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

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

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

She hands me a card. The card says ……. 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 says…

“DADDY”

And there are stars around it and it is in big bold caps…

“DADDY”

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-

“DADDY”

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

I don’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 isn’t abstract. The reason is concrete – 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 “Papa”. 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 café so many years ago. The first time she was a woman instead of a girl – the first time I noticed what a fine soul she had – tough, intelligent, buoyant, serious, intense, lovely – 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 – 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 – in her.

She signed the card “Z.. + 1”

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 Z’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 +1’s health. I mean its not like they taught a useful class in that expensive private college and grad school I went to – 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 daughter’s child. I felt her love for me grow. She even promised not to try and teach it to be a republican. 

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 FATHER’S DAY

It is father’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 – 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 aren’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 wouldn’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 didn’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 .

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 – thanks for all of the love and excitement.

Day 5 6/19/06

Yesterday, was Father’s Day and we announced it to Z’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, “Happy Father’s Day… to ME!” They were stunned and finally Z’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 – bummer timing. I made a vegetable broth called “Magic Mineral Broth” and a stir fry with a bunch of iron building foods – greens, broccoli, beans, etc. Also grilled a few steaks and lean burgers. I also pulled apart an Rosie’s Rotisserie chicken. All of the food is organic.

I invented a thing call a “baby food bomb” 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 couldn’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 – guess most dad to be’s can – 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 “Omnivore’s Dilemma” 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 – 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 – even though I just did get started – I am not going to continue. Cant handle the obsessive thoughts that will keep me up – 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 – 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 – thank her often for eating things she does not like – in the name of baby health.

Day 11 6/25
Mental note to self – 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.

Strangely, I feel less like defending it and more like reflecting on it. It’s the end of the day now. It’s a late night at the office – 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.

“On the turning away
From the pale and troubled
And the words they say
Which we wont understand
Don’t accept that what’s happening
Is just a case of others suffering
Or you’ll find that you’re joining in
The turning away”

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 W’s speech later in the day. I didn’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 – 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 “could not be located” 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 “From Israel with Love”. Somewhere in Lebanon there were bombs heading towards that little girl.

”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 we’re all alone
In the dream of the proud”

There is something hypnotic about the droning vibration of this shadowy form that has taken over our hearts – 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 – away from the dirt and blood and tragedy.

But in the end of the day, the steel corridor – 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 – reaching out to you…

”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 night”

My child is coming into this world and the years of abstract “make the world a better place” 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 – even in noticing what we must do. A simple turn back towards the light of the real – though it glares or bites – 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 – 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 another’s shoes. It is taking a moment and seeing the connections and facing what those connections demand of us.

”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 there’ll be
No more turning away?”

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 – being open to my place and performance. To remember that my name is only the beginning of a sentence – 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

You asked a good question – 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 don’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 “What person or persons were brave enough to take those first initial steps.”

I recently heard an interview with “James 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.” 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 Stalin’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 “USSR” 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 – 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 – 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 – hope this week is going better and at the very least I distracted you with my boring commentary.

Peace and Good Things,

Andrei

KITCHEN

Spray Disinfectant Cleaner
½ 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 ½ 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
½ 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
¼ cup vinegar
¼ 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
½ 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
½ 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
¼ 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
½ cup sodium lauryl sulfate
¼ cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons peppermint essential oil
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons rosemary essential oil
2 tablespoons white cedar essential oil
¼ 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
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons rosemary essential oil
2 tablespoons white cedar essential oil
¼ cup citronella essential oil
2 tablespoons eucalyptus essential oil
Soak a natural fiber rope in mixture and let dry for several hours. Tie around pet’s neck.
Dog House Flea Repellant
Wash dog houses with salt water. Scatter fresh pine needles or cedar shavings under your pet’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
½ 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
1½ quarts water
2 oz. Beer
½ 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 ½ 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) – eats Psyllids, aphids and eggs of the Colorado Potato Beetle.
Green Lacewings – eats aphids, mites, mealybugs and other small insects.
Ground Beetles (Carabid Beetles) – eats cutworms, grubs, root maggots and other soft-bodied pests.
Parasitic Wasps – kills whiteflies, moths and Mexican bean beetles.

Beneficial Plants
Basil – planted alongside tomato plants helps control tomato hornworms.
Thyme – planted with cabbage helps control flea beetles, cabbage worm and white cabbage butterflies.
Marigold – planted in vegetable gardens produces a scent that repels many garden pests.
Mint – repels mosquitoes and produces an odor that aphids and cabbage pests dislike.
Garlic – 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:
½ 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
¼ cup olive oil, almond oil or avocado oil
½ 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
¾ cup borax
Combine ingredients in a blender until borax is dissolved.
Option 4:
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup lime juice
¼ 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
½ 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 ½ 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
½ 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
¼ 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)
½ cup flakes of grated hand soap
½ cup water
½ ounce beeswax
½ 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
¼ 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
¼ cup vodka
¼ 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
½ 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 – we could have a mixing party – 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 – 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.

In addition, my parents were civil rights activists and my mom has focused much of her life’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 – I have always felt that these were OUR problems and not someone else’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 didn’t know how to say “yes” without first questioning which language I should say it in. “Da” or “Yes” or “Si” or “Oui”…

I’m remembering now that the Scorpions “Winds of Change” came on while I was riding in the wedding limo at Alexey’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 …
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 – 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 “we” 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 – 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 – you are fine people and blessings for this bumbling traveler. Peace and very, very good things!

Andrei, Andrij and Roman

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 one’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 – 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 – 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

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 couldn’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 – 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 dance…

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 – 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 – 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 don’t know Orange is the color of the revolution here).

The baptism was in one of the oldest churches in Kyiv. Roman’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 Sherry’s (my wonderful wife) family for my sweet little goddaughter Sofia to wear. The second…. I will tell you more about that later. I met Sofia’s godmother Elena a very dear friend of Ira’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 couldn’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 child’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 Sofia’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 – but in this case I did not fall short. I feel and am still bathing in the thanks of Sofia’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 – 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 Roman’s home for a wonderful lunch and eloquent toasts (these people really know how to toast – I mean forget toastmasters people – 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.

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 wasn’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 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 – those of us who want a better world – 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 “big picture” 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 Roman’s wife Ira, as lovely a lady as one could meet – strong, beautiful and filled with appreciation for her family and her life – the four of us ventured to the old city to see Faust in the old opera house rebuilt in 1901. I’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 – 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 peace… end to suffering… but somehow I think those are made of days like this.

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 – the converters – all types – 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 – 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 – the unexpected – the new within ourselves that we so often forget when traveling routine and the everyday. It’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!

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? Don’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 – 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 don’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 – 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 don’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 – 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.

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 government’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 government’s oversight or in defiance of it.

The third is someone at the highest level has not stepped forward and said, “In 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. Don’t look if you don’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

Tanya Neiman is one of these souls. A few years ago I received a gift in becoming an acquaintance of Tanya’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 – 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 – it was a survivor’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 community’s heart it will be Tanya’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 – 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

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and PETA will receive 5 to 10 percent of every purchase at no additional cost
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*ABBA Products, w:st="on">7272 E. Indian School Rd.,
Ste. 110, w:st="on">Scottsdale, AZ ostalCode
w:st="on">85251;

800-848-4475;
www.abbahaircare.com

Abercrombie & Fitch, 6301 Fitch Path, w:st="on">New Albany, OH ostalCode
w:st="on">43054; 888-856-4480; www.abercrombie.com

Abra Therapeutics, P.O.
Box 795185, Dallas, w:st="on">TX 75379-5185;
800-745-0761; www.abratherapeutics.com

*Advanage Wonder Cleaner, 16615
S. Halsted St., Harvey, w:st="on">IL 60426;
800-323-6444; www.wondercleaner.com

Afrumos, w:st="on">P.O. Box 90613, Portland, w:st="on">OR 97290; 503-715-3127; www.afrumos.com

Alba
Botanica, 1105 Industrial Ave., Petaluma, CA 94952; 800-227-5120; www.albabotanica.com

Alexandra Avery Purely
Natural, 4717 S.E. Belmont,
Portland, OR
97215; 800-669-1863; www.alexandraavery.com

Alima Cosmetics, Inc., w:st="on">P.O.
Box 22624, w:st="on">Portland, OR ostalCode
w:st="on">97269; 503-236-8887;

www.alimacosmetics.com

*Allens Naturally, P.O. Box 514, Dept. style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS";mso-ansi-language:ES'>M, Farmington, MI
48332-0514; 800-352-8971; www.allensnaturally.com

Almay, 625 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10022;
212-572-5000; www.almay.com

Aloette
Cosmetics, 4900 Highland
Pkwy., Smyrna, GA 30082; 800-ALOETTE; www.aloette.com

Aloe
Up, 5821 E. Harrison Ave.,
Harlingen, TX 78550-1811; 800-950-2563; www.aloeup.com

Aloe
Vera of America, 9660
Dilworth Rd., Dallas, TX 75243; 214-343-5700

*Amazon
Premium Products, 3260
Keith Bridge Rd., #308, Cumming, GA 30041; 800-832-5645;

www.amazonpp.com

American Beauty,
767
Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10153; 866-352-8337; www.americanbeautycosmetics.com

American
International, 2220 Gaspar Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90040; 213-728-2999; www.aiibeauty.com

American Safety Razor
(Personna, Flicker, Bump Fighter),
240 Cedar Knolls Rd., Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927; 973-753-3000; www.asrco.com

*America’s
Finest Products Corp., 1639
Ninth St., Santa Monica, CA 90404; 800-482-6555

Amitée, 151 Kalmus Dr., Ste. H3, Costa Mesa, CA 92626;
800-966-6960; www.amitee.com

Ancient
Formulas, 638 W. 33rd St.
N., Wichita, KS 67204; 800-543-3026

Andrea International
Industries, 2220 Gaspar
Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90040; 213-728-2999; www.aiibeauty.com

Anna Marie’s Aromatherapy
& Massage, 108 Allan
Ln., Butler, PA 16001; 724-282-6469; www.annieallan.ameranet.com

The Apothecary Shoppe, 5940 S.W. Hood Ave., Portland, OR 97239;
800-487-8839; www.herbed.com

< ![if !vml]> src="CompaniesDontTest_files/image001.gif" v:shapes="_x0000_i1025"/>< ![endif]>Aqua Dessa, 2181 Harbor Bay Pkwy., Alameda, CA 94502;
510-814-9030; www.aquadessa.com

Aramis, 767 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10153;
212-572-3700; www.elcompanies.com

Arbonne
International, 9420 Jeronimo, Irvine, CA 92618; 800-ARBONNE; www.arbonne.com

Ardell
International, 2220 Gaspar
Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90040; 213-728-2999;

www.aiibeauty.com

Arganat Inc., 2402 Bedford, Montréal, QC H3S 2W9 Canada; 514-941-6955; www.arganat.net

*Aroma
Crystal Therapy, 155 Rainbow Rd., Salt Spring Island, BC V8K 2M3 Canada;

877-537-9211; www.aromacrystal.com

Aromaland, 1326 Rufina Cir., Santa Fe, NM 87505;
800-933-5267; www.buyaromatherapy.com

Aromaleigh,
Inc., 301 Central Ave., #325, Hilton Head, SC 29926; 843-681-4716; www.aromaleigh.com

Aroma
Vera, 5310 Beethoven St.,
Los Angeles, CA 90066; 800-669-9514; ww.aromavera.com

*Astonish
Industries, Inc., 423
Commerce Ln., Unit 2, W. Berlin, NJ 08091; 800-530-5385

At
Last Naturals, 401 Columbus
Ave., Valhalla, NY 10595; 800-527-8123; www.alast.com

Aubrey Organics, Inc., 4419 N. Manhattan Ave., Tampa, FL 33614;
800-AUBREYH;

www.aubrey-organics.com

Aunt Bee’s Skin Care, P.O. Box 2678, Rancho de Taos, NM 87577;
505-737-0522

Aura Cacia, 3021 78th St., P.O. Box 299, Norway, IA
52318; 800-437-3301; www.auracacia.com

*Auromère Ayurvedic Imports, 2621 W. Hwy. 12, Lodi, CA 95242;
800-735-4691; www.auromere.com

*Austin Rose, 177-F Riverside Ave., Newport Beach, CA
92663; 800-292-6339; www.austinrose.com

The Australasian College of
Health Sciences, 5940 S.W.
Hood Ave., Portland, OR 97239;

800-487-8839;
www.herbed.com

Autumn Harp, 61 Pine St., Bristol, VT 05443;
802-453-4807; www.autumnharp.com

Avalon Organic Botanicals, 1105 Industrial Ave., Petaluma, CA 94952;
800-227-5120; www.avalonorganics.com

Aveda Corporation, 4000 Pheasant Ridge Rd., Blaine, MN 55449;
800-328-0849; www.aveda.com

*Avigal Henna, 45-49 Davis St., Long Island City, NY
11101; 800-722-1011

Avon, 1251 Ave. of the Americas, New York, NY
10020; 212-282-7000; www.avon.com

A Wild Soap Bar, 21407 Union Lee Church Rd.,
Manor, TX 78653; 512-272-4058; www.awildsoapbar.com

*Ayurherbal Corporation, 1100 Lotus Dr., Silver ersonName
w:st="on">Lake, WI 53170; 414-889-8569

*Ayurveda Holistic Center, 82A Bayville Ave., Bayville, NY 11709;
516-628-8200; www.ayurvedahc.com

Bare Escentuals, 425 Bush St., 3rd Fl., San Francisco, CA
94108; 800-227-3990; www.bareescentuals.com

Basis, BDF Plaza, 360 Martin Luther King Dr.,
Norwalk, CT 06856; 203-853-8008; www.beiersdorf.com

Bath & Body Works, 7 Limited Pkwy. E., Reynoldsburg, OH 43068;
800-395-1001; www.bathandbodyworks.com

Bath Island, 44 Summit Pt., Ringwood, NJ 07456;
973-556-5475; www.bathisland.com

Bath Petals,
Inc., 830 S. Hill St., #850, Los Angeles, CA 90014; 888-228-4738; www.bathpetals.com

Baudelaire, P.O. Box 10116, Swanzey, NH 03446-0116;
800-327-2324; www.baudelairesoaps.com

BeautiControl, 2121 Midway Rd., Carrollton, TX 75006;
972-458-0601; www.beauticontrol.com

Beauty Naturally, 850 Stanton Rd., P.O. Box 4905, Burlingame,
CA 94010; 800-432-4323; www.beautynaturally.com

Beauty Without Cruelty, 1340-G Industrial Ave., Petaluma, CA 94952;
888-674-2344; www.beautywithoutcruelty.com

Beiersdorf, Wilton Corporate Center, 187 Danbury Rd.,
Wilton, CT 06897; 203-854-8000; www.beiersdorf.com

Belisama Bodyworks, 58 Church St., Saratoga Springs, NY 12866;
518-248-0090; www.belisamabodyworks.com

Berol, 2711 Washington Blvd., Bellwood, IL 60104;
800-438-3703; www.sanfordcorp.com

Better
Botanicals, 335 Victory
Dr., Herndon, VA 20170; 888-BB-HERBS; www.betterbotanicals.com

Beverly
Hills Cold Wax, P.O. Box
600476, San Diego, CA 92160; 800-833-0889

*BioFilm, 3225 Executive
Rdg., Vista, CA 92081; 800-848-5900; www.biofilm.com

*Biogime
International, 540 Sawdust
Rd., The Woodlands, TX 77380; 832-813-7201;

www.biogimeskincare.com

*BI-O-KLEEN,
P.O. Box 820689, Vancouver, WA 98682; 800-477-0188; www.bi-o-kleen.com

Biokosma (Caswell-Massey), 121 Fieldcrest Ave., Edison, NJ 08818-6161;
800-326-0500; www.caswell-massey.com

*Bio Pac, 584 Pinto Ct., Incline Village, NV 89451;
800-225-2855; www.bio-pac.com

Biotone, 4757 Old Cliffs Rd., San Diego, CA 92120;
619-582-0027; www.biotone.com

Blooming Lotus, 130 W. 18th St., Kansas City, MO
64108-1221; 866-444-4735

Bobbi Brown, 767 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10153;
212-572-4200; www.bobbibrown.com

Body Bistro, P.O. Box 5788, Beverly Hills, CA
90209-5788; 818-487-8181; www.bodybistro.com

Body Encounters, Crispin Square, 230 N. Maple Ave., Marlton,
NJ 08053; 800-839-2639; www.bodyencounters.com

Bodyography, 1641 16th St., Santa Monica, CA 90404;
800-642-2639; www.bodyography.com

The Body Shop, 5036 One World Way, Wake Forest, NC 27587;
919-554-4900;

www.the-body-shop.com

Body Time, 1101 Eighth St., Ste. 100, Berkeley, CA
94710; 888-649-2639; www.bodytime.com

Bon Ami/Faultless Starch, 1025 W. Eighth St., Kansas City, MO
64101-1200; 816-842-1230; www.bonami.com

< ![if !vml]> src="CompaniesDontTest_files/image001.gif" v:shapes="_x0000_i1026"/>< ![endif]>*Bonicca, 2182 El Camino Rd., #109, Oceanside, CA
92054; 760-721-2084; www.bonicca.com

Bonne
Bell, 1006 Crocker Rd.,
Westlake, OH 44145; 440-808-2410; www.bonnebell.com

Börlind
of Germany, Inc., P.O. Box
130, New London, NH 03257; 800-447-7024; www.borlind.com

style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS";mso-ansi-language:FR'>*Boscia, 811 Kaiser
Ave., Irvine, CA 92614; 888-635-8884; www.boscia.net

Botanical Skin Works, 1103 N. Washington St., 3^rd
Fl., Baltimore, MD 21213; 410-675-2006; www.botanicalworks.com

Botanics Skin Care, P.O. Box 384, Ukiah, CA 95482; 800-800-6141

Brocato International, 3939 E. 46th St., Minneapolis, MN 55406;
800-243-0275; www.brocatoamerica.com

*Bronzo Sensualé, Box 546225, Miami Beach, FL 33154;
800-991-2226; www.bronzosensuale.com

*Brookside Soap Company, 1309 Bonneville Ave., Ste. A, Snohomish, WA
98290-2065;

800-243-0275;
www.brooksidesoap.com

*Bug Off, P.O. Box 1881, Burlington, VT 05402-1881;
802-865-1680

Bugs B Wear, 4535 Hodgson Rd., Ste. 300, Shoreview, MN
55126; 651-429-6269; www.bugsbwear.com

Bumble and Bumble, 146 E. 56th St., New York, NY 10022;
800-7-BUMBLE; www.bumbleandbumble.com

Caeran,
5556 – 5th Line Eramosa,
R.R. # 1, Rockwood, ON N0B 2K0 Canada;

