Monthly Archives: January 2017

Top 100 Womens Empowerment Blogs | Psychology of Eating

Posted: January 8, 2017 at 7:56 pm

Here are our picks forTop 100 Womens Empowerment Blogs.Please enjoy! Here atThe Institute for the Psychology of Eating,were on a mission to forever change the way the world understands food, body and health.

The Institute for the Psychology of Eatingisthe worlds only online school dedicated to a progressive, positive, holistic understanding of eating psychology and nutrition. Unique and revolutionary in its approach, the Institute teaches students and professionals how to effectively work with the most common and compelling eating challenges of our times weight, body image, overeating, binge eating, emotional eating, endless dieting, digestion, fatigue, immunity, mood and much more.

The Institute features an internationally acclaimed distance learningprofessional offering theEating Psychology Coach Certification Training along with well loved online programs for the public, includingTransform Your Relationship with Food.No matter what nutritional system you follow, we all have a relationship with food that profoundly impacts our behavior and metabolism.Ifyoure interested in learning more about the work we do, please check out our FREE Video Series calledThe Dynamic Eating PsychologyBreakthrough.You can sign up for itHERE.The list below forTop100 Womens EmpowermentBlogsis in no particular order. Theyre all ranked highly in our eyes!

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1. The Wild Sisterhood Jen Saunders is a writer, painter, and empowerment artist who is passionate about inspiring women to love themselves, follow their hearts and change the world. Her writing has been featured on popular websites such as Tiny Buddha, Kind Over Matter, Roots Of She, and many more. Her first guest contribution to Tiny Buddha was so popular, her story was also featured in the bestselling Tiny Buddha book.

2. Eves Health and Fitness Blog Eves Health & Fitness blog gives valuable fitness tips and background information on food. Her blog is a nice addition to the network of all the health and fitness information out there.

3. Healthy Woman The doctors at Healthy Woman are dedicated to the emotional, physical, and psychological needs of women. Their blog offers health advice ranging from nutritional tips to common birth control concerns and valuable cancer information.

4. Hardy Girls Healthy WomenHardy Girls Healthy Women is a research-based non-profit that whole-heartedly works to empower girls and women. This is a great resource for parents and activists alike. Its also simply a good read if youre interested in womens empowerment.

5. MizFit Online Carla Birnberg founded MizFitOnline to share her health and fitness knowledge from years of working as a health writer, community builder, personal trainer and bodybuilding competitor. She helps women feel strong and powerful in their bodies.

6. Speaking of Womens Health Speaking of Womens Health is dedicated to: Educating women to make informed decisions about health, well-being and personal safety for themselves and their families. The site is run by the Cleveland Clinic Center for Specialized Womens Health.

7. StrongHealthyWoman.com Laura Miranda is a Physical Therapist, Personal Trainer and local fitness & nutrition expert. She created her blog for busy women hungry for cutting edge fitness and nutrition advice.

8. The Great Fitness Experiment Charlotte decided that she was tired of reading studies in magazines and wondering, well that works well on mice, but what about on people? So now she reads all the health and fitness research she can track down and she tries it herself. Then she writes it all down in her blog for you!

9. The Healthy Apron Erin takes the mystery out of fitness science. Whether you are struggling with food, weight or simply searching for a healthier lifestyle, you can learn great things from The Healthy Apron.

10. Workout Mommy Lisa is the Work Out Mommy, and her blog aims to help you find that time and keep you motivated and on task! If youre a mom, check out the empowering tips and advice this blog has to offer.

11. Fit Bottomed Girls Erin, Jen, Kristen and Trish together make up the Fit Bottomed Girls. Their goal is to motivate you to get healthy through a balance of good food and healthy activity. They have a great sense of humor and take the punishment idea out of working out.

12. FYI Behealthy.comFYI Be Healthy is dedicated to health and nutrition. Its authors take scientific studies from all areas relating to health and transform the information into very well-written and accessible articles for you.

13. Happy Mothering Before Chrystal had children, she was a marketing communications manager at a Fortune 20 healthcare company. Now she finds the empowerment to be both a mom and a working woman. Her blog helps mothers find their own empowerment.

14. Healthy Women. Informed. Empowered. HealthyWomen has been working for more than 20 years to, educate, inform and empower women to make smart health choices for themselves and their families.

15. Imperfect Women Imperfect Women is written and edited by about a dozen women (ages spanning four decades!). The goal of the editors and writers is to reach out to women of all walks of life. They believe that, each womans choices about her life and family should be respected. We share one common trait: we are all works in progress.

16. The Vegan Woman The Vegan Woman is written by 13 women and one man. They create a positive, safe space to talk about the vegan lifestyle and share information and advice. Whether your new to the lifestyle, a life-longer, or interested in being vegan, check out this empowering site full of knowledge.

17. Women Health and Family Tips Women Health and Family Tips combines nutrition, exercise and personal inner search for a healthier you. Theres a lot of great personal advice here that we can all benefit from!

18. Women SpeakDr. Nancy is a motivational speaker who draws on her life experience as a clinical psychologist, crisis responder and director of an employee assistance program to bring empowerment to other women.

19. Stirrup QueensMelissa provides information relating to adoption and infertility. As the mother of two twins conceived through fertility treatments she shares wisdom with other mothers and soon-to-be-mothers to help make their journey smoother.

20. Any BodyMultiple individuals contribute to this site. All of them have the same mission of giving women a voice to challenge the limited physical representation of females in contemporary society.

21.EverydayFeminine MagicBlog written by Indigo Bacal, the founder of Wilde (Women of Inspired Leadership Devoted to Evolution) Tribe. Indigo promotes feminine magic and finding your true voice.

22. Purpose to Prosperity Blog written by Sage Lavine, a business coach promoting women empowerment through financial freedom. She also promotes the idea that business development can be our spiritual teacher.

23. Voices at W4 VOICES is a forum for raising awareness and sharing insights about the living conditions and prospects of girls and women today. Through interviews, articles, commentaries and testimonies, VOICES highlights initiatives that are helping to improve the lives of girls and women around the world. Everyone concerned about girls and womens empowerment is invited to read and/or share his/her perspective on VOICES.

24. NicoleDaedone.com Nicole Daedone is a sought-after speaker, teacher, and author who has spent her groundbreaking career redefining orgasm from a womans point of view. Seeing a womans sex as her power, she treats sexuality with unparalleled humor, intelligence, and insight. Nicole is the author ofSlow Sex: The Art and Craft of the Female Orgasmand is the founder of OneTaste, a company that offers training in orgasm, communication, and man-woman relationships.

25. KellyNotaras.com Kellya sex and relationship consultantwho provides consulting services to women and men to become fully expressed, sexually empowered individuals. Having trained with Nicole Daedone, Kellys work is authentic and powerful and her writing is honest and down to earth. She brings a refreshing and compassionate approach to sexuality and relationship.

26. LeonieDawsom.comLeonie is a blogger, author, and visual artist who helps women build businesses based on their creative gifts. She also organizes an online womens circle made up of over 2,000 women from around the world.

27. She Takes on the WorldShe Takes on the World is written by Natalie MacNeil. Natalie is a woman business owner and globetrotter who decided to start blogging in 2007. She Takes on the World is one of the top blogs in the world for career-minded women and women entrepreneurs.

28. Jessica Valenti One of the Top 100 Inspiring Women in the world by The Guardian Jessica is the author of four books on feminism, politics and culture. Her third book, The Purity Myth: How Americas Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women, won the 2010 Independent Publisher Book Award and was made into a documentary by the Media Education Foundation.

29. Soul and Art StudioCreator of Soul Art Studio, is a business that promotes connecting people with their spirit and creating a life and business that expresses it.

30. DanielleLaPorte.comDanielle LaPorte writes about authenticity, creativity and meaningful work. She loves sharing her insights at conferences, on stage, always in high heels.

31. Truth + Heart + HussleDanielle Dowling is part relationship expert, part womens life coach and part spiritual ass-kicker. She helps women dream big and get it.

32. Marie Forleo Marie Forleos goal is to add more value to your world than you ever dreamed possible by giving you tools that you can immediately use to improve your business and life. Shes the founder of a 100% virtual, woman-owned and run, socially-conscious company who envisions a world where every human being has the financial and emotional freedom to live life to the fullest.

