Driving Socrates

Editors note: the actual calendar event for today’s full moon is the New Moon in Cancer 2009 (Eclipse, Blue Moon) at 29.5′ Cancer, with the Eclipse continuing for two more hours, well into 0′ Leo before completing. This was an error in calendaring. The error is not retrievable from the various feeds that syndicate our show, therefore cannot be corrected here or in the aggregated audio file. Please see www.podcastforpeace.com for a corrected calendar. The audio file will remain unchanged.

Waning Quarter Moon in Aries 2009

Podcast For Peace — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:54:22 +0000

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Cupéro for I’ve Got Your Number

Israel Houghton for Just Wanna Say

Deni Bonet for How Far Can I Push you

Cupéro for La Sombra

Nicholas Howard For Mother

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Full Moon in Capricorn 2009 (Eclipse)

Podcast For Peace — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:23:03 +0000

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Jessie Murphy for When I Am A Horse Again

Roy Jay Lucky Guy

Jim Steed for Fall

Nicholas Howard So Much Left To Say

Ace Noface for Gotta

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Waxing Quarter Moon in Libra 2009

Podcast For Peace — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:30:03 +0000

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Kevin Reeves for Peace

Black Lab for Hole In My Heart

The Ginger Ninjas for Liberate Your Mind

Samantha Murphy for I Wanna Go Home

Clara Bellino for Peaceful Solution

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New Moon in Cancer 2009

Podcast For Peace — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:36:36 +0000

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Stanley Jordon for Too Close to the Sun

JAIK MILLER BAND for Orange Sunshine

Spy For Hire for Things Used To Be Good

Ray Tarantino for Riding Rhymes

Stanley Jordan for Dreams of Peace

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Waning Quarter Moon in Pisces 2009

Podcast For Peace — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 22:16:11 +0000

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The Beautiful Girls for Dela

Guards of Metropolis for Whatever It Is

Astronauts of Antiquity for Beautiful Fate

Dejie Johnson for What a Wonderful World

Carrie Pettit for Dream On

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Full Moon in Sagittarius 2009

Podcast For Peace — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:12:13 +0000

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Gregory Douglass for Broken Through

Nick Daughtery for Movin Higher

Stephen Luke for I Must Be Dreaming

Sean Murphy for US

Spy For Hire for Moontower

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Mevio {Mevio-8f93bdcb032559c3f939fe6ebf59df30}

Waxing Quarter Moon in Virgo 2009

Podcast For Peace — Sun, 31 May 2009 03:22:17 +0000

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Kelly Richey for What In The World

Katie Herzig for Sweeter Than This

Ray Tarantino for Recusant

Lipbone Redding for Love Is The Answer to World Peace

Virginia Coalition for Sing Along

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New Moon in Gemini 2009

Podcast For Peace — Sun, 24 May 2009 12:12:31 +0000

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Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra for A Child Shall Lead.

Telling on Trixie for Crash Me Up

Hungry Lucy for Into Pieces

John Taglieri for Lonely Together

Jason Harrod for Bright As You

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Waning Quarter Moon in Aquarius 2009

Podcast For Peace — Sun, 17 May 2009 07:27:20 +0000

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Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra for Can’t Help Myself

Astronauts of Antiquity for Beautiful Fate

Butterfly Catchers for Wake Up

Jim Allchin for Take A Chance

The Ginger Ninjas for Stuck on Earth

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gratitude latitude #21

andrei — Tue, 12 May 2009 18:03:01 +0000

I am grateful for:

Blue Plate restaurant in SF – yummy Americana Comfort food with local and organic sensibilities. Mmmmmmmmm. Also they are serving Four Barrel espresso, and the macchiato I had was BEATNIK PIRATE GOOD. Like you knew it was going to be good because people talk about it all the time, and then you have it and you are like – ok this isn’t just water cooler blabberfest good. It is write a hand letter to an old cafe buddy good – put a really cool stamp honoring a dead artist or poet on it good and maybe even get some sealing wax with a skull and cross bones seal good. Damn fine soul joe.

I am thankful for hearing some good news about a big project that might be coming our way.

I am thankful that for this time that above all other things has helped me to reduce the amount of expectations and attachments I have. Being right about the way something should be or being clear about what you want something to be – these are fantastic abstract planning modalities. But they are not the map to live life by. Looking outside of one’s self for clarity, certainty, comfort, peace, happiness…. this is like chasing clouds in a dream and expecting to wake with from it having built a castle. The fortress is inside – its flags and banners, its sturdiness, great halls and merry feasts, its meditation chambers for peace, its jesters for laughter. Inside I might find these and stand beside others who have done similarly – this is the way to live.

I am thankful for a lovely mother’s day weekend and that sherry had a wonderful time. I really wanted her to have a good weekend to say thanks for all she is doing for our family and all she is doing as a mother to Raine.

I am grateful for my little Raine – I love her and like her so much. I am proud to be her papa. I thank her regularly for coming to us and as she grows I want to always tell her how grateful I am that she found her way to us, as if it were her spiritual choice. I dont know if this is a cosmological emperical truth, some would say yes, but I love the metaphor of the gift inherent in being chosen by this wonderful soul. It is an honor and helps me understand that gratitude is not the end of a connection – not the triumphant zenith – that place belongs to devotion. Devotion to what you are blessed enough with to notice and be grateful for. It is the act of building a temple at the top of the mountain, or at the very least it is the act of packing out your own trash.

peace and good things,

Andrei

Full Moon in Scorpio 2009

Podcast For Peace — Sat, 09 May 2009 04:03:12 +0000

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P GUTTA for Life Is So Strange

Soundside for GBR

Fort Pastor for Crazy

Val Emmich for Get On With It

Phil Putnam Dancing Down Your Demons

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Waxing Quarter Moon in Leo 2009

Podcast For Peace — Fri, 01 May 2009 20:45:20 +0000

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Carrie Rodriguez for She Ain’t Me

Phil Putnam for Courage

David Seume for Revolution Son

Jason Harrod for Bright As You

John Taglieri for Starring Role

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New Moon in Taurus 2009

Podcast For Peace — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 03:23:07 +0000

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Stephen Luke for I Must Be Dreaming

Miranda Vettrus for I Know Better

Samantha Murphy for Silent and Still

Jason Mraz for Lucky

Lin McEwan for Now I Know

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Waning Quarter Moon in Capricorn 2009

Podcast For Peace — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:37:49 +0000

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Spy For Hire for Things That Used To Be Good

Taj Weeks with For Today

David Martin for Strong Enough

Black Lab for See The Sun

Ray Tarantino for Into The End

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Full Moon in Libra 2009

Podcast For Peace — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:57:41 +0000

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Spy For Hire for Moontower

JAIK MILLER BAND for Sweet Illumination

Colin O’Donohoe for Burning Whiskey

Blood Red Sun for So It Goes

Sarah VonderHaar for Sing Me To Sleep

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Waxing Quarter Moon in Cancer 2009

Podcast For Peace — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:34:11 +0000

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Cris Huff for Hey Now Now

Jason Harrod for Bright As You

Jim Steed for Keep Me Alive

John Taglieri for Leap Of Faith

Phil Putnam for Courage

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New Moon in Aries 2009

Podcast For Peace — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:07:45 +0000

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Sarah VonderHaar for I Got Sunshine

Carlos Bertonatti for Curiosity Killed the Cat

Mama’s Cookin’ for What I Am

Ingrid Michaelson for The Way I Am

Natives of the New Dawn for Good Day

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Waning Quarter Moon in Sagittarius 2009

Podcast For Peace — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 04:54:47 +0000

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Fort Pastor for Beautiful Imperfection

The Second Dan for Everything is Good

Jimmie Bratcher for Happy

Lin McEwan for Feel

Phil Putnam Dancing Down Your Demons

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Full Moon in Virgo 2009

Podcast For Peace — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 02:38:55 +0000

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Carrie Rodriguez for She Ain’t Me

The Crash Moderns for Where Did All The Scene Girls Go

Miranda Vettrus for I Know Better

Colin O’Donohoe for Boddhistava Vow and a bump!

Sheri Miller for The Blade

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Waxing Quarter Moon in Gemini 2009

Podcast For Peace — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 06:46:50 +0000

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Ingrid Michaelson for Breakable

The Stone Coyotes for Party Down The Hall

FIVE A.M. for Just Say Anything

Deni Bonet for Last Girl On Earth

Manze Dayila & The Nago Nation for I Want To Be Free

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New Moon in Pisces 2009

Podcast For Peace — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:35:32 +0000

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Guards of Metropolis for Postcards from Heaven

Val Emmich for Get On With It

Sylvia Bennett for As Time Goes By

Sarah VonderHaar for It’s Not The First Time

Paul Jeffrey for The Prisoner

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Waning Quarter Moon in Scorpio 2009

Podcast For Peace — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:37:34 +0000

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Reed Foehl for Wake Up The dead

Patti Rothberg for Wavelength

The Ginger Ninjas for Liberate Your Mind

Astronauts of Antiquity for Beautiful Fate

FISKUM for Borderline

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Full Moon in Leo 2009 (Eclipse)

Podcast For Peace — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 13:49:51 +0000

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Miggs for Perfect

Sharif for Sweet Angel

John Taglieri for Everything We Are

Guards of Metropolis for Postcards from Heaven

Blood Red Sun for So It Goes

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Attention, Responsibility, Gratitude and Revolution

andrei — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 06:21:37 +0000

Paying attention
Due to the economic recession, I have been spending a lot of time on the phone with clients and colleagues in an attempt to both secure businesses for my team as well as to touch base with people and gain a better understanding for how my network is responding to the tough times at hand.

I see several trends in my discussions with people and felt compelled to share them. I also found certain trends emerging in my own responses to them and in what sorts of deeper considerations these responses prompted.

The thing I am noticing is of course that people are scared, worried and often in a bit of paralysis. All around them, friends, family and colleagues are loosing their jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S. Department of Labor reported in January that “Nonfarm payroll employment fell sharply in January (-598,000) and the unemployment rate rose from 7.2 to 7.6 percent. Payroll employment has declined by 3.6 million since the start of the recession in December 2007; about one-half of this decline occurred in the past 3 months. In January, job losses were large and widespread across nearly all major industry sectors.” Full report – http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

A colleague at a major financial services corporation told me the other day that in a recent news feed he received, tabloid style headlines about his corporation were sandwiched between a story about Britney Spears drinking a beer while holding her kid and some Hollywood affair. A fixation with this current economic situation “originating” in the financial services and real estate sectors has actually reached tabloid depths.

For me I say we must look deeper. We must look at the underlying system that has driven not only financial service corporations but all sectors to behave in ways that are not sustainable. Now I know coming form me you are thinking I am talking about sustainability in terms of social justice and ecological sustainability – but I am also talking about an economic model that is not sustainable.

There has been a fixation in our economic system that has focused on financial gain above all other values. Often this financial gain is only valued if it can be achieved in the short term. And make no mistake about it – if you have a 401K or investments in stock or real estate you have been involved in this system. If you have purchased any bargain products you are part of it too. In fact if you have purchased anything that has a price that does not actually reflect its true cost to the economy, environment and your fellow human beings – you are a part of it.

Sounds out of control doesn’t it? It is.

It is out of control because it is outside the control of our best systems of values. In fact at a certain point in human history – valuing money above all else was considered greed – a sin. Today it constitutes the true center of value of most corporations and the oversimplified values we monitor by watching stock prices or quarterly earnings.

In the last few centuries there have been movements within society that ran in parallel to this overly simplistic and shortsighted system of value. Some of them existed outside of the corporations like unions or consumer advocacy groups. Some existed inside corporations – movements to institute fair labor practices and see people as the most important capital inside a company or movements to behave ecologically responsible.

Some corporations have actually begun to create value systems that are closer to what it means to live responsibly – the truly progressive have embraced systems thinking understanding the interconnectedness of living systems that have nurtured life on this planet since it began and our impacts inside of these systems.

Systems thinking discovers that some of the value systems we were taught in kindergarten or the lessons we learned in our respective churches, mosques, temples, synagogues, etc. are actually closer to what we need to avoid jail time, hurting people’s feelings, destroying ecosystems and yes avoiding economic recessions. Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. Take responsibility for your actions. Do not lie. Do not steal. Do not kill.

We are all a part of a whole. No one is separate. There is only us. But don’t take it from just me.

Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

We are all connected to everyone and everything in the universe. Therefore, everything one does as an individual affects the whole. All thoughts, words, images, prayers, blessings, and deeds are listened to by all that is.
Serge Kahili King

When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.
John Muir

We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic fibers, our actions run as causes and return to us as results.
Herman Melville

Responsibility
So if we accept this, that we are all connected and that this connectedness is discovered in the day to day reality of our current economic situation, we suddenly see the awesomeness of our individual and collective responsibility.

The other day in reflecting on the current situation I had the following thought – In a time of fear and doubt showing up happy is an act of courage. Today I had a related thought. In a culture where it is so easy to have no idea what impact our choices have on others, a thoughtful purchase is a revolutionary act of responsibility.

Taken as a whole the task before us, to remake a value system in the image of our higher values and passions, seems impossible. It seems the effort better left to a god, a hero or a president. But this does not erase the necessity of the task. Also make no mistake about it the effort will be ten times as difficult for the next generation if left to them entirely.

In fact, my thoughts above focused me on the simple acts – not as a shoulder shrugging “what can I do except for this little thing – ah shucks” cop out, but because every act, word, passion, idea is contagious. Walking into a room of frightened people bravely happy and charged to face the challenges is contagious. Walking in and saying it cannot be done is contagious also.

Like times in our lives where the difficult or impossible presented itself, this moment presents itself as a choice. Viktor Frankl, a psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, once said (paraphrased) that the only true freedom we have is in how we respond to what happens to us.

Each day, every moment and situation, is a choice to behave responsibly. To look deeply into a situation and down the avenues of cause and effect, to beg patience of those around us as we do, and make our best decision. A decision grounded in our better and nobler understanding of right and wrong, connectedness and conscience.

We encounter few moments in life where so many of us are sharing the same experience and where our connection to each other is so obvious. This economic situation alerts us to the importance of our personal responsibility and it provides us with an opportunity to deepen discussions that once seemed simple by measuring increased revenue or decreased cost and calculating shareholder value.

In my humble estimation, this is a moment to transform our lives, our corporations and our system through acts of daily responsibility. We must daily interject a multidimensional value system that will give our society a better chance at sustaining itself.

We must search models of collaboration and incorporation and community where coming together in more varied ways to move through challenges extends our calculations of success beyond counting dollars, Yen or Euros. It is certain that these too must be considered, but at what cost and in what company I believe will sculpt and stamp the impression into the clay that is the future.

We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.
George Bernard Shaw

A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
Albert Einstein

I believe that to meet the challenges of our times, human beings will have to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility. Each of us must learn to work not just for oneself, one’s own family or nation, but for the benefit of all humankind. Universal responsibility is the key to human survival. It is the best foundation for world peace.
H. H. the Dalai Lama:

Gratitude
I have been blessed to have a close friend who brought the word “gratitude” into focus as a practice or form of active prayer in my life. None too soon, with all the challenges that it seems life has thrown our way.

I have been involved in a regular practice of exchanging gratitude lists through email with “gratitude partners” and the practice of seeing another person’s gratitude has increased my own. It has taught me that gratitude is indeed contagious and feeds the courage to behave responsibly and productively.

In fact I think an increased and fully focused sense of gratitude for the many blessings in my life has done more to prepare me for the tough days associated with these times than anything else except perhaps love.

Part of what I believe we must collectively be grateful for is this moment. We have a chance to refocus the human experiment – focus on bettering ourselves, our communities and behaving as stewards for the many resources and natural wonderment around us.

Now more than ever we must focus on our connections to family, friends, community, planet. We must focus our attention and appreciation not on luxuries or fantasies of fame and fortune but on the actions and items that nurture and cradle life. Take note of the lives around you, that you move through each day and celebrate your connection to them.

Look there a woman who just lost her job, a man who sees retirement fading into the distance, a friend who lost their house – all these lives are likely still filled with blessings. Look these people in the eye, connect with them, smile – give your gratitude as a gift to remind them they are not alone. They are connected. There is gratitude for something in their life, and that seeing it and spending just a few moments with it is the seed that will grow to make the difference in these times.

When I have shared just a glimpse of this attitude with others – even the most formal of business connections, I am repeatedly surprised by how people are doing this already. People are inviting friends over, spending more time with family, finding themselves appreciating simple moments, enjoying cooking meals together rather. One person said they hadn’t ever remembered being grateful for the feeling of laughter before.

I would encourage you to touch base with your own sense of gratitude – not as a duty or an obligation or something to add to your list, but as a person who is thirsty takes up a cup of spring water.

Gratitude will help us bridge the frightening chasm between a society now distressed and exhausted by decades of consumerism and a global community that understand how to service and care for its own needs responsibly, compassionately and with deep appreciation.

I am certain that there will be many moments in the days ahead when by keeping my own gratitude on the tip of my lips I will inspire others. I am equally as certain that I will fall upon days where I will need to hear about the sweetness of someone’s love for their child, the gratitude for a neighborly act or for the goodness of a work community that faced tough times together.

Whoever is happy will make others happy, too.
Mark Twain

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.
Cicero

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.
Albert Schweitzer

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Marianne Williamson

Revolution is a distraction
There have been times in the past when I sat in contemplation of the challenges in our society and wished to be a part of a revolution. Having lived and worked in our economic system for many years now, I see many of its faults and virtues more clearly. I see not a broken system but one that is still evolving.

I see in my fellow humans and myself the capacity to self govern, self motivate and understand the ramifications of our actions and live in a society that someday (most likely not in my own life) will know harmony. When I go to work and shape my work community, I remind myself that freedom-loving people need to be trusted. Not just with the easy stuff but the hard stuff too. Freedom and trust are as foundational to positive change as they are to innovation.

By tapping into our sense of personal responsibility and gratitude, we can take note of the things that need changing around us. I for one have already learned a lesson about what I believe a work community needs to provide for itself. I think we are often lost at the paycheck and benefits level and because it becomes more complicated, less cut and dried, less common denominator, we sell ourselves short by remaining focused on simply building a business community that increases these.

At the next level there is the creation of a community that can make change together. An assembly of skills and energy that can make things happen. The experience of pointing these skills and energies at problems that we are facing becomes an interesting road to examine. Doing well by doing good – a new business objective.

Creating a transparent operating environment where people can see the road ahead, and leaders help everyone understand it and the risks and rewards and opportunities to the community and to them as individuals. This act provides us in these uncertain times with the certainties that match the strength of the community and not just on the strength of its shareholder value.

At the end of the day, as a business owner or leader, I may never become wealthy, but I may enjoy the rewards of a community that understands how to support one another and how to touch the lives around them meaningfully and positively. The prospect of this seems both more real and more reassuring.

I look less for a revolution and more for an opportunity. I look less for and end of one thing than the evolution of it. I set aside judgment and pick up a sense that we can do this. A choice must be made now, we can see ourselves as worn down, tired, scared or we can see ourselves as enduring, pressing forward with what energy we have and courageous for taking the next step.

Long ago I heard a quote form Teilhard de Chardin (paraphrased) The greatest fear is to see the empty space before us that is the future. The greatest courage is the fill it with the best of who we are.

Peace and Good Things,

Andrei Hedstrom

Waxing Quarter Moon in Taurus 2009

Podcast For Peace — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 22:13:10 +0000

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Hungry Lucy for In The Circle

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Elisabeth Lohninger Quartet for Beneath Your Surface

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New Moon in Aquarius 2009 (Eclipse)

Podcast For Peace — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 06:55:16 +0000

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Fort Pastor for Beautiful Imperfection

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Waning Quarter Moon in Libra 2009

Podcast For Peace — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 23:46:32 +0000

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Black Lab for See The Sun

The Alice Project for All That I Wanted

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Full Moon in Cancer 2009

Podcast For Peace — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 02:27:42 +0000

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our mountains turned to sand upon a shore

andrei — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:45:47 +0000

A human life is so short.

In the greater timeline of our planet, it is a small dot.

It is love that makes it feel so large and important. Love of self and love of others.

To me, though I know it not to be true, my baby girl is the largest and most permanent seeming force in the universe, save possibly gravity. My love for her is so consuming that it fills my consciousness with more space than it has ever had. In the same way a place of great natural beauty seems eternal, so does my love for her. Because it feels like this she seems all of the timeline or the timeline of all living things breaths through her.

I am filled up with that love and suddenly the small blip that is my life seems somehow so large and lasting in that I can not ever see a time, though my body waste away and return to stardust, when the energy that flows from my love would ever dissipate.

This life is so short. Mine and my little Raine’s – we will pass – our mountains turned to sand upon a shore. But the life of love is eternity – until then – it is forever, it is perennial, it is.

originally published on 12/22/08 at

http://andreihedstrom.gaia.com/blog/2008/12/our_mountains_turned_to_sand_upon_a_shore

Waxing Quarter Moon in Aries 2009

Podcast For Peace — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 10:57:32 +0000

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The Ugli Stick for Started Out Right

Fono for On The Line

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New Moon in Capricorn 2008 (Again)

Podcast For Peace — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 11:22:06 +0000

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Waning Quarter Moon in Virgo 2008

Podcast For Peace — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:29:02 +0000

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Louie Zagoras for Waiting For The Sun

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Full Moon in Gemini 2008 (Grand Cross)

Podcast For Peace — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:38:16 +0000

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The Stone Coyotes for Party Down The Hall

Ingrid Michaelson for Breakable

Hungry Lucy for In The Circle

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Marina V for Guardian Angel

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Waxing Quarter Moon in Pisces 2008

Podcast For Peace — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:27:02 +0000

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The Second Dan for Everything is Good

Carlos Bertonatti for Curiosity Killed the Cat

Echo Screen for Everythign After Bradford

P GUTTA for Life Is So Strange

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New Moon in Sagittarius 2008

Podcast For Peace — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 15:56:44 +0000

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David Seume for Revolution Son

Val Emmich for Get On With It

Hot Buttered Rum for Always Be The Moon

G Tom Mac for You Are

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Waning Quarter Moon in Leo 2008

Podcast For Peace — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:32:02 +0000

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Sarah VonderHaar for I Got Sunshine

The Brilliant Mistakes for Good Year For a Change

The Crash Moderns for Where Did All The Scene Girls Go

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Full Moon in Taurus 2008

Podcast For Peace — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 05:18:01 +0000

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Paul Jeffery for Gods and Angels

Will Deynes for Better Way

Sabrina Shaheen for Love Is

FIVE A.M. for Be Still

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Waxing Quarter Moon in Aquarius 2008

Podcast For Peace — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:03:59 +0000

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The Beautiful Girls for She’s Evil

Paul Jeffrey for The Prisoner

Ingrid Michaelson for Breakable

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New Moon in Scorpio 2008

Podcast For Peace — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 23:15:31 +0000

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Guards of Metropolis for Perfect World

Crazy Mary for Damn Good

Fort Pastor for Crazy

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Josh Charles for Stars

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Waning Quarter Moon in Cancer 2008

Podcast For Peace — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:55:32 +0000

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Hot Buttered Rum for Always Be The Moon

Val Emmich for Get On With It

Sylvia Bennett for As Time Goes By

Rhonda for Nothing Really Matters

Marina V for I’ll Be Alright

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Full Moon in Aries 2008

Podcast For Peace — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 20:03:01 +0000

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Ingrid Michaelson for The Way I Am

JAIK MILLER BAND for Orange Sunshine

The Ginger Ninjas for Bird Fly, Bird Fall

Caplyn for The Revolution Will Come.

Pimps of Joytime for Workin’ All the Time

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Waxing Quarter Moon in Capricorn 2008

Podcast For Peace — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:09:20 +0000

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G Tom Mac for You Are

Carrie Rodriguez for She Ain’t Me

Stephanie for Back to the Rock

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Soundside for GBR

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New Moon in Libra 2008

Podcast For Peace — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 08:13:06 +0000

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Reed Foehl for Stoned Beautiful.

The Alice Project for All That I Wanted

Natives of the New Dawn for Good Day

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Waning Quarter Moon in Gemini 2008 (Blue Moon)

Podcast For Peace — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 05:05:01 +0000

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Fort Pastor for Crazy

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Sarah VonderHaar for I Got Sunshine

The Ginger Ninjas for Stuck on Earth

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Full Moon in Pisces 2008

Podcast For Peace — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 09:13:00 +0000

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Deni Bonet for Last Girl On Earth

The Second Dan for Running Out Of Feelings

Jim Steed for Numb

Ashley Rose for Deep

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Waxing Quarter Moon in Sagittarius 2008

Podcast For Peace — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 14:05:50 +0000

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Carlos Bertonatti for Curiosity Killed the Cat

The Second Dan for Everything is Good

Anne Davis for Awakening

Maeve OBoyle for DreamCatcher

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New Moon in Virgo 2008

Podcast For Peace — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 07:59:06 +0000

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The Crash Moderns for Where Did All The Scene Girls Go

Sheri Miller for The Blade

Ingrid Michaelson for Breakable

Lin McEwan for Feel

Allison Crowe for What About You

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Waning Quarter Moon in Gemini 2008

Podcast For Peace — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 23:51:42 +0000

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Full Moon in Aquarius 2008 (Eclipse)

Podcast For Peace — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 21:16:14 +0000

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Jim Steed for Keep Me Alive

Guards of Metropolis for Perfect World

The Crash Moderns for Where Did All The Scene Girls Go

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Hungry Lucy for In The Circle

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Waxing Quarter Moon in Scorpio 2008

Podcast For Peace — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:21:56 +0000

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Caplyn for The Revolution Will Come.

The Alice Project for Hold Me Up

The Ginger Ninjas for Stuck on Earth

Deni Bonet for How Far Can I Push you

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New Moon in Leo 2008 (Eclipse)

Podcast For Peace — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:13:53 +0000

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FIVE A.M. for Just Say Anything

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Worth Dying For for Let it out!

