So we got some good feed back from our last post The Ethics Of Privatization: Part 1, so I wanted to bring the second rendition while the topic is still hot. I wont be back in my home office for another couple days, because I am in the middle of doing some traveling, but I am feeling inspired and don’t want to lose momentum with this topic. I’m actually coming to you live from a limousine in Phoenix AZ, but I think I can still maintain my flow while were driving. I’ve got about an hour till I arrive at the airport so hopefully I can drop this second chapter here quickly…Hope you enjoy!

Escape from the Commons

The Public commons, the space in which people share and interact amongst one-another has historically been a place of great significance and importance. It has served as the place of our ancestor’s homes, their work, their relationships, and essentially all that encompassed their life. However, technology and development has given rise to new concepts and theories in regards to the space we share. Increasing populations and migration, has put pressure on people to delineate the land that we share, and define ownership; which has been the viable alternative to cooperative living. Though there are still indigenous cultures that adhere to the tribe mentality of ownership, and other modern Co-op initiatives, the paradigm of the commons being shared is mostly dead. Read more

Over the past few decades the cost of public services have found themselves rising at alarming rates across the globe, and surpassing what many governments can afford to spend. Many such governments are running a deficit as a result of these costs, and struggling to operate under their current order. This draws a lot of political attention to publicly funded programs and invites experts to analyze the extent to which governments can reasonably afford to offer these services through traditional means (taxpayer funds). Increasing populations in parts of the world exacerbate these concerns, as they contribute to a greater number of socially, and economically marginalized citizens, which in turn creates greater demand for public assistance from governments. Additionally, the increased costs of modern governments, due to their size, and scope of services offered, spreads government thin, and furthers societies expectations of what governments ought to provide.

Opportunity to remedy this situation by governments also becomes difficult, since there is reluctance by many political constituencies to impose tax increases, for fear of stifling local economies, and losing loyal constituencies. This along with other considerations leads many governments to explore the opportunity of privatizing their public programs, and the relief it may be able to provide. By privatizing public services, these governments effectively give over control of certain industries to privately operated entities. Compelled by the current wisdom and faith in the efficiency of privatization, many governments are implementing these practices in many sectors of society. However the long term effects of these practices are not yet entirely understood, and the debate on the over-all success of this practice is far from settled. Read more

As The United States spreads their western prerogative (culture, economics, politics) across the globe, we are seeing it being faced with a lot of criticism and resentment. This is especially the case with strong islamic fundamentalist who see the cultural expansion as threatening to their own ideals and standards. This Westernization as it has been called is being met with increasing levels of resentment and hostility by many parts of the world, but in particular with the Islamic world.

As westerners here in the United States we are exposed to many cultures and people not of this area. We see many people from all over the world come to us in search of money, land, or just a fresh start. Some from parts of Asia, Africa, and many parts of the Middle East, and though we are taught some things about theses people and of their origins, there is little many of us really know or understand. This is especially true when it comes to our brothers and sisters from the Islamic world. Read more

So many of us are familiar with the fact that the world is facing extreme environmental degradation. For most of us, it probably feels like it is as though we can do nothing about it. Most of this destruction is coming from the hands of large corporations that will cease at nothing to accumulate potential profits, including destroying the very planet that provides for us all. Though this may be true, and most of the damage is being done by larger entities than ourselves, there is still action we can take a on an individual scale. And the biggest one is to not support consumer products that come from these large destructive corporations. Although it may be difficult, it is one of the best things we can do as individuals to regain the health of our planet.

As most of posts here on GACFA, this topic was inspired by a recent video I watched, and article I read about this thing known as plastic island, a large collection of plastic that is now becoming a part of the ocean.  Read more

So today I want to discuss business, and its role in modern society. I recently got an email from a company I’ve done business with in the past and they updated me with a recent achievement of theirs, in which they received an award for doing exceptional business in the community. I was pleased to see this because one I believe they deserve it, and two I like that people are acknowledging good ethical businesses. The company which you can check out at phoenixwaterdamage.org is in the restoration business, and typically these businesses are not seen as the most ethical. Because sometimes these companies will recommend services that are not necessarily needed, but the companies are interested in squeezing as much business out of people as they can. This was certainly not the case with this company, in fact they were probably the most upfront company I’ve ever dealt with. Any who, this all got me thinking about acknowledging ethical business on a larger scale, who operate on an international level. Currently there are thousands of transnational companies that operate on a global level, doing billions of dollars in revenue, and are over seen by no one for the most part. A lot of their business is outside the scope of traditional national authorities who govern domestic business, so they operate unaffected for the most part. Though governments have the ability to stifle business and slow it down, there are beneficial aspects of governments that help to maintain ethical business. This topic is too large to cover all of it, but I will address a couple key elements that I believe need some government intervention. Read more

Recently I read some old articles that I had laying around the house pertaining to drones, and though they were a little outdated, it really got me thinking about drones and their role in our modern world. With drones becoming more and more popular for consumers, we have to remember where they came from, and what there global adoption means for modern warfare.

In any society dating back to the beginning of time there is evidence, that those with the greatest technologies, likewise had the greatest influence and control.  Under this notion one would assume that those with the most power, would do what was possible to not relinquish this authority, including using said technologies to further their control. In historical times, this concept faced little opposition, but when we take technology especially in terms of war, from the introduction of gunpowder to modern day UAV drone ships, you can begin to see where the argument develops. Today I will take a further look into the idea of unmanned ships and their implication on the culture of war, and project where this may take us. Read more

So history is one of our biggest interest here at GACFA. This is because history has such an effect on how we see the world. Often times we perceive the modern world  based on our understanding of the past. We can justify an attack on a nation or group of people based on our perceived history with that nation or group of people.

There is a lot of value in controlling the history books for that very reason, you can make people believe things that may advance a current agenda. It was common practice by many to destroy the history books of a nation after winning a war. History has been rewritten thousands of times and it would be difficult to give an absolute detailed history of humanities past because it has been rewritten so man times.

As children here in the United States we were told a specific history that has worked towards shaping our perspective of the world, and even our own identities. Because of histories power, we here at GACFA are passionate about discerning the past and developing a clear and more accurate depiction of our history. In order to better understand how the world became what it is, and to better understand where we are going.

Because traditional schooling leaves out most of the details, we here at GACFA have conducted our own research over the years and we recommend that you do the same. Teaching yourself is so liberating, and so personally satisfying. Below we will detail one of our favorite historical characters, Christopher Columbus, and discuss one of his explorations before he supposedly discovered America.  Read more

As a child born and raised in the United States of America I have always held this country in the highest regards. I have worn American pride t-shirts, supported American wars, and pledged my allegiance to the country that I so highly admired. I have so much appreciation for the opportunities we as Americans have over the rest of the world, and was actually able to bare witness to the American dream through my mother’s experiences. For my mother was an immigrant from Ireland, and had little opportunity in her home country, and had came here to better her life and her little sisters at just the age of 15. It proved to be difficult but with much perseverance the two of them managed to establish great lives for themselves. So for this reason I have always been thankful for the work of our forefathers and the flag that has represented freedom and justice for all. Read more