Good Night, and Good Luck

Edward R. Murrow (born Egbert Roscoe Murrow; April 25, 1908 – April 27, 1965) was an American broadcast journalist. He first came to prominence with a series of radio news broadcasts during World War II, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States and Canada.

Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss and Alex Kendrick considered Murrow one of journalism's greatest figures, noting his honesty and integrity in delivering the news.

A pioneer of television news broadcasting, Murrow produced a series of TV news reports that helped lead to the censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy.

On October 15, 1958, in a speech before the Radio and Television News Directors Association in Chicago, Murrow blasted TV's emphasis on entertainment and commercialism at the expense of public interest in his "wires and lights" speech in which he said, "During the daily peak viewing periods, television in the main insulates us from the realities of the world in which we live. If this state of affairs continues, we may alter an advertising slogan to read: Look now, pay later."

At the end of his 1958 speech, Murrow made a hopeful statement: "This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box. There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference. This weapon of television could be useful."

Iran - 2009

Recent events in Iran demonstrate the inherent failings and intrinsic vulnerability of any government based on a body of inflexible concepts and authoritarian beliefs. In this particular example, a fundamentalist Islamic government took shape in 1979 after a successful coup against the Shah of Iran whose government represented an old-style regime based on royalty and in many ways maintained by clearly colonial interests. As a reaction to the excesses of its recent past, the new authority imposed a code of behavior and ethics based on Sharia.

The leadership of this new government originally had popular support, for the Iranian people felt that they had reclaimed their nation from foreign influence. Over time, however, the decision to impose an inflexible standard of behavior on the individual lives of the Iranian people that was structured to intrude on the most intimate details of living and that promised harsh punishments for those who did not comply was bound to fail. This is especially true in a country where two-thirds of the population is under thirty-five years of age within an historic era where instant communication is widespread and has no geographic boundaries.

This authoritarian regime, led by fundamentalist religious clerics, is now decidedly on the horns of a dilemma. If they are to retain power, they have no recourse but to come down harshly on the opposition. This intractable behavior is yet another example in the sad history of human civilization of the utter waste of human resources and human potential that is a natural consequence of the unquenchable search for power. What makes it especially poignant is that this attempt to control human destiny in order to make life fit into a restrictive and unrealistic mold will ultimately collapse at no small cost.

greatest robbery of 20th century with full UK and US aid

Where Ever It Is Dark - An Illustrated Poem

I originally posted this in my blog, The Road To Khalistan. I am also posting it here because I imagine the few people outside of our small, but vibrant, community, have any idea what daily life in an American school can be like to a young Sikh boy. Please read and enjoy. And maybe grow a little. And if you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

I came across this poem one day while reading Preeti Kaur ji's blog, The World I Stitch. As I read, I saw pictures of all that our children go through in school, especially in America and I felt the need to illustrate her painfully beautiful poem. She has graciously given me permission to reproduce the poem here. The words are hers; I am to blame for the pictures. (She approves of them, though!)

I would suggest that any children experiencing such problems, go to Khalsa Kids. There is a lot of help there. Parents are welcome, too, of course!

where ever it is dark-- poem for sikh children- REVISED

where ever it is dark (revised, kid-friendly version) 12/7/07
for r. singh (especially) and children everywhere


after school
i tell my mummy
i don't want to go back
tomorrow

she asks me why

i tell her
today in the playground
bullies
push me
punch me
kick me
shout at me
potato head!
raghead!
alladin!
even osama bin laden!
everything i know
i am not

i fight back
throw a fist

imagine the bullies as monsters
call them ugly things too

my cheeks burn
my heart thumps

i am MAD

i didn't start this

i am just one
and no one listens
when i yell
stop it!
leave me alone!
no one helps me
when the bullies
rip the cloth
from my head
pull off
my patka

not even the friends
i swing with
everyday on the monkey-bars
or the kids
who swap sandwiches with me
in the cafeteria
not even the adults
who patrol the playgrounds
to make sure
everyone follows the rules

after
bloody noses
bruises
scratches
the teachers sit us down

a peace negotiation
where no one questions
the bullies

why am i a target?