800-563-2974; www.caeran.com

Calaby Creations, 679 Meadowview Dr., Centerville, OH 45459;
937-545-8496;

www.calabycreations.com

*California North, Schoonmaker Pt. style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS";mso-ansi-language:ES'>Marina, P.O. Box 2820,
Sausalito, CA 94966-2820;

415-331-1633;
www.californianorth.com

California SunCare, 10877 Wilshire Blvd., 12th Fl., Los
Angeles, CA 90024; 800-SUN-CARE; www.caltan.com

Camocare, 61 Broadway, Ste. 1310, New York, NY 10006;
800-CAMOCARE; www.camocare.com

*Candy Kisses Natural Lip
Balm, 417 Fifth Ave., 9th
Fl., New York, NY 10016;

212-726-0714

Carina Supply, 304 Kennard Ave., North Vancouver, BC V7J
3J8 Canada; 604-985-5120; www.carinaorganics.com

Carlson Laboratories, 15 College Dr., Arlington Heights, IL
60004; 888-234-5656; www.carlsonlabs.com

Carma Laboratories, 5801 W. Airways Ave., Franklin, WI 53132;
414-421-7707;

www.carma-labs.com

Carrot Tree Soaps & Essentials, 8368 Serenity Ln., Pulaski, WI 54162;
866-260-6964;

www.carrottreesoaps.com

Caswell-Massey, 121 Fieldcrest Ave., Edison, NJ 08818-6161;
800-326-0500;

www.caswellmassey.com

Celestial Body, 21298 Pleasant Hill Rd., Boonville, MO
65233; 800-882-6858; www.celestialbody.com

Chanel, 9 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019;
800-550-0005; www.chanel.com

Christine Valmy, 285 Change Bridge Rd., Pine Brook, NJ
07058; 800-526-5057; www.christinevalmy.com

Chuckles (Farmavita USA), P.O. Box 5126, Manchester, NH 03109;
800-221-3496; www.sukesha.com

CiCi Cosmetics, 215 N. Eucalyptus Ave., Inglewood, CA
90301; 800-869-1224; www.cicicosmetics.com

Cinema
Secrets, 4400 Riverside
Dr., Burbank, CA 91505; 818-846-0579; www.cinemasecrets.com

*Citra-Solv, LLC, 188 Shadow Lake
Rd., Ridgefield, CT 06877; 800-343-6588; www.citrasolv.com

Citré Shine, 1063 McGaw, Ste. 100, Irvine, CA 92614;
949-794-5500; style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US'>www.citreshine.com

Clarins of Paris, 110 E. 59th St., New York, NY 10022; 212-980-1800;
www.clarins.com

*Clear Conscience, P.O. Box 17855,
Arlington, VA 22216-1785; 800-595-9592; www.clearconscience.com

Clear Logix, 1063 McGaw, Ste. 100, Irvine, CA 92614;
949-794-5500; style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US'>www.citreshine.com

*Clearly Natural Products, 1340 N. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma, CA 94954;
707-762-5815; www.clearlynaturalsoaps.com

*Clear Vue Products, 417 Canal St., P.O. Box 567, Lawrence, MA
01842; 978-794-3100; www.sunpointinc.com

Clientele, 14101 N.W. Fourth St., Sunrise, FL 33325;
800-327-4660; www.clientele.org

Climb
On Products, 691 La Buena Vista, Ste. B, Wimberly, TX 78676; 877-966-2600; www.climbonproducts.com
Clinique
Laboratories, 767 Fifth
Ave., New York, NY 10153; 212-572-3800; www.clinique.com

Collective Wellbeing, P.O. Box 2046, Irwindale, CA 91706;
800-896-4649; www.collectivewellbeing.com

Colonial Dames, 6820 E. Watcher St., Commerce, CA 90040;
800-774-6441;

www.colonial-dames.com

Color Me Beautiful, 14900 Conference Center Dr., Chantilly, VA
20151; 800-533-5503; www.colormebeautiful.com

Color My Image, 5025B Backlick Rd., Annandale, VA 22003;
703-354-9797; www.colormyimage.com

Common Scents, 128 Main St., Port Jefferson, NY 11777;
631-473-6370

Conair, 1 Cummings Point Rd., Stamford, CT 06904;
800-7-CONAIR; www.conair.com

Concept Now Cosmetics, 12020 Mora Dr., Ste. 9, Santa Fe Springs,
CA 90670; 800-CNC-1215; www.conceptnowcosmetics.com

Cosmyl, 1 Cosmyl Pl., Columbus, GA 31907;
800-262-4401

*Cot ’N Wash, 502 The Times Bldg., Ardmore, PA 19003;
800-355-WASH; www.cotnwash.com

Country Comfort, P.O. Box 2716, Lake
Arrowhead, CA 92352; 800-462-6617

*Country Save Corp., 19704 60th Ave. N.E., Arlington, WA 98223;
360-435-9868;

www.countrysave.com

*Countryside Herb Farms, P.O. Box 38, Conneautville, PA 16406;
800-447-8901;

www.countrysidefarm.org

Crabtree & Evelyn, 102 Peake Brook Rd., P.O. Box 167,
Woodstock, CT 06281-0167; 800-272-2873; www.crabtree-evelyn.com

*Crown Royale, Ltd., 99 Broad St., P.O. Box 5238, Phillipsburg,
NJ 08865; 800-992-5400

Cuccio
Naturalé, 29120 Ave. Paine, Valencia, CA 91355; 800-762-6245; www.starnail.com

Dallas Manufacturing Company, 4215 McEwen Rd., Dallas, TX 75244;
800-256-8669; www.thebrinkmanncorp.com

DampRid, Inc., 7701 Southland Blvd., Orlando, FL 32809;
888-DAMPRID; www.damprid.com

Dear God Kids, 389 Fifth Ave., Ste. 1100, New York, NY
10016, 212-779-0544; www.townleygirl.com

Decleor
USA, P.O. Box 1005, Darien, CT 06820; 800-722-2219; www.decleor.com

Deeply Founded Beauty, 16 Garden Gate Ct., St. Charles, MO 63304;
636-936-1963; www.deeplyfoundedbeauty.com

Dena
Corp., 850 Nicholas Blvd., Elk Grove Village, IL 60007; 800-932-3362; www.denacorp.com

*Denise Chaplin n.y.c., 90 W. Houston St., New York, NY 10012;
212-473-7853; 800-H-BENDEL; www.denisechaplinnyc.com

*Deodorant Stones of America, 9420 E. Doubletree Rd., Unit 101,
Scottsdale, AZ 85258;

800-279-9318;
www.deodorantstones.com

Derma-E, 4485 Runway St., Simi Valley, CA 93063;
800-521-3342; www.derma-e.com

Dermalogica, 1001 Knox St., Torrance, CA 90502;
800-345-2761; www.dermalogica.com

Dermatologic Cosmetic Labs, 20 Commerce St., East Haven, CT 06512;
800-552-5060

Desert Essence, 27460 Ave. Scott, Valencia, CA 91355-3473;
800-645-5768; www.desertessence.com

DeSoto, 900 E. Washington St., P.O. Box 609,
Joliet, IL 60434; 800-544-2814

Devita Natural Skin Care
Systems, 6845 W. McKnight
Loop, Ste. A, Glendale, AZ 85308;

877-2-DEVITA; www.devita.net

Diamond
Brands, 1800 Cloquet Ave., Cloquet, MN 55720; 800-777-7942; www.diamondbrands.com

Dickinson Brands, Inc., 31 E. High St., P.O. Box 149, East Hampton,
CT 06424; 888-860-2279

*Dirty Kitty Vegan Soapworks, 501 Park Ave., Elyria, OH 44035;
440-452-3763; www.cleanvegan.com

Donna Karan Beauty Company, 767 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10153;

212-572-4200; www.donnakaran.com

Dr.
A.C. Daniels, 109 Worcester Rd., Webster, MA 01570; 800-547-3760; www.drdaniels.com

*Dr.
Bronner’s Magic Soaps, P.O. Box 28, Escondido, CA 92033-0028; 760-743-2211; www.drbronner.com

Dr.
Goodpet, P.O. Box 4547, Inglewood, CA 90309; 800-222-9932; www.goodpet.com

Dr. Hauschka Skin Care, 59C North St., Hatfield, MA 01038;
800-247-9907; www.drhauschka.com

*Dr. Ken’s (Floss & Go), 1112 Montana Ave., Ste. D, Santa
Monica, CA 90403; 877-FLOSSGO; www.drkens.net

*Dr. Singha’s Natural
Therapeutics, 2500 Side
Cv., Austin, TX 78704; 800-856-2862; www.drsingha.com

< ![if !vml]> src="CompaniesDontTest_files/image001.gif" v:shapes="_x0000_i1027"/>< ![endif]>DRUIDE, 154 Oneida Dr., Pointe-Claire, QC H9R 1A8
Canada; 800-663-9693; www.druide.ca
*Earth Friendly Products, P.O. Box
607, Wood Dale, IL 60191-2688; 800-335-3267; www.ecos.com

*Earthly Matters, 2950 St. Augustine Rd., Jacksonville, FL
32207; 800-398-7503

*Earth Mama Angel Baby, 3959 S.W. Halcyon Rd., Tualatin, OR 97062; 503-638-0487;
www.earthmamaangelbaby.com

Earth’s Beauty, P.O.
Box 701, Dewey, AZ 86327; 888-586-9719; www.earthsbeauty.com

Earth Science, P.O. Box 40339, Santa Barbara, CA 93140;
800-347-5211; www.earthessentials.com

Earth Solutions, 1123 Zonolite Rd., #8, Atlanta, GA 30306;
800-883-3376; www.earthsolutions.com

Earth 2 Jane, 389 Fifth Ave., Ste. 1100, New York, NY
10016, 212-779-0544; www.townleygirl.com

Eberhard Faber, 2711 Washington Blvd., Bellwood, IL 60104;
800-438-3703; www.sanfordcorp.com

E. Burnham Cosmetics, 7117 N. Austin Ave., Niles, IL 60714;
847-647-2121

Ecco Bella Botanicals, 1123 Rte. 23, Wayne, NJ 07470;
973-696-7766; www.eccobella.com

Eco-DenT International, P.O. Box 325, Twin w:st="on">Lakes, WI 53181; 888-ECO-DENT; www.eco-dent.com

Eco
Design Company, 1330 Rufina Cir., Santa Fe, NM 87507; 800-621-2591; www.bioshieldpaint.com

Eco Lips, Inc., 329 10th Ave. S.E., Cedar Rapids, IA 52401;
866-326-5477; www.ecolips.com

Ecover, 2349 S. Eastern Ave., Los Angeles, CA
90040; 800-449-4925; www.ecover.com

Edward & Sons Trading Co., P.O. Box 1326, Carpinteria, CA 93014;
805-684-8500

< ![if !vml]> src="CompaniesDontTest_files/image001.gif" v:shapes="_x0000_i1028"/>< ![endif]>E.L.F.
Cosmetics, 1350 Broadway,
Ste. 1715, New York, NY 10018; 800-231-4732; www.eyeslipsface.com

Elizabeth Grady Face First, 222 Boston Ave., Medford, MA 02155;
800-FACIALS; www.elizabethgrady.com

*Elizabeth Van Buren
Aromatherapy, 303 Potrero
St., #33, P.O. Box 7542, Santa Cruz, CA 95061;

800-710-7759;
www.evb-aromatherapy.com

Ella Baché, 8 W. 36th St., 8th Fl., New York, NY 10018;
800-922-2430; www.ellabache.com

ELON Nail & Skin
Essentials, 38 Church Ave.,
Wareham, MA 02571; 800-414-ELON; www.ilovemynails.com

*Eminence Organic Skin Care, 2001-1715 Cook St., Vancouver, BC V5Y 3T6
Canada; 888-747-6342; www.eminenceorganics.com

English Ideas, 3111 Alpine St., Santa Ana, CA 92704;
800-547-5278; style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US'>www.liplast.com

EO Products, 15 A Kock Rd., Madera, CA 94925;
800-570-3775; www.eoproducts.com

Essence of Vali, Inc., 179 Christopher St., New York, NY 10014;
212-242-0576; www.essenceofvali.com

Essential Oil Company, 8225 S.E. Seventh Ave., Portland, OR
97202-6428; 800-729-5912; www.essentialoil.com

Essential 3, 145 Hummingbird Ln., Talent, OR 97540;
888-482-7662; www.essentialthree.com

Estée Lauder, 767 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10153;
212-572-4200; www.esteelauder.com

Eucerin, BDF Plaza, 360 Martin Luther King Dr.,
Norwalk, CT 06856;

203-853-8008;
www.beiersdorf.com

European Gold, 33 S.E. 11th St., Grand Rapids, MN 55744;
800-946-5395

Ever Girl, 389 Fifth Ave., Ste. 1100, New York, NY
10016, 212-779-0544; www.townleygirl.com

Every Body, Ltd., 1738 Pearl St., Ste. 107 F, Boulder, CO
80302; 800-748-5675; www.everybodyltd.com

*Exuberance International Inc., 270 Albert St., 12th Fl., Ottawa, ON K1P 5G8
Canada; 877-671-2639; www.exuberance.ca

FACE Atelier, 7620
Elbow Dr., P.O. Box 556, Calgary, AB T2V 1K2 Canada; 403-301-3391;
www.faceatelier.com

Face Food Shoppe, 21298 Pleasant Hill Rd., Boonville, MO
65233; 800-882-6858

Faith Products, Ltd., Unit 2, The Saw Mill, East Street, Bury,
Lancashire BL9 0RU England;

011
44 161 7642555; www.faithproducts.com

Farmavita USA (Chuckles), P.O. Box 5126, Manchester, NH 03109;
800-221-3496; www.sukesha.com

Faultless Starch (Bon Ami), 510 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106-1209;
816-842-1230; www.bonami.com

Fernand
Aubry, 22, rue de Canmartin, Paris, France; 011 33 1 4984 24 00

Fish Hair Styling, 304
Park Ave. S., 11^th Fl., New York, NY 10001; 212-590-2471;

www.shave.com

Fleabusters/Rx for Fleas, 6555 N.W. Ninth Ave., Ste. 412, Fort
Lauderdale, FL 33309; 800-666-3532; www.fleabuster.com

Flirt!, 767 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10153; 866-887-8884; www.flirtcosmetics.com

Flower Essences of Fox
Mountain, P.O. Box 381,
Worthington, MA 01098; www.foxmountain.net

Food Lion (house brand
products only), P.O. Box
1330, Salisbury, NC 28145-1330; 704-633-8250; www.foodlion.com

Forest Essentials, 601 Del Norte Blvd., Ste. F, Channel
Islands, CA 93030; 800-301-7767; www.forestessentials.com

Forest Nymphs, 2287 Euclid Ave., Long Beach, CA 90815;
562-331-9506; www.forestnymphs.com

Forever Living Products, 7501 E. McCormick Pkwy., Scottsdale, AZ
85258; 888-440-2563; www.foreverliving.com

Forever New Company, 156 St. Regis Cres. S., North York, ON M3J
1Y8 Canada;

800-463-CARE; www.fashionessentials.com

*Forever New International, 4701 N. Fourth Ave., Sioux Falls, SD
57104-0403; 800-456-0107; www.forevernew.com

< ![if !vml]> src="CompaniesDontTest_files/image001.gif" v:shapes="_x0000_i1029"/>< ![endif]>*Formulary
Herb Products, 2984 S.
Lynnhaven Rd., Ste. 120B, Virginia Beach, VA 23452; 877-427-0220; www.formularyherbs.com

Framesi, USA, 400 Chess St., Coraopolis, PA 15108;
800-321-9648

*Frank T. Ross (Nature Clean), 6550 Lawrence Ave. E., Scarborough, ON M1C
4A7 Canada;

416-282-1107;
www.franktross.com

Freeda Vitamins, 36 E. 41st St., New York, NY 10017;
800-777-3737; www.freedavitamins.com

*Freeman Beauty, 10474 Santa Monica Blvd., Ste. 300, Los
Angeles, CA 90025; 310-446-9300; style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US'>www.freemanbeauty.com

*French Transit, 398 Beach Rd., Burlingame, CA 94010;
800-829-7625; www.thecrystal.com

*Fresh Body Market, 2030 Century Center Blvd., Ste. H, Irving,
TX 75062; 866-313-7374;

www.freshbodymarket.com

*Frontier Natural Products
Co-op, 3021 78th St., P.O.
Box 299, Norway, IA 52318; 800-669-3275; www.frontiercoop.com

Fruit of the Earth, P.O. Box 152044, Irving, TX 75015-2044;
800-527-7731; www.fote.com

*Gabriel Cosmetics, P.O. Box 50130, Bellevue, WA 98015;
800-497-6419; www.gabrielcosmeticsinc.com

Garden Botanika, 11121 Willows Rd. N.E., Ste. 210, Redmond,
WA 98052-1016; 800-968-7842; www.gardenbotanika.com

Garmon Corp., 27461-B Diaz Rd., Temecula, CA 92590;
888-628-8783; www.naturvet.com

Georgette Klinger, 501 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10022;
800-KLINGER; www.georgetteklinger.com

Gigi
Laboratories, 2220 Gaspar Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90040; 213-728-2999; www.aiibeauty.com

Giovanni Cosmetics, 21580 S. Wilmington Ave., Carson, CA 90810;
800-563-5468; www.giovannicosmetics.com

Glad Rags, P.O. Box 12648, Portland, OR 97212;
800-799-4523; www.gladrags.com

Golden Pride/Rawleigh, 1501 Northpoint Pkwy., Ste. 100, West Palm
Beach, FL 33407; 561-640-5700; www.rawleigh.com

Goldwell USA, 981 Corporate Blvd., Linthicum Heights, MD
21090; 800-288-9118; www.goldwellusa.com

good skin, 767 Fifth Ave.,
New York, NY 10153; 866-352-8338; www.goodskindermcare.com

göt2b, 1063 McGaw, Ste. 100, Irvine, CA 92614; 949-794-5500; www.got2b.com

*Great American, The Wholefood Farmacy,
117 E. Main St., Rogersville, TN 37857;

866-550-8638;
www.thewholefoodfarmacy.com

*Green Ban, P.O. Box 146, Norway, IA 52318;
319-446-7495; www.greenban.com

Green Girl Basics, 46 W. Tulane Rd., Columbus, OH 43202;
614-263-3938; www.greengirlbasics.com

*Greenridge Herbals, 9237 S. Mica Mine Rd., Littleton, CO 80127;
866-250-4372; www.greenridgeherbals.com

Gustavo Cosmetics, 1200 N. Veitch St., Ste. 812, Arlington, VA
22201; 800-58-FACE1; www.gustavocosmetics.com

Halo, Purely for Pets, 3438 E. Lake
Rd., #14, Palm Harbor, FL 34685; 800-426-4256; www.halopets.com

Hard Candy, 729 Farad St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627;
866-330-CANDY; www.hardcandy.com/?LID=PTA1