33. The Boss of YouThe Boss of You provides business coaching for women. The authors are Lauren Bacon and Emira Mears who started the site as a living guide to business, their way. You can find their thoughts & ruminations on business, profiles of women-run businesses, resources for women entrepreneurs and more!

34. Gypsy GalsGypsyGals is a website written by Prime and Nina Sarmiento. They provide supportive advice for solo female travelers, as well as detailed, photo-rich city guides to the best cities for women.

35. A Feminine FeastSabrina Chaw is a coach and lecturer who works to support women to embody the truth and power of their Feminine core. She also organizes women circles and workshops just for women.

36. TheEntrepreneurialGuru for WomenAli provides business coaching and mentoring for women entrepreneurs. She started her first business from scratch 11 years ago in her NYC apartment and has since grown her enterprise into the millions.

37. Financial Freedom Coach for WomenKarie is a financial freedom coach for women. Her blog covers a wide range of financial topics as well as the occasional promotion for other women entrepreneurs.

38. Owning PinkLissa Rankin, an OB-GYN physician, author and artist, blogs on owningpink.com. The blog entries cover all things woman from relationships, to feminism, to sexual and reproductive health.

39. Wise LivingTara is a writer, public speaker, and developer of the Playing Big program, which supports women as they find and use their gifts. Her blog contains inspirational words, as well as useful tools for living an authentic life.

40. Truth + Transformation for Women SolopreneursJac works with women solopreneurs to grow and develop their businesses. She believes that developing your own business is an amazing platform for self-actualization.

41. Crazy Sexy Life Kris Carr covers topics such as happiness, health, and spiritual wealth. There is also a community built around the blog that encourages women to become CEOs of their health.

42. RebeccaDettman.comRebecca Dettman is a spiritual expert that started the blog Psyched in Stilettos, which covers the latest spiritual trends and cosmic news. Rebecca also started the Aurora Circle, an online group for likeminded spiritual women.

43. Nourishing Our RadianceSeveral writers contribute to this blog, which focuses on inspiring women to transform their relationship to nourishment through compassionate mind body awareness.

44. A Life of Perfect DaysConnie is a transformational life coach and passionate writer. Shes addicted to green juice and yoga, while her site is a place of inspiration and insight. She wants to help women follow their own bliss & listen to their heart.

45. Shastas Friendship BlogShasta writes a blog for women about developing and maintaining friendships with other women. The blog is attached to girlfriendcircles.com, which matches women with other women for offline friendships.

46. Tending Your Inner GardenTending Your Inner Garden is a website for women who want to grow. It encourages women to discover their deeper self and their relationship to all things sacred. They use the seasons as a model for change and help women become in tune with their own inner guidance.

47. Get Vitalized NaturallyWritten by a physician who focuses on womens health and issues that affect women. Postings often include information about physical wellbeing, but also touch on sexual and mental health.

48. Mama Genas School of Womanly ArtsRegena writes about women using their power of pleasure to have their way with the world. She runs the Womanly Arts Mastery Program, which is a 6 month course that helps women discover their pleasure and achieve their dreams.

49. The Psychologist, The Mom, & Me The Psychologist, The Mom, & Me covers a ride range of topics related to personal growth for women, as well as parenting. Dr. Hibbert is an expert on Parenting, Womens Emotions, Pregnancy & Postpartum, and Grief & Loss.

50. Money Wise Women Several writers contribute to this blog about financial health for women. While the appearance of the blog is drab, it does contain regularly updated content.

51. 27 Months Without Peanut-Butter Documents the personal encounters and experiences of Maggie Close, a peace corps volunteer who has been working with teenage girls in Jordan since 2011. Its a very simple blog, but the stories of these young women are not only awe-inspiring but also provides a healthy dose of perspective and gratitude.

52. Coaching Women to SucceedAnn is a coach that works with women making career changes. She helps women reclaim their confidence and power.

53. Center of the Psychology of WomenThe CPoW blog contains cultural commentary, interviews, essays and advice all while bringing chic to the feminine mystique. Much of the information on the site is geared towards readers in L.A.

54. Womens Success Coaching Live Your PotentialWomen Success Coaching has been recognized for many years in a row by Forbes magazine as one of the top sites for women. Topics covered in the blog often relate to career and business development.

56. Sylvia Browders Blog for WomenEntrepreneurs Sylvia Browder is geared towards women entrepreneurs. Several writers contribute to articles covering topics such as financial wellbeing, spirituality, health and wellness, and business development.

57. Awakening WomenAwakening Women is written for a global audience of women. It aims to bring the fiercely compassionate wisdom of the feminine back into our lives, thus restoring balance.

58. Harness Your Hormones. Unleash Your Power.Jessica is a health, hormone, and nutrition educator for women. Her blog covers these topics, as well as occasionally touching on business topics. Her wants to empower women to reach their highest, brightest and most exquisite potential.

59.Vanessa Carnevale Vanessa is a life coach, small business mentor, and a keynote speaker and writer. She loves to help people achieve rich and purposeful lives. Vanessa delivers business tips and life inspiration tomotivate you to live your dream.

60. WellnessWarriorJessica Ainscough is a writer and holistic coach who was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 22. The blog covers a variety of wellness topics from yoga to mental wellbeing to nutrition to inspirational quotes.

61. KarenFagan.comKaren Fagan is an empowerment coach for women, motivational speaker, and writer. Karens blog is written for women who want to live a brilliant life.

62. The Path to WellnessMelissa is a certified holistic health and life coach who helps women end their negative relationship with their bodies and fall back in love with themselves and their life.

63. Feministing The editors of Feministing.com established the site as a community for feminists all over to help give them the tools, connections and empowerment to effect positive change in their communities.

64. In Other WordsIn Other Words is a feminist bookstore in Portland, Oregon, and their blog provides a safe space for political and social discussions from a feminist perspective.

65. Wholistic Women RetreatsThe Wholistic Coaching Coalition is an amazing group of certified coaches trained in personal and professional development. They teach women the skills to find greater fulfillment in their lives.

66. Life Your WayTia uses her life experiences, business knowledge and life coaching skills to help readers dream bigger, demand better and make braver choices.

67. TinaRead.comDr. Trinas mission is to show couples how to have fun and meaningful sex at all stages of life. Check out her blog to answers to those questions you never really want to ask out loud.

68. Date Like a GrownupBobbi Palmer helps smart, accomplished grownup women Find Hope and then Find Him. You can start to get to know Bobbi through her well-written blog.

69. Live Bold and BloomBarrie Davenport wants to inspire her readers to do exactly what her blog is titled: Live Bold and Bloom! For inspiration, check out her blog.

70. Biz Chick Blog Biz Chick Blogs is an online magazine for working women. Its a place for women to share ideas and discuss topics relevant to everyday working life.

71. Flourish Over 50Susan founded Flourish Over 50 to provide an online community for women over 50. As she puts it, Your life after 50 is a time of rediscovery, a time to reinvent yourself to live life to the fullest. Share your stories with others here!

72. Aging AbundantlyFor women nearing middle age, Aging Abundantly provides support and advice for women entering a new chapter in their lives.

73. Becoming a Woman of PurposeDiscover how to ignite your inner peace through the tools and tips Carolyn offers in Becoming a Woman of Purpose!

74. Oops 50!If your a woman over 50, head to Oops 50! to share your experiences, your life and your knowledge and learn from others.

75. Third Age WomenThe Third Age Women blog is all about finding fulfillment and self-sufficiency in all areas of life. For advice on everything from budgeting to adult education, check this out.

76. Women on the FenceErica Diamond created her blog for all women who have ever been on the fence about anything life, business, love

77. The Jenny Pincher The Jenny Pincher is for single women. It offers advice on how to get out of debt and build wealth.

78. Single Minded WomenThe Single Minded Women blog is for single women. It provides entertaining, informative and vital information that every single woman can use to enhance her lifestyle.

79. Dating and Relating CompanyElizabeth is an online dating and relationship consultant. She promotes quality sites and people who she believes in. Check out Dating and Relating Company for real advice!

80. Love in 90 DaysDr. Diana is a love expert, media psychologist and bestselling author. She has helped thousands of women find their dreams.

81. Love and Relationship AdviceSusie & Otto write about ways they have learned to create more understanding and equal relationships. For great, clear advice that both you and your partner can benefit from, check out their blog.

