this helps, Ted. Keep the info. coming.

Mena

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Corporations are the main contributor to poverty in both industrialised and developing nations.  Corporations have been given the same rights as individuals.  They are seen as more important than individuals because they collect billions of dollars annually in corporate welfare---read: you give us money or we open up shop in China, etc....

Walmart is a perfect example of how a corporation reels in profits while its employees eke out a living, barely able to subsist.  Corporations, and businesses in general, think they are doing us a favour by hiring us.  In fact, we do them a favour by working for them.  They need us more than we need them.  We are the backbone of their profits.  they see billions in profits while we see a measly paycheque. 

Why do we let this happen?  Obviously, we need money to exist.  This means we need a job to survive.  Most jobs are 9-5 sweatshop deals where we are forced to think we are of no value without the big boss man.  We are told that we should do our work faster and more efficiently.  For the first three months, at least here in Quebec, we have absolutely no rights and can be fired from one day to the next.  No government agency can help us and we can't even argue the point.  But we need money.  And so goes on the vicious cycle.

This "slave wage" status takes away our inner selves.  We are numbers to a huge employer.  We have nothing more than a job that is never stable and in return we are given a paltry pittance of our actual worth.  They hook us on credit.  We need to buy a car, a house, etc., in order to owe more.  Credit is good, after all.  Then there is the ideal that we should all have families that waste rather than spend.  they hook our kids on video games, designer sneakers and clothes, you name it.  

How do we escape this?  We need to look into our inner selves and ask: what do I really want to do?  What really makes me happy?After this, we need to set a course of action.  It will be almost impossibel to attain at first, but it will become modified and simpler as we understand it more with each passing day.  We need to realise what the biggest obstacles are and how we can get rid of them.  We need to liberate ourselves from the brainwashing that has taken place for centuries, ever since the industrial revolution.

Ted, what does this have to do with this group?

Firstly, we want to eradicate poverty not only abroad, but right here at home.  Secondly, we need to be in a position where we know how to get solutions.  This is usually best attained when we are satisfied with ourselves and are stress-free.  Then we can help the rest of the world, as all these famous people are doing.

What I wanted to ask from all of you was ideas on how you may be overcoming the corporate obstacle and how we can make a game plan to move forward and help ourselves and others.

Ted Kouretas

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