*Hawaiian Resources, 68-309 Crozier Dr., Waialua, HI 96791;
808-636-2300;

www.mailorderhawaii.com

The Health Catalog, 460 Oak St., Ste.104, Glendale, CA 
91204; 800-651-0062; www.healthcatalog.com

*Healthy Times, 13200 Kirkham Way, Ste. 104, Poway, CA
92064; 619-513-1550; www.healthytimes.com

*Heather’s Natural &
Organic Cleaning Products,
3515 Eastham, Culver City, CA 90232;

877-JASON-01;
www.heathersnaturals.com

Hello Kitty, 389 Fifth Ave., Ste. 1100, New York, NY
10016, 212-779-0544; www.townleygirl.com

The Hempery, 4713 Stillbrook, Houston, TX 77035;
800-BUY-HEMP; www.hempery.com

Henri Bendel, 712 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10019;
800-HBENDEL; www.henribendel.com

Herbal Logix, 1063 McGaw, Ste. 100, Irvine, CA 92614;
949-794-5500; style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US'>www.citreshine.com

Herbal Products &
Development, P.O. Box 1084,
Aptos, CA 95001; 831-688-8706; www.centralcoastnutrition.com

Hobé Laboratories, 6479 S. Ash Ave., Tempe, AZ 85283;
800-528-4482; www.hobelabs.com

Hoke2, 1147 Fewtrell Dr., Campbell, CA 95008;
877-438-4652; www.hoke2.com

*Home Service Products, P.O. Box 129, Lambertville, NJ 08530;
609-397-8674

House of Cheriss, 12750 Westchester Tr.,
Chesterland, OH 44026-2836; 216-397-0036

H2O Plus, 845 W. Madison, Chicago, IL 60607;
800-242-BATH; www.h2oplus.com

Huish Detergents, 3540 W. 1987 S., Salt ersonName
w:st="on">Lake City, UT 84125; 800-776-6702; www.huish.com

Ida Grae (Nature’s Colors
Cosmetics), 424 La Verne
Ave., Mill Valley, CA 94941; 415-388-6101

Il-Makiage, 107 E. 60th St., New York, NY 10022;
800-722-1011

ILONA, 3201 E. Second Ave., Denver, CO 80206;
888-38-ILONA; www.ilona.com

*Innovative Formulations, 1810 S. Sixth Ave., S. Tucson, AZ 85713;
800-487-9510; www.innovativeformulations.com

Internal Health, www.internalhealth.com

IQ Products Company, 16212 State Hwy. 249, Houston, TX 77086;
281-444-6454; www.iqproducts.com

Iredale Mineral Cosmetics,
Ltd., 28 Church St., Great
Barrington, MA 01230;

413-644-9900; www.janeiredale.com

Jacki’s Magic Lotion, 145 Hummingbird Ln., Talent, OR 97540;
800-355-8428; www.jackismagiclotion.com

James Austin Company, 115 Downieville Rd., P.O. Box 827, Mars, PA 16046-0827; 800-245-1942; www.jamesaustin.com

Jamieson Laboratories, 2 St. Clair Ave. W., Ste. 1600, Toronto, ON
M4V 1L5 Canada; 800-265-5088; www.jamiesonvitamins.com

Jane, 767 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10153; 212-572-4200; www.janecosmetics.com

Jason Natural Cosmetics, 8468 Warner Dr., Culver City, CA
90232-2484; 800-527-6605;

www.jason-natural.com

Jeanne Rose Aromatherapy, 219 Carl St., San Francisco, CA 94117-3804;
415-564-6785; www.jeannerose.net

Jess’ Bee Natural Products, P.O. Box
82512, Columbus, OH 43202; 614-784-8565; www.beenaturallipbalm.com

Jessica McClintock, 1400 16th St., San Francisco, CA
94103-5181; 800-333-5301; www.jessicamcclintock.com

Jheri Redding (Conair), 1 Cummings Point Rd., Stamford, CT 06902;
800-7-CONAIR; www.conair.com

Joe Blasco Cosmetics, 6107 Metrowest Blvd. #101, Orlando, FL 3283; 800-634-0008;
www.joeblasco.com

John Amico Expressive Hair
Care, 4731 W. 136th St.,
Crestwood, IL 60445; 800-676-5264; www.johnamico.com

John Masters Organics, 77 Sullivan St., New York, NY 10012;
800-599-2450; www.johnmasters.com

John Paul Mitchell Systems, 9701 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 1205, Beverly
Hills, CA 90212;

800-321-JPMS; www.jpms.com

JOICO
International, P.O. Box 42308, Los Angeles, CA 90042-0308;
800-44-JOICO; www.joico.com

Jolen Creme Bleach, 25 Walls Dr., P.O. Box 458, Fairfield, CT
06824; 203-259-8779

Jo Malone, 767 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10153;
866-305-4706; www.jomalone.com

*Joyful Hands Holistic Pet
Care and Bakery,
619-440-4409; www.joyfulhands.com

*J.R. Liggett, Ltd., R.R. 2, Box 911, Cornish, NH 03745;
603-675-2055; www.jrliggett.com

Juice Beauty, Inc., 38 Miller Ave., #180, Mill Valley, CA
94941; 888-90-JUICE; www.juicebeauty.com

Jurlique Pure Skin Care, 2714 Apple Valley Rd. N.E., Atlanta, GA
30319-3139; 800-854-1110; www.jurlique.com

Kate Spade Beauty, 454 Broome St., New York, NY 10013;
800-519-3778; www.katespade.com

Katonah Scentral, P.O. Box 716, Katonah, NY 10536;
800-29-SCENT

Kenic Pet Products, 400 Lincoln St., Lawrenceburg, KY
40342-1282; 800-228-7387;

www.glo-marr-kenic.com

Kenra Laboratories, 6501 Julian Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46219;
800-428-8073; www.kenra.com

Kiehl’s, 109 Third Ave., New York, NY 10003;
800-KIEHLS1; www.kiehls.com

King of Shaves, 304 Park Ave. S.,
11^th Fl., New York, NY 10001; 212-590-2471;

www.shave.com

*Kirk’s Natural Products, 7329 W. Harrison St., Forest Park, IL
60130; 800-825-4757; www.kirksnatural.com

Kiss My Face, 144 Main St., P.O. Box
224, Gardiner, NY 12525; 800-262-KISS; www.kissmyface.com

KMS Research, 4712 Mountain Lakes
Blvd., Redding, CA 96003; 800-DIAL-KMS; www.kmshaircare.com

*KSA Jojoba, 19025 Parthenia St., #200, Northridge, CA
91324; 818-701-1534; www.jojoba-ksa.com

*LaCrista, 801 N. East St., Frederick, MD 21701;
301-682-9611; www.lacrista.com

*Lady of the ersonName
w:st="on">Lake,
P.O. Box 6969, Brookings, OR 97415-0355; 541-469-3354; www.shopladyofthelake.com

Lakon
Herbals, R.R. 1, Box 4710, Montpelier, VT 05602; 800-865-2566; www.lakonherbals.com

*Lamas
Beauty, 6222 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 302, Los Angeles, CA 90048; 877-604-6521;

www.lamasbeauty.com

La Mer, 767 Fifth Ave.,
New York, NY 10153; 866-850-9400; www.cremedelamer.com

*LaNatura, 5033
Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90016; 800-352-6288; www.lanatura.com

Lander
Company, 2000 Lenox Dr., Ste. 202, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648; 800-4-LANDER; www.lander-hbc.com

L’anza
Research International, 429 Santa Monica Blvd., Ste. 510, Santa Monica, CA
90401;

310-393-5227;
www.lanza.com

La Prairie, 680 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10019;
800-821-5718;

www.laprairie.com

Lather, 76 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, CA 91103;
877-6-LATHER; style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US'>www.lather.com

Lauren
Amoresse International, 4981 Irwindale Ave., Bldg. 15, Ste. 600, Irwindale, CA
91706;

800-258-7931; www.amoresse.com

Lee
Pharmaceuticals, 1434 Santa Anita Ave., South El Monte, CA 91733;
800-950-5337; www.leepharmaceuticals.com

Liberty Natural Products, 8120 S.E. Stock St., Portland, OR
97215-2346; 800-289-8427; www.libertynatural.com

*Life in the Woods, 408 Peel St., Whitby, ON L1N 3Y4 Canada;
905-668-9898; www.lifeinthewoods.ca

*Life Tree Products, P.O. Box 325, Twin Lakes, WI 53181;
800-824-6396; www.lifetreeproducts.com

Lily of Colorado, P.O. Box 437, Henderson, CO 80640;
800-333-LILY; www.lilyofcolorado.com

style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS";color:black;mso-ansi-language:ES'>*Lip-Ink
International, 105 Eucalyptus Dr., El Segundo, CA 90245;
310-414-9246; www.lipink.com

*Little Forest Natural Baby
Products, 501 Union St.,
Ste. 201, Nashville, TN 37219;

888-329-BABY;
www.littleforest.com

Liz Claiborne Cosmetics, 1441 Broadway, New York, NY 10018;
212-354-4900; www.lizclaiborne.com

Lizzie McGuire, 389 Fifth Ave., Ste. 1100, New York, NY
10016, 212-779-0544; www.townleygirl.com

*Lobob
Laboratories, 1440 Atteberry Ln., San Jose, CA 95131-1410;
800-83-LOBOB; www.loboblabs.com

Logona
USA, 554-E Riverside Dr., Asheville, NC 28801; 704-252-1420;

www.logona.de/E/

Lotus Moon, 1271 Washington Ave., #720, San Leandro, CA
94577; 888-762-2667; www.lotusmoon.biz

Louise Bianco Skin Care, 13655 Chandler Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA
91401; 800-782-3067; www.louisebianco.com

M.A.C. Cosmetics, 100 Alden Rd., Markham, ON L3R 4C1 Canada;
800-387-6707; www.maccosmetics.com

Magick Botanicals, 3412 W. MacArthur Blvd., #K, Santa Ana, CA
92704; 800-237-0674; www.magickbotanicals.com

The Magic of Aloe, 7300 N. Crescent Blvd., Pennsauken, NJ
08110; 800-257-7770; www.magicofaloe.com

Malibu Sun Products, 1014 Laurel St., Ste. 200, Brainerd, MN
56401-3779; 800-421-7314

Mallory Pet Supplies, 740 Rinkin Rd. N.E., Albuquerque, NM 87107;
800-824-4464; www.mallorypet.com

*Marcal Paper Mills, 1 Market St., Elmwood Park, NJ 07407;
201-796-4000; www.marcalpaper.com

Marché
Image Corp., P.O. Box 1010, Bronxville, NY 10708; 800-753-9980

Marie-Veronique
Skin Therapy, 2826 A Kelsey St., Berkeley,
CA 94705; 510-486-9792; www.m-vskintherapy.com

Marilyn Miglin Institute, 112 E. Oak St., Chicago, IL 60611;
800-662-1120; www.marilynmiglin.com

Mary Kay, 16251 N. Dallas Pkwy., P.O. Box 799045, Dallas,
TX 75379-9045;

800-MARYKAY;
www.marykay.com

*Masada, P.O. Box 4118, Chatsworth, CA 91313;
800-368-8811; www.masada-spa.com

Mastey
de Paris, 25413 Rye Canyon Rd., Valencia, CA 91355; 800-6-MASTEY; www.mastey.com

Maya McGuire, 389 Fifth Ave., Ste. 1100, New York, NY
10016, 212-779-0544; www.townleygirl.com

*Meadow View Garden, P.O. Box 407, Wyoming, RI 02898;
800-499-7037; www.meadowviewimports.com

Mehron, 100 Red Schoolhouse Rd., Chestnut Ridge, NY
10977; 800-332-9955; www.mehron.com

Mère
Cie, 3840 Finley Ave., Bldg. 37, Ste. D, Santa Rosa, CA 95407; 800-832-4544;

www.merecie.com

Merle
Norman, 9130 Bellanca Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90045; 310-641-3000;

www.merlenorman.com

Merry Hempsters, P.O. Box 1301, Eugene, OR 97440;
888-SEED-OIL; www.merryhempsters.com

< ![if !vml]> src="CompaniesDontTest_files/image001.gif" v:shapes="_x0000_i1031"/>< ![endif]>MESS
Makeup, 224 W. 30th St.,
New York, NY 10001; 212-643-3195; www.messmakeup.biz

Method Products, Inc., 30 Hotaling Pl., 3rd Fl., San Francisco, CA
94111; 866-9-METHOD; www.methodhome.com

*Mia Rose Products, Inc., 177-F Riverside Ave., Newport Beach, CA
92663; 800-292-6339; www.miarose.com

Michelle Lazar International, 1299 E. San Bernardino Ave., San
Bernardino, CA 92408-2943;

909-796-3100

*Micro Balanced Products, 225 County Rd., Tenafly, NJ 07670;
800-626-7888

Mill Creek Botanicals, 2951 Marion Dr., Ste. 121, Las Vegas, NV
89115; 866-447-6758; www.millcreekbotanicals.com

Mira Linder Spa in the City, 29935 Northwestern Hwy., Southfield, MI
48034; 800-321-8860; www.miralinder.net

Montagne
Jeunesse, P.O. Box 39-F, Denver, CO 80239-0019; 800-552-5742; www.montagnejeunesseusa.com

Moonshine Soap, 542 Luther Palmer Rd., Cleveland, GA 30528; 706-219-2404; www.moonshinesoap.com

Morrocco Method, 135 Howard Ave., Los Osos, CA 93402-2322;
805-534-1600; www.morroccomethod.com

*Mother’s Little Miracle, 27520 Hawthorne Blvd., Ste. 125, Rolling
Hills Estate, CA 90274; 310-544-7129

*Mountain Green,
12650
N. 103^rd Pl., Scottsdale, AZ 85260; 866-686-4733; www.mtngreen.com

Mountain Ocean, 5150 Valmont Rd., Boulder, CO 80306;
303-444-2781; www.mountainocean.com

Mr. Christal’s, 6283 Industrial Rd., Las Vegas, NV
89118-3841; 800-426-0108; www.mrchristals.com

Murad, 2121 Rosecrans
Ave., 5th Fl., El Segundo, CA 90245; 888-99-MURAD; www.murad.com

Mystic Wonders, P.O. Box 253, Holstein, IA 51025; 888-452-4968; www.mysticwondersinc.com

*Naava, Inc., 4971 Pernod Ave., Ste. A, Saint Louis, MO
63139-1251; 314-832-3544

Nadina’s Cremes, 3813 Middletown Branch Rd., Vienna, MD
21869; 800-722-4292;

www.nadinascremes.com

Naikid, Inc., P.O. Box 435, Union, NJ 07083-0435; www.naikid.com

*Nala Barry Labs, 5312 Derry Ave. #P, Agoura, CA 91301; 818-597-1447; style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS";mso-ansi-language:ES'>

www.nalabarry.com

Narwhale of High Tor, Ltd., 591 S. Mountain Rd., New City, NY 10956;
800-MD-CREAM; www.mdcream.com

*Natracare, 14901 E. Hampden Ave., Ste. 190, Aurora, CO
80014; www.natracare.com

Naturade, 14370 Myford Rd., Ste. 100, Irvine, CA
92602; 800-367-2880; www.naturade.com

Natura Essentials, 2845 Harriet Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN
55406; 888-606-0055; www.naturaessentials.com

Natural Animal Health
Products, 7000 U.S. 1 N.,
St. Augustine, FL 32095; 800-274-7387; www.naturalanimal.com

Natural Bodycare, 100 S. Lucia Ave., #2, Redondo Beach, CA
90277; 310-323-2125;

www.natural-bodycare.com

Natural Chemistry, 76 Progress Dr., Stamford, CT 06902;
800-753-1233; www.naturalchemistry.com

*Naturally Yours, Alex, 1848 Murray Ave., Clearwater, FL 33755;
800-546-4164

*Natural Research People, 810 Dean Creek, Lavina, MT 59046;
406-575-4343

*Natural Salt Lamps, 6448 N. Francisco, Chicago, IL 60645;
312-224-2710; www.naturalsaltlamps.com

*Nature Clean (Frank T. Ross), 6550 Lawrence Ave. E., Scarborough, ON M1C
4A7

Canada;
416-282-1107; www.franktross.com

Nature’s Acres, 8984 E. Weinke Rd., New Freedom, WI 53951;
800-499-HERB

*Nature’s Best (Natural
Research People), 810 Dean
Creek, Lavina, MT 59046; 406-575-4343

*Nature’s Country Pet, 1765 Garnet Ave., Ste. 12, San Diego, CA
92109; 800-576-PAWS

Nature’s Gate, 9200 Mason Ave., Chatsworth, CA 91311; 800-327-2012;
www.naturesgatebeauty.com

Nature’s Plus, 548 Broadhollow Rd., Melville, NY
11747-3708; 800-645-9500; www.naturesplus.com

Nature’s Soap Dish, 5913 N.E. 102nd Ave., Ste. # 1, Vancouver,
WA 98662; 360-885-4727; www.naturessoapdish.com

Naturopathica, 74 Montauk Hwy., East Hampton, NY 11937;
800-669-7618; www.naturopathica.com

*Neo Soma, P.O. Box 393, Deerfield, IL 60015;
877-NEO-SOMA; style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US'>www.neosoma.com

*New Age Products, P.O. Box 1153, Port Townsend, WA 98368;
800-736-0612

Neways, P.O. Box 651, Salem, UT 84653; 800-998-7233;
www.neways.com

*New Chapter Extracts, P.O. Box 1947, Brattleboro, VT 05302;
800-543-7279;

www.new-chapter.com

New Vision, 8322 E. Hartford Dr., Scottsdale, AZ 85255;
800-MINERALS; www.newvision.com

Nexxus Products, P.O. Box 1274, Santa Barbara, CA 93116;
805-968-6900; www.nexxusproducts.com

Nikken, 52 Discovery Rd., Irvine, CA 92618;
800-669-8859; www.nikken.com

*Nirvana, P.O. Box 325, Twin Lakes,
WI 53181; 800-432-2919; 800-824-6396

Nivea, BDF Plaza, 360 Martin Luther King Dr.,
Norwalk, CT 06856; 203-854-8000; www.nivea.com

No Common Scents, Kings Yard, 220 Xenia Ave., Yellow Springs,
OH 45387; 800-686-0012; www.nocommonscents.com

Nordstrom Cosmetics, 865 Market St., San Francisco, CA 94103;
800-7-BEAUTY; www.nordstrom.com

*Norelco, 1010 Washington Blvd., Stamford, CT
06912-0015; 203-973-0200; www.norelco.com

North Country Glycerine Soap, 7888 County Rd., #6, Maple Plain, MN 55359-9552;
800-667-1202; www.specialtysoapsinternational.com

N/R Laboratories, 868 Pleasant Valley Dr., Springboro, OH
45066; 800-223-9348; www.norinse.com

Nu Skin International, One NuSkin Plz., 75 W. Center, Provo, UT
84601; 800-366-6875; www.nuskin.com