82. Former Fat ChickShareen is a health coach that focuses on inspiring & motivating others who want to improve their health by losing weight. Shes a self-proclaimed Former Fat Chick who lives in Niles, CA.

83. BlogHer BlogHer is the largest community of women bloggers out there! For the best women-lead conversations on the Internet, head to this blog.

84. LipSticking Lip-sticking is a society and interactive website for women, by women and about women. Lead by Yvonne DiVita, their blog is written about issues in business and life.

85. The Soul Sisters Blog The Soul Sisters Blog is written by three sisters on a mission to empower and inspire women everywhere to pursue their passions and achieve their dreams. If you desire to get more out of life, check out their empowering blog.

86. The Maternal Health Task Force The Maternal Health Task Force empowers women through efforts to improve maternal health worldwide. This is a major contribution to womens empowerment, and their writing keeps readers up to date on all of their work and new developments in the maternal health field.

87. Wealthy Bag Lady -With more than 20 years of experience, Linda Hollander is the industry leader in teaching women entrepreneurs about small business success and attracting corporate sponsors. If youre a business owner, check out her blog to see what she can teach you.

88. Womens Life Empowerment Robin writes about how to take control and keep control in the workplace and in your life. For some great empowering advice, check out her blog.

89. What About Our Daughters A truly inspirational blog written for black women and girls. The blog encourages women to use their economic power to effect change in our society. Learn how you can make a difference through their inspirational articles.

90. On Writing, Teaching and Feminism Marina DelVecchio is a College Instructor who blogs about the importance of literacy and the necessary empowerment in young girls and women. She does a great job of including our daughters in the conversation of womens empowerment.

91. The FBomb The F in FBomb stands for feminist. And rightly named, this blog is for teenage girls who care about their rights as women and want to be heard.

92. Geek Feminism The Geek Feminism blog supports feminists in all geek communities. This including science and technology, gaming, SF fandom, and really anyone who identifies herself as a geek. So, if youre a geek and a feminists, heres the conversation for you.

93. PenelopeTrunk.comA women entrepreneur who writes career advice. Penelope blogs about career, romance and parenting.

94. 8 Women Dream 8 Women Dream is about eight empowered women who tell the world about how they are accomplishing their dreams. It will leave you nothing short of inspired to go out and chase your own dreams.

95. Kale & Chocolate Elise Museles is an Eating Psychology & Nutrition Expert based in Washington, DC. A self-proclaimed recovering perfectionist, Elise shows women how to loosen the reins, bend the rules, and experience true satisfaction. (Not to mention: hot bodies, full lives & happy hearts.) Meet Elise & discover a new kind of perfect.

96. Spiritual Sweat Amanda Christian helps women set themselves free, blaze their own trails, and step into their power. She writes that we should Expect Miracles and shes not afraid to debunk the myths of being spiritual or how to be a good dancer. She is often seen with a copy of A Course in Miracles nearby. Whatever shes doing seems to be working: this lady won a professional tree climbing championship in 2012.

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Top 100 Womens Empowerment Blogs | Psychology of Eating

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Empowerment and Strengths-Based Perspective: Social Work

Posted: at 7:56 pm

Empowerment and a strengths perspective which support the development of innate abilities and recognize differences in a positive manner are also helping social workers increase the individual clients capacity to learn to use his or her own systems constructively

More than a simple linguistic nuance, the notion that social workers do not empower others, but instead, help people empower themselves is an ontological distinction that frames the reality experienced by both social workers and clients (Simon, 1990, p. 32, quoted in Saleeby, 2006, p. 98)

Introduction: This paper firstly looks at empowerment, what it is, and how it can assist social workers in enhancing their clients competence through development of self-efficacy, mastery, and their ability to use their own resources (both inner and outer) in a productive and beneficial manner. The paper then looks at the Strengths Perspective and how social workers can use this lens to assist clients in re-framing their sense of self, and therefore enhance their clients capacity for self-determination. The paper then looks at empowerment and the Strengths Perspective in action, through the utilization of Solution Focused theory.

In this paper it is argued that the action of empowerment is fundamental to the application of a strengths perspective. It is also argued that a positive recognition of difference, such as for those experiencing mental health issues, or who may be gay or lesbian for example, can assist clients in normalizing their lived experience.

Empowerment: Empowerment is both a theory and a practice. It is also a process as well as an outcome (Zimmerman, 1995; Gutierrez, DeLois and GlenMaye, 1995; Carr, E.S., 2003).

The practice of empowerment grew out of the womens and black rights movements of the United States in the late 60s/70s where it was recognised that these two powerless/oppressed groups did not have equal access to human services. This had a negative effect both at the level of the individual and at the level of the institution of the family, which meant that the impaired systems [were] unable to shield individuals from the negative effects of the oppressive institutions (Gutierrez et al, 1995, p. 534), thereby self-perpetuating the oppressed state of those, and other subjegated, groups.

The goal of empowerment is to increase personal, interpersonal or political power, so that individuals, families or communities can take action to improve their situation (Gutierrez et al, 1995, p. 535) Australian examples of empowered communities would include the Womens Electoral Lobby and the Tent Embassy, also developing in the 1970s for example This goal means an increase in the actual power of the client or community [as opposed to their coping with, or adaptation to, the dominant paradigm] so that action can be taken [by them] to prevent or change the problems they are facing (Gutierrez et al, 1995, p. 535). A crucial aim of empowerment is therefore enhancing the possibilities for people to control their own lives (Rappapport, 1981, p. 15) and augmenting their sense of self-determination.

The process of empowerment, involves the development of consciousness consciousness raising/conscientization, and psychological empowerment (Carr, 2003, p. 15; Zimmerman 1995) facilitating a reduction in self-blame, an assumption of personal responsibility for change, and enhancement of self-efficacy (Gutierrez et al, 1995, p. 535). Empowerment also involves the understanding by oppressed people that the nature of their oppression is structural and systemic and is not self-inflicted (Cowger, Anderson & Snively, 2006). Further, empowerment involves a commitment to challenging and combating injustice (Pease, 2002, p. 136, quoting Ward and Mullender).

Consciousness raising, practiced by many a feminist in the 1970s for example, is learning about, and increasing ones self awareness of, their individual social fit within...

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Hedonism II Resort Negril, Jamaica

Posted: at 7:52 pm

Sooner or later, its gonna happen.

The primal urge to just let go, unwind, and unplug. Hedonism II on world-famous Negril Beach of Negril, Jamaica was created as a reward for all those times youve had to deny your basic instincts. In these lush gardens of pure pleasure, the word no is seldom heard.

After a week at Hedonism II, youll view the world from a slightly different angle. Youll be tanned and relaxed, and at times youll find yourself smiling for no reason whatsoever. Hedonism II, unlike all other clothing optional resorts.

Hedonism II is the only resort of its kind in the world. Its the resort where you can do what you want, when you want, in a way that you only can at Hedonism. From the nude beach to piano bar to the disco, Hedonism II is the best resort for adult only, all inclusive clothing optional travel. If you dont have fun at Hedonism II, you probably wont have fun anywhere.

And the best place to book your Hedonism II vacation is right here at Dream Pleasure Tours. Why? Dream Pleasure Tours is you main source for the best prices and best service for Hedonism II reservation.

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Hedonism II Resort Negril, Jamaica

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First Amendment Foundation – – Protecting Your Right to …

Posted: at 7:47 pm

The First Amendment Foundation is a highly visible and accessible source of authoritative information, expertise and assistance to the public and news media.Founded as a non-profit organization in 1984 by The Florida Press Association, the Florida Society of Newspapers Editors and the Florida Association of Broadcasters to ensure that public commitment and progress in the areas of free speech, free press, and open government do not become checked and diluted during Floridas changing times.

Floridas Sunshine Laws guarantee our right to open government, but government officials can get downright creative to keep their decision-making in the dark. Like the state agency that demanded $3,200 to copy a single page of a public record, or the city commissioner who accidentally dropped her government phone in the toilet after a reporter asked her to see her text messages. And of course, you, the taxpayer footed the $1.3 million legal tab to keep our Governor and his cabinet out of court over secret emails. Fortunately, we have the Florida First Amendment Foundation fighting on our side. I urge you to support the First Amendment Foundation and keep Florida government by the people, for the people and in the Sunshine.