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Waning Quarter Moon in Taurus 2008

Podcast For Peace — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:43:56 +0000

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FIVE A.M. for Be Still

The Sheehen Conspiracy for Before You Wake

Temple Of Soul for Sunshine In Your Smile

Matthew Ebel for Trees

Amy Ayres for Movin On

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Full Moon in Capricorn 2008

Podcast For Peace — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:59:13 +0000

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Deni Bonet for Last Girl On Earth

The Sheehen Conspiracy I’ll Come Along

Echo Screen for Everythign After Bradford

Lena for Perfect Day

FIASCO for Peace Sign

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Waxing Quarter Moon in Libra 2008

Podcast For Peace — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 03:35:05 +0000

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Deni Bonet for How Far Can I Push you

FIVE A.M. for Fall Apart

Anne Davis for Where the Roads Cross

Sharif for Sweet Angel

Samantha Murphy for I Am You

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New Moon in Cancer 2008

Podcast For Peace — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:19:13 +0000

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Dejie Johnson for What a Wonderful World

Amy Dalley for Safe

Anne Davis for Alive And Breathing

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Waning Quarter Moon in Aries 2008

Podcast For Peace — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:11:11 +0000

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Samantha Murphy for I Am You

Ingrid Michaelson for The Way I Am

Serena Ryder for Brand New Love

Natives of the New Dawn for Good Day

Rob Costlow for Bliss

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Full Moon in Sagittarius 2008

Podcast For Peace — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:34:25 +0000

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JAIK MILLER BAND for Orange Sunshine

The Ginger Ninjas for Bird Fly, Bird Fall

Katie Herzig for Sweeter Than This

Samantha Murphy for I Want To Go Home

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Waxing Quarter Moon in Virgo 2008

Podcast For Peace — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:04:09 +0000

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Sarah VonderHaar for Sing Me To Sleep

Louie Zagoras for Waiting For The Sun

Peter Searcy for I Believe

The Ugli Stick for True Love

The Alice Project for I’m Having a great Day

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New Moon in Gemini 2008

Podcast For Peace — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:24:23 +0000

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Fort Pastor for Crazy

Ray Tarantino for Into The End

The Ginger Ninjas for Stuck on Earth

Serena Ryder for Brand New Love

The Ginger Ninjas for Liberate Your Mind

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Waning Quarter Moon in Pisces 2008

Podcast For Peace — Thu, 29 May 2008 05:02:36 +0000

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Marina V for Hope

Lipbone Redding for Love Is The Answer to World Peace

Sarah VonderHaar for Around The World

Guards of Metropolis for Perfect World

Sean Wiggins for Mercury in Retrograde

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Full Moon in Scorpio 2008 (Blue Moon)

Podcast For Peace — Tue, 20 May 2008 02:11:25 +0000

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Waxing Quarter Moon in Leo 2008

Podcast For Peace — Mon, 12 May 2008 03:48:49 +0000

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Ray Tarantino for Riding Rhymes

Ann Wilson with Elton John for Where To Now Saint Peter

Katie Herzig for Sweeter Than This

John Taglieri for Starring Role

Spin for Home

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New Moon in Taurus 2008

Podcast For Peace — Mon, 05 May 2008 12:19:39 +0000

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Samantha Murphy for Silent and Still

The Alice Project for All That I Wanted

The Freedom People for Peace Around the World

Stanley Jordan for Dreams of Peace

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Waning Quarter Moon in Aquarius 2008

Podcast For Peace — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:13:51 +0000

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Temple Of Soul for Sunshine In Your Smile

Virginia Coalition for Sing Along

John Taglieri for Leap Of Faith

David Martin for I Can’t Imagine

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Full Moon in Scorpio 2008

Podcast For Peace — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:26:29 +0000

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Guards of Metropolis for Whatever It Is

Hungry Lucy for Into Pieces

Marina V for In My Head

Ray Tarantino for Riding Rhymes

Sarah VonderHaar for Just Go

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Waxing Quarter Moon in Cancer 2008

Podcast For Peace — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 18:33:28 +0000

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

Ray Tarantino for Riding Rhymes

Serena Ryder for Brand New Love

FISKUM for Borderline

Ashley Rose for Deep

Will Deynes for Better Way

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New Moon in Aries 2008

Podcast For Peace — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 04:55:43 +0000

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

Sarah VonderHaar for I Got Sunshine

Ingrid Michaelson for The Way I Am

Mama’s Cookin’ for What I Am

Black Lab for The Real You

The Ugli Stick for Started Out Right

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Waning Quarter Moon in Capricorn 2008

Podcast For Peace — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 21:48:06 +0000

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

Ray Tarantino for Recusant

My American Heart for Tired and Unispired

Jim Steed for Fall

Lipbone Redding for Love Is The Answer to World Peace

The Alice Project for I’m Having a great Day

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Full Moon in Libra 2008 (Grand Cross)

Podcast For Peace — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 18:40:03 +0000

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

Fort Pastor for Crazy

Guards of Metropolis for Postcards from Heaven

John Taglieri for Leap Of Faith

Jim Steed for Keep Me Alive

Lovespirals for This Truth

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Waxing Quarter Moon in Gemini 2008

Podcast For Peace — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:47:24 +0000

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

The Ginger Ninjas for Liberate Your Mind

Fort Pastor for Beautiful Imperfection

Black Lab for The Real You

Blood Red Sun for So It Goes

John Taglieri for Reason to Believe

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New Moon in Pisces 2008

Podcast For Peace — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:15:07 +0000

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

Sheri Miller for The Blade

Reed Foehl for Wake Up The dead

Julie Gribble for Little Bit lonely

Steve Parsons for Moving On

Dejie Johnson for What a Wonderful World

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Waning Quarter Moon in Sagittarius 2008

Podcast For Peace — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 06:31:35 +0000

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

Will Deynes for Super Wonderful

The Alice Project for Hold Me Up

JAIK MILLER BAND for Sweet Illumination

Lipbone Redding for Love Is The Answer to World Peace

Ingrid Michaelson for Die Alone

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Full Moon in Virgo 2008 (Eclipse)

Podcast For Peace — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 02:32:10 +0000

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

The Beautiful Girls for Dela

The Ginger Ninjas for Bird Fly, Bird Fall

Jupiter for Countdown

Marina V for Guardian Angel

Black Lab for See The Sun

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Waxing Quarter Moon in Taurus 2008

Podcast For Peace — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 02:35:46 +0000

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

Taj Weeks with For Today

Joe Sibol for Forever Hold Your Peace

Reed Foehl for Stoned Beautiful.

Hungry Lucy for Into Pieces

Chris Hinze for Peaceful Mind

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New Moon in Aquarius 2008 (Eclipse)

Podcast For Peace — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 02:46:06 +0000

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The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

Guards of Metropolis for Whatever It Is

John Taglieri for Leap Of Faith

Mama’s Cookin’ for Aquarius Skies

JAIK MILLER BAND for Orange Sunshine

Will Deynes for Better Way

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Waning Quarter Moon in Scorpio 2008

Podcast For Peace — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 04:04:30 +0000

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

Ingrid Michaelson for Breakable

Guards of Metropolis for Postcards From Heaven

Ann Wilson with Elton John for Where To Now Saint Peter

Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers for Counterclockwise.

Taj Weeks with For Today

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Full Moon in Leo 2008

Podcast For Peace — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 12:36:12 +0000

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The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

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ioda for PROMONET – something fresh and new.

Pod Safe Audio for feeding the revolution

Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

John Taglieri for Starring Role

The Ginger Ninjas for Stuck on Earth

Kevin Reeves for Shine

Ashley Rose for Blind to the Light

Griddle for Ain’t It Good To Be Alive

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Waxing Quarter Moon in Aries 2008

Podcast For Peace — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:47:06 +0000

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The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

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ioda for PROMONET – something fresh and new.

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

Black Lab for The Real You

Ingrid Michaelson for The Way I am

Butterfly Catchers for Wake Up

The Stone Coyotes for Party Down The Hall

Marina V for Guardian Angel

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New Moon in Capricorn 2008

Podcast For Peace — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 10:37:38 +0000

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The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

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ioda for PROMONET – something fresh and new.

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

Lipbone Redding for Love Is The Answer to World Peace

Chamberlane for Peace of Mind

Les Visible for Peace

Peter Moon Band for real fine life

Stanley Jordan for Dreams of Peace

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Waning Quarter Moon in Libra 2007

Podcast For Peace — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 06:52:16 +0000

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The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

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ioda for PROMONET – something fresh and new.

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

The Ugli Stick for Started Out Right

Will Deynes for Better Way

Marina V for In My Head

Carrie Pettit for Dream On

Samantha Murphy for Silent and Still

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Full Moon in Cancer 2007

Podcast For Peace — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 00:39:02 +0000

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

Will Deynes for Super Wonderful

Podsafe for Peace for If Every Day Were Christmas

Mindy Smith for Santa Will Find You

Matthew Ebel for Walk a Thousand Miles

The Ugli Stick for True Love

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Waxing Quarter Moon in Pisces 2007

Podcast For Peace — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 09:19:17 +0000

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The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

Guards of Metropolis for Postcards From Heaven

Louie Zagoras for Waiting For The Sun

Beth Hirsch for All Together

Diana Page Ebb and Flow

Karmyn Tyler for Drifting

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New Moon in Sagittarius 2007

Podcast For Peace — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 16:41:16 +0000

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The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

Samantha Murphy For I Want To Go Home

Mindy Smith for Santa Will Find You

Blood Red Sun for So It Goes

Dejie Johnson for What a Wonderful World

Peter Searcy for I Believe

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Waning Quarter Moon in Virgo 2007

Podcast For Peace — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 11:45:28 +0000

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The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

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ioda for PROMONET – something fresh and new.

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

Jessie Kilguss for All I Am Is Breath

Mama’s Cookin’ for What I Am

Guards of Metropolis for Perfect World

Ann Wilson with Elton John for Where To Now Saint Peter

Lovespirals for This Truth

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Full Moon in Gemini 2007

Podcast For Peace — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 13:31:58 +0000

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The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

The Beautiful Girls for Sir, Your Fashion Has the Cold Heart of A Killer

The Stone Coyotes for Party Down The Hall

The Complements for Something Like Happiness

Podsafe for Peace for If Every Day Were Christmas

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Waxing Quarter Moon in Aquarius 2007

Podcast For Peace — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 21:33:43 +0000

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ioda for PROMONET – something fresh and new.

Pod Safe Audio for feeding the revolution

Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

The Beautiful Girls for Sir, Your Fashion Has the Cold Heart of A Killer

Tommy Strazza & The Model Citizens for Detour

Mama’s Cookin’ for Aquarius Skies

Reed Foehl for Wake Up the Dead.

Griddle for Ain’t It Good To Be Alive

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New Moon in Scorpio 2007

Podcast For Peace — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 22:04:54 +0000

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

CRUSH for Chasing Echos

Hungry Lucy for Into Pieces

Ashley Rose for Deep

Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers for Counterclockwise.

Fono for On The Line

Rob Costlow for Woods Of Chaos

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Waning Quarter Moon in Leo 2007

Podcast For Peace — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 21:19:37 +0000

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The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

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ioda for PROMONET – something fresh and new.

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

John Taglieri for Starring Role

Peter Searcy for I Believe

Marina V for I’ll Be Alright

Kevin Reeves for Shine

The Freedom People for Peace Around the World

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Full Moon in Taurus 2007

Podcast For Peace — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 04:53:33 +0000

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ioda for PROMONET – something fresh and new.

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

Clumsy for Sanctuary

The Callen Sisters for Like You

Mama’s Cookin’ for What I Am

Maeve OBoyle for DreamCatcher

Matthew Ebel for Drive Away

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Waxing Quarter Moon in Capricorn 2007

Podcast For Peace — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 08:34:57 +0000

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The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

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ioda for PROMONET – something fresh and new.

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

Sean Wiggins for Mercury in Retrograde

The Stone Coyotes for Party Down The Hall

Ann Wilson with Elton John for Where To Now Saint Peter

Caplyn for The Revolution Will Come.

Reed Foehl for Wake Up the Dead.

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

New Moon in Libra 2007

Podcast For Peace — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 05:02:40 +0000

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The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

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ioda for PROMONET – something fresh and new.

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

Samantha Murphy for I Am You

Dejie Johnson for What a Wonderful World

Hungry Lucy for Her Song

Sara Tavares for Balance

Ashley Rose for Deep

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Waning Quarter Moon in Cancer 2007

Podcast For Peace — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 10:07:32 +0000

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Shownotes 108

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ioda for PROMONET – something fresh and new.

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Steven Forrest for The The Inner Sky

Marina V for I’ll Be Alright

Peter Searcy for I Believe

Carrie Pettit for Dream On

Beth Hirsch for All Together

The Freedom People for Peace Around the World

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Full Moon in Aries 2007

Podcast For Peace — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 19:46:09 +0000

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ioda for PROMONET – something fresh and new.

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Steven Forrest for The Book of Pluto

Ann Wilson with Elton John for Where To Now Saint Peter

The Butterfly Catchers for Wake Up

Anne Davis for Alive And Breathing

The Stone Coyotes for Party Down The Hall

Beth Hirsch for Ideliby You

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Waxing Quarter Moon in Sagittarius 2007

Podcast For Peace — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 16:50:30 +0000

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Shownotes 106

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The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

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ioda for PROMONET – something fresh and new.

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Anne Davis for Alive And Breathing

Kevin Reeves for Shine

Ashley Rose for Blind to the Light

Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers for Counterclockwise.

Allison Crowe for There Is

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

New Moon in Virgo 2007 (Eclipse)

Podcast For Peace — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 10:05:00 +0000

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Steven Forrest for The Book of Pluto

Ashley Rose for Deep

Carrie Pettit for Dream On

Dejie Johnson for What a Wonderful World

Miggs for Perfect

Samantha Murphy for Silent and Still

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Waning Quarter Moon in Gemini 2007

Podcast For Peace — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 02:34:40 +0000

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Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Marina V for In My Head

Rob Costlow for True Gemini

Fred for Two Angels

Marina V for Guardian Angel

The Complements for Something Like Happiness

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Full Moon in Pisces 2007 (Eclipse)

Podcast For Peace — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 10:36:28 +0000

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The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

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Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Steve Parsons for Movin On

The Freedom People for Peace Around the World

Griddle for Ain’t It Good To Be Alive

Carrie Pettit for Dream On

FIASCO for Peace Sign

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Waxing Quarter Moon in Scorpio 2007

Podcast For Peace — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 23:56:07 +0000

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Shownotes 102

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Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Caplyn for The Revolution Will Come.

Ashley Rose for Blind to the Light

Clumsy for Sanctuary

The Freedom People for People, Let’s Stop the War!

Rob Costlow for Woods Of Chaos

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New Moon in Leo 2007

Podcast For Peace — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 23:04:14 +0000

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Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Kevin Reeves for Shine

Chris Ayers for Starfish In the Front Yard

Natives of the New Dawn for Good Day

Cheryl B. Engelhardt for Out There

Clumsy for Melody of a Nobody

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Waning Quarter Moon in Taurus 2007

Podcast For Peace — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 21:22:39 +0000

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ioda for PROMONET – something fresh and new.

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Griddle for Ain’t It Good To Be Alive

Hungry Lucy for In The Circle

Natives of the New Dawn for Good Day

Kevin Reeves for Shine

Matthew Ebel for Drive Away

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Full Moon in Aquarius 2007

Podcast For Peace — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 00:49:24 +0000

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Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Caplyn for Where Did It All Go Wrong.

David Henderson for Make it Go Away

Marina V for In My Head

The Butterfly Catchers for Wake Up

The Complements for Something Like Happiness

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Waxing Quarter Moon in Libra 2007 (Blue Moon)

Podcast For Peace — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 06:30:09 +0000

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Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Dejie Johnson for What a Wonderful World

Carter for False Solution

Allison Crow for What About You

Samantha Murphy for Silent and Still

Corneilius for Peace of Mind

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New Moon in Cancer 2007

Podcast For Peace — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 12:05:07 +0000

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Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Amy Dalley for Safe

Marina V for In My Head

After Touch for Peace of Minds

Clumsy for Sanctuary

Ashley Rose for Deep

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Waning Quarter Moon in Aries 2007

Podcast For Peace — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 16:55:28 +0000

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Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Anne Davis for Alive And Breathing

Anne Davis for Awakening

Balance for Peace Maker

Fumitaka Anzai for Kyrie Eleison

The Freedom People for Peace Around the World

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Full Moon in Capricorn 2007

Podcast For Peace — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 13:50:14 +0000

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Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

David Henderson for Forgotten Man

Dejie Johnson for What a Wonderful World

The Freedom People for Peace Around the World

Kevin Reeves for Shine

Cheryl B. Engelhardt for Proof

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Waxing Quarter Moon in Libra 2007

Podcast For Peace — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 13:16:00 +0000

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Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Ashley Rose for Blind to the Light

Allison Crow for What About You

Peace Orchestra for Shining

Kevin Reeves for Shine

Anne Davis for Where the Roads Cross

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

New Moon in Gemini 2007

Podcast For Peace — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 03:15:00 +0000

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ioda for PROMONET – something fresh and new.

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers for Counterclockwise.

Fred for Two Angels

Caplyn for Second Time Around.

Marina V for Guardian Angel

Rob Costlow for True Gemini

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Waning Quarter Moon in Pisces 2007

Podcast For Peace — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 11:44:06 +0000

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The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

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ioda for PROMONET – something fresh and new.

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Marina V for In My Head

FIASCO for Peace Sign

Joe Sibol for Forever Hold Your Peace

Miggs for Perfect

Ashley Rose for Deep

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Full Moon in Sagittarius 2007

Podcast For Peace — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 01:06:53 +0000

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The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

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ioda for PROMONET – something fresh and new.

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Maeve OBoyle for DreamCatcher

Hungry Lucy for Into Pieces

Caplyn for The Revolution Will Come.

Stillman for Weightless

Amy Ayres for Movin On

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Waxing Quarter Moon in Virgo 2007

Podcast For Peace — Wed, 23 May 2007 21:04:12 +0000

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The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

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ioda for PROMONET – something fresh and new.

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Julie Gribble for Little Bit lonely

Marina V for In My Head

Caplyn for Shine on.

Hungry Lucy for Her Song

The Freedom People for Peace Around the World

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

New Moon in Taurus 2007

Podcast For Peace — Wed, 16 May 2007 19:28:41 +0000

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Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Anne Davis for Alive And Breathing

Ashley Rose for Deep

Elliott Smith for High Times

Samantha Murphy for Silent and Still

The Freedom People for People, Let’s Stop the War!

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Waning Quarter Moon in Aquarius 2007

Podcast For Peace — Thu, 10 May 2007 06:29:14 +0000

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The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

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ioda for PROMONET – something fresh and new.

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Caplyn for The Revolution Will Come.

Rob Costlow for L.A. Passing By

Ashley Rose for Blind To The Light

The Freedom People for Peace Around the World

Ashley Rose for Deep

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Full Moon in Scorpio 2007

Podcast For Peace — Wed, 02 May 2007 10:10:06 +0000

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Podcast For Peace — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 18:05:13 +0000

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Podcast For Peace — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 08:52:36 +0000

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Inconvenient Truth

eyeseetruth — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 09:54:40 +0000

If you have not seen the film ‘Inconvenient Truth’, please rent it and pay close attention. Educate yourself and get in tune with what matters the most, our home Earth.

Get educated and get involved with a massive movement that is now taking place to reverse global warming.

http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/

In 50 years from now, our children will live a World where many of our greatest cities will be under water. Is this the future we want for our children, let alone ourselves? This includes cities here in the U.S. such as SF, LA and NYC. Think about this for a moment. This is based on scientific evidence. What more do you need to take action?

How much longer are we going to allow big oil and American automakers bully us all to death? Literally.

EST.

Bush. Is Our Poison.

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Podcast For Peace — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 22:03:16 +0000

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Waning Quarter Moon in Libra 2007

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the blood of magic and nothing

chrisybug — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 06:54:13 +0000

banality aside
we step
lightly on each others toes
try
and try
to find some light
in each others eye
tread
in each side step
of being
self and selfless
and gather wonder
in our heart’s
discordance
what tune
what
do we do here
find here?
inside of magic
and nothing
is there the same blood?
and what light
in your eye
will mirror me?
take my heart’s hand?
joy
filled
with no second guessing
as dreamers
are
the same blood
of magic and nothing

drip drop

Administrator — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 04:37:00 +0000

slender grace
this raindrop
from skyward falls
fills inself on entrance
and exhales

shifts

becomes

finds parts of itself left behind
yet
its focus is
unchanging

once
still
expanding
full
grace gives way
to peace

Full Moon in Cancer 2007

Podcast For Peace — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 12:59:59 +0000

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Baby Daddy – early days

andrei — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 16:58:27 +0000

Day 1
Z walks into my office and I am just finishing a staff meeting. She says hi to everyone and asks if she can talk to me in private. We go into my office and she closes the door â€“ Z rarely comes to my office and she has never come closed the door.

She hands me a card. The card says â€¦â€¦. I open the card thinking it is just one of her typical philosophically appropriate cards that she gives me from time to time to inspire me or tell me that I inspire her. But when I open the card it says something unexpected.

It saysâ€¦

â€œDADDYâ€

And there are stars around it and it is in big bold capsâ€¦

â€œDADDYâ€

It actually says that word and I am completely blown away and at the same time feel like I already knew. On 5/28 we had the only sex without birth control we had ever had together. The only time and BAM! What are the odds. I wont get into all the details here but suffice it to say that it was on the edge of when it actually could happen.

Not that I was thinking about this when reading the word-

â€œDADDYâ€

What was happening in my brain was a fast speed shifting of priorities â€“ like a continuous series of switches being flipped or mental furniture being arranged differently. Like SS asked me a few hours later, â€œDo you feel like you woke up this morning as one man and that by lunch time you were another.â€ – yes exactly like that. I mean, every moment since has been like a series of new men, growing, changing, awaking into someone else â€“ like someone I was meant to become. If I would have known it would feel like this â€“ well I would have started to be a father long ago.

I donâ€™t feel worried. I feel happy and filled with the joy of a young person, and this is balanced with a seriousness. A knowledge that for all the reasons I wanted to help make the world a better place, there are 20 times more now because it isnâ€™t abstract. The reason is concrete â€“ or rather flesh. A tiny growing flesh whose future depends on the world I am part of creating. What life will this new living soul come into?

DADDY!

Though I think I want to go by â€œPapaâ€. I feel ready for this. I feel so blessed. Z has become like a radiant glowing earth mother and I feel like I am seeing her for the first time all over again. Like an evolved version of the young hippie girl I saw in a cafÃ© so many years ago. The first time she was a woman instead of a girl â€“ the first time I noticed what a fine soul she had â€“ tough, intelligent, buoyant, serious, intense, lovely â€“ like a finely crafted sword that sings when it slices the air. Like a bolt of lightening that starts a fire, creating a beautiful soft orange glow on the horizon. She is a deeper amber fire now â€“ she is that sword forged in it, still singing through the air we share. There is a richness there now, informed by a life inside her, there is a lusciousness that comes not from lusting or desiring for, but from a fulfillment of what we have worked so hard to build between us and around us and now in us â€“ in her.

She signed the card â€œZ.. + 1â€

Day 2

Well another day where I rotate between not being able to focus on my work and times where my work is more intense and interesting and motivated by +1. Motivated by an intense desire to build for +1, because of +1.

We go to dinner with Zâ€™s mom and my sister CC and SS and ShS. We decide to tell them by giving my sister and MIL (mother in law) a box each. In each of the boxes is a little bootie that MIL knitted for us. Z had put it inside of a little altar we keep at our house. A little place for candles and sacred books and little icons.

They open the boxes and they are crying and smiling and laughing and their heads tip to the side and they look like joy is coming through their eyes to pour over us. We have this wonderful series of glances between us and these repeat throughout dinner.

I am suggesting to Z that she order the steak because I have read that it is important to have iron and that a steak is as good place to get it on the fly as anywhere else. I am suddenly starved for knowledge about babies, prenatal nutrition, her health my health +1â€™s health. I mean its not like they taught a useful class in that expensive private college and grad school I went to â€“ not like anyone told me the facts about parenting. I heard somewhere not to give kids honey, but I mean Jesus how many other things like that are there. fish because of the mercury? What?

Did I mention that the night before I had come home feeling like I was on the edge of going through the house and taking out every toxic substance in the joint. Oh yeah and clearing out all of the food that has nasty things in it.

Everything is different, everything is more intense and at the same time more manageable. Suddenly I have twice the energy and twice the drive. I see clearly things that would have been murky and had too many steps towards completion. Now I see a clear way forward. I see and sense that I know the path to prepare for this life to come to us.

Walking back to the car after dinner, MIL put her arm in mine and held it close. She said wonderful things to me. Confidence building things that suggested what she ahd said at dinner. That she could not think of a better man to be the father of her daughterâ€™s child. I felt her love for me grow. She even promised not to try and teach it to be a republican. ïŠ

There is just too much to write about and remember, but I am not going to wait until I have time. I want to write an entry everyday ion this blog. I want to express what I am feeling, I want people to hear about this transition, and I want to find in it both a life line that is open and a place where these thoughts can collect like leaves on reeds in a river. I want to feel these thoughts loosening the leaves.

Day 3 6/17/06

Day 4 6/18/06 FATHERâ€™S DAY

It is fatherâ€™s day today. What a trip. More on this later.

After suddenly realizing the whole world was learning of the news we started getting a little worried, so I wrote this note to send to our close friends and family.

Hello Family and Friends,

Thanks so much in for sharing in our special news. In truth it has taken us by a storm of glittered eurekas â€“ so much joy, so much surprise and so much to do!!!

I wanted to thank you all for your enthusiasm and for the many kind words you have given us as we embark on this epic journey of parenthood. If ever we will need a community it is now.