NutriBiotic, P.O. Box 238, Lakeport,
CA 95453; 800-225-4345; www.nutribiotic.com

*Nutri-Cell, 1038 N. Tustin, Ste. 309, Orange, CA 92867-5958; 714-953-8307

Nutri-Metics International, 10410 Papalote St., Ste. 16, Houston, TX
77041;
866-678-9986; www.myavalla.com

*NuTru, Inc., 627 11^th
St., Wilmette, IL 60091; 847-251-0513; www.nutru.com

*Oliva, P.O. Box 4387, Reading, PA 19606;
610-779-7854

ONLY YOURx Skin Care, 25028 Kearney Ave., Valencia, CA 91355;
800-877-4849; www.onlyyourx.com

OPI Products, 13034 Saticoy St., N. Hollywood, CA 91605;
800-341-9999; www.opi.com

*Orange-Mate, P.O. Box 883, Waldport, OR 97394;
800-626-8685; www.orangemate.com

Organic Health and Beauty, 12400 Ventura Blvd., #123, Studio
City, CA 91604; 866-787-3642; www.organichealthandbeauty.com

The Organic Make-up Company,
Inc., 11 Crawford St.,
Markham, ON L6C 2L4 Canada;

905-887-5634;
www.organicmakeup.ca

Organix South, 6290-B 147th Ave. N., Clearwater, FL 33760;
888-989-6336; www.organixsouth.com

Oriflame USA, P.O. Box 977, Waxhaw, NC 28173;
704-843-3102

Origins Natural Resources, 767 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10153;
212-572-4100

*Orjene Natural Cosmetics, 3352 81st St., Apt. 22, Jackson Heights, NY
11372-1338; 800-886-7536

Orlane, 555 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10022;
800-535-3628; www.orlaneusa.com

Orly International, 9309 Deering Ave., Chatsworth, CA 91311;
800-275-1111; www.orlyproducts.com

*Osea International, 30765 Pacific Coast Hwy., Ste. 205, Malibu,
CA 90265; 800-576-6732; www.oseaskin.com

Otto Basics–Beauty 2 Go!, P.O. Box 9023, Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067;
800-598-OTTO

*Oxyfresh Worldwide, 1301 N. Lakewood
Dr., Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814-4912; 800-223-7374; www.oxyfreshww.com

*Parlux
Fragrances, 3725 S.W. 30th Ave., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312;
800-727-5895; www.parlux.com

Pathmark Stores (house brand
products only), 200 Milik
St., Carteret, NJ 07008; 732-499-3000; www.pathmark.com

Patricia
Allison Natural Beauty, 4470 Monahan Rd., La Mesa, CA 91941; 800-858-8742

*Paul Mazzotta, P.O. Box 96, Reading, PA 19607;
610-376-2250; www.ecocare.com

Paul Mitchell, 9701 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 1205, Beverly
Hills, CA 90212; 800-321-JPMS; www.paulmitchell.com

style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS";mso-ansi-language:DE'>Paul Penders, 303 Industri
Kedah, 07000 Kuah, Langkawi, Malaysia; 604-966-9688; www.paulpenders.com

PetGuard, 165 Industrial Loop S., Unit 5, Orange
Park, FL 32073; 800-874-3221; www.petguard.com

*Pets ’N People, 27520 Hawthorne Blvd., Ste. 125, Rolling
Hills Estate, CA 90274; 310-544-7129

*Pharmagel International, P.O. Box 2288, Monterey, CA 93942;
800-882-4889

*Pharmacopia, 1525 E. Francisco Blvd., #9, San Rafael, CA
94901; 877-389-9898;

www.pharmacopia.net

*PH Beauty Labs, 10474 Santa Monica Blvd., Ste. 300, Los
Angeles, CA 90025; 310-446-9300; www.phbeauty.com

Physicians Formula, 1055 W. Eighth St., Azusa, CA 91702;
626-334-3395; www.physiciansformula.com

*Pilot Corporation of America, 60 Commerce Dr., Trumbull, CT 06611;
203-377-8800; www.pilotpen.com

*Pittstown Soapworks, 436 Pittstown Rd., Pittstown, NJ 08867; 908-730-8631

*Planet, P.O. Box
48184, Victoria, BC V8Z 7H6 Canada; 800-858-8449; www.planetinc.com

PlantEssence, 1631 N.E. Broadway St., #235, Portland, OR
97232; 800-752-6898; www.plantessence.com

Power Puff Girls, 389 Fifth Ave., Ste. 1100, New York, NY
10016; 212-779-0544; www.townleygirl.com

prawduct, 1107 Fair Oaks Ave., # 334, South
Pasadena, CA 90065; 323-221-6779

www.thekitchenbeautician.com

Precious Moments, 389 Fifth Ave., Ste. 1100, New York, NY
10016, 212-779-0544; www.townleygirl.com

Prescriptives, 767 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10153;
212-572-4400

Prestige Cosmetics, 1601 Green Rd., Pompano Beach, FL 33064;
800-722-7488; www.prestigecosmetics.com

Prestige Fragrances, 625 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10022;
212-572-5000

The Principal Secret, 3340 Ocean Park Blvd., Ste. 3055, Santa
Monica, CA 90405; 800-545-5595; www.principalsecret.com

Professional Pet Products, 1873 N.W. 97th Ave., Miami, FL 33172;
800-CALL-PPP

Pro-Tec Pet Health, 5440 Camus Rd., Carson City, NV 89701-9306;
800-44-FLEAS;

www.protec-pet-health.com

Puig USA, 70 E. 55th St., New York, NY 10022;
212-980-9620; www.puig.com

*Pulse Products, 16310 Garfield Ave., Paramount, CA 90723;
800-477-8573; www.oneononebodycare.com

Pure & Basic Products, 20633 Fordyce Ave., Carson, CA 90810;
800-432-3787; www.pureandbasic.com

*PureOlogy Serious Colour
Care, 2010 Main St., Ste.
650, Irvine, CA 92614; 800-331-1502; www.pureology.com

*Pure Touch, P.O. Box 234, Glen Ellen, CA 95442;
800-442-7873; www.puretouch.net

< ![if !vml]> src="CompaniesDontTest_files/image001.gif" v:shapes="_x0000_i1030"/>< ![endif]>Purity
Cosmetics, 2181 Harbor Bay
Pkwy., Alameda, CA 94502; 510-814-9030; title="http://www.puritycosmetics.com/">www.puritycosmetics.com
Queen Helene, 100 Rose Ave.,
Hempstead, NY 11550; 800-645-3752; www.queenhelene.com

Queen of Trees, 9150 S. Willow Dr., Tempe, AZ 85284;
602-367-4463; www.queenoftrees.com

Rachel Perry, 15140 Keswick St., Van Nuys, CA 91405-1012;
800-966-8888; www.rachelperry.net

*Radiant Hands, 30707 Co Rd. 1, La Crescent, MN 55947;
507-643-5167

Rainbow Brite, 389 Fifth Ave., Ste. 1100, New York, NY
10016, 212-779-0544; www.townleygirl.com

Rainbow Research Corporation, 170 Wilbur Pl., Bohemia, NY 11716;
800-722-9595; www.rainbowresearch.com

*Recycline, 681 Main St., Waltham, MA 02451;
888-354-7296; www.recycline.com

Rejuvi Laboratory, Inc., 360 Swift Ave., Ste. 38, San Francisco, CA
94080; 800-588-2279; www.rejuvilab.com

Renée
Rouleau, 4025 Preston Rd., Ste. 606, Plano, TX 75093; 888-211-7560; www.reneerouleau.com

Reviva Labs, 705 Hopkins Rd., Haddonfield, NJ 08033;
800-257-7774; www.revivalabs.com

Revlon, 237 Park Ave., New York, NY 10017;
800-473-8566; www.revlon.com

*Rivers Run, 6120 W. Tropicana A16-357, Las Vegas, NV
89103; 800-560-6753; www.riversrun.net

Rodan + Fields, 1550 Bryant St.,
Ste. 555, San Francisco, CA 94103; 888-995-5656;

www.rodanandfields.com

*Royal Labs Natural Cosmetics, P.O. Box 22434, Charleston, SC 29413;
800-760-7779;

www.aromabella.com

Rusk, 1 Cummings Point Rd., Stamford, CT 06904;
800-USE-RUSK; www.rusk1.com

Safeway (house brand products
only), 5918 Stoneridge Mall
Rd., Pleasanton, CA 94588-3229;

800-SAFEWAY;
www.safeway.com

Sanctuary Botanicals, 2-278 Westmorland St., Fredericton, NB E3B
3M2 Canada
506-454-4224; www.sanctuarybotanicals.com

Sanford, 2711 Washington Blvd., Bellwood, IL 60104;

800-323-0749; www.sanfordcorp.com

*Santa
Fe Botanical Fragrances, P.O. Box 282, Santa Fe, NM 87504; 505-474-0302

*Santa Fe Soap Company, 369 Montezuma, #167, Santa Fe, NM 87501;
888-762-7227; www.santafesoap.com

*Sappo Hill Soap Works, 654 Tolman Creek Rd., Ashland, OR 97520;
800-863-7627; www.sappohill.com

*Scanida Spa, 1900 Superior Ave., Ste. 209, Cleveland, OH
44114; 216-932-4963; www.scandiaspa.com

Scents of Well Being, 145 Hummingbird Ln., Talent, OR 97540;
800-355-8428; www.scentsofwell-being.com

Schiff Products, 2002 S. 5070 W., Salt ersonName
w:st="on">Lake City, UT 84104; 800-444-5200; www.schiffvitamins.com

Scruples, 8231 214th St. W., Lakeville,
MN 55044; 800-457-0016; www.scrupleshaircare.com

*SeaChi Organics, P.O. Box 4734, Palm
Springs, CA 92263; 760-320-3122; www.seachi.com

Sebastian International (Wella), 429 Santa
Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401;

800-829-7322;
www.sebastian-intl.com

Secret Gardens, P.O. Box 449, North San Juan, CA 95960;
800-537-8766

* Sensitille
Naturals Ltd., #214-3495
Cambie St., Vancouver, BC V5Z 4R3 Canada; 888-488-1808; www.sensitille.com

Serf to Surf Products, 259 Hastings St. E., Vancouver, BC V6A 1P2
Canada; 604-669-2207; www.serftosurf.com

*SerVaas Laboratories, 1200 Waterway Blvd., P.O. Box 7008,
Indianapolis, IN 46207; 800-433-5818; www.barkeepersfriend.com

*Seventh Generation, 212 Battery St., Ste. A, Burlington, VT
05401; 802-658-3773; www.seventhgen.com

Shaklee Corporation, 4747 Willow Rd., Pleasanton, CA 94588;
800-SHAKLEE; www.shaklee.com

Shaman Earthly Organics, 5500 W. 83rd St., Los Angeles, CA 90045;
877-JASON-01; www.shamanbeauty.com

Shikai, P.O. Box 2866,
Santa Rosa, CA 95405; 800-448-0298; www.shikai.com

Silver Brights, 1063 McGaw, Ste. 100, Irvine, CA 92614;
949-794-5500; style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US'>www.citreshine.com

*Simplers Botanical Co., P.O. Box 2534, Sebastopol, CA 95472;
800-652-7646;

www.simplers.com

Simple Wisdom, 775 S. Graham, Memphis, TN 38111;
901-458-4686

*Simply Soap, 6721 Delfern St., San Diego, CA 92120;
888-575-SOAP; www.simplysoap.com

Sinclair & Valentine, 480 Airport Blvd., Watsonville, CA
95076-2056; 800-563-2159; www.sinclairandvalentine.com

Skinvac, 1 Scotts Rd., #03-25, Shaw Centre, Singapore
228208; +65-67332579; www.skinvac.com

Smashbox Cosmetics, 8538 Warner Dr., Culver City, CA 90232;
888-763-1361; www.smashbox.com

Smith & Vandiver, 480 Airport Blvd., Watsonville, CA
95076-2056; 800-722-1434; www.smith-vandiver.com

Smooth ’N Shine, 1063 McGaw, Ste. 100, Irvine, CA 92614; 949-794-5500; www.citreshine.com

The Soap Opera, 319 State St., Madison, WI 53703;
800-251-7627; www.thesoapopera.com

Soapworks, 18911 Nordhoff St., Ste. 37, Northridge, CA
91324; 800-987-6564; www.soapworks.com

Sojourner Farms Natural Pet
Products, One 19th Ave. S.,
Minneapolis, MN 55454; 888-867-6567; www.sojos.com

Solgar Vitamin Co., 500 Willow Tree Rd., Leonia, NJ 07605;
800-645-2246; www.solgar.com

Sombra Cosmetics, 5951 Office Blvd., Albuquerque, NM 87109;
800-225-3963; www.sombrausa.com

SoRik International, 278 Taileyand Ave., Jacksonville, FL 32202;
904-353-4200

*Sound Earth, LLC, P.O. Box 245, Fishkill, NY 12524;
888-608-9678; www.soundearth.com

Soya System, 10441 Midwest Industrial, St. Louis, MO
63132; 314-428-0004;

www.soya.com

Spring Rain Botanicals, P.O. Box 257, Fonthill, ON L0S 1E0 Canada;
905-892-2944; www.springrainbotanicals.com

Staedtler, Ltd., Cowbridge Rd., Pontyclym, Mid Glamorgan,
Wales, Great Britain;

011
44 144 3237421

Stanley Home Products, 67 Hunt St., Agawam, MA 01001-1920;
800-628-9032; www.stanleyhome.com

*Steel
Cosmetics, P.O. Box 1372,
Stn. B, Sudbury, ON P3E 5K4 Canada; 866-674-5103; www.steelcosmetics.com

*Stevens Research Salon
Products, 19417 63^rd Ave. N.E., Arlington, WA 98223;
800-262-3344; www.stevensresearch.com

Stila Cosmetics, 2801 Hyperion Ave., Studio 102, Los
Angeles, CA 90027;

323-913-9443;
www.stilacosmetics.com

St. John’s Botanicals, 7711 Hillmeade, Bowie, MD 20719;
301-262-5302

Strawberry Shortcake, 389 Fifth Ave., Ste. 1100, New York, NY
10016; 212-779-0544; www.townleygirl.com

Strong Products, 2725 Hidden Hills Way, Corona, CA 92882;
800-648-9729; www.strongproducts.com

Studio Magic Cosmetics, 20135 Cypress Creek Dr., Alva, FL
33920-3305; 239-728-3344; www.studiomagiccosmetics.com

Stuff by Hilary Duff, 389 Fifth Ave., Ste. 1100, New York, NY
10016; 212-779-0544; www.townleygirl.com

Sudz, 144 Main St., P.O. Box 224, Gardiner, NY
12525; 800-262-KISS; www.organicsudz.com

Sukesha (Chuckles), P.O. Box 5126, Manchester, NH 03108; 800-221-3496;
www.sukesha.com

Suki Pure Skin Care, P.O. Box 8, Northfield, MA 01360;
888-858-SUKI; www.sukisnaturals.com

*Sumeru, 1100 Lotus Dr., Silver ersonName
w:st="on">Lake, WI 53170; 800-478-6378

*Sun & Earth, Inc., 125 Noble St., Norristown, PA 19401;
800-298-7861; www.sunandearth.com

SunFeather Natural Soap Co., 1551 Hwy. 72, Potsdam, NY 13676;
315-265-3648;

www.sunsoap.com

Sunrider International, 1625 Abalone Ave., Torrance, CA 90501;
310-781-3808;

www.sunrider.com

*Sunshine Products Group, 1616 Press Rd., Ste. 2B, Los Angeles, CA
98910; 800-285-6457

Supreme Beauty Products Co., 820 S. Michigan, Chicago, IL 60605;
800-272-6602

Tammy Taylor Nails, 18007 E. Skypark Cir., Ste. E, Irvine, CA
92614; 800-93-TAMMY; www.tammytaylornails.com

TaUT by Leonard Engelman, P.O. Box 1870, Simi Valley, CA 93062-1870;
800-438-8288; www.tautcosmetics.com

Ted Baker Fragrance, 304
Park Ave. S., 11^th Fl., New York, NY 10001; 212-590-2471;

www.shave.com

TerraNova, 1011 Gilman St., Berkeley, CA 94710;
800-966-3457; www.terranovabody.com

Terressentials, 2650 Old National Pike, Middletown, MD
21769-8817; 301-371-7333;

www.terressentials.com

That’s So Raven, 389 Fifth Ave., Ste. 1100, New York, NY
10016; 212-779-0544; www.townleygirl.com

Thicker Fuller Hair, 1063 McGaw, Ste. 100, Irvine, CA 92614;
949-794-5500; style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US'>www.citreshine.com

Thursday Plantation, P.O. Box 1297, Summerland, CA 93067-1297;
800-645-9500

*Tish & Snooky’s Manic
Panic NYC, 21-07 Borden
Ave., Long Island City, NY 11101;

800-95-MANIC;
www.manicpanic.com

*Théra Wise, #214-3495 Cambie St., Vancouver, BC V5Z
4R3 Canada; 888-488-1808; www.therawise.com

Tommy Hilfiger, 372 W. Broadway, New York, NY 10012;
917-237-0983; www.tommy.com

Tom’s of Maine, 302 Lafayette Ctr., P.O. Box 710,
Kennebunk, ME 04043; 800-367-8667;

www.tomsofmaine.com

Too Faced Cosmetics, 17595 Harvard, Ste. style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS";mso-ansi-language:ES'>C-503, Irvine, CA
92614; 949-553-4431; www.toofaced.com

Tova Corporation, 192 N. Canon Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90210;
800-852-9999; www.beautybytova.com

Trader Joe’s Company, P.O. Box 5049, Monrovia, CA 91017;
800-SHOP-TJS; www.traderjoes.com

Tressa, P.O. Box 75320, Cincinnati, OH 45275;
800-879-8737; www.tressa.com

TRI Hair Care Products, 13918 Equitable Rd., Cerritos, CA 90703;
866-644-7373; www.trihaircare.com

Tyra Skin Care, 20520 Hiawatha St., Chatsworth, CA 91311;
800-322-TYRA; www.tyraskincare.com

*The Ultimate Life, P.O. Box 4308, Santa Barbara, CA 93140;
800-843-6325; www.ultimatelife.com

Ultima II, 625 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10022;
212-572-5000

Unicure,
Inc., TSI, P.O. Box 1222, Hendersonville, TN 37077; 888-UNICURE; www.unicure.com

Un-petroleum Lip Care, 1105 Industrial Ave., Petaluma, CA 94952;
800-227-5120; www.unpetroleum.com

Upper Canada Soap & Candle
Makers, 1510 Caterpillar Rd.,
Mississauga, ON L4X 2W9 Canada; 905-897-1710; www.uppercanadasoap.com

Urban
Decay, 729 Farad St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627; 800-784-URBAN; www.urbandecay.com

*USA King’s Crossing, P.O. Box 832074, Richardson, TX 75083;
800-SHAV-KING; www.shaveking.com