Carl Hiaasen, Miami Herald columnist and author ofSkin Tight,Strip Tease, Skinny Dip, Nature Girl, Star Island,Bad Monkey, Razor Girl and many more.

Thepurpose of the First Amendment Foundation is to protect and advance the publics constitutional right to open government by providing education and training, legal aid and information services. Funding is based on voluntary contributions from various organizations and concerned individuals.

You know, the critical research of my book would not have been possible without access granted by law via Floridas longstanding Open Government laws. Without Sunshine, stories like the injustice I uncovered in Central Florida could not have come forward. The Florida First Amendment Foundation has been protecting your citizen right to know for the past 31 years. Support the First Amendment Foundation. Support Open Government. It pays dividends.

Gilbert King, February 2016. Pulitzer Prize winning author of Devil in the Grove Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America

Our actions get results. In the past year, we led a broad coalition of open government advocates anddefeated a billthat would have made it harder to hold agencies accountable for public records violations. In dozens of courthouses and government offices around the country, citizens with FAFs help won access to the recordsand meetings.

Still,our job has never been more challenging and,with your help, we will continue to fight efforts to erode Floridas long-standing tradition of open government.

Find out more about the First Amendment Foundation.

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Dash (cryptocurrency) – Wikipedia

Posted: at 7:46 pm

Dash

Official Dash logo

Dash (formerly known as Darkcoin and XCoin) is an open source peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that offers instant transactions (InstantSend),[1] private transactions (PrivateSend)[2] and token fungibility. It was rebranded from "Darkcoin" to "Dash" on March 25, 2015, a portmanteau of "Digital Cash".[3]

Dash operates a decentralized governance and budgeting system, making it the first decentralized autonomous organization.[4]

Dash uses a chained hashing algorithm called X11 for the proof-of-work. Instead of using the SHA-256 (from well-known Secure Hash Algorithm family) or scrypt it uses 11 rounds of different hashing functions.[5]

As of 2016, Dash is among the top-7 most popular cryptocurrencies.[6]

Main website is http://www.dash.org

PrivateSend is a coin-mixing service originally based on CoinJoin. Later iterations used a more advanced method of pre-mixing denominations built into the user's wallet. The implementation of PrivateSend also allows masternodes to submit the transactions using special network code called DSTX,[7] this provides additional privacy to users due to the deadchange issue present in other CoinJoin based implementations such as DarkWallet and CoinShuffle.[8]

DarkSend rebranded to PrivateSend June 2016.

In its current implementation it adds privacy to transactions by combining identical inputs from multiple users into a single transaction with several outputs. Due to the identical inputs, transactions usually cannot be directly traced, obfuscating the flow of funds. PrivateSend makes Dash "Fungible"[9] by mixing the coins in the same denomination with other wallets, ensuring that all coins are of the same value.

PrivateSend's mixing is performed by Masternodes, servers operating on a decentralized network which have the responsibility of signing the transactions. For each round of PrivateSend, the user selects two to eight (or even more) rounds of mixing which vary the degree of anonymity achieved. Random Masternodes are then elected to perform the coin mixing. Masternodes are trust-less cryptographic technology, in the sense that they cannot steal user coins, and the combination of multiple Masternodes ensures that no single node has full knowledge of both inputs and outputs in the transaction process.

To avoid the possibility of sybil attack, a process where a peer-to-peer network is overtaken by "bad actors", collateral requirements have been added to the process of joining the Masternode network second tier. These are presently 1000 DASH [10] and allow secure network communication in via signed messages. As an incentive for operating a Masternode, chosen nodes currently earn 45% of the mining rewards.[11]

InstantSend is a service that allows for near-instant transactions. Through this system, inputs can be locked to only specific transactions and verified by consensus of the Masternode network. Conflicting transactions and blocks are rejected. If a consensus cannot be reached, validation of the transaction occurs through standard block confirmation. InstantSend purportedly solves the double-spending problem without the longer confirmation times of other cryptocurriencies such as Bitcoin.[12]

InstantX rebranded to InstantSend June 2016.

X11 is a hashing algorithm created by Dash core developer Evan Duffield. X11's chained hashing algorithm approach utilizes a sequence of eleven cryptographic hashing algorithms for the proof-of-work. This is so that the processing distribution is fair and coins will be distributed in much the same way Bitcoin's were originally.[citation needed]

With chained hashing, high end CPUs give an average return similar to that of GPUs. Another side effect of the algorithm is that GPUs run at about 30% less electrical power than scrypt and 30% to 50% cooler, putting less stress on the computing setup and ensuring lower energy bills for miners.[13]

Dark Gravity Wave (DGW) is a mining difficulty adjustment algorithm created by Dash core developer Evan Duffield to address flaws in Kimoto's Gravity Well. It uses multiple exponential moving averages and a simple moving average to smoothly adjust the difficulty, which is re-targeted every block. The block reward is not adjusted strictly by block number, but instead uses a formula controlled by Moore's law: 2222222/((Difficulty+2600)/9)2.[14][15]

Dash is the first decentralized autonomous organization powered by a Sybil proof decentralized governance and funding system.[16] DGBB or Decentralized Governance By Blockchain as it's called is a decentralized process by which the network determines where money is spent. Each Masternode operator is given the ability to use 1 vote on each governance proposal, which is a completely open and decentralized process.[17] Community interaction with proposal submitters is done usually through community driven websites, like DashWhale.[18] These websites allow proposal submitters to provide multiple drafts, then lobby for community support before finally submitting their project to the network for a vote. After the submitter has enough support, the network will automatically pay out the required funds in the next super block, which happen monthly.

Although, only in use a few months, the funding system has seen growth of its month revenue, from originally ~$14 thousands in September 2015, to nearly $30 thousands in March 2016.[19] Eventually the budget system can theoretically scale to $9M per month at a market cap of $500M.[20]

Since its inception, the project has used the system for important assets like acquiring dash.org,[21] adoption into the Lamassu ATM[22][23] and the Dash N' Drink instant soda machine,[24] along with funding many public events.[25][26][27][28]

Masternodes utilize a cryptographic bond model, which results a supply and demand market between the interest rate Masternodes are paid and the risk of holding the underlying asset. Early on in the history of the asset, the high return caused a massive uptake of Masternodes, starting from about 500 in Oct 2014 and increasing to 3650 in March 2016.[29]

Dash was originally released as XCoin (XCO) on January 18, 2014. On February 28, the name was changed to "Darkcoin". On March 25, 2015, Darkcoin was rebranded as "Dash".[3]

I discovered Bitcoin in mid 2010 and was obsessed ever since. After a couple of years in 2012 I started really thinking about how to add anonymity to Bitcoin. I came up with maybe 10 ways of doing this, but I soon realized that Bitcoin would never add my code. The developers really want the core protocol to stay the same for the most part and everything else to be implemented on the top of it. This was the birth of the concept of Darkcoin. I implemented X11 in a weekend and found it worked pretty well and it would give a completely fair start to the currency. What I really was aiming for with X11 is a similar development curve where miners would fight to create small advantages much like the early start of Bitcoin. I think this a requirement to create a healthy ecosystem.

[30]

Within the first hour of launch, approximately 500,000 coins were mined, followed by another 1,000,000 coins in the next 7 hours and finally another 400,000 in 36 hours. All told 1.9 million coins were mined in 48 hours, or approximately 32% of the current supply (as of October 2015) of approximately 5.9 million,[31][32] generating controversy regarding the initial distribution of coins. According to Duffield, this was the result of an error in the code "which incorrectly converted the difficulty, then tried using a corrupt value to calculate the subsidy, causing the instamine".[33] At the time, Duffield was working a full-time job and coding for Dash on the side, so its not surprising that there were errors in the initial code.[33] Duffield claims in the official bitcointalk.org thread (mirrored) that "Dash has no premine and was fairly and transparently launched".[34]

At the time Dash (then called Xcoin) was launched, the cryptocurrency space was riddled with scams. People were creating new currencies, hyping their value, then dumping them and abandoning the project. Many likely feared the same for Dash. However, since Dash's launch, there has been over two years of development, leading to a cryptocurrency that has over 50 volunteers and has solved such vexing issues as slow confirmation times, block size increases, decentralized governance, and a self-funding development budget.