I am sure we will be learning and relearning the lessons that millions of parents have learned, and we will no doubt stumble and sometimes trip and fall. It seems we have already done so.

After almost a week of knowing and the web of people who know are growing we began to see the wisdom of being selective about who we tell at this point. Not because we want to be secretive, but I suspect like many other parents to be at this early stage, we are all too aware that sometimes pregnancies do not take. We arenâ€™t dwelling on this, and both of us (as well as our assorted witch doctors, healers, clairvoyants, etc.) feel very good about a healthy child being born to us some 8-9 months down the road. However we are feeling like if we did experience this loss we wouldnâ€™t want to have to deal with explaining things over and over again to people outside our close circle of family and friends. In addition to this, if it didnâ€™t seem obvious, our overjoyed state is matched closely by our overwhelmed state and having people outside of our close family and friends crowding in around us in the way people do when they are excited for people being new parents is very intense. We are feeling like it might be best to warm up on with people who know us and love us and will understand if we run and hide because things are felling overwhelming ïŠ.

Thanks for enduring our awkwardness around this. We are so glad we have such an amazing village to raise this child. We are blessed even in our blessings â€“ thanks for all of the love and excitement.

Day 5 6/19/06

Yesterday, was Fatherâ€™s Day and we announced it to Zâ€™s family. They were so excited, and K, P and R had tears in their eyes almost as soon as the words came out of our mouths. I walked in and said loudly, â€œHappy Fatherâ€™s Dayâ€¦ to ME!â€ They were stunned and finally Zâ€™s bro D figured it out.

The whole day I had spent preparing meals for Z +1 since I would be traveling for the following week â€“ bummer timing. I made a vegetable broth called â€œMagic Mineral Brothâ€ and a stir fry with a bunch of iron building foods â€“ greens, broccoli, beans, etc. Also grilled a few steaks and lean burgers. I also pulled apart an Rosieâ€™s Rotisserie chicken. All of the food is organic.

I invented a thing call a â€œbaby food bombâ€ little neatly packed snack portions of food that is good for Z+1 to grab out of the fridge and be eaten hot or cold.

What a day! I was so beat at the end of it. I fell down on the couch before packing for my trip and almost couldnâ€™t get up. I likened it to when I started working demolition for about 6 months many years ago. The first week was so exhausting as I built up my stamina for the work. It feels like that. Building up stamina. Only this wont be for breaking something down. It will be for building someone up.

Day 6-9 6/20-23

Had to travel this week. Imagine that â€“ guess most dad to beâ€™s can â€“ traveling right after you find out you are going to be a father. It was hard to tear myself away from Z and I had several fantasies of the client calling and canceling the meetings and me staying home.

There is so much to learn. I had fantasies of creating a whole master plan for the pregnancy while traveling but instead have been like a walking dead with all of the travel and insomnia and then early morning east coast meetings when my body and mind are still on west coast.

Not much more in me. I am numb from the travel and I feel a bit bloated from all this crappy hotel food. Even in a nice hotel the food still tastes a bit unreal like they are pressing it our of cardboard and adding flavor. From what I have been reading in the â€œOmnivoreâ€™s Dilemmaâ€ it sounds like more accurately it could be stated that the food is pressed out of processed corn and then artificial flavors added. Oh God, I better not get started on a food rant â€“ I have only begun to consider how to do food with a kid on the way.

You look through one cabinet and become mortified at the amount of crap that we drag into our houses from the store. Even our house, which I know is not nearly the junk food haven that many households are, is still filled with highly processed foods that confuse the body and take so much energy to produce. No â€“ even though I just did get started â€“ I am not going to continue. Cant handle the obsessive thoughts that will keep me up â€“ not while traveling.

With all the joy also seems to come a whole layer of seriousness and line in the sand moments. Very interesting.

Day 10 6/24
Milk and molasses in coffee instead of the nasty â€“ bad for you artificial sweetener. Z is stomaching it as best she can so that she can get the iron from the molasses. Good sport she is. Mental note to self â€“ thank her often for eating things she does not like â€“ in the name of baby health.

Day 11 6/25
Mental note to self â€“ remember to tell her what you thought of today. Tell her that your increased love and support of her is not only because she has a baby inside her. Tell her that she is more beautiful and radiant than ever and that your respect for her and all she is doing to do right by the baby makes her all the more lovable and sexy. I think I finally see why some women see responsibility in a man sexy and attractive.

New Moon in Virgo 2006 (Blue Moon, Eclipse)

Podcast For Peace — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 11:46:34 +0000

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Genetically Modified (GM) Food: A Guide for the Confused

tao — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 23:17:28 +0000

New Book ‘Genetically Modified (GM) Food: A Guide for the Confused’

Aug. 29, 2006

Web Note: The economic statistics and information about government regulation cited in this article are for the UK. Unlike Europe, the US barely regulates GM foods. In the US, GM food is NOT labeled, and only extremely minimal ‘safety’ testing – often criticized as inadequate and unscientific – is required before GM foods are introduced into the food supply.

Our thanks to UK campaigner and lecturer Luke Anderson, geneticist Dr Michael Antoniou, and Prof Joe Cummins, Professor Emeritus of Genetics at the University of Western Ontario, for helping us through the maze.

Q: What are genes?

A: Genes are the inherited blueprints for the thousands of proteins that form the building blocks of all life, from bacteria to humans. Proteins make enzymes, which carry out all the bodily processes, like digestion of food, that keep us alive.

Q: What is genetic engineering?

A: Genetic engineering involves taking genes from one species and inserting them into another. For example, genes from an arctic flounder which has “antifreeze” properties may be spliced into a tomato to prevent frost damage.

Q: Is genetic engineering precise?

A: No. It is impossible to guide the insertion of the new gene. This can lead to unpredictable effects. Also, genes do not work in isolation but in highly complex relationships which are not understood. Any change to the DNA at any point will affect it throughout its length in ways scientists cannot predict. The claim by some that they can is both arrogant and untrue.

Q: Isn’t GM just an extension of traditional breeding practices?

A: No – GM bears no resemblance to traditional breeding techniques. The government’s own Genetic Modification (Contained Use) Regulations admit this when it defines GM as “the altering of the genetic material in that organism in a way that does not occur naturally by mating or natural recombination or both”.

Traditional breeding techniques operate within established natural boundaries which allow reproduction to take place only between closely related forms. Thus tomatoes can cross-pollinate with other tomatoes but not soya beans; cows can mate only with cows and not sheep. These genes in their natural groupings have been finely tuned to work harmoniously together by millions of years of evolution. Genetic engineering crosses genes between unrelated species which would never cross-breed in nature.

Q: Could this be dangerous?

A: Potentially, yes. In one case, soya bean engineered with a gene from a brazil nut gave rise to allergic reactions in people sensitive to the nuts. Most genes being introduced into GM plants have never been part of the food supply so we can’t know if they are likely to be allergenic.

More seriously, in 1989 there was an outbreak of a new disease in the US, contracted by over 5,000 people and traced back to a batch of L-tryptophan food supplement produced with GM bacteria. Even though it contained less than 0.1 per cent of a highly toxic compound, 37 people died and 1,500 were left with permanent disabilities. More may have died, but the American Centre for Disease Control stopped counting in 1991.

The US government declared that it was not GM that was at fault but a failure in the purification process. However, the company concerned, Showa Denko, admitted that the low-level purification process had been used without ill effect in non-GM batches. Scientists at Showa Denko blame the GM process for producing traces of a potent new toxin. This new toxin had never been found in non-GM versions of the product.

Q: Former UK government Cabinet Enforcer Jack Cunningham said, “Those GM foods on the market are as safe as the equivalent [non-GM] foods.” Is he right?

A: Dr Cunningham is talking about the concept of “substantial equivalence”. Substantial equivalence is a legal concept invented by the biotech industry. The industry claims that a GM food or food supplement is “substantially equivalent” to, or the same as, the non-GM version and therefore does not require labels or extensive testing.

Regulators have blindly accepted the substantial equivalence doctrine without backing up their belief with independent scientific research.

Showa Denko was not required to test the GM version of L-tryptophan because of the assumption that it would be the same as the non-GM version.

The doctrine of substantial equivalence means that there is nothing in the regulations to prevent another tragedy like the L-tryptophan case from happening again with new GM foods.

Naturally, when it comes to patenting, the rules change. The “substantially equivalent” GM food magically becomes completely different from its non-GM equivalent. It transforms into a unique product which remains the sole property of the patent holder, and woe betide anyone who infringes the patent.

Q: Are GE foods more dangerous to allergy-prone people?

A: The problem with GM foods is their unpredictability. A person may prove unexpectedly allergic to a food he has previously eaten safely. For this reason, people who are hyperallergenic or environmentally sensitive may want to avoid GM foods.

Q: UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said, “There is no GM food that can be sold in this country without going through a very long regulatory process.” Does that mean there’s nothing to worry about?

A: Health-risk assessment of GM foods compares only a few known components (e.g., certain nutrients, known toxins and allergens) between GM and non-GM equivalent varieties. If things match up then all is assumed to be well. Short-term animal feeding trials are conducted in some cases. All the research is done by the biotech companies themselves. Then government approval committees judge whether they believe that the evidence of safety is convincing.

No evidence from human trials for either toxicity or allergy testing is required. No independent checks of the company’s claims are required. The fact that the L-tryptophan tragedy would repeat itself by these criteria highlights the inadequacy of the system.

Geneticist Dr Michael Antoniou says, “At the very least, long-term animal feeding trials followed by tests with human volunteers of the type required for GM drugs should be mandatory.”

Prof Joe Cummins, professor emeritus of genetics at the University of Western Ontario, believes there is a cynical agenda behind the lack of proper testing: “The failure to test may provide some protection in the courts against lawsuits by those maimed or crippled by the foods. Most ill effects from food and allergies are not easily quantified until after the disaster. At best, there may be a small but marked increase in autoimmune disease and allergy associated with the foods. At worst, major outbreaks of illness could be observed and will be difficult to trace to the unlabelled foods.”

Q: What will the impact of GM crops be on the environment?

A: Last year, 71 percent of all GM crops grown were genetically engineered to be herbicide resistant. A field can now be sprayed with chemicals and everything will die except for the resistant crop. The sales of one of the herbicides being used are predicted to rise by $200 million as a result.

Graham Wynne, Chief Executive of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, says: “The ability to clear fields of all weeds using powerful herbicides which can be sprayed onto GM herbicide-resistant crops will result in farmlands devoid of wildlife and will spell disaster for millions of already declining birds and plants.”

There are also GM virus-resistant crops. Prof Joe Cummins says: “Probably the greatest threat from genetically altered crops is the insertion of modified virus and insect virus genes into crops – genetic recombination will create virulent new viruses from such constructions. The widely used cauliflower mosaic virus (present in the GM soy and maize currently on supermarket shelves in the UK) is a potentially dangerous gene. It is very similar to the Hepatitis B virus and related to HIV. Modified viruses could cause famine by destroying crops or cause human and animal diseases of tremendous power.”

Q: What is genetic pollution?

A: Genes engineered into plants and animals can be transferred to other species. For example, genes from GM oilseed rape, salmon or micro-organisms may move into the gene pools of wild relatives. The introduction of GM organisms into complex ecosystems may bring knock-on effects that we are unable to control.

Q: Which foods are not GM?

A: Presently certified organic foods are the best bet for the anti-GM consumer. However, even with the best intentions, companies attempting to exclude GM ingredients from their products have found contamination from GM crops. De Rit recently had to recall a batch of organic tortilla chips after tests showed that they contained GM maize. The company believes that cross-pollination of crops was to blame. Iceland, the only supermarket chain to try to ban GM ingredients from its own-brand products, recently wrote to its suppliers acknowledging that some GM contamination is unavoidable, because of cross-pollination of crops. The Linda McCartney range of vegetarian meals has also been discovered to be contaminated with GM soya.

Meanwhile, organic farming is under threat from the biotech companies. In the U.S., lawyers from the biotech companies are trying to force the government to require that GM crops can be declared organic. Some U.S. states have succumbed to Monsanto’s pressure and banned GM-free labels on food. Monsanto has successfully sued dairy farmers who labelled dairy products as free or Monsanto’s genetically engineered bovine growth hormone.

Due to so-called free trade agreements established by the World Trade Organisation, it may become illegal for individual countries to maintain higher organic standards than the U.S. So what happens in the U.S. has a direct knock-on effect on Europe.

Q: Why are genes being patented?

A: Patents give a huge incentive to the biotechnology industry to create new GM organisms. Since most patents last for 17-20 years, the companies are keen to recoup any investment quickly, often at the expense of safety and ethics. There are currently patents approved or pending for over 190 GM animals, including fish, cows, mice and pigs. There are also patents on varieties of seeds and plants, as well as unusual genes and cell lines from indigenous peoples. Scouts are sent around the world to discover genes that may have commercial applications. Over half the world’s plant and animal species live in the rainforests of the south and the industry has been quick to draw upon these resources.

The Neem tree, for instance, has been used for thousands of years in India for its antiseptic and insecticidal properties. Following in the well-trodden footsteps of Christopher Columbus, western corporations have filed a number of patents on these attributes.

Q: Are GM crops grown in the UK?

A: There are several hundred “deliberate release sites” in the UK where GM crops are being grown experimentally. In addition, this spring, a number of large-scale GM crop trials will be planted in order to assess their effect on wildlife. The first commercial crops could be planted within a year.

If commercial planting goes ahead, it will be difficult, if not impossible, for organic farming to stay free from contamination due to cross-pollination from GM crops.

Q: Are we eating GM food?

A: GM soya is in about 60 percent of all processed food as vegetable oil, soya flour, lecithin and soya protein. GM maize is in about 50 percent of processed foods as corn, corn starch, cornflour and corn syrup. GM tomato puree is sold in some supermarkets and GM enzymes are used throughout the food processing industry. Government regulations on labelling exclude 95-98 percent of the products containing GM ingredients because they ignore derivatives.

Q: Who is regulating the industry?

A: The lack of political will to scrutinise the industry is clear in this statement from Douglas Hogg: “Some estimates have predicted a Â£9 billion ($17 billion) market by the year 2000. We cannot jeopardise this by over-regulating initiative and enterprise.”

US trade representative, Charlene Barshefsky, told EU leaders to expect punitive action through the World Trade Organisation if they allow domestic concerns over biotechnology to interfere with US trade.

Most of the people sitting on supposedly independent government advisory bodies have direct links to biotech companies. Should people whose careers are tied to the development of the technology be trusted to carry out impartial risk assessments?

When she was asked whether she felt that people should be given the choice of whether they eat GM food or not, Janet Bainbridge, chair of the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes, replied that we should not because “most people don’t even know what a gene is.” She added: “Sometimes my young son wants to cross the road when it’s dangerous. Sometimes you just have to tell people what’s best for them.”

The European Commission has set up the “European Federation of Biotechnology Task Group on Public Perceptions on Biotechnology” to promote the “public understanding of biotechnology”.

EuropaBio, a consortium of all the biotechnology companies with interests in Europe, was taken by surprise at the resistance in Europe and sought the advice of Burson Marsteller, past masters in crisis management. (Previous clients included Exxon after the Exxon Valdez oil spill and Union Carbide after the explosion of their chemical plant in Bhopal.) EuropaBio was advised that “Public issues of environmental and human health risk are communications killing fields for bioindustries in Europe – all the research evidence confirms that the perception of the profit motive fatally undermines industry’s credibility on these questions . . .” Marsteller told them to refrain from participating in any public debate and leave it to “those charged with public trust, politicians and regulators, to assure the public that biotech products are safe.”

Once released, genetically engineered organisms become part of our ecosystem. Unlike some other forms of pollution which can be contained or which may decrease over time, any mistakes we make now will be passed on to all future generations of life. With governments capitulating to commercial interests, it is up to citizens to respond.

If you are still confused, here is a new book to check out:

Genetically Modified Food: A Short Guide for the Confused
Andy Rees
Published 9th October 2006

Reviews:

‘Rees unmasks the biotech industry’s horrific tactics in their race to take over our food supply and the devastation that their GM crops will inflict if we don’t act quickly.’ Jeffrey M. Smith, best-selling author Seeds of Deception

‘Gives a great boost to all public-spirited citizens who want to get their facts straight. …Highly recommended!’ Dr Arpad Pusztai, the world’s leading expert on plant lectins

Is the food on our shelves free of genetically engineered ingredients?

- In the US, although they may not know it, most people already eat genetically modified food.

- Since the introduction of GM foods seven years ago, food-derived illnesses in the US have doubled.

- In the UK foods are contaminated with GM material through the 1 million tonnes of GM maize and soy used to feed livestock.

So far the major corporations have met resistance in Europe but their worldwide influence is huge – and grows all the time. GM foods are increasingly prevalent despite NEVER having been tested on humans.

Are genetically modified crops dangerous to the environment and to our bodies? In this brilliantly readable guide Andy Rees provides the answers.

Andy Rees is the author of The Pocket Green Book: The Environmental Crisis in a Nutshell (1991) and former editor of GM Watch’s Weekly Watch.

For further information contact
Helen Griffiths on heleng@plutobooks.com

http://www.organicconsumers.org/2006/article_1860.cfm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_organisms

Waning Quarter Moon in Gemini 2006

Podcast For Peace — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 11:16:11 +0000

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On the Turning Away

andrei — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 04:51:47 +0000

I confess that today I turned away from the date, form the hard look down a narrow steel tube leading back to this day 5 years ago. I buried myself in work. The work of building a company, of building a family and if I am honest with myself a life centered on bringing these communities beyond survival and into prosperity. I know it is a divided world and that there is suffering and pain, war and struggle throughout this world we share and still it seemed like the right thing to do today.

Strangely, I feel less like defending it and more like reflecting on it. Itâ€™s the end of the day now. Itâ€™s a late night at the office â€“ we have had a big push lately and there are 6 of us here. We just ate Chinese food and joked with each other and the most serious discussion was a critique of a video game. It has been a stressful day, and I say that knowing how ridiculous it sounds in the light of what so many have been looking at today.

â€œOn the turning away
From the pale and troubled
And the words they say
Which we wont understand
Donâ€™t accept that whatâ€™s happening
Is just a case of others suffering
Or youâ€™ll find that youâ€™re joining in
The turning awayâ€

This morning on the way to work, 9/11 crept in on the radio, and I squabbled with myself as to whether I would listen to reruns of the George Wâ€™s speech later in the day. I didnâ€™t think I wanted to listen to the same ridiculous rhetoric again. Somehow it all feels so wasted and so late. Like history should have seen a turning towards the light â€“ towards coming together as a planet to stand as a larger presence against a very small minority of extremists. But somehow the extremists on the other end of the bell curve got hold of this planets neck and started squeezing. Next on the radio was an announcement that thousands of New Orleans houses whose owners â€œcould not be locatedâ€ were to be knocked down. My mind fell back to the recent conflict in Lebanon and a picture I saw of a 6 year old Israeli girl kissing a bomb that said â€œFrom Israel with Loveâ€. Somewhere in Lebanon there were bombs heading towards that little girl.

â€Its a sin that somehow
Light is changing to shadow
And casting its shroud
Over all we have known
Unaware how the ranks have grown
Driven on by a heart of stone
We could find that weâ€™re all alone
In the dream of the proudâ€

There is something hypnotic about the droning vibration of this shadowy form that has taken over our hearts â€“ maybe it is not the shadow but the sound of so many of us turning away. A giant grinding tension as the divine spark within us calls out to look and the oppressiveness of the situation torques us towards pretense â€“ away from the dirt and blood and tragedy.

But in the end of the day, the steel corridor â€“ reminiscent of the shape of an airplane cabin pulls my two eyes upward shooting two streams of intention towards the heavens. Then I come back inside, and I begin to write. To try and find my voice amidst the tensions, the shadows and amidst the work of dayt hat has already been too long. Praying this voice will strike some resonance in another heart or mind â€“ reaching out to youâ€¦

â€On the wings of the night
As the daytime is stirring
Where the speechless unite
In a silent accord
Using words you will find are strange
And mesmerized as they light the flame
Feel the new wind of change
On the wings of the nightâ€

My child is coming into this world and the years of abstract â€œmake the world a better placeâ€ finds a home of flesh and blood. Meaning, purpose, these echoes turn past the comfort of intention into action and my fingers find their rhythm. I see how much more important the action of a day is â€“ even in noticing what we must do. A simple turn back towards the light of the real â€“ though it glares or bites â€“ its true pleasure and blessing is in embracing the responsibility to what we are born into. Comfort is only comfort and pain is only pain â€“ living truth, goodness and beauty is an act of daily commitment to what we are part of. It is a deep breath before becoming selfish. It is a patient moment stepping into anotherâ€™s shoes. It is taking a moment and seeing the connections and facing what those connections demand of us.

â€No more turning away
From the weak and the weary
No more turning away
From the coldness inside
Just a world that we all must share
Its not enough just to stand and stare
Is it only a dream that thereâ€™ll be
No more turning away?â€

Tonight as I drive home I will dream of my child. I will pray that I have the ability to look into tomorrow with the conviction of the dreamer – to find in my day the courage to behave responsibly. To exit gluttony or indifference, to shed ego and desire â€“ being open to my place and performance. To remember that my name is only the beginning of a sentence â€“ the rest to be written with my life and what I turn it towards.

On this difficult evening in a difficult time I wish you and your communities a growing accord. I find inspiration in the fact that I have people to send these words to. It means a dream is still there and that we are a part of dreaming it together. Peace, Love and Good Things my friends.

On the Turning Away by Pink Floyd

Think.

eyeseetruth — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 18:44:25 +0000

Several days ago I saw a bumper sticker on a car that read “Jeb Bush 2008″.

Today I read this…

http://www.kwwl.com/Global/story.asp?S=5379738&nav=2Ifu

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/politics/4172759.html

-est

Full Moon in Pisces 2006 (Eclipse)

Podcast For Peace — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 18:54:00 +0000

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Waxing Quarter Moon in Sagittarius 2006

Podcast For Peace — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 22:58:34 +0000

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New Moon in Virgo 2006

Podcast For Peace — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 19:11:22 +0000

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Marina V for Guardian Angel

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~Suenos~

chrisybug — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 00:56:37 +0000

Semanas semejante suenos
Mi corazon es el mar
Salio con un murmuello
Tranquillo y contento

Y a veces soy una tempestad
Marco el compas con mis ondas
Yo soy nunca resposado
Yo soy nunca durmiente

Semejante suenos
Soy siempre alli
Mi risa es el chaparron que alimenta el mar

Soy un espejo
Brillo con el sol
Y en la noche
Creo estrellas sin suma

Although I have been writing poetry since childhood, this is the first time I have ever written in Spanish…what follows is a translation.

~Dreams~

Weeks like dreams
My heart is the sea
I rise with a murmur
Quiet and content

And at times
I am a tempest
Beating time with my waves
I am never quiet
I am never still

Like dreams
I am always there
My laughter is the downpour that feeds the sea

I am a mirror
I glisten with the sun
And in the night
Create innumerable stars

Waning Quarter Moon in Taurus 2006

Podcast For Peace — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 01:52:24 +0000

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TTC and Why it Will Make You CRAZY!!

veronika — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 18:16:33 +0000

For most of my life I’ve known I wanted to be a mother. There was a brief period when I was in my teens where I was very depressed all the time, and thought I’d never want the responsibility of bringing someone into the world that could possibly depressed as I was, and I nixed the kids idea. I think that lasted like 4 years.

I met my husband a mere 2 weeks after terminating an unwanted pregnancy. I was 25, and the father had dumped me the day before I found out I was pregnant, though I had already suspected I was.

That time, it was so easy to get pregnant (naturally because it was unintended). Back then I had perfectly, obscenely normal 28 day cycles. I had just read that you can expect to ovulate about 14 days after you have your period. The night I had sex (April Fool’s Day, no less), I was thinking, “I’m ovulating right now, I hope he pulls out like he usually does.” At which point he whispered, “I want to cum inside you.” While he was cumming inside of me. Damn.

I never regretted my decision to have an abortion. That is, I never regretted it until I desperately wanted a baby.

As I said, I met my husband two weeks after having an abortion. I was 30 days pregnant when I aborted.

3 years later, my husband proposed, and a year after that we were married. I was ready to have a baby, however, my younger husband was not.

It was so weird. Having a baby was suddenly a compulsion. I *had* to have one. I knew my husband didn’t want one yet, so instead of just talking about him, I signed myself up for all sorts of baby mailing lists hoping that the baby mail would get him thinking about a family.

This had disasterous results. He blamed my best friend for doing it, and was pissed, thinking it was done maliciously. He was too angry for me to come clean about it.

A few months after our first wedding anniversary, I turned 30, and had a mini nervous breakdown/not quite midlife, midlife crisis. I couldn’t believe I was 30, and I didn’t have kids, or own a house. I took it out on my husband. We nearly divorced.

We went to counseling and got our relationship back on track. I was again obsessed with having a baby. My husband wasn’t ready.

Our second anniversary came and went, and I was nearly freaking out. A woman’s biological clock is a strange thing. My desire for a baby was almost physical. It was a physical need. I couldn’t stop thinking about. I had to have one. I needed one. I couldn’t get my husband to understand. He told me he could never empathize with me. He just didn’t get it.

It’s a terrifying feeling. I needed a baby. It was overwhelming.

I started reading baby magazines, and joined a forum for moms, women trying to conceive, and expectant mothers. I became part of the community. I made allies that couldn’t believe how selfish my husband was being.

I became worried. I had poly-cystic ovary syndrome and a thyroid condition (both can cause fertility problems). I was over 30 (another strike against me). I started learning the acronyms:

BD = Baby Dancing = sex
DTD = Do the Deed = sex
AF = Aunt Fl0w = your period
POAS = Pee on a Stick = take a pregnancy test
TTC = Trying to Conceive
PCOS = Poly-Cystic Ovary Syndrome
EWCM = Extra Wet Cervical Mucus
BBT = Basal Body Temperature
O = Ovulate
HPT = Home Pregnancy Test
OPK = Ovulation Prediction Kit

I was suddenly aware that there was so much more to know about making a baby. Ovulation doesn’t always happen 2 weeks after your period. I quit birth control after almost 6 years of taking it, and suddenly my cycles were 26 days apart instead of 28 days.