Vermont Soapworks, 616 Exchange St., Middlebury, VT 05753;
802-388-4302;

www.vermontsoap.com

Vernacular Skin Works, 1013 Dacian Ave., #2, Durham, NC 27701;
919-687-4868; www.vernacularskinworks.com

Veterinarian’s Best, P.O. Box 4459, Santa Barbara, CA 93103;
800-866-PETS; www.vetsbest.com

Victoria’s Secret, P.O. Box 16589, Columbus, OH 43216-6589;
800-411-5116;

www.victoriassecret.com

Virginia Soap, Ltd., Module 1, Compartment 9, Winnipeg, MB R2C
5K6 Canada;

800-563-6127

Von Natur, P.O. Box 33761, Portland, OR 97292; 503-722-7557; www.vonnatur.com

V’TAE Parfum & Body Care, 569 Searls Ave., Nevada City, CA 95959;
800-643-3011; www.vtae.com

*Wachters’ Organic Sea
Products, 550 Sylvan St.,
Daly City, CA 94014; 800-682-7100; www.wachters.com

Warm Earth Cosmetics, 1155 Stanley Ave., Chico, CA 95928-6944;
530-895-0455;

www.geocities.com/warmearthcosmetics

Watkins Incorporated, 150 Liberty St., P.O. Box 5570, Winona, MN
55987-0570; 800-243-9423; www.watkinsonline.com

Weleda, Inc., 1 Closter Rd., Palisades, NY 10964;
800-241-1030; www.weleda.com

The
Wella Corporation (Sebastian), 6109 De Soto, Woodland Hills, CA 91367;

800-526-4657;
www.wella.com

*Well-in-Hand, 5164 Waterlick Rd., Forest, VA 24551-1200;
888-550-7774; www.wellinhand.com

Winx Club, 389 Fifth Ave., Ste. 1100, New York, NY
10016, 212-779-0544; www.townleygirl.com

*Whip-It Products, P.O. Box 30128, Pensacola, FL 32503;
800-582-0398

White Acres Farm, Inc., 765 Astral Pt., Spring Branch, TX 78070;
800-449-7071; www.whiteacresfarm.com

*Whole Spectrum Aromatherapy, 6710 Benjamin
Rd., Ste. 700, Tampa, FL 33634; 800-822-9698; www.wholespectrum.biz

Wind River Herbs, P.O. Box 3673, Alpine, WY 83128;
307-733-6731; www.windriverherbs.com

WiseWays Herbals, Singing Brook Farm, 99 Harvey Rd.,
Worthington, MA 01098;

888-540-1600; www.wiseways.com

WomanKind, E. 3101
Tewalt Rd., De Soto, WI 54624; 608-648-2316 style='mso-ansi-language:DE'>www.mwt.net/~womankind/

The Works, P.O. Box 491150, Lawrenceville, GA 30049;
800-448-5281; www.theworkscleans.com

W.S. Badger, P.O. Box 58, Gilsum, NH 03488; 800-603-6100;
www.badgerbalm.com

Wysong, 1880 N. Eastman Rd., Midland, MI
48642-7779; 800-748-0188; www.wysong.net

XCD, 304 Park Ave. S.,
11^th Fl., New York, NY 10001; 212-590-2471; www.xcdskin.com

*Xeno Company, 2683 Timerbrooke Pl., Duluth, GA 30097;
404-918-7788; www.xenocompany.com

style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS";mso-ansi-language:ES'>ZENMED, 240-1555
McKenzie Ave., Victoria, BC V8N 1A4 Canada; 877-647-4242

www.zenmed.com

Zero
Frizz, 1063 McGaw, Ste. 100, Irvine, CA 92614; 949-794-5500; www.citreshine.com

Zia
Natural Skincare, 1337 Evans Ave., San Francisco, CA 94124; 800-334-7546; www.zianatural.com

Zuzu Cosmetics, P.O. Box 50130, Bellevue, WA 98015;
800-497-6419; www.gabrielcosmeticsinc.com

Catalogs/Online Stores That Offer
Cruelty-Free Products

The
following catalog companies and stores offer products not tested on animals.

Bath-and-Body.com, 1021
Bay Blvd., Ste. S, Chula Vista, CA 91911; 888-935-BODY; www.bath-and-body.com

*Cari Amici, 5837 S. New York Ave.,
Cudahy, WI 53110; 414-769-1380; www.cariamici.net

Compassion Matters, 2 E. Fourth St., Jamestown, NY 14701;
800-422-6330; www.compassionmatters.com

*A Different Daisy, 10766 S.R. 139, Minford,
OH 45653; 740-820-3146;

www.differentdaisy.com

*FaunaFree.com, 310-664-6766; www.faunafree.com

Green Earth Office Supply, 59 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos, CA 95030;

800-327-8449;
www.greenearthofficesupply.com

A Happy Planet, 2261 Market St., #71, San Francisco, CA
94114; 888-946-4277; www.ahappyplanet.com

Heritage Store, P.O. Box 444, Virginia Beach, VA 23458;
800-862-2923;

www.caycecures.com

InterNatural, P.O. Box 1008, Silver Lake,
WI 53170; 800-643-4221;

www.internatural-alternative-health.com

*KidBean.com, 2400 N.E, 10th Ave., Pompano Beach, FL 33064;
954-942-2830; www.kidbean.com

*One Stop Vegan
Shop, 236 W. Main St., Stillman Valley, IL 61084; 815-978-1954

www.onestopveganshop.com

*Pangea Vegan Products, 2381 Lewis Ave.,
Rockville, MD 20851; 800-340-1200; www.veganstore.com

* ersonName
w:st="on">PETA, 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510;
757-622-7382; www.peta.org;

www.petamall.com

Physicians Laboratories
(Revival Soy), 138 Oakwood
Dr., Winston-Salem,

NC
27103; 800-500-2055; www.revivalhealth.com

Sunrise Lane, 780 Greenwich St., Dept. PT, New York, NY
10014; 212-242-7014

*VeganCats.com, 1207 N. 43rd St., Seattle, WA 98103;
877-376-9056;

www.vegancats.com

*Vegan Erotica, P.O. Box 2762, Salt Lake
City, UT 84110; 801-560-8238;

www.veganerotica.com

*Vegan Essentials, 3707 N. 92nd St.,
Milwaukee, WI 53222; 414-527-9684;

www.veganessentials.com

*Vegan Mercantile, 1207 N. 43rd St.,
Seattle, WA 98103; 877-376-9056;

www.veganmercantile.com

White Rabbit Beauty, P.O. Box 64, Lake
Oswego, OR 97034; 888-312-3266; www.whiterabbitbeauty.com

Wow-Bow Distributors, 13B Lucon Dr., Deer Park, NY 11729;
800-326-0230;

www.wow-bow.com

Companion-Animal Food
Manufacturers

What’s wrong with pet food?

Most
caring consumers would never guess that lonely dogs and cats are confined to
tiny, barren laboratory cages for years on end and subjected to horrible
experiments in order to test dog and cat food.

To
expose this tragedy, PETA conducted a nine-month undercover investigation of a
laboratory that performed cruel animal tests for Iams and other major
companion-animal food companies. What our investigator uncovered would outrage
anyone with a heart:

< ![if !supportLists]>·       
< ![endif]>Lonely
dogs driven mad from confinement to barren steel and cement cells

< ![if !supportLists]>·       
< ![endif]>Dogs
dumped on cold concrete flooring after having chunks of muscle cut out of their
thighs

< ![if !supportLists]>·       
< ![endif]>Experimenters
who severed dogs’ vocal cords in order to keep them quiet

< ![if !supportLists]>·       
< ![endif]>Sick
dogs who were languishing in their cages without veterinary care

These
animals suffered so that Iams and other companion-animal food companies could
slap “new and improved” labels on their products. The following companies make
top-quality food for dogs and cats—without harming animals in laboratories.
Please help us drive animal abusers out of business by buying only from these
companies. Companies not on this list either responded that they do conduct
laboratory experiments on animals or they failed to respond to our numerous
inquiries and are assumed to conduct laboratory experiments on animals.

For
more information about how dog and
cat food is contaminated with cruelty and to find the most up-to-date list of
companies that don’t test on animals, check out www.IamsCruelty.com.

Active Life Pet Products, 877-291-2913; www.activelifepp.com

Amoré
Pet Services, Inc., 866-572-6673; www.amorepetfoods.com

Animal Food Services, 800-743-0322; www.animalfood.com

Artemis Pet Food, 800-282-5876; www.artemiscompany.com

Azmira Holistic Animal Care, 800-497-5665; www.azmira.com

Burns Pet Nutrition, 877-983-9651; www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk

Canusa International, 519-624-5697; www.canusaint.com

CountryPet Pet Food, 800-454-7387; www.countrypet.com

Dr. Harvey’s, 866-362-4123; www.drharveys.com

Dry Fork Milling Co., 800-346-1360

Dynamite Marketing, Inc., 208-887-9410; www.dynamitemarketing.com

Evanger’s Dog and Cat Food
Co., Inc., 800-288-6796; www.evangersdogfood.com

Evolution Diet, Inc. (entirely vegan), 800-659-0104; www.petfoodshop.com

Flint River Ranch, 800-704-8779; www.flintriver-home.com

Good Dog Foods, Inc., 732-842-4555; www.gooddogfoods.com

GreenTripe.com, 831-726-3255; www.greentripe.com

Halo, Purely for Pets, 800-426-4256; www.halopets.com

Happy Dog Food, 800-359-9576; www.happydogfood.com

Harbingers of a New Age (entirely vegan), 406-295-4944; www.vegepet.com

Holistic Blend, 800-954-1117; www.holisticblend.com

The Honest Kitchen, 858-483-5995; www.thehonestkitchen.com

Know Better Dog Food, 866-922-6463; www.knowbetterdogfood.com

KosherPets, Inc., 954-938-6270; www.kosherpets.com

Kumpi Pet Foods, 303-699-8562; www.kumpi.com

Natural Balance Pet Foods,
Inc. (entirely vegan), 800-829-4493; www.naturalbalanceinc.com

Natural Life Pet Products,
Inc. (vegan options), 800-367-2391; www.nlpp.com

Nature’s Variety, 888-519-7387; www.naturesvariety.com

Newman’s Own Organics, www.newmansownorganics.com

PetGuard (vegan options), 800-874-3221; 904-264-8500; www.petguard.com

Pied Piper Pet & Wildlife, 800-338-4610; www.piedpiperpet.com

PoshNosh Inc., 613-302-3156; www.poshnosh.ca

Raw Advantage, Inc., 360-387-5158; www.rawadvantagepetfood.com

Rocky Mountain Natural
Products, 877-768-6788
(Eastern U.S.); 800-665-5521 (Western U.S.); www.rmtnp.com

Sauder Feeds, Inc., 260-627-2196; www.sauderfeeds.com

Timberwolf Organics, Inc., 863-439-0049; www.timberwolforganics.com

< ![if !vml]> src="CompaniesDontTest_files/image001.gif" v:shapes="_x0000_i1032"/>< ![endif]>V-dogfood,
LLC (entirely vegan), 888-280-8364;
www.v-dogfood.com

Veterinary Nutritional
Formula, 800-811-0530; www.vnfpetfood.com

Wow-Bow Distributors Ltd. (vegan options), 516-254-6064; www.wow-bow.com

Wysong Professional Diets (vegan options), 800-748-0188; www.wysong.net

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are these companies included on
the ‘Do Test’ list?

The following companies manufacture
products that ARE tested on animals. Those marked with a  are currently
observing a moratorium on (i.e., current suspension of) animal testing. Please
encourage them to announce a permanent ban. Listed in parentheses are examples
of products manufactured by either the company listed or, if applicable, its
parent company. For a complete listing of products manufactured by a company on
this list, please visit the company’s Web site
or contact it directly for more information.
Companies on this list may manufacture individual lines of products without
animal testing (e.g., Clairol claims that its Herbal Essences
line are not animal tested). They have not, however, eliminated animal testing
from their entire line of cosmetics and household products.

Similarly,
companies on this list may make some products, such as pharmaceuticals, that
are required by law to be tested on animals. However, the reason for these
companies’ inclusion is not the required animal testing that they conduct, but
rather the animal testing of personal care and household products that is not
required by law.

What can be done about animal tests required
by law?

Although animal
testing of pharmaceuticals and certain chemicals is still mandated by law, the
arguments against using animals in cosmetics testing are still valid when
applied to the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. These industries are
regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection
Agency, respectively, and it is the responsibility of the companies that kill
animals in order to bring their products to market to convince the regulatory
agencies that there is a better way to determine product safety. ersonName
w:st="on">PETA is actively working on this front by funding
development and validation of non-animal test methods and providing input
through our involvement on government advisory committees at both the national
and international levels. Companies resist progress because the crude nature of
animal tests allows them to market many products that might be determined to be
too toxic if cell culture tests were used. Let companies know how you feel
about this.

Arm & Hammer (Church & Dwight), w:st="on">P.O. Box 1625, Horsham, w:st="on">PA 19044-6625;

609-683-5900;
800-524-1328; www.armhammer.com

Bic
Corporation, w:st="on">500 Bic Dr.,
Milford, CT ostalCode
w:st="on">06460; 203-783-2000; www.bicworld.com

Boyle-Midway (Reckitt Benckiser), 2 Wickman Rd., Toronto,
ON M8Z 5M5

Canada; 416-255-2300

Braun (Gillette Company), w:st="on">400 Unicorn Park Dr., w:st="on">Woburn, MA ostalCode
w:st="on">01801;

800-272-8611; www.braun.com

Chesebrough-Ponds
(Fabergé,
Ponds, Vaseline), 800 Sylvan Ave.,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632;
800-743-8640; www.pondssquad.com

Church & Dwight (Aim, Arm & Hammer, Arrid,
Brillo, Close-up, Lady’s

Choice, Mentadent, Nair,
Pearl Drops), P.O. Box 1625,
Horsham, PA ostalCode
w:st="on">19044- 6625; 609-683-5900; 800-524-1328; www.churchdwight.com

Clairol (Aussie, Daily Defense, Herbal Essences, Infusium
23, Procter & Gamble), 1 Blachley Rd., Stamford,
CT 06922;
800-252-4765; www.clairol.com

Clorox (ArmorAll, Formula 409, Fresh Step,
Glad, Liquid Plumber, Pine-Sol, Soft Scrub, S.O.S., Tilex),
1221 Broadway, Oakland, w:st="on">CA 94612;
510-271-7000;

800-227-1860; www.clorox.com

Colgate-Palmolive Co. (Ajax,
Fab, Hills Pet Nutrition, Mennen, Palmolive,

SoftSoap, Speed Stick), w:st="on">300 Park Ave., New York,
NY 10022;
212-310-2000;

800-221-4607; www.colgate.com

Coty (Adidas, Calvin Klein, Davidoff, Glow, The Healing Garden, JOOP!, Jovan, Kenneth Cole, Lancaster, Marc Jacob, Rimmel, Stetson), 1325 Ave. of the w:st="on">Americas, 324th Fl., w:st="on">New York, NY ostalCode
w:st="on">10019; 212-389-7000; www.coty.com

Cover Girl (Procter & Gamble), One Procter &
Gamble Plz., Cincinnati,
OH 45202;
513-983-1100; 800-543-1745; www.covergirl.com

Del
Laboratories (CornSilk, LaCross, w:st="on">Naturistics, New
York Color, Sally Hansen), 178 EAB Plz., w:st="on">Uniondale, NY ostalCode
w:st="on">11556; 516-844-2020; 800-952-5080; www.dellabs.com

Dial Corporation (Purex, Renuzit), 15101
N. Scottsdale Rd., Ste. 5028, Scottsdale,
AZ 85254-2199;
800-528-0849; www.dialcorp.com

Erno Laszlo, 3202
Queens Blvd., Long Island City, w:st="on">NY 11101;
718-729-4480; www.ernolaszlo.com

Gillette Co. (Braun, Duracell),
Prudential Tower Bldg., Boston,
MA 02199;

617-421-7000;
800-872-7202; www.gillette.com

Helene Curtis Industries (Finesse, Salon Selectives,
Thermasilk, Unilever), 800 Sylvan Ave.,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632;
800-621-2013; www.helenecurtis.com

Johnson & Johnson (Aveeno, Clean
& Clear, Neutrogena, ROC), 1 Johnson & Johnson Plz.,
New Brunswick, NJ 08933; 732-524-0400; 800-526-3967; www.jnj.com

Kimberly-Clark Corp. (Cottonelle, Huggies, Kleenex, Kotex, Pull-Ups, Scott Paper), w:st="on">P.O. Box 619100, Dallas,
TX 75261-9100;
800-544-1847; www.kimberly-clark.com

Lever Bros. (Unilever), w:st="on">800 Sylvan Ave., Englewood
Cliffs, NJ 07632; 212-888-1260; 800-598-1223; www.unilever.com

L’Oréal w:st="on">U.S.A. (Biotherm, Cacharel, Garnier, Giorgio Armani, w:st="on">Helena

Rubinstein,
Lancôme, Matrix Essentials, Maybelline, Ralph Lauren

Fragrances, Redken, Soft Sheen, Vichy),
575 Fifth Ave., w:st="on">New York, NY ostalCode
w:st="on">10017;

212-818-1500; www.lorealcosmetics.com

Max Factor (Procter & Gamble), One Procter &
Gamble Plz., Cincinnati,
OH 45202;
513-983-1100; 800-543-1745; www.maxfactor.com

Mead, 10 W.
Second St., #1, Dayton, w:st="on">OH 45402;
937-495-6323; www.meadweb.com

Melaleuca, 3910
S. Yellowstone Hwy., Idaho Falls,
ID 83402-6003;
208-522-0700; www.melaleuca.com

Mennen Co. (Colgate-Palmolive), w:st="on">191 E. Hanover Ave., Morristown,
NJ 07960-3151;
973-631-9000; www.colgate.com

Neoteric Cosmetics, 4880
Havana St., Denver, w:st="on">CO 80239-0019;
303-373-4860

New Dana Perfumes, 470
Oakhill Rd., w:st="on">Crestwood laceType
w:st="on">Industrial Park, Mountaintop,

PA 18707;
800-822-8547

Noxell (Procter & Gamble), w:st="on">11050 York Rd., Hunt Valley,
MD 21030-2098;

410-785-7300;
800-572-3232; www.pg.com

Olay Co./Oil of
Olay (Procter &
Gamble), P.O. Box 599,
Cincinnati, OH
45201;

800-543-1745; www.oilofolay.com

Oral-B (Gillette Company), w:st="on">600 Clipper Dr., Belmont,
CA 94002-4119;

415-598-5000; www.oralb.com

Pantene (Procter & Gamble), One Procter & Gamble Plz., w:st="on">Cincinnati, OH
45202;

800-945-7768; www.pantene.com

Pfizer (BenGay, Desitin,
Listerine, Lubriderm, Plax, Visine), 235
E. 42nd St., New York, w:st="on">NY 10017-5755;
212-573-2323; www.pfizer.com

style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS";mso-ansi-language:FR'>Physique (Procter & Gamble), One Procter & Gamble
Plz., Cincinnati, OH 45202; 800-214-8957;
www.physique.com

Playtex Products (Baby Magic, Banana Boat, Ogilvie), 300 Nyala w:st="on">Farms Rd., Westport,
CT 06880;
203-341-4000; www.playtex.com

Procter & Gamble Co. (Clairol, Cover Girl, Crest, Giorgio, Iams, Max Factor, Physique, Tide), One Procter & Gamble Plz.,
Cincinnati, OH 45202; 513-983-1100; 800-543-1745; www.pg.com

Reckitt Benckiser (Easy
Off, Lysol, Mop & Glo, Old English, Resolve,
Spray ’N Wash, Veet, Woolite),
1655 Valley Rd., Wayne, NJ 07474-0943; 973-633-3600; 800-232-9665; www.reckittbenckiser.com

Richardson-Vicks (Procter & Gamble), One Procter &
Gamble Plz., Cincinnati,
OH 45202;
513-983-1100; 800-543-1745; www.pg.com

Sally Hansen (Del Laboratories), 178 EAB Plz., w:st="on">Uniondale, NY
11556; 800-645-9888; www.sallyhansen.com

Schering-Plough (Bain de Soleil,
Coppertone, Dr. Scholl’s), 1 Giralda Farms, w:st="on">Madison, NJ
07940-1000;
201-822-7000; 800-842-4090; www.sch-plough.com

S.C. Johnson (Drano, Edge, Fantastik,
Glade, OFF!, Oust, Pledge, Scrubbing Bubbles, Shout, Skintimate, Windex, Ziploc), w:st="on">1525 Howe St., Racine, w:st="on">WI 53403;

800-494-4855; www.scjohnson.com

SoftSoap
Enterprises (Colgate-Palmolive),
300 Park Ave., w:st="on">New York, NY ostalCode
w:st="on">10022; 800-221-4607; www.colgate.com

Suave (Unilever), 800 Sylvan
Ave., Englewood
Cliffs, NJ 07632; 212-888-1260;

800-782-8301; www.suave.com

3M (Post-It,
Scotch), 3M Center, St. Paul,
MN 55144-1000;
651-733-1110; 800-364-3577; www.3m.com

Unilever (Axe, Dove, Helene Curtis, Lever Bros., Suave), w:st="on">800 Sylvan Ave., Englewood
Cliffs, NJ 07632; 212-888-1260; 800-598-1223; www.unilever.com

Legend

The
company is currently observing a moratorium on animal
testing.