According to CoinMarketCap, in August 2016 the daily trade volume of Dash was ~1% of the total trade of all cryptocurrencies,[35] and the market capitalization of Dash was ~80 millions of US dollars.[36] Since then, Dash has become the most active community on BitcoinTalk reaching more than 6000 pages, 122k replies, 6.6M reads.

Zerocoin, Cloakcoin and DarkNet also have built in the mixing services as a part of their blockchain network.[37]

The Dark Wallet client software for bitcoin was built to natively mix transactions between users.[38]

Monero_(cryptocurrency) is a cryptocurrency based on the CryptoNote protocol. It has gained attention recently for being adopted by dark net market AlphaBay.[39]

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Introduction to Libertarianism | A Libertarianism.org Guide

Posted: at 7:42 pm

Libertarianism is the philosophy of freedom.

Its not easy to define freedom. The author Leonard Read said, Freedom is the absence of man-concocted restraints against the release of creative energy. The Nobel laureate F. A. Hayek referred to a state in which each can use his knowledge for his purpose and also to the possibility of a persons acting according to his own decisions and plans, in contrast to the position of one who was irrevocably subject to the will of another, who by arbitrary decision could coerce him to act or not to act in specific ways. Perhaps its best to understand freedom as the absence of physical force or the threat of physical force. John Locke offered this definition of freedom under the rule of law:

[T]he end of Law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge Freedom: For in all the states of created beings capable of Laws, where there is no Law, there is no Freedom. For Liberty is to be free from restraint and violence from others which cannot be, where there is no Law: But Freedom is not, as we are told, A Liberty for every Man to do what he lists: (For who could be free, when every other Mans Humour might domineer over him?) But a Liberty to dispose, and order, as he lists, his Persons, Actions, Possessions, and his whole Property, within the Allowance of those Laws under which he is; and therein not to be subject to the arbitrary Will of another, but freely follow his own.

That is, a free person is not subject to the arbitrary will of another and is free to do as he chooses with his own person and property. But you can only have those freedoms when the law protects your freedom and everyone elses.

However we define freedom, we can certainly recognize aspects of it. Freedom means respecting the moral autonomy of each person, seeing each person as the owner of his or her own life, and each free to make the important decisions about his life.

Libertarianism is the view that each person has the right to live his life in any way he chooses so long as he respects the equal rights of others. Libertarians defend each persons right to life, liberty, and propertyrights that people possess naturally, before governments are instituted. In the libertarian view, all human relationships should be voluntary; the only actions that should be forbidden by law are those that involve the initiation of force against those who have not themselves used forceactions such as murder, rape, robbery, kidnapping, and fraud.

Libertarians believe in the presumption of liberty. That is, libertarians believe people ought to be free to live as they choose unless advocates of coercion can make a compelling case. Its the exercise of power, not the exercise of freedom, that requires justification. The burden of proof ought to be on those who want to limit our freedom.

The presumption of liberty should be as strong as the presumption of innocence in a criminal trial, for the same reason. Just as you cant prove your innocence of all possible charges against you, you cannot justify all of the ways in which you should be allowed to act. James Wilson, a signer of the Constitution, said in response to a proposal that a Bill of Rights be added to the Constitution: Enumerate all the rights of man! I am sure, sirs, that no gentleman in the late Convention would have attempted such a thing.

Why do libertarians value freedom? There are many reasons.

Freedom allows each of us to define the meaning of life, to define whats important to us. Each of us should be free to think, to speak, to write, to paint, to create, to marry, to eat and drink and smoke, to start and run a business, to associate with others as we choose. When we are free, we can construct our lives as we see fit. Freedom is part of whats needed to lead a full human life.

Freedom leads to social harmony. We have less conflict when we have fewer specific commands and prohibitions about how we should livein terms of class or caste, religion, dress, lifestyle, or schools.

Economic freedom means that people are free to produce and to exchange with others. Freely negotiated and agreed-upon prices carry information throughout the economy about what people want and what can be done more efficiently. For an economic order to function, prices must be free to tell the truth. A free economy gives people incentives to invent, innovate, and produce more goods and services for the whole society. That means more satisfaction of more wants, more economic growth, and a higher standard of living for everyone.

A political system of liberty gives us the opportunity to use our talents and to cooperate with others to create and produce, with the help of a few simple institutions that protect our rights. And those simple institutionsproperty rights, the rule of law, a prohibition on the initiation of forcemake possible invention, innovation, and progress in commerce, technology, and styles of living.

In barely 250 years of having widespread economic freedom, weve escaped from the back-breaking labor and short life expectancy that were the natural lot of mankind since time immemorial to the abundance we see around us today in more and more parts of the worldthough not yet enough of the world.

What does valuing freedom mean for the libertarian view of government?

For libertarians, the basic political issue is the relationship of the individual to the state. What rights do individuals have (if any)? What form of government (if any) will best protect those rights? What powers should government have? What demands may individuals make on one another through the mechanism of government?

We try to discover the rules that govern the world, and rules that will enable us all to live together and realize those wonderful rights in the Declaration of Independencelife, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The worst governments are tyrannical predators; the best embody attempts at providing the framework of rules we need to live together.

We know who and what government is. It isnt some Platonic ideal. Government is people, specifically people using force against other people. We need some method to constrain and punish the violent, the thieves and fraudsters, and other dangers to our freedom, our rights, and our security. But that shouldnt eliminate our skepticism about empowering some people to use force against others. The power that government holds is wielded by real people, not ideal people, and real people are imperfect. Some are corrupt, some are even evil. Some of the worst are actually attracted to state power. But even the well-intentioned, the honest, and the wise are still just people exercising power over other people.

Thats why Americans have always feared the concentration of power. Its why I often say that Smokey the Bears rules for fire safety apply to government: Keep it small, keep it in a confined area, and keep an eye on it.

Libertarians, as the name implies, believe that the most important political value is liberty, not democracy. Many modern readers may wonder, whats the difference? Arent liberty and democracy the same thing?

Theyre not. Much of the confusion stems from two different senses of the word liberty, a distinction notably explored by the nineteenth-century French libertarian Benjamin Constant in an essay titled The Liberty of the Ancients Compared with That of the Moderns. Constant noted that to the ancient Greek writers the idea of liberty meant the right to participate in public life, in making decisions for the entire community. Thus Athens was a free polity because all the citizensthat is, all the free, adult, Athenian mencould go to the public square and participate in the decision-making process. Socrates, indeed, was free because he could participate in the collective decision to execute him for his heretical opinions. The modern concept of liberty, however, emphasizes the right of individuals to live as they choose, to speak and worship freely, to own property, to engage in commerce, to be free from arbitrary arrest or detentionin Constants words, to come and go without permission, and without having to account for their motives and undertakings. A government based on the participation of the governed is a valuable safeguard for individual rights, but liberty itself is the right to make choices and to pursue projects of ones own choosing.

I have attempted to sketch here what it means to be a libertarian. There are many kinds of libertarians, of course. Some are people who might describe themselves as fiscally conservative and socially liberal, or say they want the government out of my pocketbook and out of my bedroom. Some believe in the philosophy of the Declaration of Independence and want the government to remain within the limits of the Constitution. Some just have an instinctive belief in freedom or an instinctive aversion to being told what to do. Some are admirers of Dr. Ron Paul and his son, Senator Rand Paul, and their campaigns against war, government spending, the surveillance state, and the Federal Reserve. Some like the writings of Thomas Jefferson or John Stuart Mill. Some have studied economics. Some have learned from history that governments always seek to expand their size, scope, and power, and must be constrained to preserve freedom. Some have noticed that war, prohibition, cronyism, racial and religious discrimination, protectionism, central planning, welfare, taxes, and government spending have deleterious effects. Some are so radical they think all goods and services could be provided without a state. In this Guide, I welcome all those people to the libertarian cause. When I talk about libertarian ideas, I mean to include the ideas of thinkers from John Locke and Adam Smith to F. A. Hayek, Ayn Rand, Murray Rothbard, Robert Nozick, and Richard Epstein.