inside
i am like a match
like the ones my daddy warns me not to play with
a blue flame
which grows shorter every second
burning my insides
faster than i expect

i go home
and cry

and cry

i tell my mummy
everything

my mummy
wraps her arms
around my shoulders
tells me she loves me
with her eyes

she unwraps
my joora
lets loose
my long hair
runs her fingers through

mummy whispers
your hair
is like the night sky
your hair
is the universe

she combs my kes
with a kanga
twists my hair firm
on the top of my head

a galaxy you carry high
mummy says

she takes the square patka cloth
angles it
like a diamond
sets the patka on my scalp
and ties it tight

mummy tells me
this patka
crowns you

one day
you will wear a turban
cloth as long as the seven oceans
the full span of the earth
will rest on your head

be a brave young prince
like Sahibzaada Zorawar Singh Ji
like Sahibzaada Fateh Singh Ji

when bullies
big as kings
threaten them
for carrying the universe on their heads

like true princes
when bullies
torture them
with three nights
in the cold
in the dark

when everyone wanted them to just be children
they raised their chins high

no tears
just the ways of the lion prince

with questions and conversation
a duty for the kingdom

mummy kisses my cheeks
i kiss her back

i tell her
i will go back to school tomorrow
i will be like a prince
a shooting star

bright and brave
where ever it is cold
where ever it is dark

pk

Letter to the President Regarding Health Care Reform

I am a strong supporter of the President. Health Care Reform is, in my judgment, a pivotal issue. Many citizens have voted for the President with this issue clearly in mind. I strongly urge the President to reject any proposed legislation that does not include a public option. I believe it is an outrage for the Democrats to propose legislation that explicitly prohibits a public option from directly competing with the private health insurers who have demonstrated their utter disdain for the public health as evidenced by the tens of millions of people who do not have access to meaningful health care. They are literally killing us as demonstrated by all the needless suffering endured by so many. The plan they are proposing is nothing more than a mechanism to use public monies to subsidize the for-profit companies.

The President should understand that he has the people behind him. In my judgment, he needs to take the offensive and clearly indicate what he will not accept. Otherwise, this is reform in name only and will consign us to an abysmal future where the public health is once again secondary to profit. I believe that if the President does not act decisively on this issue, an important opportunity will be missed. He has a wonderful opportunity to achieve greatness in the eyes of the American public.

To base national health care on a for-profit model is a totally bankrupt concept. Even though the Congress has demonstrated repeatedly the degree to which they have been corrupted by the insurance and pharmaceutical industries, the President can appeal directly to his millions of loyal supporters. If he chooses to rubber stamp this approach, he will run the risk of disillusioning many of those who voted for him, myself included. This is a very important issue that must be attended to with the appropriate solution that will provide enduring and meaningful change; to accept less is a travesty, in my opinion.

Footsteps on the Moon

When men landed on the moon

they were surprised to discover

that they were not alone.

Providence

North Korea has built an arsenal of nuclear weapons.
Iran are suspected of doing the self same thing.
Here in Great Britain we have enough nuclear weapons to level the world, to bring rack and ruin raining down upon the heads of humanity along with our fellow animals.
So do the United States of America.
So do Russia.
So do China.
North Korea has escaped the wrath of the West which has to beg the question why?
Iran is now being handed the velvet gloved hand of friendship from President Obama as a token concilatory gesture. It is a most welcome move.
Prior to this act of goodwill there has been mounting tension between the two nations. The United States does not want yet another country building weapons of mass destruction and as we know from recent history a country that holds such weapons get the full of weight of the world's mightiest nations sent against them. Unless of course you are North Korea.
Iran's desire to have these weapons stems from mistrust; mistrust of the West and the USA in particular. Fortunately there is now a President in the White House who appears to be level headed and peace loving.
Perhaps if such a man with such a wealth of diplomacy had made the same gestures of peace, goodwill and friendship to the North Korean government then they to would not have felt the need to build an array of arms that are currently pointed at us all.
These are not new lessons. These are just constant repeats but still we repeat them. One day we might learn.
One day.
But then again one might as well be someday.