“I learned a new measurement just five years ago. At age 60, I was already looking ahead subconsciously to that day when I’ll look back at this company I created, this third child of mine after Mary Anne and Harriet, and I was asking myself, “What would Interface grow up to be?” And while I was asking and searching for the answer, I read a book — Paul Hawken’s book, “The Ecology of Commerce.” It was a life-changing experience for me — a spear in the chest, that is still there. It came fairly late in life for me, but it became a mid-course correction for my life, and for the life of my company.

“”The Ecology of Commerce” awakened me to the plight of Earth and the declining biosphere and the threat, not only to 30 million species, but to one in particular: ours, Homo sapiens. A new word entered my vocabulary — sustainability. It’s an old word in the English language, but it has a new meaning, just in the last 20 years or so, a meaning given to it by the Bruntlandt Commission of the United Nations. The new meaning is “meeting the needs of this generation without compromising future generations’ ability to meet their needs.”

“That’s a new measurement. That’s also a heavy thought in a world of finite resources and ever increasing population of human beings, each striving for more of the things life has to offer — things that are produced by technologies that are evermore voracious, abusive, and consuming. The population explosion is troubling enough; and people’s desire to have more and more things in the quest for happiness troubles the church in particular (Christians have a Jewish Rabbi’s (Jesus) admonition: “Lay not up for yourself treasures on Earth, but rather lay up for yourself treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt”).

“However, it’s the technologies that trouble me the most. As an industrialist, I rely on technology. My company relies on technology. We cannot produce our products without technology. But when I first asked myself what’s wrong with the system — this industrial system that’s called on to produce more and more goods for more and more people, and in the process is consuming the resources of Earth and polluting the biosphere in ways that are totally unsustainable — I came to the conclusion that it’s basically companies like mine (and maybe yours) and our technologies that are wrong — the technologies of the first Industrial Revolution.

“It began 287 years ago when a fellow named Newcomen invented the first steam engine and harnessed nature in a way that nature had never been harnessed before to produce energy to move machines faster and faster. And it just grew like Topsy, without any plan, and it still goes on in spite of the Information Age. And out of Topsy came the industrial system of the modern age, a system that has come out wrong and has done an amazing amount of damage in an amazingly short time and is, simply, unsustainable. There has been just too much damage, too quickly.

“Let me put that statement in perspective, beginning 4.5 billion years ago with the formation of our planet out of the solar nebula. Let’s represent the 4.5 billion years since then with a time line one mile long. I suppose it would go around this room 10-15 times.

“For the first 240 yards of that mile there is no life. The Earth is getting geologically organized. Then life begins, with that first microscopic, single-cell bacterium, somewhere in the primordial oceans, and survives! And life lifts itself by its very bootstraps, and proliferates into mind-bending diversity.

“Each species, through its metabolic processes and aided by sedimentation and sequestration, prepares the way for the next species and the next and the next, gradually sweetening the Earth, removing the toxic hostility of that early world’s atmosphere and sending it “down there” into the Earth’s crust to allow a biosphere to evolve “up here”. Increasing diversity of life, decreasing toxicity, a sweeter and sweeter Earth, an evolving biosphere — a mutually reinforcing process, finally a biosphere sweet enough that we can evolve into it.

“Do you know when in this mile long time line we appear? In the last 7/10ths of an inch Homo sapiens emerges to “rule” the Earth, eventually to create the Industrial Age. Do you know how much of the mile long time line is occupied by the Industrial Age? The last .003 inch — the thickness of a human hair in a mile-long time line.

“At least six times in the history of Earth, that positive, mutually reinforcing process is reversed. Toxicity increases and biodiversity plummets. We don’t know too much about the earliest events, but when we examine the last 100 yards of our time line, we see three dramatic reversals: 260 million years ago, something cataclysmic happened. Toxicity spiked and 96% of all life on Earth vanished – the greatest mass extinction in history. But life picked itself up and the process resumed.

“In time the giant reptiles came to rule the Earth, until 65 million years ago, when that comet (or possibly asteroid) struck the Earth in the region of present day Yucatan, and toxic hostility exploded forth again to encircle the planet, and 75% of life on Earth disappeared — vanquished into extinction — including the dinosaurs. But life picked itself up again and the process resumed, and mammals got a chance!

“And eventually we, Homo sapiens — self-named “wise man” — emerge to occupy our tiny sliver of time, 7/10ths of an inch, so far, and to create our Industrial Age. And now we bring forth into the biosphere once more in .003 inch of time the toxic hostility nature has so painstakingly put away down there. So much damage so quickly!

“It should be no surprise that 7 out of 10 biologists of the American Biological Association, polled last year, agreed. The third mass extinction in Earth’s “recent history” is underway; as we meet in this place, this evening — underway, now, as species are disappearing at a rate unknown on Earth since the last mass extinction 65 millions years ago (biologists tell us, 1,000 – 10,000 times the normal rate over that span of time).

“Here’s the thing: All the others were the unavoidable results of natural disasters; but this one is different; it is the largely unconscious act of the highest form of intelligence yet to evolve and the fruit of that intelligence — the industrial age. I use “unconscious” advisedly. “Unconscious” is less accusatory than “deliberate.” So much damage, so quickly! It cannot go on and on and on.

“What’s the solution? That’s the question I am trying to answer in whatever time I have left in this life. I believe we must have a new Industrial Revolution, and we must get it right this time. The new course we’re on at Interface, since our mid-course correction five years ago? To make a long story short, we’re on a course to pioneer the next Industrial Revolution — one that is kinder and gentler to Earth.

“We want to show the way to an industrial system that will utilize different technologies: technologies that will be renewable rather than extractive, like the first, that no longer take from Earth; technologies that will be cyclical rather than linear, like the first, no more linear take-make-waste technologies; technologies that will be benign to the biosphere rather than abusive, and waste-free rather than wasteful, like the first; technologies that will be powered by solar and hydrogen for energy rather than fossil fuels, like the first, leaving those fossil fuels where nature put them; and technologies that will be focused on increasing the productivity of all resources, especially natural resources, not just labor productivity, like the first.

“We figure if we can get it right, with renewable sources of raw materials and renewable sources of energy and closing the loop with cyclical processes that are benign and waste-free and focused on resource productivity, that we, a petrochemically-intensive company — we depend on oil, natural gas and coal for our raw materials as well as energy — will never have to take another drop of oil from the earth; and more importantly, we will prove that it can be done.

“In the first four years of this effort, we came quite a long way, becoming more and more efficient in using resources (26% more efficient in terms of pounds of stuff processed through our entire supply chain to produce a dollar of revenue for our company), and reflecting that efficiency in our bottom line.

“In the last year we’ve had a rough patch — a “top line” rough patch. Nothing to do with this effort to move toward sustainability, but due largely to external issues, like so much money being spent in the world by our customers to get ready for Y2K, which translated into a lot of money that could not be spent for carpets and textiles and architectural flooring — the products we produce — in a word, soft markets, aggravated by several mismanaged acquisitions. Our shares are down 75% from their high 18 months ago. So it’s a time of testing.

“Can we stay the course for sustainability? You bet! We’re firmly convinced throughout our company that not only we can, but we must, as we continue on this new course with renewed dedication to create a new kind of company — one that pays attention to and honors all of its constituencies: its investors, its customers, its suppliers, the communities in which it operates, its employees, its government (“rendering unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s”) and the earth — life-giving Earth — that must be protected for our grandchildren’s grandchildren and beyond, if there is even to be business in the future.

‘We cannot hope to have a prosperous “child” without a healthy “parent.” To put it another way: What CEO do you know who, given a subsidiary that required a constant infusion of capital just to keep it going, would hold onto that subsidiary for long? Nature is a better manager than any CEO I know, and capable of being far more ruthless if she needs to be. Will we succeed? I am sure we will. Why? Because our customers want us to. “Doing well by doing good” is the only way forward. The business is coming back, too — the best indicator.

“When I read Paul Hawken’s book in the summer of 1994, not only did it touch me deeply in the core of my conscience, and convict me as a plundered of the earth, it convinced me also to the truth of its central theme, that the strongest, most powerful, most pervasive, wealthiest, and most influential institution on earth must step up and take the lead in this time of extreme crisis brought about by the first industrial revolution.

“The strongest institution on Earth? Which one is that? Government? I don’t think so. The governments I know almost always follow; they almost never lead. Is it education? I don’t think so. The educational system I know moves far too ponderously, thus too slowly to lead. Is it the church or organized religion? The saddest answer of all is no, it’s not the church, though you are trying.

“So Paul Hawken came to the conclusion, which I share, that if government cannot lead, and education cannot lead, and the church will not lead, we’re left with only one other institution that can, and that is the institution of business and industry — my institution. So I am trying. But what if we all got together? If I understand, that’s what you are about and I applaud that purpose.

“Humankind and its invention, industrialism, both need a mid-course correction. Both need to set their sights on a higher purpose, CPR for Earth — that is not coronary pulmonary resuscitation, but David Brower’s conservation, preservation, and restoration — to create a mid-course correction that will lead to a sustainable life on Earth for our species and all the others, into the indefinite future. God’s children need to grow up and act responsibly. There’s a lot of time yet to be. Earth has another mile to go. The question is, how long will we — our progeny — be around? Can we make it, say, a whole inch?

“If we listen carefully, we can hear a distant cry. It comes from someone we all know, but most haven’t met yet. Let me tell you how I came to know this person.

“On a Tuesday morning in March 1996, I talked about all of this to the Bentley Mills (one of the Interface companies) sales force during their sales meeting. A few days later, over my e-mail, totally out of the blue, came the following original poem. It was one of the most encouraging moments of my life, because it told me that at least one person in that Tuesday morning audience (and I think he surely represented many people) “got it.” Here’s what Glenn Thomas wrote:”

Tomorrow’s Child Without a name;
an unseen face and knowing not our time nor place
Tomorrow’s Child, though yet unborn,
I saw you first last Tuesday morn.

A wise friend introduced us two,
and through his shining point of view
I saw a day which you would see;
A day for you, and not for me.

Knowing you has changed my thinking,
for I never had an inkling
That perhaps the things I do
might someday, somehow, threaten you.

Tomorrow’s Child, my daughter-son,
I’m afraid I’ve just begun
To think of you and of your good,
Though always having known I should.

Begin I will to weigh the cost
of what I squander; what is lost
If ever I forget that you
will someday come to live here too.

Glenn Thomas, (c)1996

“Tomorrow’s Child speaks to us across the generations with a simple, yet profound, message, reminding each of us that we are part of the web of life, and we have a choice to make during our brief visit — so brief – to this beautiful blue planet: to help it or to hurt it. Which will it be for you? It’s your call.”

I am working on a larger writing project focused on this very thing, and on my way to finishing it I would like to share some links when I come across them. The first on is to tell you more about Ray Anderson. A man who in our current value system would call a Captain of Industry as the CEO of the largest carpet manufacturer in the world (consider how much petrochemical production is needed to sustain that much carpet). Ray however has called himself a “plunderer of nature” because he has already moved to a value system based on life. Because of this he has committed to bring his company to a place of “0 footprint on the biosphere”.

I would encourage you to both watch Ray’s interviews on the Corporation as well as read more about him online. http://myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=r_anderson

I mean is this posturing against Iran really happening. This country that has struggled for so long to become a modern Muslim state – I am not going to defend hostage taking, attacks on its neighbors or rhetorical rants against other neighboring states. In fact I can not even boast to understand the complexities of the Iran, its state, its people or its place in the world stage. What I can say is that the pressures being brought to bare on them, N. Korea and Venezuela make me very nervous. They make me feel like the same madmen that have brought us our current world temperature are not going to stop at this mess. They intend to take it much further.

In a world where this is not far enough, there is a different mindset brewing. One that borders on apocalyptic. I have lived with this mindset – it is the mindset of a fundamentalist. It is the mindset of the afraid.

Some time back, some friends were really getting into despair over the state of the world and human nature in general. The consideration of our more animalistic or barbaric side being so close under the surface of our civilization was heavy on their minds. It is true. Not far under our go to work, eat organic, act locally think globally way of life exists the thing that has kept our species thriving for so long. It is interesting now to see that it is the very thing that is our biggest threat.

It seems to me, that a part of humanity has pushed forward a betterment of order, civilization, human rights, justice and other guiding principles which have moved us out of our barbaric past. Much of this has to do with some level of affluence – such that one is not oppressed by lack.

In the meantime, others exist around us who are not free from such oppressors as hunger, disease, lack of education, access to way to make a living, etc. It does not take a genius to see the links to these oppressors and to violence and chaos. Yet we pretend otherwise. And we are supreised when these people reach pick up a stone, or a stick or a gun – we become angry as if they had so many other options.

But what disturbs me the most is when societies like our own become the agressors. When societies like our own take up the biggest of guns and begin to bring them to bare upon the very societies that have so little, that live on the tenuous edge – I just cant help but feel we might be heading down a desolate road. I survey the past, I can only find two names for this sort of road. The first is a road of fear. The second is one of facism.

I heard an interview with a Pollish official who talked of their investigations about CIA operations inside of their borders. He talked of walking a fine line that many European nations walk these days. On one side of the line is the fact that the US is important to their economies and it would be a mistake to alienate us. On the other side of the line is the fact that most nations know that if you get too close to us you will get burned.

I am not going to try and judge this. I simply remark that it is significant to hear such a thing. For better or worse the US is loosing something critical to who we have been in the world. We are loosing our goodness. We are loosing our reputation for helping not because we aren’t still pouring out billions in aid, but because we are pouring out billions in aggression. There is no way around the fact that we have become an aggressive force on this planet. We have turned our attention from defense and from strengthening our goodness and our finer points, and we have taken up the brute tactics of the aggressor.

I am sad my friends, because I do not see this changing. I see it increasing with the aggressive stances being taken with so many nations on our planet. I cant help but feeling that soon we will be feeling it even more her in the US. I mean of course beyond the feeling of the thousands of dead and wounded American soldiers coming home and the 100s of thousands of family members whose lives will never be the same.

I just wonder what it will take to change this aggressive stance. I just don’t think it is serving the purposes it is said to be serving. We are not safer. Our world is not safer. Our world is angrier every week and more violent every work. Is it me or is this not working?

The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.

Anais Nin:

Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living.

Aristotle:

Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.

Ernest Hemingway:

Never mistake motion for action.

Goethe:

Nature knows no pause in progress and development, and attaches her curse on all inaction.

Jimmy Carter:

I have one life and one chance to make it count for something . . . I’m free to choose what that something is, and the something I’ve chosen is my faith. Now, my faith goes beyond theology and religion and requires considerable work and effort. My faith demands — this is not optional — my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.

Kahlil Gibran:

A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.

Mark Twain:

There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded.

Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Skill to do comes of doing.

Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Good thoughts are no better than good dreams, unless they be executed.

Ralph Waldo Emerson:

The ancestor of every action is a thought.

Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Thought is the blossom; language the bud; action the fruit behind it.

Due to a slew of colds, flues, a bit of post vacation depression and the overall extra full life at the end of this year, I am falling out of my annual tradition of sending out a holiday letter through the mail carriers. Instead I will rely on email and Driving Socrates www.drivingsocrates.com to carry my well wishes to you and yours. I also wanted to give you a bit of an update and share some thoughts and ideas with you.

This year has really been packed. It started with a truly inspiring journey across the globe to Kiev Ukraine. Strengthening some existing relationships and beginning some new ones, the trip brought me back in touch with the adventurer in me and I did some of the best writing ( try http://drivingsocrates.com/ahhh-kyiv-2 ) I had done in a while. Kiev, which has existed as a cradle of culture for so long, truly stirred up my passion as a global citizen. After enjoying a more leisurely but transformative trip later in the year to Costa Rica, I end the year certain of one thing.

I can no longer look at myself as an American first and foremost. The time has come to recognize in every way possible that I am a world citizen who resides in the US. This is not to say that I am not blessed to live in a country that has so much in the way of comfort, safety and liberty. Even with the events of the past 6 years, as a white American man, I am aware that I am one of the safest, most privileged, wealthiest and most comfortable people on earth. What I mean to say here is that I truly believe that the days in which we can sit back and simply live in this comfort are over. Instead we must begin to recognize that this comfort is not our birthright – it is a condition of responsibility.

From our safe, warm, healthy homes, we must begin to look out on the world as it truly exists and recognize the lines of every nature that connect us to our world and its inhabitants. We must use our comfort and the time and energy it affords us to begin to strengthen these lines and make them such that they can bring a fully articulated and realized connectedness.