The old ideologies have been tried and found wanting. All around usfrom the postcommunist world to the military dictatorships of Africa to the insolvent welfare states of Europe and the Americaswe see the failed legacy of coercion and statism. At the same time we see moves toward libertarian solutions constitutional government in Eastern Europe and South Africa, privatization in Britain and Latin America, democracy and the rule of law in South Korea and Taiwan, the spread of womens rights and gay rights, and economic liberalization in China, India, and even some countries in Africa. Challenges to freedom remain, of course, including the continuing lack of Enlightenment values in much of the world, the unsustainable welfare states in the rich countries and the interests that fight reform, the recurring desire for centralized and top-down political institutions such as the Eurozone, Islamist theocracy, and the spread of populist, antilibertarian responses to social change and economic crisis. Libertarianism offers an alternative to coercive government that should appeal to peaceful, productive people everywhere.

No, a libertarian world wont be a perfect one. There will still be inequality, poverty, crime, corruption, mans inhumanity to man. But unlike the theocratic visionaries, the pie-in-the-sky socialist utopians, or the starry-eyed Mr. Fixits of the New Deal and Great Society, libertarians dont promise you a rose garden. Karl Popper once said that attempts to create heaven on earth invariably produce hell. Libertarianism holds out the goal not of a perfect society but of a better and freer one. It promises a world in which more of the decisions will be made in the right way by the right person: you. The result will be not an end to crime and poverty and inequality but lessoften much lessof most of those things most of the time.

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Libertarianism | Cato Institute

Posted: at 7:42 pm

Libertarianism is the belief that each person has the right to live his life as he chooses so long as he respects the equal rights of others. Libertarians defend each persons right to life, liberty, and property. In the libertarian view, voluntary agreement is the gold standard of human relationships. If there is no good reason to forbid something (a good reason being that it violates the rights of others), it should be allowed. Force should be reserved for prohibiting or punishing those who themselves use force, such as murderers, robbers, rapists, kidnappers, and defrauders (who practice a kind of theft). Most people live their own lives by that code of ethics. Libertarians believe that that code should be applied consistently, even to the actions of governments, which should be restricted to protecting people from violations of their rights. Governments should not use their powers to censor speech, conscript the young, prohibit voluntary exchanges, steal or redistribute property, or interfere in the lives of individuals who are otherwise minding their own business.

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Prout Globe

Posted: January 7, 2017 at 1:20 pm

Welcome, progressive-minded reader!

By Itself Demonetisation Will Not Bring Down Corruption and Black Money in India.Medical science says if you want to cure the disease then address the cause, not only the symptoms. In this case the Indian govt. is not even close to the symptoms.

The trend of wealth concentration does not bode well for global capitalism. The main precursor of economic downturn is that the money accumulated by capitalists stops circulating and remains inert or unutilized. The huge hoarders think that if "their" money are allowed to roll freely then their profits will decrease, even though it will bring relief to the common masses. Capitalism is caught in its own sorry trap much in the same way as the proverbial monkey's fist by the food trap. The tragedy is the colossal suffering taking place in so many ways in today's world. Click to read

Byenforcing fair regulation in the physical sphere and safeguarding unrestrictedfreedom in mental and spiritual spheres, the all-encompassing socio-economic theory of Proutis aguarantee against both gross disparity andtotalitarianism. Click to read

Increasing centralization:In 2016the world's richest 62 people were as wealthy as half of the world population. As an example, in Russia25 years after the collapse of Communism:

Issue-oriented movements are challenging old-fashioned party politics everywhere. Do we want party dictatorship or enlightened leadership what are we capable of?The search for post-capitalism politics continues: Beyond Party Politics Also: No More Political Parties Prout for Essential Social Unity

A global issue: Refugee rights protest,Melbourne, Australia A Natural Human Response; the Significance of Europe's Refugee Dilemma.Click to read

Today's banking is dominated by all-devouring colossuses that crave to be fed by public money, whenever their speculation fails spectacularly, to continue their existence as masters of global trade. In contrast, PROUTs rational banking system presents a rational approach to supplying money when and where it is required for human welfare. Click to readAlso:Break Up Big Banks; IMF

Further escalation of the crisis of capitalism will cause unemployment figures to rise sharply throughout the world. One in ten around the world are unemployed while youth unemployment is particularly high. By virtue of its decentralized, balanced economy and emphasis on the cooperative sector, PROUT guarantees 100% employment and increasing purchasing capacity for all. Social Security and the Authority of the State

Is there life after the EU for capitalists? Of course there is, if they choose to abide by harmonious humanity and not rampant individualism.PROUT points Continue reading Why the EU matters

Dr. Sohail Inayatullah takes a look at the ancient system of Yoga, and in particular some of its ethical principles, through socioeconomic lenses. Republished with Continue reading The Yoga of Economics

Prout procession moving through Krishnanagar, India during a recent utilization training camp (UTC).Click to read

A thought exhibition van, propagating water conservation and Prout, travels from Pune, Maharashtra through the Sahayadri and Marathwada regions ahead of the rainyseason in India. Wells are drying up and underwatertables falling so fast in the Middle East and parts of India, China and the US that food supplies are seriously threatened, a world leading resource analyst has warned. PROUT founder Shrii Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar offered a visionary analysis and practical solutions for the global water crisis. Sarkar's ingenious methods ofutilizing water are applied by Proutists and others around the world.

WB Communist Leaders to be Questioned Over Bijon Setu Ananda Marga volunteers walk on the streets of Kolkata with urn pots in their arms on annual memorial day of the Bijon Setu massacreApril 30, 2015 Asst. Dist. Magistrate Sher Singh has offered that PROUT was the reason for the cruel attack and murder of the 16 Ananda Marga monks and one nun in broad daylight in Kolkata in 1982. The Ananda Marga organisation supports PROUT throughout India and the world. The atrocities were witnessed by thousands of people but no arrest has been made till date. Click to read the report

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Monism – Wikipedia

Posted: at 12:53 pm

Monism is the view that attributes oneness or singleness (Greek:) to a concept (e.g., existence). Substance monism is the philosophical view that a variety of existing things can be explained in terms of a single reality or substance. Another definition states that all existing things go back to a source that is distinct from them (e.g., in Neoplatonism everything is derived from The One). This is often termed priority monism, and is the view that only one thing is ontologically basic or prior to everything else.

Another distinction is the difference between substance and existence monism, or stuff monism and thing monism.[3] Substance monism posits that only one kind of stuff (e.g., matter or mind) exists, although many things may be made out of this stuff. Existence monism posits that, strictly speaking, there exists only a single thing (e.g., the universe), which can only be artificially and arbitrarily divided into many things.

There are two sorts of definitions for monism:

Although the term "monism" is derived from Western philosophy to typify positions in the mindbody problem, it has also been used to typify religious traditions. In modern Hinduism, the term "absolute monism" is being used for Advaita Vedanta.[4]

The term "monism" was introduced in the 18th century by Christian von Wolff[6] in his work Logic (1728),[7] to designate types of philosophical thought in which the attempt was made to eliminate the dichotomy of body and mind[8] and explain all phenomena by one unifying principle, or as manifestations of a single substance.[6]

The mindbody problem in philosophy examines the relationship between mind and matter, and in particular the relationship between consciousness and the brain. The problem was addressed by Ren Descartes in the 17th century, resulting in Cartesian dualism, and by pre-Aristotelian philosophers,[9][10] in Avicennian philosophy,[11] and in earlier Asian and more specifically Indian traditions.

It was later also applied to the theory of absolute identity set forth by Hegel and Schelling. Thereafter the term was more broadly used, for any theory postulating a unifying principle. The opponent thesis of dualism also was broadened, to include pluralism. According to Urmson, as a result of this extended use, the term is "systematically ambiguous".

According to Jonathan Schaffer, monism lost popularity due to the emergence of Analytic philosophy in the early twentieth century, which revolted against the neo-Hegelians. Carnap and Ayer, who were strong proponents of positivism, "ridiculed the whole question as incoherent mysticism".

The mindbody problem has reemerged in social psychology and related fields, with the interest in mindbody interaction and the rejection of Cartesian mindbody dualism in the identity thesis, a modern form of monism. Monism is also still relevant to the philosophy of mind, where various positions are defended.[16]

Different types of monism include:[18]

Views contrasting with monism are:

Monism in modern philosophy of mind can be divided into three broad categories:

Certain positions do not fit easily into the above categories, such as functionalism, anomalous monism, and reflexive monism. Moreover, they do not define the meaning of "real".