Emotion

So be aware,

you control others,

no matter how big or small

and you should do so,

with love,

For the Sake of Humanity

~{R}~

government money

Money is the blood that this economy pumps into circulation.
Capital has been disappearing into the organs that used to create supportive juices. The lack of jobs is only half the problem that the pre-existing jobs keep exposing as economically lacking. We can't help being so socialistic-ally connected by irresponsible conditioning.

The unbalanced attitude of being indebted is the health issue.
The most basic example of health is a balanced budget (or diet.)
Government has sold-out It's responsibility to create credit without debt.
Statistical education is the most important correction to knowing "Federal Reserve" accountability (& who "they" are.)
A U.S. Note as an equal democratic credit is the only administration that can bail-out capital criminal leakage (from "their" leverage.)
A country entitles itself to citizens by credit for participation creation.
The idea of taxes is a gambling device like roulette, when citizens actually deserve access to supportive assistance.

Government as an administrative model is the only expected generosity engine (to bail-out) while all other administrations seem to bail-on their responsibilities.

Plea for Paradise

Welcome to the Caribbean,
Where romantics are born
And frosty hearts will melt;
Seduction is suntanned skin,
Sunscreen scented sexuality
And sea breeze tousled hair.

Shore lapping indigo says
Lay your nostalgia to rest
Warm your aching limbs
In tiny pebble blankets,
Close busy overburdened eyes
Breathe in rhythmic waves;
My kindness keeps you safe.

Siren song paradise pulls
At yearnings of the heart
“Everyone wants to live here
But no one wants to move”
Lashing rainstorm tear reminders
Of what they’ve left behind
Come home, beloved miserable
Trapped and busy souls!

All are welcome on our shores.

O-Sensei: The Great Teacher

Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969)


The word "aikido" is formed of three kanji:

- ai - joining, harmonizing
- ki - spirit, life energy
- dō - way, path

The term dō connects the practice of aikido with the philosophical concept of Tao, which can be found in martial arts such as judo and kendo, and in more peaceful arts such as Japanese calligraphy (shodō), flower arranging (kadō) and tea ceremony (chadō or sadō).

The term aiki refers to the martial arts principle or tactic of blending with an attacker's movements for the purpose of controlling their actions with minimal effort. One applies aiki by understanding the rhythm and intent of the attacker to find the optimal position and timing to apply a counter-technique.

Historically, aiki was mastered for the purpose of killing; however in aikido one seeks to control an aggressor without causing harm. Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of aikido declared, "To control aggression without inflicting injury is the Art of Peace." A number of aikido practitioners interpret aikido metaphorically, seeing parallels between aikido techniques and other methods for conflict resolution.

(video clip)

8th day, of rest?

There are seven senses of what I am.

My sense of sight creates personal style with individual image development.
The sense of hearing wants me to develop a voice.
Our sense of taste considers who to do lunch with.
Some sense of smell will pick the space and bring the flowers.
The sense of touch is a body of relationships reaching for shared conclusions.
The sixth sense is the drama of opinion by critical awareness.

The health of attitude is the seventh sense of integrity &/or balance.

. . but what you think I am IS WHO? . . projected interest?

Live Right

The true self, being right

It's a humility in living

being able to admit being wrong

putting aside ego to love freely

prioritizing the importance of relationships

growing as a human being

having a critical mind

and doing what's right

instead of buying into complacency

~{R}~

PlayPumps

The PlayPump Water System uses the energy of children at play to operate a water pump.

There are more than 1000 PlayPump systems in sub-Saharan Africa, providing clean drinking water to more than one million impoverished people.

The PlayPump water system is a like a playground merry-go-round attached to a water pump. The spinning motion pumps underground water into a 789,500-liter tank raised seven meters above ground.