Holy crap, I could ovulate any time, how would I know??

Well, I could start taking my temperature every morning at the same time, and using a handy online tool, it could track my body temperature, and a dip in temperature (a dip of like .2 to .4 degrees mind you), could indicate I was about to ovulate)!! I could try to keep track of me EWCM. I could use an ovulation prediction test! Oh my god, there was so much to do.

Finally, after a lot of fighting with my DH (that’s darling husband to those in the know), we came to an agreement. We could start TTC in August. There was only one problem. He was going on a road trip to San Francisco the weekend I was supposed to be ovulating!!!

I was terrified I was going to ovulate while he was gone. I went out and bought an OPK. I peed on it, and nothing. Holy crap, have I ovulated already?? I consulted the message board. I was told that women with PCOS have a hard time with OPKs. Shit. I tried the next day. Nothing! I didn’t think I’d O’d I didn’t have any EWCM, and I always have EWCM for about 2 days each cycle.

My DH came home the next day. I jumped him. I jumped him the following day, too. I’m going to jump him tonight, too, because you can never be too careful about BDing, you need to DTD lots around the time you O, or you’re just not going to get pregnant.

I’ve decided to send the OPKs to someone on the message board. I think stressing about them is bad for my health. I’ve also decided to not start measuring my BBT. Putting a thermometer in my mouth at 5:45am doesn’t sound too appealing to me.

I’m basically going to try to take a deep breath, and let nature do it’s thing. Explaining that to my biological clock is a different story.

Full Moon in Aquarius 2006

Podcast For Peace — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 10:55:08 +0000

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Waxing Quarter Moon in Scorpio 2006

Podcast For Peace — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 08:47:06 +0000

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Lebanon/Israel

shelby — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 15:43:18 +0000

Here’s a great blog of one person’s account that I found while surfing this morning:

http://cedarseed.livejournal.com/

Thought you might find it interesting, as I did.

New Moon in Leo 2006

Podcast For Peace — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 04:32:46 +0000

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Waning Quarter Moon in Aries 2006

Podcast For Peace — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 19:14:14 +0000

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Go to Venezuela, You Idiot!

tao — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 19:14:05 +0000

Published on Thursday, July 6, 2006 by CommonDreams.org
Written by Jeff Cohen

I don’t usually take the advice of rightwingers. But I did this time. After receiving inflamed email messages from dozens of angry rightists that I should get the hell out of the USA and go to Venezuela, I accepted their challenge and flew to Caracas.

“Would you like me to start a fund to ship your ass down there, Comrade Cohen?”

What had provoked the often-abusive emailers was my 2005 Internet column urging U.S. residents to buy their gasoline at Citgo, a subsidiary of Venezuela’s state oil company. I called for a Citgo BUY-cott, to protest Bush’s interventionist foreign policy while supporting innovative anti-poverty programs in Venezuela. (Last winter, Citgo started a program that provided discounted home-heating oil to low-income families in the U.S.)

“Hey moron, if you hate America so much and love Venezuela, why don’t you go there?”

I’m glad I listened to the conservative chorus. In late June, I headed to Venezuela with a fact-finding delegation sponsored by the respected U.S. human rights group, Witness for Peace. The grueling trip covered much ground and all sides of Venezuela’s social/political landscape. It is a complex country, headed by sometimes volatile President Hugo Chavez, a leftist and harsh Bush critic who was first elected in 1998.

As soon as I returned home, I headed to the nearest Citgo to fill up my tank — more committed than ever to send a few dollars toward Venezuela’s poor.

“You, sir, are as un-American as they come.”

For decades, Venezuela’s vast oil wealth had been squandered and hoarded by its light-skinned elite, while most Venezuelans — largely of indigenous, African and mixed descent — lived in dire poverty. Today, oil revenue from Citgo and elsewhere is funneled into social programs (called “missions”) to benefit the country’s poor majority. They’re reminiscent of FDR’s New Deal programs. . .born of our economic bust. But Venezuela’s missions are fueled by a boom — a boom in oil prices that is likely to persist for years.

“Because of Chavez, communism is thriving in South America.”

From what I could see, capitalism is thriving. Foreign oil interests continue to profit handsomely from Venezuelan petrol, but they now pay a fairer share of taxes and royalties. So do the 80 McDonald’s restaurants in Venezuela, which were briefly shut down last year over alleged tax cheating.

Multinational companies and the old elite are doing fine in today’s Venezuela. So well that some Venezuelan leftists denounce Chavez — despite his talk of building “21st century socialism” — as a tool of corporate imperialism.

Like other oil-exporting countries, Venezuela in the past allowed its domestic productive economy to atrophy. Besides oil, it produced little — with food largely imported. Today, people in poor areas are organizing themselves into productive and agricultural co-ops, supported by low-interest government loans. We visited a federal bank that underwrites women-run businesses nationwide.

My guess is that if Chavez succeeds in Venezuela — a big “if” in a country of endemic corruption, poverty and crime, in the backyard of the U.S. superpower — its economic system will end up looking more like Sweden than Cuba.

What’s not debatable is that the poor have found hope in the Chavez administration — which is why he’s perhaps the most popular president in our hemisphere. So popular that Chavez critics in the U.S. government and Venezuelan opposition concede that they won’t be able to defeat him in December when he seeks reelection.

“The trouble with all you liberals is that you’re anti-American and hate democracy.”

Participation in democracy is booming in Venezuela under Chavez. That’s partly due to polarization, but also because so many poor people feel empowered enough for the first time to get active in politics. A massive 2005 Latinobarometro poll conducted in 18 Latin American countries showed that Venezuelans are among the top in preference for democracy over all other forms of government, in satisfaction with how their democracy is functioning, and in belief that their country is “totally democratic.”

“The oil money never gets to the poor. . . . You must have been paid by Chavez to write what you wrote.”

Across Venezuela, it’s hard to miss the new investment in public education. Schools are being upgraded in urban and rural areas and are required to offer free breakfasts and lunches, arts, music and after-school activities. Unlike the U.S., these are well-funded mandates. Illiteracy has been virtually wiped out, according to UNESCO, thanks to adult education that has penetrated the poorest neighborhoods.

In poor communities, federally-subsidized stores called “mercals” sell food at half the market price. In the capital of Caracas, thousands of government-funded soup kitchens offer free lunches every weekday to the indigent; our delegation was headquartered in a church that served 150 free lunches per day. Across the country, new housing is being built to replace shantytown “ranchos” that so many Venezuelans live in.

Thousands of free (“Barrio Adentro”) medical clinics have been built inside neighborhoods that never had doctors before — so many clinics that you can spot them from the highway. These are staffed largely by doctors from Cuba; in return, Cuba receives Venezuelan oil. When we asked a community leader how local residents reacted to the Cuban doctors, he explained that most Venezuelan doctors won’t serve in poor barrios: “People in our community don’t care whether the doctors are French, German, Canadian, Mexican or Cuban — as long as they’re here to help.”

“Go to Venezuela and kiss up to the anti-American dictator.”

If Venezuela is a dictatorship, it must be the first in world history in which the opposition controls most of the media. And the first in which demonstrations occur regularly outside the presidential palace (organized by various groups, especially low-income activists complaining about broken promises and government inefficiency).

Dissent is alive and well in Venezuela. Any casual viewer can see anti-Chavez criticism all over TV, the country’s dominant medium and largely in the hands of conservative business interests. The opposition used its power on TV to support a short-lived military coup in 2002 (strike 1), an employers’ oil lockout in 2002-3 (strike 2) and a failed recall election in 2004 (strike 3). Chavez won nearly 60% in the recall vote — which was monitored closely by international observers.

Efforts to bring down Chavez — through democratic and undemocratic means — have been supported by the Bush administration. Which makes it ironic that the American Family Association, a U.S. religious ultra-right group, has organized a Citgo boycott on the basis of its Internet hoax: “Venezuela Dictator Vows to Bring Down U.S. Government.” The headline tends to reverse reality; Chavez has made no such vow. But AFA true believers have targeted my email inbox for months with the hoax.

“Try Jesus. If you don’t like Him, the devil will always take you back.. . . .What terrorist group are you affiliated with?”

If you think the U.S. is politically polarized, you haven’t been to Venezuela. Clinton’s impeachment by the religious right over sex is child’s play compared to what’s gone on in Venezuela, where Chavez has survived near-death experiences at the hands of a conservative opposition that has never accepted his presidency.

Columnist Paul Krugman talks of a “New Class War” in our country. In Venezuela, it’s old-fashioned class war. Political and media confrontation between Chavez and the opposition is vicious, personal and bare-knuckled. While independent human rights monitors in Venezuela complain about isolated cases of government intimidation of opposition figures and journalists, they scoff at claims that democracy is in jeopardy or that dictatorship is coming.

Today, Chavez is popular (his approval ratings dwarf Bush’s), rambunctious in whipping up his base against both domestic opponents and Bush, and prone to hyperbole in his hours of extemporaneous speaking each day. He has waged a war of words against U.S. Empire and Bush, whom he calls “Mr. Danger.” But that’s polite in light of Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld having compared Chavez to Adolph Hitler. Or Rev. Pat Robertson having called for Chavez to be assassinated.

“You can write your articles about how great he [Chavez] is, but I know, as well as other true Americans, that he is not a good man and he does need to be taken out of power as soon as possible.”

To me, the issue is less about Chavez than about the social initiatives his government has unleashed. When I first wrote about Venezuela 14 months ago, I urged a simple economic action: filling up at Citgo so that our money at the pump helps Venezuela’s poor instead of Middle East oiligarchs. That remains a good idea.

Nowadays, I also urge political action: that we contact Congress to demand that the U.S. stay out of Venezuela’s political contest. That’s up to Venezuelans to decide. Not us. The U.S. should stop its efforts to back the conservative opposition and cease all (“National Endowment for Democracy”) funding of Venezuelan groups.

And finally, I want to join my rightwing critics in one recommendation: Go to Venezuela. If you can arrange it, examine the social transformations for yourself. Study Spanish there. See the decades of poverty, neglect and corruption that led to the election of Hugo Chavez — and whether his government is improving things.

There’s an added bonus for anyone who can get down there: gasoline at 18 cents per gallon. Expect to hear Venezuelans complaining that the price is too high.

Jeff Cohen is a media critic and former TV pundit. His newest book, “Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media,” can be pre-ordered at http://jeffcohen.org/.

Full Moon in Capricorn 2006

Podcast For Peace — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 02:02:11 +0000

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Podcast for Peace wants to thank for their contributions:

The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

The Freedom People for Peace Around the World

David Henderson for Make it Go Away

Anne Davis for Where the Roads Cross

Steve Parsons for Movin On

Fumitaka Anzai for Kyrie Eleison

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Waxing Quarter Moon in Libra 2006

Podcast For Peace — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 16:38:15 +0000

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Shownotes 046

Podcast for Peace wants to thank for their contributions:

The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

The Butterfly Catchers for Wake Up

Sean Wiggins for Mercury in Retrograde

David Henderson for Make it Go Away

Amy Ayres for A Little Time

Kevin Reeves for Peace (Premaster)

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Poem by Sinan Antoon

tao — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 02:04:03 +0000

A Prism; Wet With Wars
Sinan Antoon

this is the chapter of
devastation
this is our oasis
an angle where wars intersect
tyrants accumulate around our eyes
in the shackle’s verandah
there is enough space for applause
let us applaud
another evening climbs
the city’s candles
technological hoofs crush the night
a people is being slaughtered across short waves
but the radio vomits raw statements
and urges us to
applaud
with a skeleton of a burning umbrella
we receive this rain
a god sleeps on our flag
but the horizon is prophetless
maybe they will come if we
applaud
let us applaud
we will baptize our infants with smoke
plough their tongues
with flagrant war songs
or UN resolutions
teach them the bray of slogans
and leave them beside burning nipples
in an imminent wreckage
and applaud
before we weave an autumn for tyrants
we must cross this galaxy of barbed wires
and keep on repeating
HAPPY NEW WAR!

Mar. 1991, Baghdad

Sinan Antoon – About Baghdad

Seven Poems – Sinan Antoon

Wrastle

chrisybug — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 05:01:43 +0000

Is the moon out tonight
Will she be peeking
Through the wisps of Summer’s fog
Watching me
As tears slip
And glitter as they fall
Is the moon out tonight
Or is she sleeping
Not aware in her bed of stars
Wake and watch me!
I’m not dreaming
Far now from where you are
I am like a tireless child
With her night clothes
Tangled tight
The more that the time goes ticking
The more I wrastle, the more I fight
Ends up I am fighting no one
But the ideas in my mind
False and true, I know no difference
Without the moonlight, I am blind
After many nights of longing
To put these tears to bed
To tuck them in with comfort, sweetness
In hopes to allow my heart to mend
I find that I am simply brittle
Like stretched and hardened rubber band
All at once, what I hold onto
Falls apart within my hand
Is the moon out tonight
Or was I dreaming
Something watched me from afar
I lay my head down
Wish for darkness
Into this darkness I now fall

New Moon in Cancer 2006

Podcast For Peace — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 16:06:49 +0000

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The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Hungry Lucy for In The Circle

Miggs for Perfect

Dejie Johnson for What a Wonderful World

Amy Ayres for Movin On

Candy Butchers for Give Me A Second Chance for Christmas

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Comments

Administrator — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 06:13:19 +0000

Our apologies in the delay for posting comments. Due to the number of spam (many of them quite disgusting) we are moving to a moderated comment approach. This means that before your comment goes live it must be approved by the admin. Said admin was traveling this last week and had limitted access to the web - hence the delay. Much apologies. Thanks for your indulgence. Drop me a line if you encounter any delays in the future.

YOUR PRIVACY – DELIVERED TO THE NSA

tao — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 18:29:21 +0000

AT&T rewrites rules: Your data isn’t yours
David Lazarus

San Francisco Chronicle
Wednesday, June 21, 2006

AT&T has issued an updated privacy policy that takes effect Friday. The changes are significant because they appear to give the telecom giant more latitude when it comes to sharing customers’ personal data with government officials.

The new policy says that AT&T — not customers — owns customers’ confidential info and can use it “to protect its legitimate business interests, safeguard others, or respond to legal process.”

The policy also indicates that AT&T will track the viewing habits of customers of its new video service — something that cable and satellite providers are prohibited from doing.

Moreover, AT&T (formerly known as SBC) is requiring customers to agree to its updated privacy policy as a condition for service — a new move that legal experts say will reduce customers’ recourse for any future data sharing with government authorities or others.

The company’s policy overhaul follows recent reports that AT&T was one of several leading telecom providers that allowed the National Security Agency warrantless access to its voice and data networks as part of the Bush administration’s war on terror.

“They’re obviously trying to avoid a hornet’s nest of consumer-protection lawsuits,” said Chris Hoofnagle, a San Francisco privacy consultant and former senior counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

“They’ve written this new policy so broadly that they’ve given themselves maximum flexibility when it comes to disclosing customers’ records,” he said.

AT&T is being sued by San Francisco’s Electronic Frontier Foundation for allegedly allowing the NSA to tap into the company’s data network, providing warrantless access to customers’ e-mails and Web browsing.

AT&T is also believed to have participated in President Bush’s acknowledged domestic spying program, in which the NSA was given warrantless access to U.S. citizens’ phone calls.

AT&T said in a statement last month that it “has a long history of vigorously protecting customer privacy” and that “our customers expect, deserve and receive nothing less than our fullest commitment to their privacy.”

But the company also asserted that it has “an obligation to assist law enforcement and other government agencies responsible for protecting the public welfare, whether it be an individual or the security interests of the entire nation.”

Under its former privacy policy, introduced in September 2004, AT&T said it might use customer’s data “to respond to subpoenas, court orders or other legal process, to the extent required and/or permitted by law.”

The new version, which is specifically for Internet and video customers, is much more explicit about the company’s right to cooperate with government agencies in any security-related matters — and AT&T’s belief that customers’ data belongs to the company, not customers.

“While your account information may be personal to you, these records constitute business records that are owned by AT&T,” the new policy declares. “As such, AT&T may disclose such records to protect its legitimate business interests, safeguard others, or respond to legal process.”

It says the company “may disclose your information in response to subpoenas, court orders, or other legal process,” omitting the earlier language about such processes being “required and/or permitted by law.”

The new policy states that AT&T “may also use your information in order to investigate, prevent or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud (or) situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person” — conditions that would appear to embrace any terror-related circumstance.

Ray Everett-Church, a Silicon Valley privacy consultant, said it seems clear that AT&T has substantially modified its privacy policy in light of revelations about the government’s domestic spying program.

“It’s obvious that they are trying to stretch their blanket pretty tightly to cover as many exposed bits as possible,” he said.

Gail Hillebrand, a staff attorney at Consumers Union in San Francisco, said the declaration that AT&T owns customers’ data represents the most significant departure from the company’s previous policy.

“It creates the impression that they can do whatever they want,” she said. “This is the real heart of AT&T’s new policy and is a pretty fundamental difference from how most customers probably see things.”

John Britton, an AT&T spokesman, denied that the updated privacy policy marks a shift in the company’s approach to customers’ info.

“We don’t see this as anything new,” he said. “Our goal was to make the policy easier to read and easier for customers to understand.”

He acknowledged that there was no explicit requirement in the past that customers accept the privacy policy as a condition for service. And he acknowledged that the 2004 policy said nothing about customers’ data being owned by AT&T.

But Britton insisted that these elements essentially could be found between the lines of the former policy.

“There were many things that were implied in the last policy.” He said. “We’re just clarifying the last policy.”

AT&T’s new privacy policy is the first to include the company’s video service. AT&T says it’s spending $4.6 billion to roll out TV programming to 19 million homes nationwide.

The policy refers to two AT&T video services — Homezone and U-verse. Homezone is AT&T’s satellite TV service, offered in conjunction with Dish Network, and U-verse is the new cablelike video service delivered over phone lines.

In a section on “usage information,” the privacy policy says AT&T will collect “information about viewing, game, recording and other navigation choices that you and those in your household make when using Homezone or AT&T U-verse TV Services.”

The Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 stipulates that cable and satellite companies can’t collect or disclose information about customers’ viewing habits.

The law is silent on video services offered by phone companies via the Internet, basically because legislators never anticipated such technology would be available.

AT&T’s Britton said the 1984 law doesn’t apply to his company’s video service because AT&T isn’t a cable provider. “We are not building a cable TV network,” he said. “We’re building an Internet protocol television network.”

But Andrew Johnson, a spokesman for cable heavyweight Comcast, disputed this perspective.

“Video is video is video,” he said. “If you’re delivering programming over a telecommunications network to a TV set, all rules need to be the same.”

AT&T’s new and former privacy policies both state that “conducting business ethically and ensuring privacy is critical to maintaining the public’s trust and achieving success in a dynamic and competitive business climate.”

Both also state that “privacy responsibility” extends “to the privacy of conversations and to the flow of information in data form.” As such, both say that “the trust of our customers necessitates vigilant, responsible privacy protections.”

The 2004 policy, though, went one step further. It said AT&T realizes “that privacy is an important issue for our customers and members.”

The new policy makes no such acknowledgment.

David Lazarus’ column appears Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Send tips or feedback to dlazarus@sfchronicle.com.

Inconvenient Truth

Sue — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 20:06:46 +0000

I just saw Al Gore’s new movie “Inconvenient Truth.” I think he is accomplishing much more as (as he put it) “the former next president” than he could have in the White House, bolstering his passionately held ecological arguments with good science. I learned a ton about global warming (yes, it does exist, big time!). This is a must-see. I would love to discuss what all of us are doing (or thinking about doing) to take a next step forward.

The Immigrant Problem

Donna — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 18:33:47 +0000

This information came my way via email originated by Tracylee Clarke, an Associate of Concur, Inc. in Berkely. I thought it would surely be of critical importance to the DS Community!

“Canada is busy sending back Bush-dodgers. The flood of American
liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the
past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal
immigration.

The unflinching arrogance of the Bush Administration is prompting the
exodus among liberal citizens who fear they’ll soon be required to hunt,
pray, and agree with Bill O’Reilly

Canadian border farmers say it’s not uncommon to see dozens of sociology
professors, animal-rights activists, and Unitarians crossing their
fields at night. “I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there
was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn,” said Manitoba farmer Red
Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota. The producer was cold,
exhausted and hungry. “He asked me if I could spare a latte and some
free-range chicken. When I said I didn’t have any, he left. Didn’t even
get a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?”

In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher
fences, but the liberals scaled them. So he tried installing speakers
that blare Rush Limbaugh across the fields. “Not real effective,” he
said. “The liberals still got through, and Rush annoyed the cows so much
they wouldn’t give milk”

Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals
near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons, drive
them across the border and leave them to fend for themselves. “A lot of
these people are not prepared for rugged conditions,” an Ontario border
patrolman said. “I found one carload without a drop of drinking water.
They did have a nice little Napa Valley cabernet, though.”

When liberals are caught, they’re sent back across the border, often
wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors
have been circulating about the Bush administration establishing
re-education camps in which liberals will be forced to drink domestic
beer and watch NASCAR.

Liberals have turned to sometimes-ingenious ways of crossing the border.
Some have taken to posing as senior citizens on bus trips to buy cheap
Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half-dozen young vegans
disguised in powdered wigs, Canadian immigration authorities began
stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizen passengers. “If
they can’t identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, we
get suspicious about their age,” an official said.

Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are
creating an organic-broccoli shortage and renting all the good Susan
Sarandon movies. “I feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian
economy just can’t support them,” an Ottawa resident said. “How many
art-history majors does one country need?”

In an effort to ease tensions between the United States and Canada, Vice
President Dick Cheney met with the Canadian ambassador and pledged that
the administration would take steps to reassure liberals, a source close
to Cheney said. “We’re going to have some Peter, Paul &Mary concerts.
And we might put some endangered species on postage stamps. The
president is determined to reach out.”
_______________________________________________________________________

Waning Quarter Moon in Pisces 2006

Podcast For Peace — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 14:08:32 +0000

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Shownotes 044

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The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Caplyn for Where Did It All Go Wrong.

Fred for Two Angels

Caplyn for Shine On.

Carrie Pettit for Dream On

Cheryl B. Engelhardt for Proof

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

reflections on my work as an artist and educator

laurence — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 21:06:18 +0000

I have been going through a period of reevaluating my work as an artist. This has been more than a matter of aesthetics, as it has ultimately been rooted in my questioning my role as an artist. More to the point, I find myself questioning what my social responsibility or function is as a painter. As an individual, I find myself feeling greater clarity in this realm, but as an artist, I am not so sure.

There was a time when I felt that the social relevance was only general and abstract. Perhaps it is because I am getting older, looking for greater meaning and value in my life; perhaps it is because the world has become smaller, faster and more volatile, thus demanding a greater level of social awareness and responsibility. Though I do not necessarily feel I am obliged to paint overtly and blatantly political images, I feel that what was enough, or right, before is no longer. Perhaps this will not even result in any visually apparent change in my work; perhaps it is a matter of perspective. I do not know.

* * *

I may have mentioned before that I work in a museum as an educator. It is not an art or a history museum, though it utilizes both to explore a variety of issues of social importance, including tolerance and diversity. One of the issues we explore with students is that of words and choices; in particular: responsibility for our choices and their impact on others.

In May a group of High School students visited the museum as part of a class trip from upstate NY. Though their brief visit had appeared to pass without incident, one member of this (not very heterogeneous) group apparently had something other than tolerance and diversity on his mind. There is an exhibit where students are invited to write kind, supportive and positive messages and leave them in a box. The messages left are visible through a clear plexi cover on the front. As I was doing a quick walk through the galleries as the students departed, a message on the top of the pile caught my attention. One student wrote â€œN*****â€ in large block letters. I was livid and had to speak briefly with one of the other museum educators to regain my composure. I then brought it to the attention of the group leader though I made sure a number of students could hear me address the situation with him. I was not at all impressed or encouraged by the teacherâ€™s response. His reaction was what I would expect from him finding out someone left gum on a chair. I spoke with my colleagues when they left. The entire education department was deeply hurt and saddened by the incident.

Feeling the situation was unresolved I sent an email to the principal, clearly outlining the incident and its effect. I closed my email with a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer: â€œNot to speak is to speak, not to act is to act.â€ I suggested to him that this is not a situation where we can remain silent. Over two weeks went by without any reply from him. Finally I called, leaving a message for him as he was in a meeting. When he called back 40 minutes later his first words made it clear his call was about spin and damage control. His apology was as brief and inauthentic as a form letter, and he then launched into a detailed and rehearsed explanation of, one: why he had not previously replied, and two: how and why the incident happened in the first place. He claimed the schoolâ€™s server had screened my original email as spam. Granted, that does happen, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt there. However, on the second point, I was neither convinced nor reassured. He explained that he spoke with the VP immediately upon their return from the trip. Their conclusion was that one of the Asian students misunderstood the purpose of the exhibit, mistaking it for another where cruel and hurtful words are shredded. I conceded that this error has been made in the past on occasion, but usually by one of our fourth grade visitors. I asked if had confirmed this by talking with the students, or if this was his assumption. He said it was just his assumption, but that he was sure it was true. I said that while I shared his hope that this was the case, without confirming this theory, the possibility remained that it was the result of a malicious and conscious act. Further, as it had gone entirely unaddressed and acknowledged by the teachers and faculty, the implicit message is that the culprit will not be accountable for his hateful actions. In fact, the silence of the faculty would suggest that on some level they are complicit.

I was deeply disappointed with this principalâ€™s lack of concern and action. As an adult, educator and community leader his role demands a greater level of responsibility than that, regardless of his personal views.

