AmosGSiddi

This past November, Sandra Steingraber told a crowd of hundreds of activists why she was donating her $100,000 Heinz Award to the movement. The money, she said, "enables speech, emboldens activism, and recognizes that true security for our children lies in preserving the... ecology of our planet."

She raised a jar of water. "This is what my kids are made of. They are made of water. They are made of the food that is grown in the county that I live in. And they are made of air. We inhale a pint of atmosphere with every breath we take... And when you poison these things, you poison us. That is a violation of our human rights, and that is why this is the civil rights issue of our day.

UPDATE II: In a follow-up piece on news.com.au, Dr. Carter stressed that there is no way of knowing when the star may go supernova. U.S. astronomer Phil Plait added, "Betelgeuse might go up tonight, or it might not be for 100,000 years. Weâ€re just not sure."

models show that continued reliance on fossil fuels could raise the global temperature by up to 7 degrees Celsius (over 12 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of this century. Such an elevated temperature would amplify temperature and precipitation extremes enough to make the weather events of recent years look tame in comparison. Only a rapid, dramatic reduction of greenhouse gas emissions can hold future temperatures in a range bearing any resemblance to what civilization has known.

comment: this is not conspiracy, it's reality!

lovely picture of the night sky

You know, regulationâ€"under-regulation of the financial industry led to a catastrophe. And under-regulation of the medical industry has led to similar catastrophes. But believe it or not, there are people, on the right, who believe that the FDA should be abolished. And Iâ€ve actually been interviewed on some channels, like Fox, where people have said, "Well, why do we need the FDA, Dr. Nissen? Why canâ€t the market regulate this? I mean, if drugs arenâ€t safe or effective, people wonâ€t use them, right?" And the very idea is chilling, and should be chilling, to Americans. We need regulation. We need thoughtful regulation. Regulation is not a four-letter word. And we need regulation, and we need a government that looks out for the interests of its people, rather than the interests of business. And right now, most of the efforts of the federal government, many of these agencies, are so closely aligned with the business community that theyâ€ve lost sight of what their real mission is: to represent the American people.

But there is no pull, because theyâ€re so freaked out by the Republicans. So, one can really say the Republicans could sit around in a smoke-filled room and say, "Letâ€s be even more crazed. Letâ€s be even more corporatist." This will create a good vacuum for the Democrats to move into, because both parties are dialing for the same corporate dollars, and it will bring the left to their knees, because theyâ€ll say, "Weâ€ve got nowhere to go."

Well, the reason why this speech was so failing, especially in foreign and military policy, the reason why it was so failing is because Obama doesnâ€t have to worry about tens of millions of people who call themselves progressives or liberals, because they have signaled to him that they got nowhere to go. Well, I think if they believe they got nowhere to go, that they donâ€t want to vote for a third party or Green Party, they can at least, in April, May, June, hold his feet to the fire and present him with a set of progressive demands, in order to tell him that they do have a place to go: they can stay home. And thatâ€s what hurt the Democrats in 2010. People can just stay home.

A deva asks:

A giver of what is a giver of strength?
A giver of what, a giver of beauty?
A giver of what, a giver of ease?
A giver of what, a giver of vision?
And who is a giver of everything?
Being asked, please explain this to me.

The Buddha answers:

A giver of food is a giver of strength.
A giver of clothes, a giver of beauty.
A giver of a vehicle, a giver of ease
A giver of a lamp, a giver of vision.
And the one who gives a residence, is the one who is a giver of everything.
But the one who teaches the Dhamma is a giver of the Deathless.


That's the whole thing.

We are not, as the old guard preaches, feeble and passive observers of a fixed, objective order or cogs in a giant, lifeless machine. Nor are we, as the new guard intones, the all-powerful masters of our own destiny, capable of instantly conjuring anything we want out of pixie dust and wishful thinking. We are co-creative participants in a great cosmic adventure, the outcome of which must always remain unknown.

In summary: consciousness creates our world. Our current story is now breaking down, an inevitable conclusion to the unconscious shadows we have collectively repressed. The Apocalypse is about uncovering/reintegrating our projections, essentially forcing us: not to evolve, but to make a CHOICE to evolve.