Roundabout Outdoor is a company that manufactures, installs, and maintains PlayPump water systems throughout sub-Saharan Africa. PlayPumps International is a nonprofit that raises the funds to donate PlayPump water systems to African communities and schools.

Sibling Rivalry

The color of my blood is red

the color of your blood is red

blood does not lie

it tells us that we are all

members of the same family

the Family of Man

the height of western civilisation

Be Here Now

Do not dwell in the past

do not dream of the future

concentrate the mind on the present moment

...Buddha...

Open Your Eyes

We should always have a critical thinking mind.

We can't always buy into everything.

It might be fact that people aren't always saying the truth.

If we follow anything that seems appealing,

can't you see?

we'll give our freedoms to things we don't want.

We also should be careful with what we want.

Where are those desires birthed from?

Is this too much for you?

If it is, you have to open your eyes.

This world, no matter how you see it...

well, it has some problems.

And those problems won't solve themselves.

Those problems can catch up with us

And we won't solve ourselves,

if we always solve the problems of the selfish.

Don't serve those seeking power

Don't serve those seeking possession

Don't serve those who do it wrong

not those who live the false ego

but serve those,

serve those who love

those who do good,

serve those for the sake of humanity

and serve the sake of humanity.

Open your eyes

what is gonna make you happy?

is it gonna be things that lead to hell

or is it gonna be things that result in heaven

(life, and true liberty, and love)

You are a human being,

you're no creation constructed by another's will,

for you have your own will

be able to see the intentions of those around you

and especially those of yourself

live your own life

who are you?

you should know

and if you don't///

open your eyes,

what do you want to be?

trust me,

you want to be (a) you

not a consumer

not a robot

and not a casualty

especially not

someone against humanity

~{R}~

[ps. I could say more about the false natures of humanity that destroy our virtues, but, I have faith that you'll see 'em yourself]

Plastic in the ocean (Plastic is forever)

This is Genevieve Johnson speaking to you from the Odyssey in the Canary Islands.

When I reflect on our time researching at sea over the past five years, two unrelated things stand out - sperm whales and plastics.

We are not always assured of finding sperm whales. However, even in the most remote regions of the ocean, plastics are guaranteed. Unfortunately, the relationship between plastics and all marine life is far more intricate than most of us could possibly imagine.


The numerous benefits of modern society's productivity make almost all of us utterly addicted to plastic products. Most of the products we use on a daily basis include, or are contained in plastic. We drink out of them, eat off them, carry food and clothing in them, sit on them and drive in them. Plastics are durable, lightweight and can be made into virtually anything. It is these very practical and useful properties of plastics that make them so harmful when they make their way into the oceans. Unfortunately, most of us give little thought to where plastics come from or where they end up after they have served our brief purpose.

The vastness of the ocean is incomprehensible to those who have never spent any time at sea. Yet, as we gaze out over the horizon from onboard Odyssey over what most of us imagine is a pristine seascape, we are continually confronted with a sea of plastic.

Historically, humans have always tossed waste into the ocean but marine organisms broke it down in a relatively short time. Unfortunately, our quest for convenient packaging over the past 50 years or so, created a class of plastic products that are immune to even the most rapacious bacteria.


Despite the era of recycling, only 3.5% of plastics are recycled in any way throughout the world. Today, plastic debris causes considerable, widespread mortality of marine wildlife, including mammals, birds, turtles and fish through entanglement in monofilament plastic fishing gear and ingestion. Turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish and other prey. Seabirds, particularly Albatross, mistake plastics floating at the surface for food and ingest them while foraging. Three hundred thousand cetaceans drown annually in fishing gear, while necropsy records of several stranded cetaceans, including large whales and particularly dolphins, reveal the ingestion of plastic debris.