In so many ways our culture and our world seems to be spinning out of control. To not speak up and take whatever action our circumstances will allow us to is, at the very least, not acceptable, and in this case deplorable.

* * *
On a positive note, though things are progressing slowly, it seems hopeful that the documentary I wrote of in a previous post will move forward. We have had some great input, advice and support from a variety of people (including the Director of the documentary Paperclips). We are exploring the options for grants and funding now. If anyone has knowledge or experience in sources of funding for students pursuing service-learning projects through their academic institution or for filmmakers working with such a group, please let me know.

What to do? What to do?

Danny Boyle — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 18:19:06 +0000

For a moment there, it felt like a turn around. As if fascism, that hate that permeates American discourse, was taking it on the chin. The Enron trial ended in convictions, congressmen are being indicted, some are going to jail; lobbyist are lining up to tell all in hopes of reduced jail time. The promise of accountability was in the air. But in an instant of smoke and mirrors it’s gone. Lost to another time; again.

Carl Rove get’s off scott free. Not that it wasn’t expected, in the end he would have been pardoned. After all, he was working for the Imperial President. A president that puts himself above the law and those checks and balances refuse to check or balance. A president that starts a war to evoke presidential war powers and becomes the antithesis of the Constitutional Presidency.

And the most disheartening fact of all: that most likely he was not elected at all, and the elections were likely stolen in a series illegal activities by elected government officials. I feel the need to repeat that, a series of illegal activities by elected government officials. Let me translate that: corrupt government officials can get themselves re-elected. And by definition means: we may never get rid of them.

If we can not uphold free and fair elections we will become Orwell’s nightmare.

Even more so than we have experienced, so far.

At a loss, please tell; what to do?

Rescue NPR and PBS from the House Republicans

eyeseetruth — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 20:39:27 +0000

Confirmed via: http://www.snopes.com/politics/arts/pbs2006.asp

from moveon.org :

Everyone expected House Republicans to give up efforts to kill NPR and
PBS after a massive public outcry stopped them last year. But they’ve
just voted to eliminate funding for NPR and PBS — unbelievably,
starting with programs like “Sesame Street.”

Public broadcasting would lose nearly a quarter of its federal funding
this year. Even worse, all funding would be eliminated in two
years–threatening one of the last remaining sources of watchdog journalism.

Sign the petition telling Congress to save NPR and PBS again this year:

http://civic.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/

Last year, millions of us took action to save NPR and PBS, and Congress
listened. We can do it again if enough of us sign the petition in time.

This would be the most severe cut in the history of public broadcasting.
The Boston Globe reports the cuts “could force the elimination of some
popular PBS and NPR programs.” NPR’s president expects rural public
radio stations may be forced to shut down.

The House and Senate are deciding if public broadcasting will survive,
and they need to hear from viewers like you. Sign the petition at:

http://civic.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/

Thanks!

P.S. Read the Boston Globe story on the threat to NPR and PBS at:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1864

Full Moon In Sagittarius 2006

Podcast For Peace — Sun, 11 Jun 2006 18:04:15 +0000

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Shownotes 043

Podcast for Peace wants to thank for their contributions:

The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

David Henderson for Make it Go Away

Stillman for Weightless

Maeve OBoyle for DreamCatcher

Carrie Pettit for Dream On

Kevin Reeves for Shine

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Email to someone who said Reagan was responsible for the fall of the USSR

andrei — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 05:04:23 +0000

Hey there!

You asked a good question â€“ who do I think was responsible for the fall of soviet Russia. I believe that was the question, and I believe you stated that you felt that Regan was.

The first answer is I donâ€™t think any one person could be responsible for ending one of the most powerful revolutionary governments of history. There were many factors, but I did consider that a more pointed question must be â€œWhat person or persons were brave enough to take those first initial steps.â€

I recently heard an interview with â€œJames Carroll – one of Boston’s best-known writers – about his new book, “House of War: The Pentagon and the Disastrous Rise of American Power.” In it, Carroll examines the growth of the military industrial complex since World War II and his personal connection to the Pentagon.â€ On NPR. He was interviewed on another less mainstream program called Democracy Now http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/05/10/1345217 .

In this interview he was talking about how the US had made the mistake of confusing the very vicious state of Stalin with communism and that over time our paranoid fear of the communist boogie man had led us into unreasonable wars like Vietnam, it had caused us to repress certain public services because they were labeled communist or socialist, and it caused us to miss certain opportunities to notice that what we had a healthy fear of in a Stalin run Soviet Union was irrational and growingly paranoid when we had opportunities with the likes of Stalinâ€™s successor Khrushchev and later leaders but was finally realized with Gorbachev. He also makes some interesting points about how our paranoia about communism led us to fund such rebel groups as the Taliban and early elements of Al Qaeda simply because they opposed communism.

This made me consider the time of the Cuban missile crisis which I admit I am not very well studied on, but I was able to spend a little time in the last week thinking about it and reading up on it. I think that there was a moment both in the Cuban Missile Crisis and shortly after where the end of the â€œUSSRâ€ as a state we were paranoid about and believed was diabolical in nature and thus capable of the type of destruction that was attributed to the communist boogiemen.

In the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis Generals on both sides called for actions that would lead toward full scale nuclear war. But the two leaders of the US and USSR (Nikita Khrushchev and JFK) changed something in our collective attitude. They went to the edge of the nuclear holocaust and looked in and both took actions that brought us away from that edge. I believe that this was the act responsible for a different direction â€“ a direction towards world peace above the dominance of any one ideology.

On June 10th 1963 John F. Kennedy gave a commencement speech at American University in Washington DC. This speech is something you should read if you are concerned with this subject http://www.american.edu/media/speeches/Kennedy.htm . Khrushchev had this speech broadcast all over the USSR â€“ the first president broadcast on Soviet radio since the end of WWII and for sometime afterward.

So I have no doubt that Regan had his part as did Gorbachev. In this same period of time there was so much momentum culturally, politically and economically that I doubt one person could have held it back or pushed it further. Sting had a song called I hope the Russians love their children too, Scorpions sang one called the winds of change about cultural whispers of the end of the repressive soviet era for Moscow teens, Pink Floyd the Wall, etc. etc.

But if you asked me when this critical time found its tipping point I would say with Kennedy and Khrushchev, because even thought they were surrounded by people whispering war (even knowing the bloodiest outcomes that would happen) these two looked deeply enough into their own spirits and made a decision for peace.

For some interesting additional reading check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Missle_Crisis where i did some of my reading.

Anyhow â€“ hope this week is going better and at the very least I distracted you with my boring commentary.

Peace and Good Things,

Andrei

Household Toxin Alternatives

andrei — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 18:10:59 +0000

In a lot of my recent reading (you will encounter this when you read Paul Hawkenâ€™s book The Ecology of Commerce) I am coming to understand what a large part organo chlorines (bleach, chlorines used in whitening TP, printer paper, paper towels, product packaging, etc) are playing in the decline of living systems on our planet. In fact the EPA says that 50% of ALL ILLNESSES comes from toxins in the house â€“ of course these include other toxins but chlorine is a very common household toxin. I think we are ahead of the game at my house where we have a few tried and true recipes like our drain cleaner which is a blend of apple cider vinegar and baking soda. Whatâ€™s more is that recipes like this are more economical and safe to mix at home â€“ giving you the added enviro action of reusing the container (i.e. reducing the amount of spray bottles manufactured to support household cleaning needs â€“ even if you recycle the methods of production for these petrochemical containers are very toxic). Here is a list (from LA County Dept of Public Works May01) of some more recipes â€“ note in particular the disinfectant with Borax (which is a naturally occurring mineral) which seems to be a good sub for bleach in both laundry and disinfectant).
I have not tested these recipes nor worked with the stores listed as suppliers, so I can not endorse them all. A few of these recipes are similar to things we already use in the house and garden which makes me feel like this is a good list to start from in order to move away from the toxins that come in everyday household cleaners and products. Also I would caution you to really consider what you are doing when you are killing any part of your ecosystem – be it snail, ant or rat – all pests have a part to play in our ecosystems and while we are a part of the balancing force, we can also carelessly unbalance it (as humans are so good at doing) so think about the cycle you are part of and what the impacts of your actions will be. If you dont understand it, better to follow the Hippocratic oath – FIRST DO NO HARM.

KITCHEN

Spray Disinfectant Cleaner
Â½ cup borax
1 gallon hot water
Dissolve borax in hot water. Wipe down areas to be disinfected.

Abrasive Cleaner
Sprinkle baking soda or borax, add juice of Â½ lemon and scrub.

Brass/Copper Tarnish Remover
Salt
Flour
White vinegar
Mix together equal parts salt and flour, then add white vinegar to make a paste. Rub into the stain. Repeat if necessary.

Metal Cleaner
Fresh squeezed juice of 2 lemons
a cup baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt
6 tablespoons clay powder
Mix all ingredients together until pasty. Add water or more clay if needed. Rub paste onto metal with extremely fine steel wool and allow to sit for fifteen minutes. Wash off with a sponge and clear water. Polish metal with a soft cloth. Do not use on aluminum.

Silver Polish
Rub with paste of baking soda and water.
Glassware/Crystal Spot Removal
Dip spotted glassware into water to which a splash of vinegar has been added, dry with lint-free dishcloth.

Dishwasher Detergent
2 tablespoons baking soda
2 tablespoons borax
Mix baking soda and borax and put mixture in dishwasher.

Window Cleaner
Option 1:
Juice from one fresh lemon
2 cups water or club soda
Â½ teaspoon peppermint essential oil (optional)
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Mix all ingredients and pour into plastic spray bottle. Shake well.

Option 2:
8 parts water
1 part vinegar
Mix ingredients, scrub and wipe with newspaper.

Drain Cleaner/Opener
Â¼ cup vinegar
Â¼ cup baking soda
Mix ingredients and pour mixture down drain. Let stand for a few minutes and rinse with boiling water.

Oven Cleaner
Mix equal parts of castille soap, borax and water. Apply mixture, let set for 20 minutes. Scrub with mixture of baking soda and salt.

BATHROOM

Bathtub/Sink Stains
Scrub with paste made from cream of tartar and hydrogen peroxide.

Soap Film on Fiberglass Surface
Apply baking soda with damp cloth, rub and rinse off residue well.

Soap Film/Mildew on Shower Curtains
Pour full-strength vinegar on the shower curtain to remove soap film and mildew.

Shower-Door Track Cleaning
Pour full-strength vinegar into the track, let soak for a few minutes, rinse.

Toilet Lime Deposit Removal
Pour full strength white vinegar in the bowl, let sit for several hours. Scrub with sturdy brush.

Toilet Bowl Cleaner
Â½ teaspoon sodium lauryl sulfate
2 tablespoons baking soda
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon orange essential oil or 1 teaspoon grapefruit essential oil (optional)
2 cups water
Mix all ingredients. Vinegar and baking soda will foam when mixed. Let mixture stand for 10 minutes before pouring into a spray bottle.

FURNITURE POLISH

Lemon Scented Polish
1 teaspoon lemon oil
2 cups mineral oil
Mix and apply with soft cloth.

Dark Wood Polish
1 teaspoon olive oil
Juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon brandy or whiskey
1 teaspoon water
Mix and apply with soft cloth. Must be made fresh each time.

Unscented Polish
3 parts olive oil
1 part vinegar
Mix and apply with soft cloth.

Oak Furniture Polish
1 quart of beer
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons beeswax
Boil beer with sugar and beeswax. When cool, wipe mixture on wood, allow to dry and polish with soft cloth.

Heat Blemish/Scratch Remover
Rub in mayonnaise and wipe off. Buff with clean cloth.

Water Spot Treatment Polish
Toothpaste (not gel)
Baking soda
Pecan
Apply equal parts toothpaste and baking soda with a soft, damp cloth. Rinse out the cloth and wipe off any residue. When the finish is smooth, buff with a clean soft cloth. Restore color and shine by rubbing the spot with the meat of half a pecan, then buff.

PAINTS/REMOVERS

Enamel Paint Drips/Spill Remover
Wipe up spills and drips with a soft wet towel lathered with pumice soap (the sooner the better).

Removing Paint from Skin
Rub with mineral oil. Wash with soap and water.

Arts and Crafts Paint
Â½ cup cornstarch
2 cups cold water
Food coloring
Mix cornstarch and water in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to boil and continue to boil until it thickens. Let cool slightly. Pour into jars and color each with food coloring.

SPOT REMOVERS

All-purpose Spot Remover
Â¼ cup borax
2 cups cold water
Dissolve borax in cold water. Sponge it on and let it sit until dry. Wash with soap and water to completely remove spot. Works well on blood, chocolate, coffee, mildew, mud and urine.

Club Soda
Pour club soda on fresh spots and stains to remove wine and foods from clothing, carpets and linens.

Ink Spot Remover
Cream of tartar
Lemon juice
Warm water
Put cream of tartar on the stain and squeeze a few drops of lemon juice on top. Rub into the stain for a minute, brush off the powder with a clean brush and sponge immediately with warm water. Repeat if needed.

PETS

Pet Stains
Soak stained area in warm soapy water. Sponge with equal parts of water and white vinegar. Blot dry.

Flea Shampoo
2 cups boiling water
Â½ cup sodium lauryl sulfate
Â¼ cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons peppermint essential oil
Â½ cup plus 2 tablespoons rosemary essential oil
2 tablespoons white cedar essential oil
Â¼ cup citronella essential oil
2 tablespoons eucalyptus essential oil
Mix water and sodium lauryl sulfate together until completely dissolved. Cool. Mix vinegar and remaining ingredients and add to sodium lauryl sulfate mixture.

Flea Collar
2 tablespoons peppermint essential oil
Â½ cup plus 2 tablespoons rosemary essential oil
2 tablespoons white cedar essential oil
Â¼ cup citronella essential oil
2 tablespoons eucalyptus essential oil
Soak a natural fiber rope in mixture and let dry for several hours. Tie around petâ€™s neck.
Dog House Flea Repellant
Wash dog houses with salt water. Scatter fresh pine needles or cedar shavings under your petâ€™s sleeping pad. Keep bedding clean.

PEST REPELLANT
Mouse Repellant
Stuff all cracks around gas and water pipes with steel wool to keep mice out.

Ant Repellant
Sprinkle red chili powder, cream of tartar powder, salt or sage near ant infestations.

Roach Repellant
Place bay leaves in cracks around room.

Insecticide
Mix dishwashing liquid and water, spray infected area.

Moth Ball Alternative
Place cedar chips or blocks in desired area.

Anti-Insect Air Spritzer
2 cups vodka
1 tablespoon citronella essential oil
1 tablespoon eucalyptus essential oil
1 teaspoon geranium essential oil
1 teaspoon rosemary essential oil
1 teaspoon orange essential oil
1 teaspoon lemon essential oil
Mix all ingredients and shake well. Mist into air to keep bugs away.

Bug Repellant, Body
2 tablespoons citronella essential oil
2 tablespoons rosemary essential oil
2 tablespoons geranium essential oil
2 tablespoons eucalyptus essential oil
Â½ cup olive oil
Mix all oils together. Dab on clothing and skin. Avoid eyes and mouth.

GARDEN

Chili-Vinegar Spray for Fruit Trees
4 jalapenos, habaneros or other hot chiles, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic
1Â½ quarts water
2 oz. Beer
Â½ cup vinegar
Mix chopped chiles, garlic, water and beer. Cover and bring to a boil for 5 minutes, then let the mixture steep in the pot for 24 hours. Add the vinegar, strain well and pour into a sprayer. Spray leaves (but not blossoms). Will help keep birds away.

Aphids on Rose Bushes
Mulch banana peels into the soil at the base of the rose bushes. This will strengthen them and ward off disease-bearing aphids.

Cucumber Beetles
Make beetle traps from open cans or milk cartons baited with melon or other garden targets. Place the traps around the garden and check them early in the morning and discard.

Earwig Repellant
Option 1:
Make rolls out of newspaper, soak them in water then set them out overnight. First thing in the morning the rolls will be full earwigs. Put the rolls in a tightly sealed bag and out with the trash. Keep at this for a while and you will be rid of your problem.
Option 2:
Fill old tuna or petfood cans with Â½ inch of vegetable oil; place several cans around the infested area. When fulljust dump bodies in trash and refill.

Fungus and Mildew
1 bulb of garlic (about 20 cloves), chopped
1 quart of hot water
Place chopped garlic in the water and let steep for at least 24 hours. Strain and spray on plants to eliminate fungus and mildew.

Pest Spray
1 cup grated castile soap
1 cup coarsely chopped tobacco leaves, fresh or cured
3 cups boiling water, divided
1 entire bulb garlic, peeled and crushed or chopped
1 cup of chopped fresh tansy (optional)
In a bowl, dissolve soap in 1 cup boiling water and set aside. In a blender, pour remainder of boiling water over tobacco leaves and let set for ten minutes or so. Add garlic and tansy (if available) and whirl until smooth. Strain through cheesecloth and discard solid materials. Add herbal liquid soap to mixture and stir; pour into a spray bottle. To use, spray the herbal liquid on insects and their environs at early morning and dusk for three days in a row. Because this mix drives most bugs away, but does not kill them, apply as needed.

Deer Repellant for Fruit Trees
To repel deer, roll several pounds of soft, scented herbal soap into balls. Tie the balls into small bundles, using cloth or net and string. Hang several bundles from each fruit tree. The deer won’t come near the trees. As a bonus, rain will eventually melt the soap bundles and lend a bit of alkalinity to the soil below.

Snail Repellants
Bury a small bowl or can flush with the ground and fill it with beer to atract and trap snails.

Fertilize Naturally
Use compost to return needed bacteria, enzymes and nutrients to the soil. Include clover or other nitrogen-fixing plants in the lawn to make it self-fertilizing.

Dry Out Lawn Fungus
Dethatch; add soil bacteria and re-seed. Fungus grows only in wet, thatchy, overfertilized lawns.

Beneficial Bugs
Lady Bugs (Ladybird Beetles) â€“ eats Psyllids, aphids and eggs of the Colorado Potato Beetle.
Green Lacewings â€“ eats aphids, mites, mealybugs and other small insects.
Ground Beetles (Carabid Beetles) â€“ eats cutworms, grubs, root maggots and other soft-bodied pests.
Parasitic Wasps â€“ kills whiteflies, moths and Mexican bean beetles.

Beneficial Plants
Basil â€“ planted alongside tomato plants helps control tomato hornworms.
Thyme â€“ planted with cabbage helps control flea beetles, cabbage worm and white cabbage butterflies.
Marigold â€“ planted in vegetable gardens produces a scent that repels many garden pests.
Mint â€“ repels mosquitoes and produces an odor that aphids and cabbage pests dislike.
Garlic â€“ planted close to roses it can protect bushes from black spot, a fungus disease; can be grown in rings around a crop to repel aphids; spray garlic tea (see above) on plants to eliminate fungus and mildew.

BEAUTY PRODUCTS

Hair Dye Alternatives
Lighten hair:
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 gallon warm water
Rinse hair with mixture.

Red tones:
Rinse with strong tea of rosehips or cloves, or use strong black coffee.

Cover gray:
Â½ cup dried sage
2 cups water
Boil sage for thirty minutes, then steep for several hours. Apply tea to hair after it cools. Allow to dry, then rinse and dry hair again. Apply weekly until you have the shade you want and then monthly to maintain color.

Darken hair:
Rinse hair with a strong black tea or black coffee.
Hair Shampoo Alternatives

Everyday shampoo:
Castille bar soap
Water
Â¼ cup olive oil, almond oil or avocado oil
Â½ cup distilled water
Grate castille bar soap and mix it with water in a blender or food processor. Blend 1 cup of castille liquid with olive oil, avocado or almond oil and distilled water.

Dandruff remedy:
Wet hair and rub in a handful of dry baking soda, then rinse.

Hair Spray
1 chopped lemon (or 1 orange for dry hair)
2 cups pure hot water
1 ounce vodka
Place lemon and hot water in a pot, and boil until only half remains. Cool and strain. Place in a fine spray bottle and test on hair. If too sticky, add more water. Store in the refrigerator, or add 1 ounce vodka per cup of hair spray as a preservative (with vodka, hair spray may be stored unrefrigerated for up to two weeks).

Jewelry Cleaning
Rub a small amount of toothpaste on jewelry with finger, rinse well and polish with a soft cloth.

Skin Freshener/Soother
Add pulp-free aloe vera juice to water in a spray bottle and spritz arms, legs, back and face.

Skin Astringents
Option 1:
Lettuce leaves
Water
Boil green lettuce leaves for 10 minutes in enough water to cover. Let cool and strain.
Option 2:
Vodka
Strong chamomile or mint tea
Mix 1 part vodka with 9 parts strong chamomile or mint tea.
Option 3:
b (sic) cup pure water
2 tablespoons vodka
Â¾ cup borax
Combine ingredients in a blender until borax is dissolved.
Option 4:
Â¼ cup lemon juice
Â¼ cup lime juice
Â¼ cup pure water
c (sic) cup vodka
Blend ingredients. Strain to remove pulp.

Deodorant
Pat baking soda under arms after showering. Skin should be slightly damp, but not wet. If too abrasive, mix with cornstarch or white clay.

Talcum Powder
Use cornstarch, rice starch or oat flour on skin.

MISCELLANEOUS HOME MAINTENANCE
Homemade Glues
Option 1:
6 tablespoons gum arabic
1 cup water
Â½ cup plus 2 tablespoons natural glycerin
Dissolve gum arabic in water, add glycerin, and mix well. Apply to both surfaces with a toothpick or tongue depressor. Hold together for 5 minutes. Make fresh batch each time.
Option 2:
4 tablespoons wheat flour
6 tablespoons cold water
1 Â½ cups boiling water
Blend flour into enough cold water to make a smooth paste. Boil water and stir into flour mixture until mixture is translucent. Use when cold.
Option 3:
3 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons cold water
2 cups boiling water
Blend cornstarch and cold water to make a smooth paste. Stir paste into boiling water, continue to stir until mixture becomes translucent. Use when cold.

Air Freshener
Set potpourri or fresh oranges with cloves in a dish.

Car Wash Soap
3 cups grated castille soap
Â½ cup sodium lauryl sulfate
3 cups boiling water
1 tablespoon borax
1 tablespoon balsam fir essential oil (optional)
Dissolve castille soap and sodium lauryl sulfate in boiling water; add borax and essential oil and mix well.

Upholstery Cleaner and Rug Shampoo
4 cups water
1 cup white vinegar
3 tablespoons sodium lauryl sulfate
2 teaspoons baking soda
c (sic) teaspoon lavender essential oil (optional)
c (sic) teaspoon ginger essential oil (optional)
Mix all ingredients together and fill a handheld rug/upholstery shampoo bottle half full. Shake the bottle vigorously and shampoo furniture using small circular motions. Scrub sudsy area well.

Laundry Soap
Â¼ cup clay powder
2-3 tablespoons essential oil of choice (optional)
13 cups borax
12 cups baking soda
4 cups sodium lauryl sulfate
Mix clay powder and essential oil. Add remaining ingredients and mix well in a 2-3 gallon pail. Use c cup of laundry powder per load.

Spray Starch
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 pint cold water
Dissolve cornstarch in cold water. Pour mixture into a spray bottle and squirt to apply (shake before each use).

Carpet Deodorizer
Baking soda
Sprinkle baking soda liberally on area for treatment. Wait fifteen minutes or longer, then vacuum. Repeat if necessary. Carpet should be completely dry before application. Please note: several pounds of baking soda are needed for a nine-by-twelve-foot room.

Removing Grease Spots from Walls
Make a paste of baking soda and water. Apply thick paste to the grease stain and let it dry. Brush the residue off with a soft brush or cloth.

AUTOMOTIVE CARE

Windshield Cleaner
Club soda
Spray on the windshield and wipe dry. Not recommended for use in the vehicle’s windshield-spray reservoir because it could freeze.

Battery Cleaner (Removes built-up acid)
Baking soda
Water
Sprinkle baking soda onto battery terminals. Spritz with water to dampen. Let set for about one hour. Sponge off with water. Air dry.

Cleaning Polish (shiny, protective finish similar to wax)
Â½ cup flakes of grated hand soap
Â½ cup water
Â½ ounce beeswax
Â½ cup jojoba
Mix soap flakes and water in a bowl or jar and allow the soap to dissolve over night. Combine the beeswax and jojoba in a double boiler over medium heat until the wax is melted. Remove from the heat and add the soapy water. Mix with an electric hand mixer until creamy. Dab some onto a soft cloth, then buff to a shine with a soft cloth. Excess polish can be stored in a container for future use.

Vinyl Smell Reducer and Natural Engine Degreaser
Â¼ cup washing soda
1 gallon warm water
Dissolve washing soda in warm water. Saturate a sponge with the mixture and wash the vinyl or pour on engine areas that need degreasing. Rinse thoroughly. Excess should not be stored — discard all leftovers.

Leather Wash
Â¼ cup vodka
Â¼ cup distilled vinegar
3-4 drops of jojoba or olive oil
Combine all ingredients in container. Shake to blend. Pour mixture onto a soft rag and rub into leather. Do not rinse.

Bug Remover
Â½ cup baking soda
Liquid soap
Combine baking soda with enough liquid soap to make a paste. Scoop the paste onto a sponge and scrub over splattered bugs until they are loosened. Rinse well. Safe to use on painted surfaces and chrome.