While the lack of information makes it difficult in some cases to be sure of the details, the following pre-Socratic philosophers thought in monistic terms:

Pantheism is the belief that everything composes an all-encompassing, immanent God,[28] or that the universe (or nature) is identical with divinity.[29] Pantheists thus do not believe in a personal or anthropomorphic god, but believe that interpretations of the term differ.

Pantheism was popularized in the modern era as both a theology and philosophy based on the work of the 17th century philosopher Baruch Spinoza,[30] whose Ethics was an answer to Descartes' famous dualist theory that the body and spirit are separate.[31] Spinoza held that the two are the same, and this monism is a fundamental quality of his philosophy. He was described as a "God-intoxicated man," and used the word God to describe the unity of all substance.[31] Although the term pantheism was not coined until after his death, Spinoza is regarded as its most celebrated advocate.[32]

H.P. Owen (1971: 65) claimed that

Pantheists are monists...they believe that there is only one Being, and that all other forms of reality are either modes (or appearances) of it or identical with it.[33]

Pantheism is closely related to monism, as pantheists too believe all of reality is one substance, called Universe, God or Nature. Panentheism, a slightly different concept (explained below), however is dualistic.[34] Some of the most famous pantheists are the Stoics, Giordano Bruno and Spinoza.

Panentheism (from Greek (pn) "all"; (en) "in"; and (thes) "God"; "all-in-God") is a belief system that posits that the divine (be it a monotheistic God, polytheistic gods, or an eternal cosmic animating force) interpenetrates every part of nature, but is not one with nature. Panentheism differentiates itself from pantheism, which holds that the divine is synonymous with the universe.[35]

In panentheism, there are two types of substance, "pan" the universe and God. The universe and the divine are not ontologically equivalent. God is viewed as the eternal animating force within the universe. In some forms of panentheism, the cosmos exists within God, who in turn "transcends", "pervades" or is "in" the cosmos.

While pantheism asserts that 'All is God', panentheism claims that God animates all of the universe, and also transcends the universe. In addition, some forms indicate that the universe is contained within God,[35] like in the concept of Tzimtzum. Much Hindu thought is highly characterized by panentheism and pantheism.[36][37]Hasidic Judaism merges the elite ideal of nullification to paradoxical transcendent Divine Panentheism, through intellectual articulation of inner dimensions of Kabbalah, with the populist emphasis on the panentheistic Divine immanence in everything and deeds of kindness.

Paul Tillich has argued for such a concept within Christian theology, as has liberal biblical scholar Marcus Borg and mystical theologian Matthew Fox, an Episcopal priest.[note 2]

Pandeism or pan-deism (from AncientGreek: pan"all" and Latin: deus meaning "god" in the sense of deism), is a term describing beliefs coherently incorporating or mixing logically reconcilable elements of pantheism (that "God", or a metaphysically equivalent creator deity, is identical to Nature) and classical deism (that the creator-god who designed the universe no longer exists in a status where it can be reached, and can instead be confirmed only by reason). It is therefore most particularly the belief that the creator of the universe actually became the universe, and so ceased to exist as a separate entity.[38][39]

Through this synergy pandeism claims to answer primary objections to deism (why would God create and then not interact with the universe?) and to pantheism (how did the universe originate and what is its purpose?).

The central problem in Asian (religious) philosophy is not the body-mind problem, but the search for an unchanging Real or Absolute beyond the world of appearances and changing phenomena, and the search for liberation from dukkha and the liberation from the cycle of rebirth.[41] In Hinduism, substance-ontology prevails, seeing Brahman as the unchanging real beyond the world of appearances.[42] In Buddhism process ontology is prevalent,[42] seeing reality as empty of an unchanging essence.

Characteristic for various Asian religions is the discernment of levels of truth, an emphasis on intuitive-experiential understanding of the Absolute such as jnana, bodhi and kensho, and an emphasis on the integration of these levels of truth and its understanding.

The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. The texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism.

According to Sehgal, "the Vedas and the Upanishads preach and propagate neither pantheism nor polytheism but monotheism and monism". There are many Gods, but they represent different aspects of the same Reality. Monism and monotheism are found intertwined. In many passages ultimate Reality is represented as immanent, while in other passages ultimate Reality is represented as transcendent. Monism sees Brahma as the ultimate Reality, while monotheism represents the personal form Brahman.[need quotation to verify]

Jeaneane D. Fowler too discerns a "metaphysical monotheism" in the Vedas. The Vedas contain sparse monism. The Nasadiya Sukta of the Rigveda speaks of the One being-non-being that 'breathed without breath'. The manifest cosmos cannot be equated with it, "for "That" is a limitless, indescribable, absolute principle that can exist independently of it - otherwise it cannot be the Source of it." It is the closest the Vedas come to monism, but Fowler argues that this cannot be called a "superpersonal monism", nor "the quintessence of monistic thought", because it is "more expressive of a panentheistic, totally transcendent entity that can become manifest by its own power. It exists in itself, unmanifest, but with the potential for all manifestations of the cosmos".

Vedanta is the inquiry into and systematisation of the Vedas and Upanishads, to harmonise the various and contrasting ideas that can be found in those texts. Within Vedanta, different schools exist:[58]

Monism is most clearly identified in Advaita Vedanta, though Renard points out that this may be a western interpretation, bypassing the intuitive understanding of a nondual reality.

In Advaita Vedanta, Brahman is the eternal, unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this Universe. The nature of Brahman is described as transpersonal, personal and impersonal by different philosophical schools.[63]

Advaita Vedanta gives an elaborate path to attain moksha. It entails more than self-inquiry or bare insight into one's real nature. Practice, especially Jnana Yoga, is needed to "destroy ones tendencies (vAasanA-s)" before real insight can be attained.[64]

Advaita took over from the Madhyamika the idea of levels of reality. Usually two levels are being mentioned, but Shankara uses sublation as the criterion to postulate an ontological hierarchy of three levels:[67][68]

All Vaishnava schools are panentheistic and view the universe as part of Krishna or Narayana, but see a plurality of souls and substances within Brahman. Monistic theism, which includes the concept of a personal god as a universal, omnipotent Supreme Being who is both immanent and transcendent, is prevalent within many other schools of Hinduism as well.

Tantra sees the Divine as both immanent and transcendent. The Divine can be found in the concrete world. Practices are aimed at transforming the passions, instead of transcending them.

The colonisation of India by the British had a major impact on Hindu society. In response, leading Hindu intellectuals started to study western culture and philosophy, integrating several western notions into Hinduism. This modernised Hinduism, at its turn, has gained popularity in the west.

A major role was played in the 19th century by Swami Vivekananda in the revival of Hinduism, and the spread of Advaita Vedanta to the west via the Ramakrishna Mission. His interpretation of Advaita Vedanta has been called Neo-Vedanta. In Advaita, Shankara suggests meditation and Nirvikalpa Samadhi are means to gain knowledge of the already existing unity of Brahman and Atman, not the highest goal itself:

[Y]oga is a meditative exercise of withdrawal from the particular and identification with the universal, leading to contemplation of oneself as the most universal, namely, Consciousness. This approach is different from the classical Yoga of complete thought suppression.

Vivekananda, according to Gavin Flood, was "a figure of great importance in the development of a modern Hindu self-understanding and in formulating the West's view of Hinduism." Central to his philosophy is the idea that the divine exists in all beings, that all human beings can achieve union with this "innate divinity", and that seeing this divine as the essence of others will further love and social harmony. According to Vivekananda, there is an essential unity to Hinduism, which underlies the diversity of its many forms. According to Flood, Vivekananda's view of Hinduism is the most common among Hindus today. This monism, according to Flood, is at the foundation of earlier Upanishads, to theosophy in the later Vedanta tradition and in modern Neo-Hinduism.

According to the Pli Canon, both pluralism (nnatta) and monism (katta) are speculative views. A Theravada commentary notes that the former is similar to or associated with nihilism (ucchdavda), and the latter is similar to or associated with eternalism (sassatavada).[77] See middle way.

In the Madhyamaka school of Mahayana Buddhism, the ultimate nature of the world is described as nyat or "emptiness", which is inseparable from sensorial objects or anything else. That appears to be a monist position, but the Madhyamaka views - including variations like rangtong and shentong - will refrain from asserting any ultimately existent entity. They instead deconstruct any detailed or conceptual assertions about ultimate existence as resulting in absurd consequences. The Yogacara view, a minority school now only found among the Mahayana, also rejects monism.