The problem with plastics is they do not biodegrade. When something biodegrades, naturally occurring organisms break down natural materials into their simple chemical components. For example, when paper breaks down it becomes carbon dioxide and water. However, plastic is a synthetic material and never biodegrades. Instead it undergoes a process called 'photodegredation', whereby sunlight breaks it down into smaller and smaller pieces over very long periods of time. A disposable diaper takes an estimated 500 years to break down while plastic 6-pack rings for cans take 400 years and a plastic water bottle can take up to 450 years to degrade. However, this does not mean they will disappear, all remain as plastic polymers and eventually yield individual molecules of plastic too tough for any organism to digest.

In 2001, the Algalita Marine Research Foundation based in Long Beach California led by Captain Charles Moore, conducted a survey thousands of miles out to sea in a remote region of the Pacific Ocean known as the North Pacific subtropical gyre in an effort to assess the extent of the problem of plastic pollution in the ocean. Gyres are areas where oceanographic convergences and eddies cause debris fragments to accumulate naturally. What the researchers discovered was both shocking and outrageous, a floating mass of plastic junk stretching across an area of ocean the size of Texas. Rivers of soda and water bottles, spray can tops, candy wrappers, cigarette lighters, shopping bags, polypropylene fishing nets, buoys and unidentifiable, miscellaneous fragments collected in a huge rotating mass of plastic pollution.


In addition to large obvious pieces of plastic, the results of the survey revealed minute plastic fragments mixed with tiny sea creatures. The published results from the survey reveal a sea of plastic soup comprising "six pounds of plastic floating in the gyre for every pound of naturally occurring zooplankton." Charles Moore now believes "plastic debris is the most common surface feature of the world's oceans."

Until now, no studies were conducted on filter-feeding organisms such as jellies, whose feeding mechanisms do not permit them to distinguish between tiny fragments of plastic debris and plankton, and no studies to assess potential effects on these filter-feeders. It is now known that plastic fragments heavily impact these creatures. When broken into smaller pieces, these tiny plastic fragments accumulate non-water soluble toxicants such as PCB's, and pesticides such as DDT. Plastic polymers, or tiny plastic resin pellets act as sponges for these chemicals and other persistent organic pollutants, concentrating such poisons up to one million times higher than their concentration in the water as free floating substances.

The implications and scope of the problem is astounding considering about 250 billion pounds of plastic pellets are produced annually worldwide for use in the manufacture of various plastic products. When these products break down into fragments and disperse throughout the oceans, they concentrate and transport toxicants. In the North Pacific oceanic gyre, Moore and his team witnessed filter feeding jellies or salps with brightly colored plastic fragments in their stomachs. Fish consumed by larger and larger predators in turn eat these tiny organisms, all the while the toxicants continue to climb and concentrate up the food chain. In many cases, this chemical pathway leads directly to human beings. Many of these chemicals are 'hormone mimics' and 'endocrine disruptors' and are released into the body when plastic is ingested. The effects of hormone disruption on humans can range from birth defects to cancers.


The facts are daunting and the future looks grim. Moore and his colleagues currently predict a 10-fold increase in plastic in the ocean by 2010 bringing the ratio of 60 pounds of surface plastic to every one pound of zooplankton in the North Pacific gyre.

In the meantime, it is up to all of us to be aware that we share one fragile earth, sustained by one ocean system. We can all contribute to its demise, but more importantly we are all responsible for the conservation of our marine environment and the amazing life it supports. We do not need to make sacrifices in our lives, only minor modifications. We can help minimize the impact by being responsible about the amount of plastic products we consume. Unfortunately labeled recycling bins are not always reliable; if possible reduce the amount of plastic products you purchase by searching for alternative materials and reuse plastics where possible. We can all make a difference.

Are You Sovereign Yet ?!

I highly recommend this series of vids ...along with the Zerzan's, Tsarion's, Menard's, Maxwell's, Steward's studies as well ('cause, fortunatelly, we have many people doing a very good job into this awakening time!) ...anyway, these were taken from a Johnny's speech as an unCommon Sense Seminar called "Reclaiming Your Sovereign Citizenship" (at The Granada Forum in 1995).
I'm posting here the part 5 (of 10) but they're all very important for anyone's studies and willings on/for Freedom!