RETAILERS OF UNCOMMON INGREDIENTS
The Chemistry Store
2640 NE 5th Avenue
Pompano Beach, FL 33064
888-816-4441 (8-5 M-F EST)
fax 954-946-4144
www.chemistrystore.com
KIC Chemicals
451 Main St.
P.O. Box 437
Armonk, NY 10504
914-273-6555
914-273-6760 FAX
E-mail: chem@kicgroup.com
www.kicgroup.com
SunFeather Natural Soap Co.
1551 Hwy 72
Potsdam NY 13676
315-265-3648 (9-5 M-F EST)
Fax: 315-265-2902
Email: sunsoap@slic.com
www.sunsoap.com
David Cookson & Co., Inc.
Large Quanitites Only
170 Kinnelon Road
Kinnelon, NJ 07405
973-283-1500
Fax: 973-283-1860
Email: info@cooksonco.com
www.cooksonco.com
Camden-Grey Essential Oils
7178-A SW 47 St.
Miami, FL 33155
Toll Free: 877-232-7662
Fax: 305-740-8242
Email: camdeng@bellsouth.net
www.essentialoil.net
OurPetsNet
Monmouth, IL
Email: info@our-pets.net
www.our-pets.net/store_primate3.htm
A Garden Eastward
Ludowici, GA 31316
912-545-0085 (8-5 M-F EST)
Email: brinkley@accessatc.net
http://addy.com/brinkley/supplies.htm
Rainbow Meadow Inc.
8433 South Ave., Suite 2
Poland, OH 44514
800-207-4047
Fax: 330-729-0685
Email: andy@rainbowmeadow.com
http://rainbowmeadow.com
Legend Gift Shop
3095 Jefferson Street
Napa CA 94558
707-224-7707
Email: legend@gateway.net
www.legendgiftshop.com
Tools-Plus
153 Meadow st
Waterbury Ct. USA 06702
800-222-6133(7-5 M-Sat,Th til 8 EST)
Fax: 203-753-9042
Email: seth@tools-plus.com
www.tools-plus.com
PETsMART
various locations
888-839-9638
Email: orderstatus@petsmart.com
www.petsmart.com
PETCO
various locations
858-453-7845
www.petopia.com
Go Herbal
800-823-9945
Fax: 602-832-0990
mail: meester@goherbal.com
www.goherbal.com
Essential Oils
1754 Central Park Drive
Okemos, MI 48864
888-387-3451(10-9 M-F, 10-6 Sat, 12-5 Sun EST)
Fax: 517-349-5473
Email: sales@ess-oils.com
www.ess-oils.com
Taste Of Britain
73 South Peachtree Street
Norcross, GA 30071
800-749-0739
Fax: 770-242-0551
Email: tob@tasteofbritain.com
www.tasteofbritain.com
Whole Foods Market
various locations
888-945-3637
www.wholepeople.com
Paint, home improvement or hardware stores
MotherNature.Com
360 Massachusetts Avenue
Suite 103
Acton, MA 01720
800-517-9020 (8am-11pm M-F EST)
Fax: 877-355-1144
www.mothernature.com
Chemron Corp.
93447 Paso Robles, CA
Tel: 805-239-1550
Fax: 805-239-8551
www.cosmos.com.mx/chem/chemron

I want to share this info with you as I come across it. I would like to move towards mixing these things myself for use in our household. If any of you who are local to me would be interested in buying some of these materials in bulk and sharing the cost â€“ we could have a mixing party â€“ what a greeny nerdy thing to do!!! At my house we garden organically and today I thought – it would be a shame to be so kind to our plants, and the critters on our property and then be so hard on ourselves (organo chlorines have been linked to birth defects and cancer) and the ecosystems these chlorines eventually go to â€“ the ocean of course where it causes tumors and birth defects in whales, sea turtles etc.

Seems like easy stuff to do in the greater scheme of things. I will let you know how it goes.

Waxing Quarter Moon in Virgo 2006

Podcast For Peace — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 21:50:59 +0000

Listen to our podcast

Shownotes 042

Podcast for Peace wants to thank for their contributions:

The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Clumsy for Sanctuary

Elisabeth Lohninger Quartet for Beneath Your Surface

Steve Parsons for Movin On

Amy Dalley for Safe

Sharif for Sweet Angel

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Protest Starbucks: National Week of Action June 19th-25th

starbucks is trash — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 01:44:08 +0000

Despite over five years of grassroots pressure, Starbucks continues to serve milk from cows that are injected with genetically engineered recombinant bovine growth hormone, also known as rBGH or rBST. Virtually every industrial country, except for the United States, has banned the sale of rBGH milk. Milk produced from cows injected with rBGH poses serious dangers to human health and the general welfare to dairy cows.

The time has come to kick rBGH off the market, once and for all. If Starbucks, a major buyer of milk, were to reject rBGH dairy products, we could effectively eliminate it from the market.

Similarly, while Starbucks has slowly bought more certified Fair Trade coffee, it represents only a very small percentage of their total coffee (about 3.7%). Starbucks rarely offers certified Fair Trade coffee as their coffee of the day, nor has it followed its own policy of brewing Fair Trade coffee, on demand.

1. Take the Starbucks Challenge! Hold Starbucks to their word. Simply visit your local Starbucks and ask: “Could I get a cup of fair trade coffee?” and let us know how it went.
2. Protest or Leaflet outside Starbucks stores. Download materials from the sidebar at right.
3. Be sure to let Starbucks know your thoughts, either online or with their postage paid comment cards available at their stores.

To sign up or for more information, please contact the OCA office at 218-226-4164 or

Message From Code Pink

tao — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 20:58:32 +0000

________________________________________
From: CODEPINK Mother’s Day MONTH [mailto:codepink@mail.democracyinaction.org]
Sent: Thursday, June 01, 2006 1:46 PM
To: Tao
Subject: 2nd Week Report Back: Women say ENOUGH! BASTA!: Mother’s Day MONTH of actions in D.C.

May 29, 2006

This weekend has been the most intense, most challenging of our entire time here in D.C. As we conclude our 2nd week of Mother’s Day MONTH protests, we find ourselves suddenly submerged in pro-war, testosterone-laden energy that now envelops D.C. This incredibly hostile energy is attempting to silence our voices for peace – yet we are womanaging to have our voices heard & our protests witnessed this entire weekend.

Last night at the PBS Memorial Day Concert, we stood outside the gates of the West Lawn of the Capitol and handed out hot pink paper protest slips & pins, with the number of dead U.S. soldiers starkly printed on one side, & 3 different facts of protest printed on the back. Once we were inside, scanning the crowd, we saw many, many people wearing these slips over their hearts. (See www.codepinkjournals.blogspot.org for details).

Today at the most war-glorifying, soldier-heroing ceremony ever – the ceremony that repeatedly bellowed the lies of this war of spreading freedom & democracy while protecting our freedom & democracy – we stand in the middle of the parade route and represent the voice of peace. We (including our 77 yr. old elder) are spit on, screamed at, threatened, materials snatched from our hands & ripped up, as we stand on the grounds of peace.

Up until this weekend, D.C. has been a fertile ground for growing peace, ending war. We have been reaching 10′s of 1000′s of people: sometimes 30 to 50 folk at a time, getting off buses or gathering with a tour guide; sometimes one or two individuals sightseeing. Sometimes elementary school children or entire junior high graduating classes. Sometimes tourists from the Benefit Funds Union or from Gadston, Missouri. Sometimes handfuls of visitors from Egypt, from Thailand, from Bolivia. Sometimes ‘impeccable’ white men dressed in million dollar suits that could be lobbyists, could be legislative aids, could even be congress people – definitely the ‘powerful’. Sometimes regular D.C. folks surviving in this city where predominantly white affluence & racism lords so completely over predominantly black poverty & the ravages of racism. Sometimes soldiers in full uniform or in casual everyday clothes; sometimes top brass or enlisted grunts. Sometimes soldiers recently returned from Iraq; sometimes soldiers on their way to Iraq.

Some of our deepest rewards include: the two women from Iran who silently approached us as we stood with our signs, threw their arms around us & wept with us; the first hostile Latina mother of a soldier destined to go to Iraq in a few weeks who broke down & wept with us her sorrow & fear & her truth that neither her nor her son wants (him) to go to Iraq; the young girl, standing silently listening to us reading the names of dead soldiers, who returned to her home state determined to share her experience and speak out against war; the numbers of current military enlisted women & men we handed out GI rights hotline infor to; the accolades & the complaints of legislative-types as we testify ‘illegally’ at congressional hearings, in hallowed halls, fortressed offices of the ‘leaders’ of our nation; the police taking us aside & telling us they personally support our efforts for peace; the haunted eyes of the soldier who has orders to return to Iraq who begs us to end this war, saying he’s too much of a coward to speak out; the shocked youth who hear us challenge adult authority as we say ‘don’t trust your recruiter: recruiters lie”; the proud youth who slam their fists to their chests over their hearts and then throw a side-ways peace symbol with a pompous beat in our direction.

The many, many, many people – sometimes 2 out of three – who flash the peace symbol, honk their horns, smile broadly, tear-up quickly, throw their fists in the air, thank us profusely for being here for working for standing against war, against bush, against aggression and for peace for truth for end of war.

We invite you again, come to D.C. Let us not be the silent Germans of the 30′s and 40′s’ let us not be the ones who trade our security of our not-at-risk affluence, lifestyles, daily lives, luxuries of homes, food, jobs for turning a mostly blind eye on rape, murder, depleted uranium, torture, bombing, killing, destruction.

Come to D.C. Donate so others can come and/or stay in D.C. Right now, our CodePINK East Bay Office is in jeopardy – Sam cannot cover the rent for last month nor this month. We are in danger of loosing this fabulous, visible CodePINK space on Solano Ave in Albany unless someone(s) steps forward now, before the first.

We know many of you have contributed so much & we are all so grateful. And we are asking for more if at all possible. The times are demanding more, from all of us. We need to double, to triple, to 10 times 10 increase our activism & our commitment to ending this war – or yet another year, another 100′s of thousands of human lives will be taken in our name and the blood on our hands will be the blood on our elbows, our feet, our hearts.

We have room in D.C. – mostly futon & pad space – in Hillary’s House at $10 per night. Get on the plane, the bus, the bike – just come.

In pink peace, power, protest, participation,
The dwindling but powerful BASTA! team!

(for details of our actions, go to www.womensayenough.org)

It’s All Good.

Danny Boyle — Sat, 27 May 2006 18:08:15 +0000

This week, Ken Lay was found guilty of all 10 charges against him — covering conspiracy, false statements, securities fraud and bank fraud and Jeffrey Skilling was found guilty of 18 counts of conspiracy, money laundering and securities fraud and one count of insider trading. And there is a certain amount of solace involved in seeing the men at the top of such a destructive racket take responsibility for their actions.

But, somehow I don’t feel served. There is still the matter of the missing 50 billion dollars their trading schemes siphoned out of the California economy. Enron’s culture of cooked books and false reports and insider trading enabled a massive rip off of an entire economy, which was really the death knell for Silicon Valley’s dot com boom.

The conviction of Lay and Skilling is necessary and right. However, it really is just cleaning up the poop after the parade of elephants has gone bye. Is it any wonder that another popular culture phenomenon was tested in California and then spread across the nation and then to the world.

Only this time it’s not Nike’s, it’s exorbitant energy prices.

It was achieved in California by bold face lies and misrepresentations of data regarding the availability of energy supplies. Natural gas lines are full, natural gas lines are shut off, plants were taken off line for maintenance at peak usage times, reports misrepresented critical data. It’s a game, and it can be rigged, and it should always be watched carefully by dispassionate enforcers of fair practices and truthful reporting.

So, Ken and Jeffrey are going to jail. And I’m supposed to feel that “it’s all good”. But, the elephants are still marching and there seems no end in sight to the path out of here, into that new frontier. That frontier where government transparency has been removed. Which is the scariest part of the apparent change in practices that is occurring in our government and their methods of enforcement.

Historically, the dispassionate enforcement of fair practices has meted decades, if not centuries, of economic and technological advancement. Driven by America’s open markets and the worldwide competition that creates. But, that is no longer the case. The government has access to every bit of our personal and business communications. It’s not a far reach to believe those businesses that have close ties to the government also have access to competitors communications. Congressman and CIA officials’ are caught taking bribes, people are pleading guilty and going to jail; while they turn in their accomplishes to lessen their own jail time. So, the list of conspirators grows. Monopolies are forming. Monopolies that serve themselves and serve up the bribes to the congressman and CIA officials.

But it’s all good.
It’s very little and it’s very late.
A gasp of breath for a drowning nation.
A flash of light in an enclosing darkness.
But, it is all good.

New Moon in Gemini 2006

Podcast For Peace — Sat, 27 May 2006 05:27:28 +0000

Listen to our podcast

Shownotes 041

Podcast for Peace wants to thank for their contributions:

The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Natives of the New Dawn for Good Day

Dejie Johnson for What a Wonderful World

Hungry Lucy for Into Pieces

Kevin Reeves for Peace (Premaster)

Rob Costlow for True Gemini

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Morning

chrisybug — Sat, 20 May 2006 14:27:05 +0000

Silence
Wakes me
Finds space in my bed
Between the sheets and my dreams
Snuggles up and pretends it’s been there
For days

I focus
This cloud
This shine
I hear nothing but the memory of dreams
Its logic pours into this reality
Senseless

Slowly
I lose the threads of thought
From then to now
Bound together by
Silence still sleeping

Waning Quarter Moon in Aquarius 2006 (Blue Moon)

Podcast For Peace — Sat, 20 May 2006 09:22:47 +0000

Listen to our podcast

Shownotes 040

Podcast for Peace wants to thank for their contributions:

The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Caplyn for The Revolution Will Come.

The Butterfly Catchers for Wake Up

Amy Ayres for Movin On

Chris Ayers for Starfish In the Front Yard

Rob Costlow for Woods Of Chaos

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Junk Mail

eyeseetruth — Mon, 15 May 2006 00:13:34 +0000

I received some Junk Mail recently… Oh, how I would love
to attend just to be a party pooper… And NO, I’m not a Republican.

EST.

Full Moon in Scorpio 2006

Podcast For Peace — Sat, 13 May 2006 06:52:38 +0000

Listen to our podcast

Shownotes 039

Podcast for Peace wants to thank for their contributions:

The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

Pod Safe Audio for feeding the revolution

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

The Complements for Something Like Happiness

Rory for Peace, War and Happiness

Option 42 for Raindrop Rhapsody

Joe Sibol for Forever Hold Your Peace

Samantha Murphy for I Am You

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Street Art

eyeseetruth — Fri, 12 May 2006 08:04:49 +0000

Go right to the source of the political graffiti art world. Check these links out:

http://www.myspace.com/zapatistaazul
http:/www.myspace.com/urbanmedium
http://www.myspace.com/obeybush
http://www.myspace.com/zoltron

Lie Big; Lie often.

Danny Boyle — Thu, 11 May 2006 21:02:21 +0000

“Every time sensitive intelligence is leaked it hurts this country.” Our fearless leader came out on his pulpit today and told us this again. He said it with all confidence that he is to believed as the leader of the free world. Which, I agree our leadership should be beyond reproach and with absolute faith we should place our trust in that leadership. Problem is we have been repeatedly lied to and mislead by this current administration.

And today is no different.

I am as sick of it as you are. However, we must not forget that we’ve were lied to about so many things:

The reasons we are waging war powers in a police action.
The threat of weapons of mass destruction (in Iraq then, in Iran now).
The underlying truth supported by facts regarding the destruction of the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
That there were no secret meeting between “Duck” Cheney and oil company executives to rewrite regulations on how to screw us all.
The fortune made by Halliburton charging and over charging “We The People” for service related to our military outreach, has nothing to do with the fact that Cheney is still on their payroll.
That “Renditions” continue, to this day, despite full acknowledgement that the activity is illegal and we are told that were to cease.
That the electoral process is fair and free of corruption.
That the “No Child Left Behind” is really a tool to federalize the education of our children.
That the “Clean Air Act” is not a protection of polluters to evade their responsibilities.
That “Homeland Security” is not a framework to impose a police state.
That the “Patriot Act” protects our rights and freedoms.

And the single greatest lie of all by this administration:

“We are here to help.”

Perfect double speak.

This mornings impromptu speech was to rebut the USA today article that clearly states that all our communications are being monitored and collected, with the intent of data mining to collect behavior patterns to watch us. And wee are being told to believe that not one of our phone calls has been reviewed in this program without a court order.

This is a lie that defies all logic relevant to the facts. In order to search a database, you have to review the files, all the files. The files also must have been collected or subjected to seizure. Blatantly, search and seizure have already been completed. Our Bill of Rights states that should not happen without a warrant provided by a judge that has witnessed probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation. Which means they really have put the cart before the horse.

In the design of the government that represents “We The People”, our elected officials are to be trusted to be one thing and one thing only:
power hungry and selfish human beings.
Every thing else is meant to put reigns on the power of elected officials and govern their interaction with “We The People”.

Our Imperial President has forgotten “We The People”, as if we were a burden in the way of his agenda.

The question for us is: What are we going to do about it?

Organically Modified?

tao — Thu, 11 May 2006 00:02:59 +0000

In terms of your health and the food you eat and prepare daily, do you think it’s okay to:

1) Include over 500 artificial (synthetic) substances in organic processed foods without prior review fy the National Organic Standards Board?

2) Allow chain stores (Kraft, Wal-Mart, Dean Foods) and the bio-chemical corporation, Monsanto to lobby congress dilute the meaning and integrity of the Organic label?

3) Allow a very small group of Republicans to attach a last minute Rider to the 2006 Agriculture Appropriations Bill at the last minute, ignoring over 350,000 letters from the Organic Consumer’s Association and the Organic community at large?

Why isn’t this a no-brainer? Why is the hard fought, 35 years of work by the alternative organic community at risk?

Because the organic market is now a 15 billion dollar (and grows by 20 percent each year) industry and is kicking agribusiness’ butt!

Given what we know about pesticides and what we don’t know about Genetically Modified food, it is criminal to allow our food sources to be poisoned industrial agriculture.

Please take action here

http://www.organicconsumers.org/sos.cfm

“Net Neutrality!” Can they really control the internet?

Danny Boyle — Sat, 06 May 2006 00:31:42 +0000

There are so many questions regarding the proposed telecommunications regulations, and their possible effects on internet usage, that it’s hard for me to get a clear perspective on the facts or the discussion regarding “Net Neutrality”. But, I would be willing to bet my last dollar that the only reason that the major Telco’s are pushing such legislation is to rewrite the rules in their favor. And why not, everybody else is. Just look at the price of oil, wasn’t it that recently legislation was passed by our congress to help give the country a comprehensive Energy Policy to keep things in control with the best interest of the electorate. And here they go again; only now it’s time to take control of the internet.

Understandably the thought of “Controlling the Internet” appears to be a daunting task. In fact; could they do that? Isn’t there a hodgepodge of networks and technologies that is this wonderful melting pot for the whole world to share in? And it’s diversity almost impossible to control because of it’s complexity? As of now, the simple answer to that is: yes, they can control all of that.

Until recently, it would have been harder and before that almost impossible. So, to try and understand how they would do this and even scarier how Congress might write new legislation regarding this, let’s take a technical look from novice perspective at how the Telco’s supply us the Internet and how that control might work.

Now, if you recall, Al Gore invented the internet back in the 1990′s, right? Wrong, it actually was developed half a century ago at Bell labs in conjunction with the Defense Department as way to keep the Commander in Chief in touch with the nuclear arsenal during the height of the cold war. The concept is simple. Make use of the existing telephone line infrastructure and make it so the President can launch the bomb. No matter how much damage the country or the telephone infrastructure had sustained.

This led to the technology based on Internet Protocol or IP traffic. Where previously, the method of carrying voice on the phone lines was streaming, more akin to the wire between the tin cans in the experiment we all did as children. The IP method uses data in packages that have source and destination information included, and it slices those packages up in exact pieces and sends them out on the network to let them determine the path to the destination almost on their own. Technically, IP and Voice were different then. They could use the same wire. But, the equipment at the other end had to be the same protocol as the one it was talking to and the voice lines and IP traffic lines were allocated separately. They ran on different equipment. The IP equipment was expensive and rare. Back then, unless you were associated with the government and were eligible to access a .gov, .mil or .edu domain the uses were very limited.

And that’s when Al Gore invented the Internet. Or at least he cosponsored the legislation that brought us the modern registrations of .com, .org, .net, etc. The technologies developed for 40 plus years before Congress stepped up and made it widely available. The Unix operating system adopted it as a standard and high end workstations and networking gear at least were IP compatible. All this feeding the great genesis that was the dot com boom / bust.

Which is where our contemporary story only begins. All the players (Telco’s, switch manufacturers and computer makers) realize the voice and data network convergence is inevitable. Standards were developed and voice and data equipment soon became multi protocol. At the core, voice and data run on the same network. But there’s a problem. Voice still has to run in a stream and there can be no delays. After all we’ve gotten used to the voice quality of the ‘Pin Drop’. Internet phones are nowhere near that quality.

So a birth of technologies were spawned that support a concept called Quality of Service or (QOS). This relies on an ability inherent in the Multi Protocol Lable Switching (MPLS) to parse and decipher those exact pieces of IP traffic called packets. The process is called statefull packet inspection. And at the edge, when the traffic is reaching it’s dissemination, QOS determines the priority in which to proceed (usually voice first to avoid latencies) and in order to do that in needs to inspect the package for its contents.

This is where the meat of the discussion comes into play. This is where control can be implemented. This is where the NSA watches us. This is where the UN World Intellectual Property Organization wants create treaties to enforce restrictions on Creative Common License arrangements. This is where Foreign Governments impose censorship. This is where the Telco’s own all the traffic. This is where the freedom of the internet resides. And this is where “Net Neutrality” needs to be kept in place.

This was all brought into being because of the legislative break up Ma Bell. Ma Bell was broken up for a reason. If that wouldn’t have occurred we wouldn’t have the internet as we know it. Go back, before the break up, to when there is only one telephone company in America. They own all the lines and make all the equipment and determine all the direction of advancement and set all the rates. It’s their show and you have no choice.

Which gives them no choice but to beat us like the red headed step children we are. It’s human nature; greedy people tend to where their greed will be most rewarded. Greed is obsessive and will blind the greedy from other altruistic pursuits and in the end “We the People” are at the wrong end of the whipping stick. In the days when Congress worked for the People, they took the whipping stick back and broke the monopoly into a competitive marketplace that continues to develop.

It comes as no surprise that at this time of great advantage of the big business over the consumer that the greedy telco monsters would jump in and try to rewrite the rules to their own favor. And as the technologies become manageable to the point where control can be imposed, those with the will to take advantage will impose their own will. The question becomes: will “We the People” step up and impose our will, that we make be able to take full advantage of this market place of burgeoning advancement? Or will we let our voice, our freredom and our sacred choice: be lost.

Waxing Quarter Moon in Leo 2006

Podcast For Peace — Fri, 05 May 2006 05:14:43 +0000

Listen to our podcast

Shownotes 038

Podcast for Peace wants to thank for their contributions:

The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Matthew Ebel for Trees

Kevin Reeves for Shine

Peter Moon Band for real fine life

Amy Ayres for Movin On

Rob Costlow for Bliss

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

bye-bye podcasting, citizen journalism. Long live to DRM and censorship

dingo_the — Wed, 03 May 2006 07:51:52 +0000

Boeing-Boeing runs a story about UN World Intellectual Property Organization trying to organize worldwide censorship, ban podcasts and perform some other interesting things sake saving the market positions of current media-monopolies.

Here is an excerpt:

UN cooking podcast-killing treaty
The UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization has reconvened to discuss a treaty that will kill innovative Internet audio/video offerings — like podcasting, YouTube, Google Video, and Democracy Player — in order to protect the business models of a few entrenched broadcasters. This is the Broadcast Treaty, and the process — never pretty — got uglier than ever today.

The link to the story:

http://www.boingboing.net/2006/05/02/un_cooking_podcastki.html

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004619.php

Hurry up writing for DS – blogging and podcasting maybe banned soon. Surely – for the benefit of the civilized world.

Feeling it

andrei — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 19:37:58 +0000

New Moon in Taurus 2006

Podcast For Peace — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 19:45:28 +0000

Listen to our podcast

Shownotes 037

Podcast for Peace wants to thank for their contributions:

The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Amy Dalley for Safe

Fumitaka Anzai for Kyrie Eleison

Miggs for Perfect

Kevin Reeves for Peace (Premaster)

FIASCO for Peace Sign

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Waning Quarter Moon in Aquarius 2006

Podcast For Peace — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 03:30:49 +0000

Listen to our podcast

Shownotes 036 (420 Edition)

Podcast for Peace wants to thank for their contributions:

The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Elisabeth Lohninger Quartet for Beneath Your Surface

Anne Davis for Awakening

Allison Crow for What About You

Balance for Peace Maker

Caplyn for The Revolution Will Come.

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

The End of the Internet?

tao — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 21:10:19 +0000

The following is a transcript from an interview on Democracy Now! Please write your congresswomen and men – tell them this is unacceptable. Contact: Senate / House

Thursday, April 13th, 2006
The End of the Internet? Net Neutrality Threatened by Cable, Telecom Interests

The vital concept of net neutrality – universal and non-discriminatory to the Internet – is at risk. Phone and cable companies are lobbying Congress for legislation that would permit them to operate Internet and other digital communications services as private networks, free of policy safeguards or governmental oversight. We speak with Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy.

Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. He wrote an article in the Nation Magazine titled “The End of the Internet?”

TRANSCRIPT:

AMY GOODMAN: Weâ€™re joined in Washington by Jeff Chester, whoâ€™s Executive Director of Center for Digital Democracy, wrote a piece in The Nation magazine called â€œThe End of the Internet,â€ and we want to talk about that. But before we do, Jeff, youâ€™ve just heard a portion of a discussion we’ve been having about what’s happening to the Village Voice and Jim Ridgeway, who was in the studio seat right before you were. Can you comment on this?

JEFF CHESTER: Well, you know, the question that I’m going to discuss soon, about so-called network neutrality, the future of the internet, is directly related. I’m not so sure, frankly, that the changes underway being pushed by the nation’s largest cable and telephone companies to change the way that the internet operates, I’m not so sure journalism, whether it’s alternative journalism or new forms of so-called mainstream journalism or even dissent, I’m not so sure how viable those forms will be in the emerging online world. That’s why we have to make sure that as these decisions are being made now, you know, in state capitals and in Washington, we keep today’s open internet at the core of these dramatic changes in our media system.