Let me offer an analogy. Research has shown that if you grow up in household that is filled with depressed people, the pathways in your brain that pass the bio-chemical process that produces happiness, contentment, laughter and such feelings are like undeveloped muscles. Therefore, when one is in a genuinely happy situation after having grown up in a depressing environment, the threshold for joy is so much lower and that feeling will not last as long.

Similarly, the lines that connect us to our world, our fellow humans, our fellow creatures and the amazing ecosystems that sustains us are so seldom used. Indeed we are only now being able to really grasp them and communicate along them. The amazing information, communication, production and visualization technologies we live with are more than sitcoms, video games and shopping channels – they are the tools we need to begin to strengthen those lines.

At this time of the year many of us reach out along those lines through some form of charity. These are lines that have been developed for the most part through human will and by the literal blood, sweat and tears of people who have seen those lines for many years and who have nurtured those lines so that the rest of us could easily pass energy (whether in time, money or other tangible gifts) to lives and causes that are often a world away.

I point along these lines not simply out of concern for the world outside of me and my life, but out of recognition that each of us – at every moment in our lives – is a singular point in time and space in which all things are connected. That’s a lot to swallow but think a moment. Everything that has been or ever will be is connected in some way to the moment of your life that you live in. Because this is true, we must recognize the limitless connectedness and responsibility that exists even at a level of sustaining ourselves.

This is a lot of responsibility, I know. Most of us (even at this level of privilege) can barely conceive being responsible for keeping the house clean or the yard work done. The problem is that once we look down these lines with any level of objectivity, we can not help but recognize the urgency of the moment. I don’t want to go into a bunch of heavy hearted current events or statistics, but if you want to know why a guy like me filled with hope and optimism is deeply concerned – let’s have coffee soon.

Suffice it to say that this year I will be taking every opportunity to examine and impact the lines that connect me to the rest of the world. Where do I shop and what do I buy? What relationships do I nurture and why? How do I use my time? What do I throw away (knowing of course that there is no such thing as “away”)? What information do I consume and distribute and how reliable is it?

I would love to share this examination with you. I will be documenting this journey in my blogs on www.drivingsocrates.com/andrei and hope to have many conversations about how you are examining your connectedness to the world we live in. What sorts of struggles are you having? What sorts of successes? We are in this together.

Besides having a few deep thoughts this year, I celebrated my 10th wedding anniversary with my dream girl. SweetRush, the company I co founded in 2001, is bringing more people together in a great culture of respect and goodness. Driving Socrates went from a website for my own musings to a new media channel with over 20 different progressive voices. Next year we are looking forward to turning it into a non profit a doing a lot of exciting work with it. Add to this some great moments with family (like as trip to Disneyland with the extended family – what a trip that was) and friends and you have a glimpse at the last year for me.

Well, that’s probably enough of my hot air for now. I wish for you many significant transformations in the new year. I wish for you every happiness and health. No doubt there will be both ups and downs in the coming year – may the ups be new heights and the lows be mere dips in the road.

If each of us is a light in this world, your light has made my path clearer. It has made for the soft orange glow that makes life feel somehow closer to my truest life. I am blessed to be in your light, and to share mine with you.

President Bush has admitted he secretly ordered the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans without ever seeking court approval. Famed constitutional attorney Martin Garbus and former intelligence officer Christopher Pyle both say it is an impeachable offense. We also speak with investigative journalist James Bamford about the history of the NSA. Plus, The New York Times exposed the story, but why did they hold it for more than a year? [includes rush transcript] President Bush has admitted he secretly ordered the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans without ever seeking constitutionally-required court approved warrants. Under the program — authorized in the weeks following the 9/11 attacks — the agency has monitored the international phone calls and e-mails of hundreds — and possibly thousands — of people inside the country. The New York Times broke the story Friday. Hours later, Bush was interviewed by PBS’ Jim Lehrer.

* President Bush, interviewed on PBS’ NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, December 16, 2005.

Bush later reiterated he would not comment on the program because doing so would: “compromise our ability to protect the people.” But less than twenty-hours later, after a storm of public criticism, he reversed his position. This is President Bush, in his weekly radio address Saturday.

* President Bush, radio address, December 17, 2005.

The disclosure has led to bi-partisan calls for a congressional investigation. In response, administration officials pointed out both Democratic and Republican congressional leaders had been briefed on the program. But former Democratic Senator Bob Graham, who attended the briefings as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told the Washington Post he was never informed of the two key issues to arise from the disclosure. Graham says he was never told the government was eavesdropping on U.S. citizens and foreign nationals in the country, nor was he told it was bypassing the special courts imposed by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA.

Under FISA, the government can obtain warrants directly from a special court that requires almost no evidence or probable cause. Passed by Congress in late 1970s, FISA describes it itself and the criminal wiretap statutes as “the exclusive means by which electronic surveillance . . . may be conducted.”

Several analysts have questioned the administration’s decision to not seek court-approved warrants when FISA courts have almost never rejected them. According to the Electronic Privacy Information Center, FISA courts have rejected only FOUR of over 15,000 warrant requests made since 1979. That number includes over 4,000 warrant requests since the 9/11 attacks.

The Washington Post notes the revelation marks the third time in as many months the Bush administration has been forced to defend a departure from previous restraints on domestic surveillance. Most recently, NBC News reported last week the Pentagon has been conducting domestic intelligence on peaceful anti-war protesters and others.

But the revelation also marks the second time in as many months one of the country’s leading newspapers has withheld information at the request of the Bush administration. In a November piece on the existence of CIA-run, Soviet-era prisons in Eastern Europe, the Washington Post complied with a White House request to withhold information administration officials said could be harmful to national security. In its report Friday, the New York Times revealed it had not only withheld information, but had in fact delayed publishing the story — also at the government’s request – for at least one year.

* Martin Garbus, a partner in the law firm of Davis & Gilbert LLP. Time Magazine calls him “one of the best trial lawyers in the country,” while the National Law Journal has named him one of the country’s top ten litigators.
* James Bamford, investigative journalist and author of several books including the first book ever written about the National Security Agency called “The Puzzle Palace : Inside America’s Most Secret Intelligence Organization.” He is also author of “Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency”; and most recently, “A Pretext for War: 9/11, Iraq, and the Abuse of America’s Intelligence Agencies.”
* Christopher Pyle, Professor of Politics at Mt. Holyoke. In 1970 Pyle disclosed the military’s surveillance of civilian politics and, as a consultant to three Congressional committees, worked to end it.

RUSH TRANSCRIPT

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AMY GOODMAN: The President initially refused to answer any questions about the secret program, but on Saturday he spoke openly about it and defended the practice.

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: We do not discuss ongoing intelligence operations to protect the country. And the reason why is that there’s an enemy that lurks that would like to know exactly what we’re trying to do to stop them. I will make this point, that whatever I do to protect the American people — and I have an obligation to do so — that we will uphold the law, and decisions made are made understanding we have an obligation to protect the civil liberties of the American people.

JIM LEHRER: So, if, in fact, these things did occur, they were done legally and properly.

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: See, you’re trying to get me to talk about a program that’s important not to talk about, and the reason why is that we’re at war with an enemy that still wants to attack. I — after 9/11, I told the American people I would do everything in my power to protect the country, within the law. And that’s exactly how I conduct my presidency.

AMY GOODMAN: President Bush admitting on Saturday that he secretly had ordered the National Security Agency to eavesdrop. The disclosure has — he later reiterated he would not comment on the program. Doing so would, quote, “compromise our ability to protect the people,” but less than 24 hours later, after a storm of public criticism, he reversed his position.

The disclosure has led to a bipartisan call for a congressional investigation. In response, administration officials pointed out both Democratic and Republican congressional leaders have been briefed on the program, but former Democratic Senator Bob Graham, who attended the briefings as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told the Washington Post he was never informed of the two key issues to arise from the disclosure. Graham says he was never told the government was eavesdropping on U.S. citizens and foreign nationals in the country, nor was he told it was bypassing the special courts imposed by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA.

Under FISA, the government can obtain warrants directly from a special court that requires almost no evidence or probable cause. Passed by Congress in the 1970s, FISA describes itself and the criminal wiretap statute as “the exclusive means by which electronic surveillance…may be conducted.”

Several analysts have questioned the administration’s decision to not seek court-approved warrants when FISA courts have almost never rejected them. According to the Electronic Privacy Information Center, FISA courts have rejected only four of over 15,000 warrant requests made since 1979. That number includes over 4,000 warrant requests since the 9/11 attacks.

The Washington Post notes the revelation marks the third time in as many months the Bush administration has been forced to defend a departure from previous restraints on domestic surveillance. Most recently, NBC News reported last week, the Pentagon has been conducting domestic intelligence on peaceful anti-war protesters and others.

But the revelation also marks the second time in as many months, one of the country’s leading newspapers has withheld information at the request of the Bush administration. In a November piece on the existence of C.I.A.-run Soviet-era prisons in Eastern Europe, the Washington Post complied with a White House request to withhold information administration officials said could be harmful to national security. In its report Friday, The New York Times revealed it had not only withheld information, but had in fact delayed publishing the story also at the government’s request for more than a year.

To discuss this explosive story, we’re joined by Martin Garbus, partner in the law firm, Davis & Gilbert. Time magazine calls him one of the best trial lawyers in the country, while the National Law Journal has named him one of the country’s top ten litigators. We’re also joined in our D.C. studio by James Bamford. He is author of several books, including the first book ever written about the National Security Agency called The Puzzle Palace: Inside America’s Most Secret Intelligence Organization, also author of Body of Secrets: Anatomoy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency, and most recently, A Pretext for War. And joining us on the phone from Massachusetts is Christopher Pyle. In 1970, Pyle disclosed the military surveillance of civilian politics and helped to end that practice. He is a former military intelligence officer. Let’s begin with Jim Bamford in Washington. Can you talk about precisely what has been revealed? What exactly is the National Security Agency doing, Jim?

JAMES BAMFORD: Well, there hasn’t really been very much revealed at all, simply the fact that the Bush administration has admitted that they have been eavesdropping on U.S. citizens within the United States, and apparently, they were focusing on international communications; in other words, where at least one of the terminals of the phone call was outside the United States. So that’s about all we know right now. The New York Times indicated that there was somewhere between several hundred and maybe several thousand people that were affected by this. But apparently, it’s been going on at least since 2001, so there’s probably quite a few people out there that have been surveilled, and have no knowledge about it, and again, without any court order.

AMY GOODMAN: Now, has this never happened before?

JAMES BAMFORD: No. It’s happened quite a bit before. Throughout the 1960s — actually, since the end of World War II, the NSA was doing illegal spying. One project was known as Project Shamrock, where they were getting illegal access to all the telegrams that came into the United States, went through the United States, or went out of the United States, every single day. They would go to New York, and Western Union would turn over all the telegrams to them. And that continued right up until the 1970s. And they were also doing a lot of targeting on communications on behalf of the C.I.A. and other agencies, telephone communications and so forth, and again, without any warrants.

So that was why, after these revelations became public and during the Church Committee hearings in 1975, they created the FISA Act, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and then the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to act as sort of a buffer or a firewall between the whatever president, whatever administration happens to be in power and the American public, so there will be some neutral arbiter there to take a look at the request and decide whether the government should be able to do the eavesdropping or not.

AMY GOODMAN: We’re going to go to a break. We’ll be rejoined by James Bamford, investigative journalist, Martin Garbus, First Amendment attorney, and former military intelligence analyst, Christopher Pyle.

[break]

AMY GOODMAN: We’re talking about the revelations of the National Security Agency spying on Americans. We’re joined by James Bamford, investigative journalist in Washington. In a moment, Christopher Pyle, former military intelligence analyst who exposed this kind of surveillance back decades ago, and in our studio in New York, Martin Garbus, who is a well known First Amendment attorney. Martin Garbus, you wrote a piece in a letter to the editor in the New York Times that appeared on Saturday that talks about, well, both the expose, but why the Times held onto it. What is the significance of this?

MARTIN GARBUS: Well, I think it’s the first time in a while that the Times has done something like that, and I compared it to the Pentagon Papers case, when they went ahead and they ignored what the government said. Here the government had meetings with the New York Times.

AMY GOODMAN: Stop for a moment, for kids who are listening who don’t even know what the Pentagon Papers are.

MARTIN GARBUS: The Pentagon Papers were documents that ultimately Daniel Ellsberg released. They were secret documents which indicated and gave information about our involvement in Korea and North Vietnam, in both those wars. And those documents released, the government then tried to stop the publication of those papers. The New York Times and the Washington Post both went ahead and published those stories. The government, at that time, made the claim that our foreign policy would be affected, and that particular individuals or many individuals would be killed because of the release of secret information. And the Times and the Washington Post ignored that.

What we’ve recently seen is both the New York Times and the Washington Post have taken a totally different tack. The Washington Post, when it wrote about the secret prisons, was asked by the government not to give the locations of those secret prisons, and the Washington Post acceded to that. The New York Times, for one — at least one year, held up the publication of this story, and had this story come out in 2002, 2003, 2004, probably the politics in the country would be very, very different. And the New York Times had meetings with the government, and according to the New York Times, they made an investigation, and they concluded what there were legal safeguards in effect that permitted the government’s policy.

Now, the New York Times has a lot of very sophisticated lawyers, and those lawyers know better than that. There is a case, and I’d like to refer to something James Bamford said, with respect to how long this has gone on before. There had been a case in 1972, when Nixon tried to do the same thing. Lenny Wineglass, a very fine lawyer, argued the case in District Court. Nixon claimed that you could, for domestic surveillance, that you had a right to use executive warrants, as he claimed, the permission of the President and the Attorney General. And he said that that was sufficient. This was at a time of civil unrest, according to him, 1971, 1972. There were some bombings within the United States. And he went out, and he tried to survey, surveillance people, eavesdropping, wiretapping without judicial warrants, without probable cause.

And the United States Supreme Court said no. The United States Supreme Court said you can’t do this. The United States Supreme Court said that the President does not have that kind of power within the Constitution. He has the power to protect the nation, but this goes beyond that. He can’t violate the Constitution. That’s exactly what’s happening now. And what’s going to happen is: You now have a different Supreme Court. You’re going to have Roberts, probably Alito, and my judgment is they’re going to uphold what Bush is doing, and in effect, they’re going to reverse, though not directly, the Nixon case. It’s a strategy to get past that Nixon case and to give the President the broadest powers that any President has ever had.

AMY GOODMAN: Let’s go to Christopher Pyle. He is a Professor of Politics at Mount Holyoke College right now, but formerly was a military intelligence officer who exposed — blew the whistle on the Pentagon’s spying on civilians in this country. Can you go back in time, Professor Pyle, and talk about what happened, its significance, and what you ended up doing about it?

CHRISTOPHER PYLE: In the 1960s, Army intelligence had 1,500 plainclothes agents watching every demonstration of 20 people or more throughout the United States. They had a giant warehouse in Baltimore, Maryland, full of information on the law-abiding activities of American citizens, protest politics, mainly. I learned about this while I was in the Army, just before I was discharged, and I wrote about it after I was discharged, and then investigated it for two congressional committees: Senator Ervin’s Committee on Constitutional Rights and Senator Church’s Select Committee on Intelligence. As a result of those investigations, the entire U.S. Army Intelligence Command was abolished and all of its files were burned. And then, after that, the Senate Intelligence Committee wrote the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, which tried to stop the warrantless surveillance of electronic communications.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about your own counterintelligence program that you set up once you left the Pentagon?

CHRISTOPHER PYLE: Well, after I disclosed the Army’s surveillance, I began hearing from students I had taught at the U.S. Army Intelligence School. I was head of the legal section there, and I taught investigative legal principles. I taught them not to do what it turned out they were doing. And so I began to conduct my own investigation; later did it under the auspices of Senator Ervin’s committee, and through that investigation, recruited 125 agents to tell what they knew about the spying to members of Congress, to the courts and to the press.

AMY GOODMAN: And what happened?

CHRISTOPHER PYLE: The military said they didn’t do it, and beside, they stopped, and they wouldn’t do it again. We were unable to pass legislation permanently ending it, but extensive assurance was given, executive orders were issued, and the Army was supposed to be out of the domestic spying business.

AMY GOODMAN: So, your response when you heard about what the National Security Agency has been authorized to do by the President?

CHRISTOPHER PYLE: Not terribly surprised, but the one piece of it that amazes me is that the President admitted that he personally ordered the National Security Agency to violate a federal statute. Now, he has no Constitutional authority to do that. The Constitution says he must take care that all laws be faithfully executed, not just the ones he likes. The statute says it’s, as you said at the beginning of the program, that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is the exclusive law governing these international intercepts, and he violated it anyway. And the law also says that any person who violates that law is guilty of a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison. By the plain meaning of the law, the President is a criminal.

AMY GOODMAN: Martin Garbus, you say this is an impeachable offense.

MARTIN GARBUS: Yes, I agree that it is a crime, that it is an impeachable offense. The question is: What will happen? The mere fact that it’s impeachable doesn’t necessarily mean that the Supreme Court will find that, and it doesn’t mean that he will necessarily be impeached. He should be impeached, but he is claiming, for the first time, that he has the authority to do this, even though FISA is there, because he has relied on counsel. He has relied on John Yoo. He has relied previously on Ashcroft, and he’s now relying on Gonzales. And all of these people are telling him that it’s legal. All these people are telling him that the President’s powers can be expanded, even though FISA is there. And the President has come up with an excuse, which I don’t see how anybody can buy. In FISA, you can get a warrant in five minutes. You just go before the FISA court and you get your warrant, and that’s all there is to it. There’s no argument –

AMY GOODMAN: Hasn’t the criticism been that FISA gives them too easily?

MARTIN GARBUS: Surely. Your statistics were correct. Namely, that out of some 15,000 warrant applications, there were eight that were denied since 1978, so it’s basically a rubber stamp. Now, what Bush said is, ‘I don’t have the time,’ he says, ‘to go to FISA.’ Now, everybody has had the time to go to FISA. It doesn’t take any time at all. So, that the argument that he has the right to avoid FISA, I think, is a false argument.

AMY GOODMAN: James Bamford, if you could explain how exactly the surveillance happens, how does it work at the NSA? What was allowed before, in terms of monitoring overseas conversations, and where are these listening devices?

JAMES BAMFORD: Well, before I get into that, just one other comment on what we just have been talking about. When the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was created in 1978, one of the things that the Attorney General at the time, Griffin Bell, said — he testified before the intelligence committee, and he said that the current bill recognizes no inherent power of the President to conduct electronic surveillance. He said, ‘This bill specifically states that the procedures in the bill are the exclusive means by which electronic surveillance may be conducted.’ In other words, what the President is saying is that he has these inherent powers to conduct electronic surveillance, but the whole reason for creating this act, according to the Attorney General at the time, was to prevent the President from using any inherent powers and to use exclusively this act.