...and I also recommend his :
Johnny Liberty - The Global Sovereign's Handbook
(you can download it here) everyone should read it!

Asteroids

Asteroids is a video arcade game
released in 1979 by Atari Inc.
It was one of the most popular and influential
games of the Golden Age of Arcade Games.

Hours of fun...

The Unknown Rebel

Twenty years ago today the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 culminated in the Tiananmen Square massacre. The next day, the "Tank Man" showed the world the meaning of the word fearless.

The protests were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China (PRC) beginning on April 14. Led mainly by students and intellectuals, the protests occurred in a year that saw the collapse of a number of communist governments around the world.

The protests were sparked by the death of pro-market, pro-democracy and anti-corruption official, Hu Yaobang, whom protesters wanted to mourn. By the eve of Hu's funeral, 1,000,000 people had gathered on the Tiananmen square.

Participants included disillusioned Communist Party members and Trotskyists as well as free market reformers, who were generally against the government's authoritarianism and voiced calls for economic change and democratic reform within the structure of the government. The demonstrations centered on Tiananmen Square, in Beijing, but large-scale protests also occurred in cities throughout China, including Shanghai, which remained peaceful throughout the protests.

The movement lasted seven weeks, from Hu's death on April 15 until tanks cleared Tiananmen Square on June 4. In Beijing, the resulting military response to the protesters by the PRC government left many civilians dead or severely injured. The number of deaths is not known and many different estimates exist. There were early reports of Chinese Red Cross sources giving a figure of 2,600 deaths, but the Chinese Red Cross has denied ever doing so. The official Chinese government figure is 241 dead, including soldiers, and 7,000 wounded.

(Read more)

The War Machine

Cover art for Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.#33.
Art by Adi Granov. Marvel Comics.

War Machine (James Rupert Rhodes) is a fictional character, a comic book superhero from the Marvel Comics universe. The character first appeared in Iron Man #118 (January 1979). Jim Rhodes, who became War Machine was introduced by David Michelinie and Bob Layton. The War Machine armor and character was designed by Len Kaminski and Kevin Hopgood.

James "Rhodey" Rhodes as the War Machine is one of the good guys, unlike the real war machine, the global arms manufacturers and the military-industrial complex.

Quote from President Dwight Eisenhower's 1961 Farewell address:
"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."

[The following is an excerpt from stopthewarmachine.org]

In his 1961 Farewell address President Dwight Eisenhower warned us of a rogue military-industrial complex (MIC). Ike said the post-World War II MIC had the potential to destroy our democracy and world peace.

We look around at the loss of our civil liberties, rising inequality and the wars we fight abroad every year with our huge one-and-a-half million military forces that are stationed on every continent and in every ocean and it appears Eisenhower was correct. No other county spends as much of its wealth on the war machine as us. No other country has a global military presence that even begins to match ours.

Why do we need such a large a standing army? Some people suggest we had a military coup in our country hidden behind the '50s Cold War rhetoric and that now the war on terrorism is being used to create a global empire for the MIC.

Bob Anderson for the Committee to Stop the War Machine 2/21/03

(Read more)

To Kill A Doctor

"Today we mourn the loss of our husband, father and grandfather. Today's event is an unspeakable tragedy for all of us and for George's friends and patients. This is particularly heart wrenching because George was shot down in his house of worship, a place of peace.

We would like to express the family's thanks for the many messages of sympathy from our friends and from all across the nation. We also want to thank the law enforcement officers who are investigating this crime.

Our loss is also a loss for the City of Wichita and women across America. George dedicated his life to providing women with high-quality heath care despite frequent threats and violence. We ask that he be remembered as a good husband, father and grandfather and a dedicated servant on behalf of the rights of women everywhere."

The Magisterium

The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary are a Congregation of religious brothers and sisters dedicated to a two-fold Crusade: the propagation and defense of Catholic dogma — especially extra ecclesiam nulla salus — and the conversion of America to the one, true Church.