Let’s say Jim Ridgeway and his colleagues wanted to create an alternative, and let’s say the phone and cable companies were able to do what they intend to do. Well, Ridgeway’s video or Democracy Now!’s video could be slowed down while the FOX programming goes into computers and into television sets and into mobile devices super fast. Letâ€™s say, if the phone and cable companies have their way, they hand Jim Ridgeway or they hand Democracy Now! a rate card. You want to have mainstream quality? Here’s what you have to pay! And if you can’t afford it, well, you’re just going to have to go on the old dirt road. So, the future of journalism, and in many ways the future of our democracy, I think, is tied up in this issue of: What is going to happen to the internet if the phone and cable lobby gets their way here in Washington, D.C.?

JUAN GONZALEZ: Well, Jeff, one of the things that’s happening obviously is that this kind of debate is going on right now in the House of Representatives — I saw a little bit of the subcommittee hearings about a week or so ago — but all the national attention, obviously, is on the immigration issue while this is quietly going on under the radar, the huge debate going on in the House of Representatives in the subcommittees now. Could you tell us what is net neutrality precisely and that particular portion of the legislative battle going on right now?

JEFF CHESTER: Well, it’s important for your listeners and viewers to realize that the phone and cable lobbies have deliberately gone to the F.C.C. to remove the fundamental regulations, which were the foundation of the internet. The internet was required to operate as a nondiscriminatory medium. The internet, as we knew it, grew up over telephone lines. Those lines were regulated by the F.C.C. Phone companies had to treat all content equitably. That’s why you could have start-ups like Google or Amazon. Anybody could create a website, create a service, put their content out there. The fact that you would have to treat all content equitably was a serious threat to the plans of cable and telephone companies, because their business is based on a monopoly. I control the wire and I control the content, whether it’s television content for cable or voice content for the phone company. So they went to the Bush F.C.C., first under Michael Powell, now under current chair Kevin Martin, and they eliminated the prohibition against nondiscrimination so they can discriminate.

Now, what advocates, such as Free Press and Common Cause, Consumers’ Union, and even giants like Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo! are saying is that: Whoa, we need to put some of that nondiscrimination back into the statutes that govern the internet. And it’s being called network neutrality. And it simply means that the people that bring you the internet aren’t allowed to discriminate against competing and alternative content. They could not, if network neutrality legislation goes through, slow down a transmission from Democracy Now! They could not speed up their content or the content that, for example, FOX pays them and not offer similar services elsewhere. So network neutrality would in part maintain this kind of open network.

Now the phone and cable lobby are spending literally tens of millions of dollars trying to buy and, likely have bought, Washington, D.C. They are working together, and theyâ€™re opposed to any national policy that would ensure the internet remain an open space. And if we don’t have it, if we don’t have it, we’re going to see slowly over time fundamental changes occur in our digital media culture. Everyone recognizes — and this is why this is all going on — is that our media system is changing.

JUAN GONZALEZ: But, Jeff, Iâ€™d just like to — just to clarify on this issue of net neutrality. You already have a certain segmentation of the audience between those who are still on old phone lines versus broadband. Are you saying that even within broadband service that they would then create tiers of operation? And how would it work? Would it be for the user or would it be for companies?

JEFF CHESTER: Right now, you know, there are millions of Americans who don’t have access to the internet at all, and clearly that has to be part of this legislation. And it’s not. But, ultimately, everyone is going to be on some form of high-speed access. What we call broadband will be the dominant medium in the United States. And for a certain class of young people, you see it most clearly, where theyâ€™re instant-messaging, theyâ€™re on their mobile phone, theyâ€™re downloading high-speed videos onto their computers. So, eventually it will all be broadband, and what the phone and cable companies want to do is create a pay-as-you-go toll road for those broadband networks.

AMY GOODMAN: Jeff, we have to leave it there. But we’re going to bring our listeners and viewers part two of this discussion tomorrow. I want to thank you for being with us right now. Again, tune in for part two tomorrow. Jeffrey Chester is Executive Director of the Center for Digital Democracy.

Friday, April 14th, 2006
Part II: The End of the Internet? Net Neutrality Threatened by Cable, Telecom Interests

Both Congress and the FCC are currently considering a number of proposals that will have far-reaching implications on the way the Internet works and the vital concept of net neutrality – universal and non-discriminatory to the Internet – is at risk. We speak with Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy. [includes rush transcript]

We continue with Part II of our look at the future of the Internet. Both Congress and the FCC are currently considering a number of proposals that will have far-reaching implications on the way the Internet works.

The vital issue at stake is something called “net neutrality” – it is the concept that that everyone, everywhere, should have free, universal and non-discriminatory access to all the Internet has to offer.

But last week the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications rejected an amendment to a telecommunications overhaul bill that would have strengthened provisions for net neutrality. The amendment was defeated by a vote of 28 to 8. The six Democrats who voted against it were Eliot Engel, Bart Stupak, Ed Towns, Al Wynn, Charlie Gonzales and Bobby Rush.

The principle of net neutrality has come under attack from cable and telephone companies which provide over 90 percent of all high-speed Internet service in the United States.

Phone and cable lobbyists are calling on the federal government to permit them to operate Internet and other digital communications services as private networks, free of policy safeguards or governmental oversight. They have poured millions of dollars into ad campaigns to promote their cause. Here’s one example:

Advertisement by the United States Telecom Association.

With these so-called “updated” laws, broadband providers are looking to use new networking technologies to charge fees for almost every online transaction. Some companies have already announced plans to to impose fees on a sliding scale. For example, America Online is adopting a new system called “CertifiedEmail,” where giant emailers could pay AOL a fee for preferential service, effectively creating a two-tiered Internet . This so-called “email-tax” would guarantee that messages from affluent customers would bypass spam filters and go directly to AOL members” inboxes. Those who did not pay the fee could increasingly be left behind with unreliable service.

The effects of preferential control over the Internet may already be coming to bear. According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, America Online has blocked delivery to its customers of all emails that include a link to a website called DearAOL.com, which is critical of its CertifiedEmail system.

Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. He wrote an article in the Nation Magazine titled “The End of the Internet?”

TRANSCRIPT:

AMY GOODMAN: Phone and cable lobbyists are calling on the federal government to permit them to operate internet and other digital communication services as private networks, free of policy safeguards or governmental oversight. Theyâ€™ve poured millions of dollars into ad campaigns to promote their cause. Here’s one example:

ACTOR 1: Squire, deliver this urgent message to the queen.

ACTOR 2: Doesnâ€™t he know itâ€™s 2005?

ACTOR 1: Yes!

ACTOR 3: My lord?

NARRATOR: Why are telecom laws still stuck in the past? The old ways are gone. So it’s time Congress updated the laws to give consumers new choices for entertainment and information.

ACTOR 1: Where is that young man?

ACTOR 4: Wanna text him?

NARRATOR: Updated telecom laws.

ACTOR 5: Yeah, it’s hoof-to-hoof out here.

NARRATOR: Now, that’s the future, faster.

AMY GOODMAN: An ad from U.S. Telecom. With these so-called updated laws, broadband providers are looking to use new networking technologies to charge fees for almost every online transaction. Some companies have already announced plans to impose fees on a sliding scale. For example, America Onlineâ€™s adopting a new system called â€œCertifiedEmailâ€ where giant emailers could pay A.O.L. a fee for preferential service, effectively creating a two-tier internet. This so-called â€œemail taxâ€ would guarantee messages from affluent customers, would bypass spam filters and go directly to A.O.L. members’ inboxes. Those who did not pay the fee could increasingly be left behind with unreliable service.

The effects of preferential control over the internet may already be coming to bear. According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, America Online has blocked delivery to its customers of all emails that include a link to a website called â€œDearAOL.comâ€, which is critical of its CertifiedEmail system. For more on the latest, we turn to Part Two of our conversation with Jeffrey Chester, Executive Director of the Center for Digital Democracy. Co-host Juan Gonzalez and I asked Jeff Chester yesterday about the issue of net neutrality.

JEFFREY CHESTER: Well, if we had network neutrality safeguards, then there would be a right for other content providers, such as Democracy Now! or other alternative providers, to be treated in the same way that the phone and cable companies treat their own content or the content coming from deep-pocketed media companies. Network neutrality would prohibit the phone and cable companies, which are now providing more than 90% of the U.S. public with broadband and will continue to be the principal providers. A network neutrality safeguard simply would not allow the phone and cable companies to discriminate against competing content, and in that sense it would create a more level playing field.

The phone and cable companies want to impose a kind of pay-as-you-go toll-road on the whole digital distribution system. I mean, the system is likely to be highly commercialized, regardless of whether we have network neutrality. But unless we have safeguards that ensure that competing alternative content has a chance to reach viewers and listeners in a fair way, then those voices, including, for example, the programming you produce, could be pushed further to the margins.

JUAN GONZALEZ: Well, for instance, are you talking about how the airlines run their operations with first class, business class and coach?

JEFFREY CHESTER: That’s a great analogy, Juan, because the way the broadband internet is going to work is this: the phone and cable companies now have the technology to know exactly what’s coming into your P.C., to your personal computer, or eventually your interactive television or your mobile device. They know what kind of content, what you’re getting. And they can make decisions to slow certain content up, and speed certain content — speed or slow certain content up. And that will depend ultimately on whether or not you pay them, unless we have these network neutrality safeguards. So they can do all kinds of things to, as they term it, â€œmonetizeâ€ the internet unless we have some rules that keep the pipeline as open and fair as possible.

AMY GOODMAN: Jeff Chester, can you talk about whoâ€™s making these decisions in Congress, and one of the chief decision makers, Congressmember Joe Barton of Texas, and where their money is coming from?

JEFFREY CHESTER: Well, the phone and cable industry have given, you know, millions of dollars, and are spending literally hundreds of millions of dollars lobbying. What’s happening now, many of your listeners and viewers know that in 1996, Congress passed the infamous Telecommunications Act that was a huge giveaway back then. Well, the same —

AMY GOODMAN: And this was under Clinton and Gore.

JEFFREY CHESTER: It was under Clinton and Gore, and ultimately they supported that legislation. It’s happening again. Each industry is jockeying for favorable position, and theyâ€™re spending literally hundreds of millions of dollars to lobby the U.S. Congress, because at stake — and why we, the public, and your listeners and viewers in particular really have to speak out now, because decisions made today will affect the future of television and the internet, our entire digital landscape in the United States.

I mean, we have a chance now with the internet to have a more open, diverse system, to redress what we don’t have with today’s media, such as more news programs like Democracy Now! and investigative programs, more content owned by persons of color and women. If we don’t have some rules put in place now, some safeguards, we’re likely to see the people in charge of today’s media system in the United States be in charge of tomorrow’s system, with the phone and cable companies being everyone’s not-so-silent partner.

So theyâ€™ve given a lot of money. Theyâ€™ve given about $3 million dollars, the phone and cable industry, to members of the Senate and House Commerce Committee over the last two or three years, although that’s a drop in the bucket. They have the Republicans on their side. Unfortunately, they have many Democrats. A majority of the Democrats in the House Telecommunications Subcommittee last week voted against network neutrality safeguards. So the phone and cable lobby is very formidable. Theyâ€™re spending a lot of money. They have the backing of the Bush administration and the G.O.P. congressional leadership, and it’s likely this legislation will go through the House and the Senate without any kind of safeguards for the future of the internet.

JUAN GONZALEZ: And what about the coverage of this issue by the mainstream media or the corporate media? Is it a replay of the battle over the F.C.C.’s ownership changes?

JEFFREY CHESTER: I think, well, it’s a little bit different. You know, media that don’t have direct internet interests such as — even though –thatâ€™s not true. The New York Times has internet interest, but the New York Times has editorialized recently, as the Los Angeles Times has, and that’s owned by Tribune and they also have internet interests, theyâ€™ve editorialized for network neutrality, and NBC Evening News did some coverage.

But, by and large, thereâ€™s not this kind of coverage. They claim it’s because itâ€™s a technical issue, but, in fact, all the big media companies are involved one way or another in this decision. And companies like Disney, ABC and CBS, for example, are negotiating with the phone and cable industry. They have a stake, in a sense, in a closed internet, because their content will be placed in a preferential manner. So it’s not getting the kind of coverage it deserves.

And right now, I understand, Congress is not hearing from the public that they are concerned about open internet, which we have to use the term network neutrality for now. So I hope that your listeners and viewers will call their members of Congress and say, â€œWe want legislation on network neutrality.â€ Look, it’s not going to be the answer for all the problems we’re going to have, but at least it will prevent for now the phone and cable companies from having a tight grip over the way the broadband digital media evolves in the United States.

AMY GOODMAN: Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy.

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Democracy Now!

Full Moon in Libra 2006

Podcast For Peace — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 16:42:42 +0000

Listen to our podcast

Shownotes 035

Podcast for Peace wants to thank for their contributions:

The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

Pod Safe Audio for feeding the revolution

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

David Henderson for Make it Go Away

Black Lab for See The Sun

Hungry Lucy for Her Song

Amy Ayres for Movin On

Kevin Reeves for Shine

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

The Times They Are A-Changin’

eyeseetruth — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 00:41:42 +0000

“Times have not become more violent. They have just become more televised.”

Marilyn Manson (1969 – ), I Don’t Like The Media But The Media Likes Me – Columbine statement

Global Citizen

andrei — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 23:46:40 +0000

I have heard and even used this term for many years now. I have understood what it means and have aligned myself with it. In truth for a long time intellectually I have identified more as a global citizen than a citizen of the US. Even before I had traveled I think I had felt this way because of my heavy church background where I taught that I was one of Godâ€™s children as were all other people on earth.

In addition, my parents were civil rights activists and my mom has focused much of her lifeâ€™s work on minority populations, so I was always taught about my connection with different people and how we are one sharing rights, dreams, responsibilities, etc.

So it is not a surprise that I would grow to be an adult who felt more connected to his global sister and brotherhood and that traveling would simply reaffirm this connection.

Over the years I have had many opportunities to travel and all of them have brought me closer to my understanding of this global citizenry. From seeing poverty, gender inequities, oppression, war, indentured service, ecological disasters â€“ I have always felt that these were OUR problems and not someone elseâ€™s.

But something has furthered this feeling of global citizenry during my last trip and reinforced today. I know that part of it is because of the technologies involved in both travel and communication and how easy it is to move both your body and your communications around the globe. Today, when I wrote to Roman through Skype I felt like he was no more distant than any other colleagues here in SF. Sofia had climbed onto his lap and accidentally hit the call button and I heard the ringer on my skype sound.

I listened to a voice mail Sherry left me on Skype when I was on the plane flying home. She accidentally left it on after she left her voice mail and I got to listen to her working at her desk and making appointments over the phone. It reminded me of a time when my phone dialed a good friend in NYC when I was on a boat party in San Francisco.

Today I am listening to music on my computer that I was listening last to on my computer in Kyiv just a few days ago. I am looking at pictures of myself in a place all the way around the world just a few days ago. Flying home I was surrounded by so many different languages and faces and it felt like I didnâ€™t know how to say â€œyesâ€ without first questioning which language I should say it in. â€œDaâ€ or â€œYesâ€ or â€œSiâ€ or â€œOuiâ€â€¦

Iâ€™m remembering now that the Scorpions â€œWinds of Changeâ€ came on while I was riding in the wedding limo at Alexeyâ€™s wedding:
I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change
An August summer night
Soldiers passing by
Listening to the wind of change
The world is closing in
Did you ever think
That we could be so close, like brothers
The future’s in the air
I can feel it everywhere
Blowing with the wind of change
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
in the wind of change â€¦
So the world feels a little smaller again. Love and friendship and working side by side with people in another country will do it I suppose. Add to that a growing understanding that we are these winds of change. We can blow across continents in moments delivering destruction or relief â€“ being productive or destructive. We can truly look to the smallness of this globe we share and take note of what that closeness means.

Each day there are decisions, and if an ancient way amongst Native Americans suggested that we must make decisions with the next 13 generations in mind, then what wisdom must be applied when we know not only how connected in time we are to our children but how close all of these children actually are. 13 generations of 192 countries?

I know that there is much to do in order to make this wisdom a practice. To build a world where doing right by a larger â€œweâ€ is a purpose made up of events like the ones I have lived the last few weeks. I think I am beginning to understand that somehow an active practice of that closeness is lived not through heady ideas or keeping up with world events, but in personal policies and actions. Policies and actions which are inclusive of others â€“ others that are as close or far away as we have the courage to consider.

I am thankful for this lesson and the circumstances that have taught it to me. Thanks for everyone who helped me make this journey â€“ you are fine people and blessings for this bumbling traveler. Peace and very, very good things!

Andrei, Andrij and Roman

On Podcasting

Danny Boyle — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 20:45:02 +0000

There is a currently evolving story of a paradigm shift in the distribution of broadcast audio due to a simple technology that provides easy access to audio files, commonly known as an iPod. Although distribution is not live, the file has to be completed to make it portable, the nature of the internet makes that file accessible virtually anywhere; versus the current model which requires you to be available at the time of broadcast and within range of a radio signal to be part of the audience. Main stream media outlets immediately saw the opportunity to expand their audiences. Rush Limbaugh was the first major syndicated show to make a move on podcasting and was followed Al Franken and then by everyone thatâ€™s anyone. After all, it is in essence; Tivo for radio. And, isnâ€™t it great how the mixing bowl of technology and free distribution of software has broken the long held barriers of broadcast radio. However, that looks to be just the tip of the iceberg of what will be looked back on as the paradigm that forever changed all media distribution. OK, really, that was the internet and this is just another shift in that quake or splash in that crash. For the stage available to the players has become as large as the internet. And not only can you access broadcast radio shows previously not available to you, in other times or locations, but anyone with a computer running iTunes and a microphone can make a podcast. There are numerous locations where a podcaster can, for no charge, post their podshows for all to subscribe; then, auto-magically, their podshow arrives at your computer shortly after they have it posted. All you need is any generic media player. (e.g. REAL, iTunes, WMP, etc.)

It was a just a small gaggle of coders and the MTV pioneer VJ, Adam Curry, that first saw the link between a blog tool and itâ€™s inherent Really Simple Syndication (RSS) , which had previously been used almost exclusively for text, and capabilities regarding audio files handled by iTunes. People in the open source community had already created, as freeware, blog tools that would make available files, including audio enclosures, for download over the internet. It was the group behind iPodder.org that built the link from the blog enclosures to iTunes and by association the iPod; and with it the birth of the term â€œPodcastingâ€. It must be pointed out at this point that those that associated with the freeware community will tell us that free software is more akin to “free speech” than it is to “free beer”. Podcasting is a perfect example of that. In the short history of the computer before Microsoft and before IBM, there was Bell Labs and the University of California at Berkeley; where all those interested, business men, scientist and academics gathered and built the foundation of what has evolved into highly sophisticated machine code that supports virtually all of our internet activities. All software was free until Bill Gates stood up and said, ‘I own mine and you can not use it without paying me a fee’. That was accompanied by the advent of the personal computer. Everyone knows the rest of that story. But, the freeware consortium never quit and we have them to thank for the revolution behind Podcasting. Itâ€™s a beautiful and elegant balance between capitalistic pursuits that chase market capitol and the creative genius involved in blending existing ideas and technologies into new ways of doing things. Free distribution of new material allows for diversity of what we, as a community, have available to observe and participate. And that is the real beauty of Podcasting. Any lunatic, myself included, can hatch an idea for a show and pull down ones pants for all to see. And that’s literally what’s happened.

Podcasting’s march out of obscurity was done double time. And it was done with, you guessed it: a sex scene. In the beginning there was Adam Curry and his Daily Source Code. In the iPodder.org experiment Adam diligently posted a week day audio blog for everyone to share in and provided a place for the community to develop their methods. Among the early adaptors, were a married couple in a Wisconsin suburb, Dawn Maceli and Drew Domkus and their podcast The Dawn and Drew Show. Under their monikers of “SOMETIMES WE’RE DRUNK” or “PUT AWAY THE DOGS AND TURN ON THE MICROPHONE”, along with many other podcasters, Dawn and Drew brought to broadcast audio what the FCC would never allow. Freedom to do and say what ever you want for anybody and everybody to listen. Somewhat like, shock and awe for the sake of humor. Early on a podcast directory associated with Adam Curry and iPodder.org, known as Podcast Alley, was having ratings contests and listeners would vote for their favorite podshow then Podcast Alley posted the results and updated them periodically. Dawn and Drew eagerly wanted to make a splash and get top ratings. So what else: they had sex and the air. Not the tawdry, lewd and lascivious XXX sex that’s so prevalent on the internet. No, I have to admit, I shed tears laughing so hard at their proclivities the first time I heard it. And I wasn’t the only one. The viral dissemination was impressive enough to put Podcast Alley on the map and was partially responsible for the current successes of enterprises like Podshow.com. Now with the availability of the Video iPod, they’ve integrated motion pictures with their regular blather. You can get a great example of early DNDS in their 100th show, it’s a ‘best of’ that includes that original encounter with their own commentary regarding the first 100 shows. They weren’t the only ones there at the beginning. The Daily Download, a daily recording of the producers bowel movement (no longer in production), is quite memorable and Madge Weinstein “Yeast Radio” stand out in my recollection. Soon after this, the Apple Music Store included a Podcast Directory where all comers can post to make their podshow available on iTunes. And the field became so crowded that it’s truly hard to see the forest for the trees.

That in itself is a terrific story and is a great beginning. However, it doesn’t stop there. The diversity created by free distribution of new material does not stop with machine language code or software. The Podcasting paradigm has also spawned a myriad of directories that support sharing of the works of music and video from artists around the globe. Under a freely available copy right agreement known as a Creative Commons License independent artists can make available their work as freeware. It’s basics are as follows: ‘You are free to use my art as long as you say it is my art. If you use my art to generate revenue, we have to renegotiate this agreement’. The independent music scene lost no time in embracing the concept. As well, a good way to generate interest in a podcast is to use an independent musician and notify them they’re on your podshow and let them tell their fans who in turn tune in and grow your audience as they grow their own. All of this is quickly becoming a new distribution channel that flies in the face of the traditional music business. A new distribution channel that levels the playing field among artists has begun to replace the traditional method that has so stifled new music and new media ideas. See for yourself. With communities like Pod Safe Audio or the Podsafe Music Network the shift has a beginning. And even my friends at Shure have recognized the burgeoning marketplace with tutorials available to the beginner. Complete with suggestions’ on the proper equipment to become a world class recording expert. So, don’t be afraid to hop on the band wagon. It may look full. But there is still plenty of room.

Baka baka Kyiv!

andrei — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 20:51:10 +0000

So much has been packed into such a short time. I hope that when I get home I will have a few minutes to just sit and reflect on all that has happened. It has been productive on so many levels. Professionally and personally I have grown and experienced both depth and breadth and though I am glad to be returning home a part of me wishes I would have a longer stay. I feel like some day I really want to sink in deep here.

With the ties I am making here, I imagine it will someday happen. When I was in the Army traveling and living in places far from San Francisco, I used to dream of living or staying in places like this for extended periods of time.

Andrij (Roman’s brother) took me on several adventures around the city

Andrei and the Zinchenko brothers at a restaurant on Andrisky Street

It is so hard not to be a stranger in your own city. It takes becoming regular in certain places and along certain routes to recognize the patterns that teach about a place. There is no doubt that even a short visit like this can teach one about oneâ€™s self but to really learn a plus you must find a rhythm or a path and stay in it for a time.

I remember the first time that I recognized that there were different types of sand storms in Saudi Arabia. At first I thought that a sand storm was a sand storm. After a time you come to realize that they are like different people â€“ or at least like different moods of the same. The characteristics and effects are quite different, and while one you might drive through another you would be lucky if you survived pulling over. One you could find shelter by getting beside something and another the only safety was being completely contained in something. I even remember one that came at night in the winter that had me on the verge of tears because it was so cold and we had no shelter besides getting under the truck and laying side by side.

People here love their metro- the underground public transportation. While I love to drive in a cab or walk so I can see the architecture, I am barely aware of the something unique about the experience. For example â€“ some of them are so deep that the escalator rides out of the stations are long enough to have full conversations or read several pages in a book.

Today I saw tiny little tips of white crocus flowers coming out of the ground. The public billboards are being stripped of their winter weathered fliers and stickers and having fresh layers of green paint applied. At Vladimir Cathedral across the street from my apartment there were a dozen people out painting the small waist high metal fence.

In the last few days, two of the people who I have come to know the best here have talked to me about my weight and their concern for my health. They did it in such a respectful way that I felt so blessed to be cared about so much. My weight and health stand out as one of my biggest (no pun intended) challenges to being the person I truly want to be. Knowing that there are people all the way around the world who care enough about me to encourage me to take on these challenges as have my family and friends makes me feel all the more ready to do exactly that.

Thank you Kyiv. I still feel like we only just met, but I love you all the same. You have been kind to me and made me welcome and your people are made of truly good things. Baka baka Kyiv!

SOME ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

Andrisky Church

Andrij took me to an exhibit on Andrisky Street – these are two intersing photos from there.

Here are two pictures of an area of Kyiv where some friends live and work. It is an area called Obolon and it is one of the more favored places to live in the city. It is also home to a good soccer team and a large brewery

Waxing Quarter Moon in Cancer 2006

Podcast For Peace — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 12:03:28 +0000

Listen to our podcast

Shownotes 034

Podcast for Peace wants to thank for their contributions:

The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Dejie Johnson for What a Wonderful World

Peter Moon Band for real fine life

Clumsy for Sanctuary

Amy Ayres for A Little Time

Kevin Reeves for Peace (Premaster)

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

A Wedding, A Baptism and Spring!

andrei — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 16:57:55 +0000

Friday I was invited to the wedding of a coworker Alexey. He married his girlfriend of 6 years and it was a wonderful time. The day started with a collaboration of friends to set me up with all the appropriate gifts and counsel me on the preferred attire. I was told to bring flowers but didnâ€™t exactly know why. I choose some long stem white roses â€“ 9 of them. I was told that for some reason an even number is not appropriate. Maybe if any of my Ukrainian friends read this you can comment on why this is. I was also instructed to bring an envelope with a certain amount of $ in it.