Now, the way the NSA actually does its eavesdropping, is it — if you think about the FBI being sort of a retail eavesdropper, they will go from house to house or put a bug on a central telephone company’s office for where a person happens to have their junction box, or whatever. The NSA, on the other hand, does it wholesale, where they take entire streams of communications coming down from satellites, which can contain millions of communications, and they sort of intercept those communications with large dishes and filter the information through very quick computers that are loaded with names of people, words that they’re looking for, and at one point they — one listening post in the central part of England, for example, they intercept two million pieces of communications an hour. So that’s emails, faxes, telephone calls, cellular calls and so forth. So, it’s an enormous amount of eavesdropping, and Senator Frank Church, back in the mid-70s, when he was conducting his investigation of NSA, said that if NSA’s technology were ever turned on the American public, there would be no place to hide.

AMY GOODMAN: And how it actually goes down? I mean, how they record?

JAMES BAMFORD: Well, they record it by picking up the signals. The signals are transmitted by — either by satellite or microwave or by undersea cable. And the NSA has developed methods for eavesdropping on all of those techniques, either using satellites in space or ground stations or submarines that can actually tap into undersea cables. So, they have perfected the methods by which they can intercept all of the different forms of communications, even fiber optic communications, which are buried underground. And the key is that being able to sift through it all and pick out the communications that they want. But again, the NSA is supposed to be directed externally. And the problem is once a president decides to secretly turn the NSA’s big ear internally, and that’s what has been happening.

AMY GOODMAN: On Saturday, I was talking to some U.N. personnel and ambassadors, ambassadors to the United Nations. Now, we know about the scandal of the Security Council members being eavesdropped on, wiretapped, when there was pressure in the lead up to the invasion. When I asked them about this, you know, they take this as standard fare at the U.N. Everyone assumes that they’re being wiretapped.

JAMES BAMFORD: Well, that’s true, and there were a number of revelations that came out early on in the lead up to the war in Iraq. There was an employee of the British equivalent of NSA, called GCHQ, Government Communications Headquarters, who leaked a memorandum from the NSA which specifically said they were — they wanted extra targeting on some of the members of the Security Council, in order to try to get them to change their votes in favor of the United States. So by eavesdropping on their communications, they could find out — say, it was in Gambia or something, they want a bridge, so the United States can offer money to help them build a bridge, or whatever it is, offer some kind of a bribe in order to get their vote. So, that was why that document was leaked, and it showed very clearly that the U.S. was using the NSA to help sort of twist arms to get the votes they wanted in the United Nations.

AMY GOODMAN: Professor Christopher Pyle?

CHRISTOPHER PYLE: The problem here is everybody knows that international intercepts go on all the time, particularly those with political or economic advantage. The problem with the latest disclosure is it’s focused upon persons in the United States.

Two months ago, two agents of the Department of Homeland Security went to visit a student at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. They were concerned because he had made an interlibrary loan request for Mao Tse-Tung’s book, the Little Red Book. Now, somehow the government was monitoring the email record that sought to get that book out of Peking, because the kid was looking for the official Peking version. Now, somebody is monitoring interlibrary loans. This would seem to occur under Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act. But the question is who is carrying it out? And it could very well be NSA.

And this is precisely what the Church Committee, which I worked for, tried to stop, this kind of vacuum cleaner surveillance, this watch-listing of books and titles and words and names of people who are loyal Americans who are carrying out constitutionally protected activity. The agents actually said that the Little Red Book is on a watch list, and so that’s why they had to investigate why he wanted to read the Little Red Book.

AMY GOODMAN: Christopher Pyle, you were a military intelligence analyst. On this issue of people who say, you know, this is a different time after 9/11, and we — the U.S. has to do everything it can, no holds barred, to go after terrorists, when you have this vacuum cleaner approach, when you are taking in so much information, can this actually distract from – I mean, forget the moral implications, the legal implications, the constitutional implications — can it actually hurt efforts to protect national security?

CHRISTOPHER PYLE: It entirely overwhelms the agents who are doing the analysis by gushing in this much information from so many agencies on so much trivia. The whole system is based upon the assumption that the way you find a needle in a haystack is to add more hay.

AMY GOODMAN: Martin Garbus.

MARTIN GARBUS: I think that one of the things that we should be aware of is the way the argument by the Bush administration has shifted. First, when they admitted to this wiretapping, they were saying it was wiretaps for surveillance between domestics and people overseas. Now, they’ve admitted it’s the wiretapping and investigation of people within the United States, domestic calls to domestic calls. Secondly, the way the argument has shifted: The argument originally had been that the mandate, given as a result of September 11, gave the President the power to do this, as it gave him the power to do torture, as it gave him the power to restrict detainees, as it gave him the power to stop habeas corpus. The argument has now shifted. They’re no longer claiming that it’s that particular enactment which gives him this authority. This is a straight constitutional argument, saying that under the Constitution, he has the power to protect the United States, and he can do anything under the Constitution to protect the United States, and therefore, he now has a constitutional power, not a statutory power, and that was, again, the argument in the Nixon case.

AMY GOODMAN: And the issue about torture, the Levin-Graham amendment?

MARTIN GARBUS: I think that — I think it’s astonishing, first of all, that it’s the Levin amendment. And when that first passed in the Senate–

AMY GOODMAN: This is Michigan Senator Carl Levin.

MARTIN GARBUS: One of the most, perhaps, liberal, one could argue, members of the Senate. Now, when that bill passed in the Senate, it was 79-16. So, I think it’s extraordinary the extent to which the Democrats have capitulated on this particular issue. I think this business about the PATRIOT Act, I think it’s just a firestorm. I think, ultimately, it’s going to be passed, and they are going to rely on the President’s authority at the end of the day. You really don’t need the PATRIOT Act if the President has all of this authority.

So, they’re switching the argument. They no longer need that particular statute. This comes within the President’s Article 2, Section 2 rights under the Constitution to protect the people. They have changed the battleground to bring it close to the Nixon case, which they, with this new Supreme Court, will overrule. The Nixon case was ’72. At that time, you had Brennan, Marshall, Douglas. This is a very, very different court.

AMY GOODMAN: Martin Garbus, I want to thank you for being with us, well-known First Amendment attorney; James Bamford, investigative journalist; and Christopher Pyle, Professor of Politics at Mount Holyoke, also a former military intelligence officer.

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I sat down to write about it and checked in on a few emails from friends first. One of these emails was from DS blogger eyeseetruth. In it he shared with me a link that I believe proves many of the points those of us who have believed information technology will continue to radicalize the general public. It says to me without a doubt that we are so close to a time where the stranglehold on information about what is happening in our world will be permanently outside the control of the major channels of mainstream media. Today I heard Amy Goodman – the host of Democracy Now – speak. One of the central themes of her relentless speech was a clear statement that the mainstream media is an out of control culprit of the misinformation that led us to war and that continues to mislead our public.

Well all of that is about to change. http://video.google.com/

For those of you who have used Google to search for something you have wanted to understand better. Like reading about Roe v. Wade or about Rosa Parks or about Halliburton. Try searching for things you have wanted to see on TV but aren’t. I did a few, and I am still spinning from what I found.

Here are a few:
Here is a video piece protesting U.S. foreign policy, the Norwegian rap group Gatas Parlament created this video entitled “Kill Him Now.” The bush administration insisted the Norwegian government ban it publicly as the “Him” is George Bush. Here is the video that was banned. I encourage you to view this as a glimpse into what commentary exists beyond that that we are fed. This is not radical Islamic Terrorists who feel this way. These are the words of a European pop art group – akin to our Eminem.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4343059127463219933&q=protest

This is a video arts piece sympathizing with Laura Bush who has to sleep next to Bush each night and what must she be thinking.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3216376390291861706&q=protest

Curious what a firefight in Iraq looks like?
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1110864571831722786&q=firefight

Battle for Fallujah – set to heavy metal music – hmm a recruiting piece if I ever saw one. This is a commentary into itself.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2751771528513677119&q=fallujah

Poem – How the Terrorists Won – definitely worth hearing.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3864122022427658943&q=terrorists

This is horrible – absolutely horrible. It is us soldiers shooting a dog on their off time. I do not recommend you look at this if you love dogs or animals in general. I could write a whole piece on what being in war does to the moral fiber of an individual, but we have our stories of gulags and torture to tell it. Suffice it to say – having been in a war zone far less intense than the one these kids are in – I can attest to how easily it is to loose sight of the value of life. When you weaken the clarity of a person’s commitment to life by making them killers (or soldiers if you want to be less literal) well can you really be so surprised that it would leak out in some for or fashion?
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-508731412534173479&q=insurgents

A lengthy but interesting mix of news footage music and editorial content – this is raw video activism. I spent a little time on these guys site and they are definitely going straight to the point on many issues having to do with our civil liberties and who and how one becomes classified as a terrorist under current US policy.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6553047091915807989&q=terrorists

Having spent time today in the radical movement that is coming from the progressive community, I am encouraged and I am agitated. I heard a quote from Lili Tomlin today. “No matter how cynical you get, its impossible to keep up with this administration”. While I do agree with the spirit, I also agree with the statement I heard Jim Hightower http://www.jimhightower.com/ say today. It is time to stop being progressive. It is time to get aggressive and take this country back. To refocus ourselves on the three basic and guiding principles our country was founded upon. Fairness, Justice and Opportunity.

Of all the things today, the one that gave me the most hope was also from Jim Hightower. He said that he has traveled to every state and has been talking to people of every variety. He said that people are revolting – in growing intensity throughout our land – we have had enough of this. We are not alone. There are people all over our land fighting war, fighting poverty, fighting Walmart and Starbucks, fighting the ravenous appetites of the
”Oiligarchy”.

So take heart, take hold and find you voice and your stance. Speak loudly and take back what has been stolen. Use whatever power you have – what you buy, what you eat, what you put into your yard, what products you use and companies you support – these are all opportunities for change.

Stay AGITATED!!!

PS here are some links associated to places I encountered at the Green Festival:

www.codepinkalert.org
www.democracynow.org
http://www.greenfestivals.com/
www.newsociety.com
www.lovemoregourmet.com
www.oxfamamerica.org
www.fairtradecertified.org
www.globalcitizencenter.org
www.primalpetfoods.com
www.earthtones.com
www.kpfa.org
www.caclean.org
www.inticketing.com
www.greenerchoices.org
http://www.motherjones.com/
http://www.quakeradio.com/main.html
www.greenmba.com

I have thought about this idea a lot over the last few days since I heard of Rosa Parks’ passing. A quiet, decent and gentle soul who – with a burden of the violent prejudice around her would not move from what was right anymore. All of who she was in that moment, ceased to participate in the lie anymore.

“I remember her as an almost saint-like person. And I use that term with care. She was very humble, she was soft-spoken, but inside she had a determination that was quite fierce.” – Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich.

Rosa often expressed the moment of her great protest as somewhat of a surprise to her. “If I had let myself think too deeply about what might happen to me, I might have gotten off the bus,” wrote Parks. “I was tired of giving in.”

I just saw a movie tonight – The Constant Gardener – I have been reading the book but spoiled it because I had heard the film shouldn’t be missed on the big screen. I was not disappointed. But the cinematography, as incredible as it is, pales to the power of the content which is a direct frontal assault on the pharmaceutical industry. It zeroes in how abusive these companies are in Africa and how little accountability there is for making the least fortunate people on the planet the guinea pigs for the most fortunate.

Beneath this attack on an industry that most progressives know is as rampantly unaccountable as the “defense” industry, is an attack on how we as a global society are dealing with our brothers and sisters in Africa.

The levels of human suffering are nothing short of apocalyptic. Famine, war, disease, poverty – at such scales that even those of us who have seen the face of these in other places could not come close to understanding them in Africa. I guess in some ways we are waking up as a global community, and one can hope that eventually we too would become tired. Like the thousands who came out to boycott the bus line that Rosa had been, we too may stand against the mistreatment of our fellows.

After Rosa had been arrested, the African America community in Montgomery chose a spokesman for their boycott of the bus line. He was a 24 year old Baptist minister named Martin Luther King Jr. and he addressed his fellow activists declaring “There comes a time that people get tired.”

The spirits of these people who came before us too tired to continue in the way they found things and too filled with integrity and goodness that they could not lie down have set a trail before us. They have shown us a vision of ourselves that is revelatory, that speaks of what we might make of our lives and our world.

It shows us that when we truly look at a life we can no longer stand by and tolerate its denigration in whatever form – passive or active – it is taking. I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that people are getting tired. I know I am. I hope you are too.

I don’t know what the future will bring. I hope that we will come through the difficult times before us in a way in which we can be proud. I hope that the value of life will soon overthrow the value of things and the illusion of currency.

My dream is that I might continue to find myself around such people, and that we become a movement and that the movement becomes a wave washing decency over this world. And that one day the exhaustion we feel at the end of our day is not from needless suffering, but from a the fullness of life.

It was at this time that I began to recognize the importance of the barista – Technically, defined as someone who has been professionally trained in the art of espresso preparation. The term is often used simply to describe someone who excels at espresso making, regardless of their training. The barista helps us refine the trajectory of our day – at least those of us devoted to starting a day with some coffee from a café.

I have discovered that there are several archetypes when it comes to baristas:

The eccentric artistic barrista – a hybrid of a painter and a coffee fanatic. Sometimes these are artists who have gotten into their day job. Sometimes these are true artists of the barista tradition.

The “this is just my friggin day job whadda ya want” barista – these people are about as engaging as a toll booth operator except with the distinction of having enough time to be rude.

The hipster barista – this person is in the know and spreads the know to their customers like a cultural ambassador or anchor person. They are informative and have an amazing knack of serving a good cup of coffee while giving you amazing little jewels of info or humor or goodwill. At the very least you feel like you are hipper and more caffeinated by the time you depart.

The good, true and beautiful barista (or as I like to call them GTB Baristas) – these people have a bit of all of the previous and add to that an ease of self and a love of people. The type of person who would be the same person in most settings – good, decent, hardworking, conscientious, and oriented towards fairness and kindness, sensible to beauty and a no nonsense view of the truth.

Now Muddy’s has always had a good sampling of the range of these barista archetypes, but I have found a special percentage of GTB baristas. In particular the one I have been frequenting (29th between Mission and San Jose) the last few years since our office moved. I was sad when “M” my favorite barista and provider of music tips moved on to her real heart’s work in architecture, but had to feel happy for her.

M’s successor and a woman who had been there on occasion named Paulabarak (spelled phonetically – not sure of actual spelling) turned out to be a real GTB barista. Over the last several months I came to learn that Paulabarak was from Mongolia – I had never met someone from Mongolia before. I confess that I have not learned enough of her story to do any sort of justice to it, but my sense of her is that it is filled with the stories that are typical of good people who have come through struggle to a life that while filled with the hard work of a productive life, is balanced with good times and some measure of peace.

When I went in today, there was a barista I do not know too well but seems like a nice person. The owner of Muddy’s was there too (I will not divulge his name as he may wish to remain anonymous) and we exchanged our hellos. I noticed a plate of candy and asked if they were already getting into the spirit of Halloween. I was told that it was a Mongolian tradition to put out candy when someone has passed on, and that Paulabarak had died in a car accident.

My heart reaches back to other GTB people who have fallen. My sweet James – my younger brother in heart and soul who fell several years back comes to my mind as he was the one who turned me on to Muddy’s. My beautiful friend Martina who died more recently and who left two beautiful children. Paulabarak (or Paula for an Americanized nickname) I believe also left a child behind if my memory is not playing tricks on me.

The sadness of a loss is no doubt dominating other lives who were closer to her. My heart is touched by this loss and as with the loss of any GTB person – there is a sense that the universe is less for the passing of Paulabarak. I do not confess to know what the next life holds in store for us or if we simply bleep out of existence. In truth, though I like the idea of coming back and working on this world as a human until we can get it right, I recognize all these matters are beyond my understanding or need for understanding.

If I were to take a romantic view of it, I would say that Paulabarak was making a thick cup batch of my favorite coffee to share with James and Martina. That they are in good company with good coffee in the soft orange glow of an eternal clean and well lighted place.

Whatever the case Paulabarak – thank you for the genuine smiles and for the great coffee. One more time…

“Hi Paula. One jumbo coffee with three ice cubes to cool it down a little.”

Let me say first that this is the first vacation of any length that Sherry and I have taken just the two of us in the whole of our marriage. I think this could be one of the alternate definitions found in the dictionary under “crazy workaholic – can’t ever take a break person”. Suffice it to say that when the warm air of Costa Rica hit my face when we stepped outside of the San Jose Airport in Costa Rica, and I realized that I was really there to take a break, I felt like falling on the ground and kissing it. Then a few hours later as we flew further south in a puddle jumper prop plane to a gravel runway on the incomparable Osa Peninsula, I knew for certain that it was going to continuously feel blessed on this journey.

I don’t think I have ever used the word incomparable before. Osa is that though – in my experience. The combination of an amazing ecosystem, being surrounded by water, incredibly friendly people, four species of monkeys as well toucans, and scarlet macaws – not to mention blue butterflies the size of my outstretched hand – it seems as close to the very picture of “incomparable” as I have yet experienced.

A 4×4 taxi ride through pastures and then dense coastal rainforest along some charming and very bumpy roads and we reached the end of the road at the end of the peninsula – an area called Matapalo at a place called Casa Verde

Now a lot of things crossed my mind when I had been thinking of spending time in a remote beachside rainforest cabin. One of which was relaxing and this place had four rocking chairs to choose from on the porch – I tried them all.

The view was amazing. I put my feet up on the railing and stared straight over a hibiscus hedge below to watch the waves crashing on the shore. A few coconut palms and some larger trees with orchids and bromeliads grew around the property and between them danced butterflies and hummingbirds.

Walks on the beach were definitely in order. Pictured is the beach immediately in front of the cabin. Note Sherry – the lovely woman whose husband I am – as she strolls the beach in flowing dress. What a gorgeous little hippie she is still.

We had heard that the sixty-plus year old Tico (that’s what Costa Rican call themselves) women caretaker would cook typical Tico food for you. So you know I had to get a lesson. Laticia was so sweet – Sherry called her our Tico Momma. Here she is teaching me how to make Empanadas. Oh yeah she is teaching us a fair amount of Spanish as well – with lots of great smiles.

But we couldn’t just sit still for very long – So we had to go for some adventures. So how do you adventure in the rainforest. Well with a trusty found bamboo walking stick and a worn out Bermuda hat. God I love that hat.

We adventured along the beach and found it full of cute little hermit crabs, nice rocks and shells, tons of coconuts. In fact the hermit crabs loved to munch on the insides of the coconuts. I was fortunate to capture a shot of this particularly cute creature while she danced along the beach.

But what adventure through the rainforest would be complete without some incredibly twisted old tree with all sorts of life growing in and around it. The type of tree that feels like it has an entire ecosystem of its own. Creatures living and dieing in the same crevice only to feed others and inspire the passer by.