OUTSIDE THE CHURCH THERE IS NO SALVATION

"Outside the Church there is no salvation" is a doctrine of the Catholic Faith that was taught By Jesus Christ to His Apostles, preached by the Fathers, defined by popes and councils and piously believed by the faithful in every age of the Church. Here is how the Popes defined it:

"There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one at all is saved." (Pope Innocent III, Fourth Lateran Council, 1215.)

"We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff." (Pope Boniface VIII, the Bull Unam Sanctam, 1302.)

"The most Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics, can have a share in life eternal; but that they will go into the eternal fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless before death they are joined with Her; and that so important is the unity of this ecclesiastical body that only those remaining within this unity can profit by the sacraments of the Church unto salvation, and they alone can receive an eternal recompense for their fasts, their almsgivings, their other works of Christian piety and the duties of a Christian soldier. No one, let his almsgiving be as great as it may, no one, even if he pour out his blood for the Name of Christ, can be saved, unless he remain within the bosom and the unity of the Catholic Church." (Pope Eugene IV, the Bull Cantate Domino, 1441.)
[excerpt from catholicism.org]

Price of this salvation? "Religious submission of intellect and will."

(Sounds exactly like a cult to me.........really creepy)

True Self

We are divine.

Don't give in to the false ego.
We resonate with the frequencies around us.
It is the self that is the greatest threat to humanity.
You gotta be aware, you gotta be aware.
What we hate in others, is what we hate in ourselves.
Our abuse stems from such hate.
A subconscience release, passing of blame.
Find out your life, yourself.
Humanity as a collective is one organism.

Let us put away false ego
the bureaucracies that destroy,
then maybe something will get done.
Maybe a revolution of the mind will occur.
Maybe trusting in a falliable system was a bad idea.
Maybe being deceived by external influences
and even ourselves was a bad thing, wrong.
Maybe we can become one with our divinity.
Maybe the mistakes of our past can be recalled,
trashed and off the shelves and out of our homes,

Of true life
of true liberty
of true love
and of truth itself
will be my constitution
my existence
my humanity
my evolution
my kingdom,

for our sake

Should this be a (for-profit) business?

America's Private Gulag

By Ken Silverstein, Prison Legal News, June 1st 2000

What is the most profitable industry in America? Weapons, oil and computer technology all offer high rates of return, but there is probably no sector of the economy so abloom with money as the privately run prison industry.

Consider the growth of the Corrections Corporation of America, the industry leader whose stock price has climbed from $8 a share in 1992 to about $30 today and whose revenue rose by 81 per cent in 1995 alone. Investors in Wackenhut Corrections Corp. have enjoyed an average return of 18 per cent during the past five years and the company is rated by Forbes as one of the top 200 small businesses in the country. At Esmor, another big private prison contractor, revenues have soared from $4.6 million in 1990 to more than $25 million in 1995.

Ten years ago there were just five privately-run prisons in the country, housing a population of 2,000. Today nearly a score of private firms run more than 100 prisons with about 62,000 beds. That's still less than five per cent of the total market but the industry is expanding fast, with the number of private prison beds expected to grow to 360,000 during the next decade.

The exhilaration among leaders and observers of the private prison sector was cheerfully summed up by a headline in USA Today: "Everybody's doin' the jailhouse stock". An equally upbeat mood imbued a conference on private prisons held last December at the Four Seasons Resort in Dallas. The brochure for the conference, organized by the World Research Group, a New York-based investment firm, called the corporate takeover of correctional facilities the "newest trend in the area of privatizing previously government-run programs... While arrests and convictions are steadily on the rise, profits are to be made -- profits from crime. Get in on the ground floor of this booming industry now!"