Equipped with flowers and money I was RACED to the wedding by Sasha another colleague of mine and a long time friend of Alexey. I wont tell you about driving in Kyiv, I will save that for sometime in the future when I drive here and can properly appreciate the incredibly dynamic experience it is. Sasha, his girlfriend Oxana and I arrived just in time. The wedding was held in modern style building that is a public institution concerned specifically with weddings. The large room where the ceremony took place felt very much like a sanctuary, and the woman who presided over the ceremony was clearly very accomplished as an orator and also as an officiate. Even though I couldnâ€™t understand what she was saying I could tell she was filling her words with meaning and truly speaking to Alexey and Eugenia.

One of the other great things about the ceremony was that it was short and after we handed the flowers to the bride, we were all jumping in cars. I was so honored when they invited me to jump in the limo with Alexey and Eugenia and their wedding party and close friends to embark on a tradition where the wedding party visits famous monuments to leave flowers and take pictures. It was a great tradition â€“ one born of the knowledge of how connected they are to this place and the people who have come before them.

Alexey and Eugenia

Alexey and his sister Ira

We then arrived to a nice banquet room where we ate and drank the afternoon away. Many of the familiar events you would expect at weddings occurred. There was of course the first danceâ€¦

One of the really fun things about the reception was that they have an MC who runs a show throughout the reception. Everything from belly dancers to a DJ to a clown support his efforts to keep everyone laughing and having fun. There is singing and dancing and contests and drawing funny pictures. And of course the right amount of time to sit back and recharge and enjoy the people around you. Here is Sasha and Oxana â€“ clearly in love.

Sasha and Oxana

Sasha, and Vitally (a friend of the guys from college) and I did our best to polish off most of a bottle of delicious Ukrainian vodka called Nemiroff. Those of you interested in the history of Nemiroff spirits can find it here.

Looks like we weren’t the only ones working on the vodka – Alexey dancing with Roman his best man and Ira’s boyfriend

I must confess that about halfway through the bottle I began to do half shots to their full shots. Still for a person that never drinks I held my own â€“ owing mostly to the amazing tasty Ukrainian foods I enjoyed.

I made it home in one piece and awoke the next day without a hang over. I was pretty surprised even with the amount of water I was drinking I thought for sure I had overdone it. I showered up and put on my suit complete with orange tie (for those of you who donâ€™t know Orange is the color of the revolution here).

The baptism was in one of the oldest churches in Kyiv. Romanâ€™s father had made the suggestion to have it here both because Roman and his brother Andrij were baptized there but also for its historic and cultural significance. In addition, one of his former students was the priest who performed the ceremony.

Artem and his grandaughter Sofia

Sofia and Ira with Babuska (grandmother) looking on

I arrived at the church with a few important gifts in hand. The first was a baptismal cross from Sherryâ€™s (my wonderful wife) family for my sweet little goddaughter Sofia to wear. The secondâ€¦. I will tell you more about that later. I met Sofiaâ€™s godmother Elena a very dear friend of Iraâ€™s who had flown in from Moscow where she has been working for the last several months. This was truly an international event.

The ceremony was so beautiful and simple at the same time. The priest was truly invested in his words and even though I couldnâ€™t understand much of what he said literally, I recognized the liturgy from years of being in the Lutheran Church and then in liturgical studies in college. At its heart a baptism is the induction into a formal expression of a faith and the introduction of the child to his or her spiritual community. Godparents are charged with the development and safe guarding of the childâ€™s spiritual well being. They are asked to answer certain questions and acknowledge some specifics of the tradition the child will be raised in, but they basically come down to a few things. The first is that you reject what is evil in this world. The second is that you embrace all that is sacred and good. Every Christian theology has doctrinal specifics, but they all boil down to that.

I had really internalized this before I came here and in a letter to Ira and Roman I wrote:

I really wrestled with what I wanted it to mean to be Sofiaâ€™s Godfather. The conservative Lutheran tradition that I was born into suggests that a Godfather is charged with the spiritual well being of the child. Though I am no longer a part of that faith tradition, I recognize the duty as being the same.

Sofia is being born into a world that is filled with deep challenges, and as we all know these challenges are only bested by men and women of spiritual fortitude. People who will stand for what is true, good and beautiful in this life. People who will extend a helping hand to those who can not help themselves. People who will not take for granted what they have been given in life, but rather see such gifts as responsibilities.

I have no doubt that with families such as yours; Sofia will grow into a wonderful woman. A woman whose voice is strong and clear and who is trusted to find her way in this life as you have found yours, with conviction, with principle and with commitment.

I am honored to be brought so close to this wonderful new life and to be trusted in such a role.

Together with Elena I stood with Sofia to make these commitments to her and for her in the face of her cultural wisdom tradition in all its beauty and all of its allegiance to the Divine. I felt a great love for this little person and her community and felt so honored to be a part of this fine circle of people and to now be tied to it for life by a spiritual commitment.

I am deciding not to make public my gift to Sofia, but suffice it to say it is significant enough to tie our futures together. Much of my life I feel that I fall short of the expression I am capable of – an expression the looks deeply into the future and invests in what is truly important â€“ but in this case I did not fall short. I feel and am still bathing in the thanks of Sofiaâ€™s family and know more than ever that true goodness is born of true goodness.

How do we change the parts of this world that are dangerous or careless or reckless or heartless? We place the best of ourselves in amidst it â€“ we stand for something we can believe in. We truly invest ourselves by figuring out what matters and letting that drive who we are and what we do.

Sofia will grow into a woman. If she is surrounded by people who know this and who hold her up in respect and love as she grows into this woman, she will stand upright not only when it is easy but when the darker moments of this life swirl around her. I love that I am her godfather and I love that I am a good enough man to be trusted in this way. At the same time that I lift this child up, I lift myself up and when I am elevated with the new life I KNOW I am alive.

Roman, Ira and Sofia – with the godfather looking on

After the ceremony we returned to Ira and Romanâ€™s home for a wonderful lunch and eloquent toasts (these people really know how to toast â€“ I mean forget toastmasters people â€“ spend a few weeks here) and close conversation. After everyone left Elena and Ira had some time to catch up while Roman and I took a walk down to the Dnieper River with Sofia asleep in the stroller. There were tiny fuzzy buds on the trees and bushes, and there were pieces of ice flowing down the wide river. The air was not cold and people were there having picnics.

The last time I was in Kyiv, I was treated to winter. This time I am here as winter turns to spring, and more than any other part of the year in seasonal places I love this moment. The moment when out from under the cold and often dark tones of winter peeks the most tender moments in nature. Kyiv has been through many rebirths in its long and wonderful history at a crossroads of many peoples. No one can deny that it has been through a long winter over the last century. I may be simplifying it too much, but there is a spring in this place. In its people, in its energy and enthusiasm for its new place in the world. There is a spring in the ideas and the tenderness of this new life. If there is still a darkness and a coldness to this place it is what has kept something very special safe and alive. It is a spirit that is bursting forth again.

I feel a blessing to be here and to be a witness and maybe even some tiny bud in this new spring.

small efforts

laurence — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 15:48:05 +0000

Perhaps this is not one of those times, but in any event, here I am. I apologize to Andrei and the DS community for my tentative beginning and long absence. I have no real excuse other than being preoccupied with life and unsure of how or what I have to contribute.

I am no great writer or thinker, and in a community that seems built on that, posting can seem a bit intimidating.

As a painter and student, my work is solitary as is my nature. Though as I get older I feel my creative work becoming less introspective. I do not feel the impulse to force it in the direction of being socially or politically relevant, but I have been gradually cultivating a vocabulary of images that may have some contemplative or transformative value. It is not that I feel that the world is not in need of drastic and revolutionary changes, clearly it is. The transformation that occupies me is the persistent, gradual, and quiescent experience of looking inward and vigilance in my daily behavior and words (1.).

I recently had the privilege of visiting a truly remarkable group of students. They had previously visited the museum where I work (in the education department). In our brief time together we bonded. These kids really moved me. Though they are all challenge with a variety of low incidence disabilities and the social, academic and cultural isolation that goes along with that, they were all so kind, compassionate, funny, creative and wise (far beyond their years). We have corresponded since then and they had invited me to visit them. They have a truly remarkable teacher and support staff, which many kids in their situation do not have. Their teacher has a curriculum with emphasis of socio-cultural heroes and civic responsibility. So the students researched different ways in which they could contribute to their community and decided they were interested in elderly care. After researching several different therapies, they connected with a local nursing home, which they now visit on a weekly basis. This has had an enormous impact on them, and on many levels. For the first time in their lives, these kids are the caregivers, rather than receivers. For many of them, the feeling that they are needed by someone else is entirely new and a wonderful experience. This has been a great boost to their confidence and feelings of self-worth. They have also become involved with a program called â€œBest Buddiesâ€ which has connected them to the rest of the school community in a way that they previously had not been.

They are developing a series of presentations for some of their local elementary schools, which I think is fantastic. However, I feel strongly that this is a really remarkable group of students that really have something of value to share with a much larger audience. There are many students their age, whether or not they share the same challenges, that may want to contribute to their community in some way, but do not know how or where to start. Perhaps no one ever even told them that they could. Towards that end I asked them if they would be interested in working with me to figure out a way they could show other students the projects they have been working on, and they were thrilled with the idea. I am not sure what form this will take, but one possibility is some sort of documentary. I will be looking into the possibility of connecting them with a local filmmaker / student.

In any event, I feel really fortunate to have met them .

1. Nothing in the world
is as soft and yielding as water.
Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible,
nothing can surpass it. (Mitchell v. 78)

Mitchell, Stephan. Tao Te Ching. 1st ed. New York: Harper Perennial, 1988.

Friday (forgot to post oops)

andrei — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 22:01:54 +0000

OK so Friday was very mellow. During the last time I was here I met a fellow named Yevgen â€“ he and Roman and I had coffee at a nice local place. The coffee was much closer to what I am used to. Much of the coffee here is either a weak tasting cafÃ© Americano or espresso. This was a nice strong cafÃ© Americano and was a very nice way to start the day. It was great to see Yevgen again. One interesting thing about Yevgen is that he collects cactus. He notified me that all of them are currently blooming.

Then I had an interesting meeting with another fellow I had met before. His name is Oleksiy and he is a game developer here in Kiev. We had Sushi for lunch. Yes there is a sushi place in Kiev and it wasnâ€™t bad at all.

We talked about using games and film to communicate spiritual teachings. He had become interested in some Buddhist wisdom and has struggled to find ways to teach wisdom through games.

Vladimr Church the view when I walk out my front door

I think that so much of the wonder of being in other cultures is recognizing that underneath the language, traditions and cultures we have tribes that stretch across the earth. Soul tribes that are not about being from the same place or having the same color skin. Soul tribes that when we meet someone from it, we recognize them.

A friend of mine once described this phenomenon like a mirror. This metaphysical mirror was broken and all the pieces flew far apart. When those pieces meet they recognize that they are part of the same whole.

I think that so much of who we can be relies on us meeting these other pieces, and that somehow we are made more whole by connecting with them and finding ways to stay connected.

Sofia and Faust

andrei — Thu, 30 Mar 2006 01:28:18 +0000

Today I met my god daughter Sofia Zinchenko! She is soooooo precious â€“ a little smiling cupid that shot a cute little arrow right into my heart. In no time we were good friends â€“ as some of you know â€“ I speak the common languages of 1 year olds. I am fairly fluent in 2 year old as well. I was comforted to discover that there is very little difference in the dialect of 1 year old speak in Ukraine from what I am used to in California. Though there are far less â€œdudesâ€ and â€œcoolsâ€ ïŠ

Sofia with her mother Ira

It was so refreshing being with her. Children like Sofia who are so loved and cared for and who live in a safe place are perfect evidence that we are born to be shining lights. Little Sofia (translated as Sofieska) is all that we hope for â€“ those of us who want a better world â€“ we look at the shining lights that are the children in our lives and find the fuel for the next leg of the journey.

There is another reminder here. Spending time collaborating with people who as a child I was told was the enemy also points to that shining light inside of us. I remember a song by Sting about how he hoped the Russians love their children too. It was about how close we were to nuclear war and how he hoped that the love our enemies had for their children was significant enough to keep them away from the shiny red button. Ukraine is not Russia, but in those days they were in the same boat. The boat of the enemy.

Now I sail in the same boat as my old enemy. This tells me two things. These people were never MY enemy. All enemies can be made friends, with perseverance, open mindedness, time and good will. In times such as these it is good to encounter such notions.

I was also blessed today to meet the father of my friend Roman. I immediately felt humbled by this man. I am aware that he has worked long and hard amongst his peers to make the change that has happened in this country. He had a hand in the writing of the constitution written for Ukraine at the end of the Cold War. His pride in his changing country was bubbling over and his intelligence and clear good will were adrift in a wisdom that did not seem to take on the bitterness one might expect in a man who faced similar hardships.

I know little about him, but one thing I marked was that Roman and he are very similar. Their character and charisma are immediately evident. They are both kind, gentlemanly and intelligent in similar â€œbig pictureâ€ ways. Roman is like his father not because he was pressured to be like him, but because his father is a good example of what a man in this place should be. It was great to be in the company of such men.

Roman and Ira

Joined by Romanâ€™s wife Ira, as lovely a lady as one could meet â€“ strong, beautiful and filled with appreciation for her family and her life â€“ the four of us ventured to the old city to see Faust in the old opera house rebuilt in 1901. Iâ€™m a bit too tired to upload pictures tonight but will try to get back to it later.

Faust was a fitting finish to my Ukrainian day. The contrast of reckless ambition with so many beautiful and fulfilling moments in the day â€“ moments that felt on track. Moments that were filled with solving work challenges, appreciating the people who I was doing that with, followed by my god daughter and then music and time with friends. To build a life with such moments, to appreciate them with the special people around me, to drink it all in and let it fall deep within me, nourishing and waking the shining light that lets me speak to Sofia. What more could one man ask for in a day?

OK world peaceâ€¦ end to sufferingâ€¦ but somehow I think those are made of days like this.

New Moon in Aries 2006 (Eclipse)

Podcast For Peace — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 09:13:22 +0000

Listen to our podcast

Shownotes 033

Podcast for Peace wants to thank for their contributions:

The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

The Butterfly Catchers for Wake Up

Amy Ayres for Movin On

The Complements for Something Like Happiness

Carrie Pettit for Dream On

Samantha Murphy for I Am You

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Ahhhh Kiev!

andrei — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 07:55:57 +0000

Iâ€™m back! 20 hours later and a few sunsets â€“ flying away and then into and away from the sun is a bit baffling â€“ and I am in Kiev again. The experience was a bit different on my own. Mike was with me last time I was here and there is something that feels like not quite leaving home when you travel with someone you know. Also the people I traveled with were a bit different than last time. The last leg of the journey last year felt like we were the only non Ukrainians on the plane. This time there were as many international travelers as there were Ukrainians. I had some nice chats with a Columbian woman. The man in front of me on the plane was Guatemalan.

Another contingent, and this is not confirmed, were American evangelical Christians. I did not ask them if that is what they were, but having grown up in a similar minded church, I recognize the type. The type that look like they would not belong on a plane such as this otherwise. Also I remember the amount of evangelical TV shows that were on late night Ukrainian TV. Make no mistake about it â€“ the converters â€“ all types â€“ the Christians, the Muslims, the capitalists, the anarchists, the pop culturalists, the technologists. We are all roaming the earth in search of lost souls to convert.

Now, in the background on my TV as I wait for Roman to pick me up, Slim Shady (Eminem) is singing about his daughter Haley and how he is letting her down by always choosing his music over her.

One thing you get clear about in traveling to new epicenters of human activity like Kiev, is that when opportunity is born people come flooding in. It says a lot about simply creating a place and time for opportunity and that the energy and people will come. The ideas will come. The activity will happen in places where the opportunity exists.

My front door

And then I just found a card Sherry stuck in my suitcase. Of course when I open it confetti in the shapes of hearts and sparkly things come falling out â€“ hey baby you even make Kiev sparkle.

On the front of the card is a felt butterfly and the words:

Blue Sky.
No limits.
Endless Possibilities.

The thing that awaked in me when I travel is awake. That card really says it well. The newness of a foreign place is all about possibilities â€“ the unexpected â€“ the new within ourselves that we so often forget when traveling routine and the everyday. Itâ€™s like remembering how to be a kid again in the middle of summer when the world is open and nothing is impossible. What is better than that? Being an adult and knowing how to truly appreciate the feeling baby!

Life vs $ Values

andrei — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 00:01:20 +0000

I have been spending a lot of time considering how to shift my center of value from $ (money, property, things, etc.) to that of a center on life. I have really been inspired by the documentary the Corporation and some reading I have done lately â€“ most notably a book called The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken.

I must say I am both a bit embarrassed and a little surprised to see how much of my center of value really is wrapped up in $. By this I mean what drives my ends. What do I spend my time doing and why. What are my goals as a business man if not to make more money? Donâ€™t get me wrong I have never sought to make money for the sake of making money, and in fact much of what I work for money to do is at its heart concerned with life more than money. But there is a distinction here.

It is fine and it is always slipping through my mental fingers when I consider it. It is a value based on the idea that in order to do good I must first do well. It is not that I would do well as a result of doing good. Or blown up to a larger scale the question that must be asked is â€“ If we can not do well by doing good how can we sustain ourselves. If we can not live on the planet without destroying it, live safely without killing others, have food without starving others, help our species to progress without causing the extinction of other species. How can we consider this as a picture we want to help create?

We can consider it because our value system is not centered on these questions. They are centered on how can I make enough money to pay the rent, how can I afford healthcare if I donâ€™t work a full time job, how can I have that thing that will make me feel good, how can I help my business grow more revenue or decrease costs, etc. I am not saying these are shallow questions â€“ in the $ value system they are the juice. They are driving factors they are wise questions and questions that have sustained the development of our species from one point in our evolution to now.

The catch is that pretty much all serious research is pointing more and more to a decline of life on our planet. Ranging from the tragic extinction of some of the most delicate creatures such as tropical frogs to some pretty serious health problems in ourselves. The list is long and you donâ€™t have to look very far from an objective standpoint to see some real trouble brewing.

My point in saying this is that while we may have found a suitable vehicle to bring us to this point on the road, this vehicle is raging out of our control and could very well become the end of our progress.

But really I am not even seeking to argue this point. Either these are matters you will look into and find your own take on them or they are not. For myself I recognize danger when I see it, and I know when I am part of the danger. It makes me feel like I felt when I returned from the Persian Gulf War and the adrenaline wore off. It makes me feel like part of the problem. Part of the poison.

So I have started over the last few months to ask myself these questions more and more. Asking myself where I am placing value, and looking for ways to do well buy doing good, rather than doing well to then do good. I think that this will be one of the two keys to finding a sustainable path of progress. The other I was reminded of by a good friend just yesterday.

Without the pressure of foresight in the form of activism, we will not move soon enough or fast enough. Without getting out to those marches, volunteering with those grassroots and non profits, helping to force change there will be far less reason to move into more sustainable practices â€“ even if they are easily recognized as better practices overall.

There are lots of details, but I have ceased to believe that recycling and buying a hybrid car will really make a difference. What will make a difference is to turn my life in the direction of life rather than in the direction of $. Saying it sounds so silly and obvious to me, but maybe that is a good sign.

Waning Quarter Moon in Capricorn 2006

Podcast For Peace — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 18:12:34 +0000

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Podcast for Peace wants to thank for their contributions:

The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Sean Wiggins for Mercury in Retrograde

Caplyn for The Revolution Will Come.

Maeve OBoyle for DreamCatcher

Hungry Lucy for Her Song

Kevin Reeves for Shine

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Full Moon In Virgo 2006 (eclipse)

Podcast For Peace — Tue, 14 Mar 2006 22:08:13 +0000

Listen to our podcast

Shownotes 031

Podcast for Peace wants to thank for their contributions:

The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

Pod Safe Audio for feeding the revolution

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Samantha Murphy for Silent and Still

Joe Sibol for Forever Hold Your Peace

Anne Davis for Awakening

Dejie Johnson for What a Wonderful World

Kevin Reeves for Peace (Premaster)

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Abu Ghraib

andrei — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 21:19:15 +0000

I recently came across some of the new photos of Abu Ghraib prisoners. I found myself thinking – I know that there are good people out there who are supportive of our current leadership, but I cant help but feeling that these people are truly not paying attention at a common sense level.

There are only three possibilities that would allow this sort of horror to continue (to say nothing of how it began in the first place). The first possibility is that these forms of torture and abuse are sanctioned and that we have now openly joined the ranks of torturing governments who are blind to the long lasting impacts of this sort of behavior. Blind to what sacrificing the rights of our enemies does to us. Blind to what it does to the unfortunate people in our governmentâ€™s service who are captured and counting on a certain level of common decency which no longer exists.

The second possibility is that our current administration does not have control over the forces that are doing this and they are either acting independent of our governmentâ€™s oversight or in defiance of it.

The third is someone at the highest level has not stepped forward and said, â€œIn no uncertain terms will we be engaged in this sort of treatment of our enemies. It is beneath us, it violates the best of what we stand for and it leaves a permanent tarnish on the reputation of the people of our country and those who associate themselves with us. If anyone is ever caught doing something that compromises the rights of others under this watch, you will be prosecuted before the world with the harshest possible punishment befitting your crime. If there are any questions and if I have not been clear in anyway please contact me at georgew@whitehouse.com .

I am sad for us and what this administration has done to our country and to our world. I think about those men and women who fought in WWII, those living and dead, whose blood and anguish created a powerful legacy of fighting against the darker forces of this world. I think what a disgrace is happening now, and how that credit they earned us in our global community is quickly slipping away, to be replaced with a sort of disgrace a blind disgrace that will carry on for many years to come.

Below is a link to see some of the recent photos. Donâ€™t look if you donâ€™t want to get extremely upset. They are our disgrace as Americans. We have not been able to stop this.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2006-02/16/content_520785.htm

Waxing Quarter Moon in Gemini 2006

Podcast For Peace — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 19:07:53 +0000

Listen to our podcast

Shownotes 030

Podcast for Peace wants to thank for their contributions:

The Podsafe Music Network for all the Love

Steven Forrest for The Inner Sky

Sean Wiggins for Mercury in Retrograde

Fred for Two Angels

Hungry Lucy for In The Circle

Rob Costlow for True Gemini

Steve Parsons for Movin On

Special thanks to our producer; The Somnambulist

Misfit San Francisco

shelby — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 18:44:29 +0000

I’m sure everyone’s been hearing the latest in the news about SF supes calling for our President’s impeachment. I’m sure we all have our own opinions about that. And I’m also sure the world-outside-of-our-SF-bubble has developed an overall opinion about our fair city. I read this article in the Chronicle this morning, and I just had to share it. It is how I have always envisioned San Francisco, and this journalist put it into words creatively, and perfectly. Check it out here.

Hope you all could use a laughâ€¦enjoy.

sunday funnies — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 06:12:25 +0000

Hope you all could use a laughâ€¦enjoy

Rumor has it that Showtime has picked them up and ordered 26 more episodes!

As if there arenâ€™t enough political cartoons out there to share:

Not as good as killing kittens but in the same league, I would think

This one has two titles

Kitty Coup

Now the stick is in my nose

Our favorite advertisement

Never EVER enough kittens

Not the big pointy finger!!

Stay Classy

Sorry for the bad focus, but this is a great example of workplace safety, cartoon style

Tanya Neiman

andrei — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 18:53:04 +0000

Occasionally we are gifted with the brilliant and articulate expression of a personâ€™s impeccable soul. When that soul passes, flags are flown at half mast, the honorable break from their endless work, the thousands of people that soul has touched feel a void and a great responsibility is passed back to a community.

Tanya Neiman is one of these souls. A few years ago I received a gift in becoming an acquaintance of Tanyaâ€™s through the Lotus Center. Sherry Hedstrom (the woman whose husband I am) and Beverly Burns (whose practice Sherry supports) have been a doorway into many such souls for me, but Tanya was always amongst my favorite people I met there.

Seeing her was always a true pleasure. Here suits and wonderful bowties, her glasses, her fountain pens (we commiserated about our pens leaking on our shirts) and her stylish hats and shoes â€“ all paled in comparison to being on the receiving end of her smile. It was a smile I recognized. It was a smile I remember seeing on my own face after returning from the Persian Gulf War â€“ it was a survivorâ€™s smile. A smile that told you that it was in this moment, and welcoming the soul in front of you, that life is best expressed and appreciated.

I wish dearly that I would have had a chance to get to know her better, as I suspect so many are feeling right now. My heart goes out to her partner Brett and her dearest friends in this time of loss. I know that if ever there was a soul who would live on in our communityâ€™s heart it will be Tanyaâ€™s.

The more years that roll by the more I come to realize that time is marked most by the comings and goings of such souls and the lessons that emerge like perfect creatures in a waiting meadow. The more times this happens the more I know the meadows are the places people like Tanya create in us â€“ safe, warm, clean, fertile and serene. The perfect creatures are the parts of us that are born from the experiences we have shared.

Thank you Tanya for what you have made in us.

Here are some links about Tanya
http://www.sfbar.org/volunteer/tanya_neiman.aspx
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/news_in_brief/tanya_neiman_passes_060227.shtml
http://www.law.com/jsp/ca/PubArticleCA.jsp?id=1141047302207
http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/probono/home.html
http://garala.typepad.com/
http://www.aclunc.org/aclunews/news599/estes.html