Within Buddhism, a rich variety of philosophical and pedagogical models can be found. Various schools of Buddhism discern levels of truth:

The Prajnaparamita-sutras and Madhyamaka emphasize the non-duality of form and emptiness: "form is emptiness, emptiness is form", as the heart sutra says. In Chinese Buddhism this was understood to mean that ultimate reality is not a transcendental realm, but equal to the daily world of relative reality. This idea fitted into the Chinese culture, which emphasized the mundane world and society. But this does not tell how the absolute is present in the relative world:

To deny the duality of samsara and nirvana, as the Perfection of Wisdom does, or to demonstrate logically the error of dichotomizing conceptualization, as Nagarjuna does, is not to address the question of the relationship between samsara and nirvana -or, in more philosophical terms, between phenomenal and ultimate reality [...] What, then, is the relationship between these two realms?

This question is answered in such schemata as the Five Ranks of Tozan, the Oxherding Pictures, and Hakuin's Four ways of knowing.

Jewish thought considers God as separate from all physical, created things (transcendent) and as existing outside of time (eternal).[note 3][note 4]

According to Chasidic Thought (particularly as propounded by the 18th century, early 19th century founder of Chabad, Shneur Zalman of Liadi), God is held to be immanent within creation for two interrelated reasons:

The Vilna Gaon was very much against this philosophy, for he felt that it would lead to pantheism and heresy. According to some this is the main reason for the Gaon's ban on Chasidism.

According to Maimonides,[85] God is an incorporeal being that caused all other existence. In fact, God is defined as the necessary existent that caused all other existence. According to Maimonides, to admit corporeality to God is tantamount to admitting complexity to God, which is a contradiction to God as the First Cause and constitutes heresy. While Hasidic mystics considered the existence of the physical world a contradiction to God's simpleness, Maimonides saw no contradiction.[note 5]

Christianity strongly maintains the Creator-creature distinction as fundamental. Christians maintain that God created the universe ex nihilo and not from His own substance, so that the creator is not to be confused with creation, but rather transcends it (metaphysical dualism) (cf. Genesis). Even the more immanent concepts and theologies are to be defined together with God's omnipotence, omnipresence and omniscience, due to God's desire for intimate contact with his own creation (cf. Acts 17:27). Another use of the term "monism" is in Christian anthropology to refer to the innate nature of humankind as being holistic, as usually opposed to bipartite and tripartite views.

In On Free Choice of the Will, Augustine argued, in the context of the problem of evil, that evil is not the opposite of good, but rather merely the absence of good, something that does not have existence in itself. Likewise, C. S. Lewis described evil as a "parasite" in Mere Christianity, as he viewed evil as something that cannot exist without good to provide it with existence. Lewis went on to argue against dualism from the basis of moral absolutism, and rejected the dualistic notion that God and Satan are opposites, arguing instead that God has no equal, hence no opposite. Lewis rather viewed Satan as the opposite of Michael the archangel. Due to this, Lewis instead argued for a more limited type of dualism.[86] Other theologians, such as Greg Boyd, have argued in more depth that the Biblical authors held a "limited dualism", meaning that God and Satan do engage in real battle, but only due to free will given by God, for the duration God allows.[87]

In Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, while human beings are not ontologically identical with the Creator, they are nonetheless capable with uniting with his Divine Nature via theosis, and especially, through the devout reception of the Holy Eucharist.[citation needed] This is a supernatural union, over and above that natural union, of which St. John of the Cross says, "it must be known that God dwells and is present substantially in every soul, even in that of the greatest sinner in the world, and this union is natural." Julian of Norwich, while maintaining the orthodox duality of Creator and creature, nonetheless speaks of God as "the true Father and true Mother" of all natures; thus, he indwells them substantially and thus preserves them from annihilation, as without this sustaining indwelling everything would cease to exist.[citation needed]

Some Christian theologians are avowed monists, such as Paul Tillich. Since God is he "in whom we live and move and have our being" (Book of Acts 17.28), it follows that everything that has being partakes in God.[citation needed]

Although Vincent J. Cornell argue that the Quran also provides a monist image of God by describing the reality as a unified whole, with God being a single concept that would describe or ascribe all existing things. But most argue that Semitic religious scriptures especially Quran see Creation and God as two separate existence. It explains everything been created by God and under his control, but at the same time distinguishes God and creation as having independent existence from each other.

Sufi mystics advocate monism. One of the most notable being the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi (120773) in his didactic poem Masnavi espoused monism.[88][89] Rumi says in the Masnavi,

In the shop for Unity (wahdat); anything that you see there except the One is an idol.[88]

The most influential of the Islamic monists was the Sufi philosopher Ibn Arabi (11651240). He developed the concept of 'unity of being' (Arabic: wadat al-wujd), a pantheistic monoist philosophy. Born in al-Andalus, he made an enormous impact on the Muslim world, where he was crowned "the great Master". In the centuries following his death, his ideas became increasingly controversial.

Although the Bah' teachings have a strong emphasis on social and ethical issues, there exist a number of foundational texts that have been described as mystical.[90] Some of these include statements of a monist nature (e.g., The Seven Valleys and the Hidden Words). The differences between dualist and monist views are reconciled by the teaching that these opposing viewpoints are caused by differences in the observers themselves, not in that which is observed. This is not a 'higher truth/lower truth' position. God is unknowable. For man it is impossible to acquire any direct knowledge of God or the Absolute, because any knowledge that one has, is relative.[91]

According to nondualism, many forms of religion are based on an experiential or intuitive understanding of "the Real". Nondualism, a modern reinterpretation of these religions, prefers the term "nondualism", instead of monism, because this understanding is "nonconceptual", "not graspable in an idea".[note 6][note 7]

To these nondual traditions belong Hinduism (including Vedanta, some forms of Yoga, and certain schools of Shaivism), Taoism, Pantheism, Rastafari and similar systems of thought.[citation needed]

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US tanks roll into Germany to bolster NATO deterrent

Posted: at 12:52 pm

The Associated Press U.S. Tanks were unloaded in Bremerhaven, northern Germany, Friday Jan. 6, 2017. Ships loaded with U.S. tanks, self-propelled howitzers and hundreds of other fighting vehicles have arrived in the northern German port en route to Eastern Europe to bolster NATOs deterrence to possible Russian aggression. (Ingo Wagner/dpa via AP)

BERLIN Ships began unloading U.S. tanks, self-propelled howitzers and hundreds of other fighting vehicles Friday in the northern German port of Bremerhaven, to be moved into Eastern Europe to bolster NATO's deterrence against possible Russian aggression.

Some 3,500 troops from the 4th Infantry Division in Fort Carson, Colorado, will join up with the equipment, which includes 87 tanks and 144 Bradley fighting vehicles, over the next two weeks.

The deployment marks the start of a new phase of Operation Atlantic Resolve, which foresees the continuous presence of an American armored brigade combat team in Europe on a nine-month rotational basis. The mission is meant to help allay concerns from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and other NATO allies over an increasingly unpredictable and bellicose Russia.

The new forces will gather first in Poland, then fan out across seven countries from Estonia to Bulgaria. A headquarters unit will be stationed in Germany.

When he announced the move last year, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the forces would take part in regular military exercises across the region with NATO allies. At that time, U.S. Army Europe Commander Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges called the deployment the "embodiment of the United States' commitment to deterring aggression and defending our European Allies and partners."

The U.S. also plans to move in a combat aviation brigade with about 10 Chinook and 50 Black Hawk helicopters and 1,800 personnel from Fort Drum, New York, and a battalion with 24 Apache attack helicopters and 400 personnel from Fort Bliss, Texas. They'll be headquartered in Germany with some aircraft positioned in Latvia, Romania and Poland.

Other NATO members are also increasing their presence, with Britain sending fighter jets to the Black Sea area, while a battalion of troops, tanks and light armor will deploy in Estonia in the spring, backed by French and Danish troops. Germany also plans to send troops and tanks to Lithuania.

Albania, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Romania and Slovenia are also playing roles in what NATO has dubbed its Enhanced Forward Presence. The U.S. plans to relocate a Stryker unit from Germany to Poland as part of that group.

NATO has already started positioning equipment and ammunition in Eastern Europe to reduce the time it would take additional units to deploy if needed.

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