A hundred years ago private prisons were a familiar feature of American life, with disastrous consequences. Prisoners were farmed out as slave labor. They were routinely beaten and abused, fed slop and kept in horribly overcrowded cells. Conditions were so wretched that by the end of the nineteenth century private prisons were outlawed in most states.
During the past decade, private prisons have made a comeback. Already 28 states have passed legislation making it legal for private contractors to run correctional facilities and many more states are expected to follow suit.

The reasons for the rapid expansion include the 1990's free-market ideological fervor, large budget deficits for the federal and state governments and the discovery and creation of vast new reserves of "raw materials" -- prisoners. The rate for most serious crimes has been dropping or stagnant for the past 15 years, but during the same period severe repeat offender provisions and a racist "get-tough" policy on drugs have helped push the US prison population up from 300,000 to around 1.5 million during the same period. This has produced a corresponding boom in prison construction and costs, with the federal government's annual expenditures in the area, now $17 billion. In California, passage of the infamous "three strikes" bill will result in the construction of an additional 20 prisons during the next few years.

The private prison business is most entrenched at the state level but is expanding into the federal prison system as well. Last year Attorney General Janet Reno announced that five of seven new federal prisons being built will be run by the private sector. Almost all of the prisons run by private firms are low or medium security, but the companies are trying to break into the high-security field. They have also begun taking charge of management at INS detention centers, boot camps for juvenile offenders and substance abuse programs.

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Ice Blink

Dave and Jaja spent seven years sailing around the world (1988-1995) aboard their 25-foot Cal 25 DIRECTION. Dave purchased the boat in 1985, gutted her to a bare hull, and then went to work beefing up the structure. He glassed in stringers, added keel floors and extra bulkheads, and then re-designed and re-built the interior. "I built a new rudder, re-stayed the mast, built a smaller cockpit, and then christened her with a bottle of warm Bud in an effort to get the mood right for the intended circumnavigation" is the way Dave puts it.


Dave was 22 when he started this project, and 24 when he finished. He met Jaja shortly after starting his cruise in St. John, USVI, and they finally got together in the UK (after a solo Transatlantic) in the fall of 1988. They were both 25 when they left England on their circumnavigation.


From England they headed West to the Caribbean, via the Cape Verde Islands. They were married in Barbados, then transited the Panama Canal, visited the Galapagos; and did the usual trip through the South Pacific, spending several seasons in Australia, New Zealand, and the nearby cruising paradise to the north. A trip through the Torres Straits, Indonesia, and then across the Indian Ocean had them rounding South Africa before arriving back in the Caribbean and then the States in 1995. Along the way they had two children (Chris and Holly). A third (Teiga) was born aboard DIRECTION at the end of the voyage.


The Martin family set sail again in 1997 on their 33-footer DRIVER, and have spent time in the Bahamas, Bermuda, Iceland, the Faroes, Northern Scotland, Norway, Greenland, and Newfoundland. They are currently settling down for the winter in Maine.

Percy Lavon Julian

Percy Lavon Julian (April 11, 1899 – April 19, 1975) was an African American research chemist and a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants.

He was the first to synthesize the natural product physostigmine; and was a pioneer in the industrial large-scale chemical synthesis of human hormones, steroids, progesterone, and testosterone, from plant sterols such as stigmasterol and sitosterol.

His work would lay the foundation for the steroid drug industry's production of cortisone, other corticosteroids, and birth control pills. He later started his own company to synthesize steroid intermediates from the Mexican wild yam.

During his lifetime he received more than 130 chemical patents. Julian was one of the first African Americans to receive a doctorate in chemistry. He was the first African-American chemist inducted into the National Academy of Sciences, and the second African-American scientist inducted from any field.

Liberty

We all hold the opportunity of liberty

In our minds the choice of acceptance and rejection

In our hands the choice of life and death.

A famous person whose name I forget said, 

"Give me liberty, or give me death"

Death is an ugly liberty, but a liberty nontheless

Any of us can free ourselves with the right technique.

Any of us can free each other with the right method.

Liberty is a beautiful thing,

but what will be sacrificed[?],

in our pursuit of happiness?

~Philosopher King