The Energy Challenge - No Furnaces but Heat Aplenty in Innovative ‘Passive Houses’ - Series - NYTimes.com

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL

DARMSTADT, Germany — From the outside, there is nothing unusual about the stylish new gray and orange row houses in the Kranichstein District, with wreaths on the doors and Christmas lights twinkling through a freezing drizzle. But these houses are part of a revolution in building design: There are no drafts, no cold tile floors, no snuggling under blankets until the furnace kicks in. There is, in fact, no furnace.

In Berthold Kaufmann’s home, there is, to be fair, one radiator for emergency backup in the living room — but it is not in use. Even on the coldest nights in central Germany, Mr. Kaufmann’s new “passive house” and others of this design get all the heat and hot water they need from the amount of energy that would be needed to run a hair dryer.

“You don’t think about temperature — the house just adjusts,” said Mr. Kaufmann, watching his 2-year-old daughter, dressed in a T-shirt, tuck into her sausage in the spacious living room, whose glass doors open to a patio. His new home uses about one-twentieth the heating energy of his parents’ home of roughly the same size, he said.

Architects in many countries, in attempts to meet new energy efficiency standards like the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standard in the United States, are designing homes with better insulation and high-efficiency appliances, as well as tapping into alternative sources of power, like solar panels and wind turbines.

The concept of the passive house, pioneered in this city of 140,000 outside Frankfurt, approaches the challenge from a different angle. Using ultrathick insulation and complex doors and windows, the architect engineers a home encased in an airtight shell, so that barely any heat escapes and barely any cold seeps in. That means a passive house can be warmed not only by the sun, but also by the heat from appliances and even from occupants’ bodies.

And in Germany, passive houses cost only about 5 to 7 percent more to build than conventional houses.

Decades ago, attempts at creating sealed solar-heated homes failed, because of stagnant air and mold. But new passive houses use an ingenious central ventilation system. The warm air going out passes side by side with clean, cold air coming in, exchanging heat with 90 percent efficiency.

“The myth before was that to be warm you had to have heating. Our goal is to create a warm house without energy demand,” said Wolfgang Hasper, an engineer at the Passivhaus Institut in Darmstadt. “This is not about wearing thick pullovers, turning the thermostat down and putting up with drafts. It’s about being comfortable with less energy input, and we do this by recycling heating.”

There are now an estimated 15,000 passive houses around the world, the vast majority built in the past few years in German-speaking countries or Scandinavia.

The first passive home was built here in 1991 by Wolfgang Feist, a local physicist, but diffusion of the idea was slowed by language. The courses and literature were mostly in German, and even now the components are mass-produced only in this part of the world.

The industry is thriving in Germany, however — for example, schools in Frankfurt are built with the technique.

Moreover, its popularity is spreading. The European Commission is promoting passive-house building, and the European Parliament has proposed that new buildings meet passive-house standards by 2011.

The United States Army, long a presence in this part of Germany, is considering passive-house barracks.

“Awareness is skyrocketing; it’s hard for us to keep up with requests,” Mr. Hasper said.

Nabih Tahan, a California architect who worked in Austria for 11 years, is completing one of the first passive houses in the United States for his family in Berkeley. He heads a group of 70 Bay Area architects and engineers working to encourage wider acceptance of the standards. “This is a recipe for energy that makes sense to people,” Mr. Tahan said. “Why not reuse this heat you get for free?”

Ironically, however, when California inspectors were examining the Berkeley home to determine whether it met “green” building codes (it did), he could not get credit for the heat exchanger, a device that is still uncommon in the United States. “When you think about passive-house standards, you start looking at buildings in a different way,” he said.

Buildings that are certified hermetically sealed may sound suffocating. (To meet the standard, a building must pass a “blow test” showing that it loses minimal air under pressure.) In fact, passive houses have plenty of windows — though far more face south than north — and all can be opened.

Inside, a passive home does have a slightly different gestalt from conventional houses, just as an electric car drives differently from its gas-using cousin. There is a kind of spaceship-like uniformity of air and temperature. The air from outside all goes through HEPA filters before entering the rooms. The cement floor of the basement isn’t cold. The walls and the air are basically the same temperature.

Look closer and there are technical differences: When the windows are swung open, you see their layers of glass and gas, as well as the elaborate seals around the edges. A small, grated duct near the ceiling in the living room brings in clean air. In the basement there is no furnace, but instead what looks like a giant Styrofoam cooler, containing the heat exchanger.

Passive houses need no human tinkering, but most architects put in a switch with three settings, which can be turned down for vacations, or up to circulate air for a party (though you can also just open the windows). “We’ve found it’s very important to people that they feel they can influence the system,” Mr. Hasper said.

The houses may be too radical for those who treasure an experience like drinking hot chocolate in a cold kitchen. But not for others. “I grew up in a great old house that was always 10 degrees too cold, so I knew I wanted to make something different,” said Georg W. Zielke, who built his first passive house here, for his family, in 2003 and now designs no other kinds of buildings.

In Germany the added construction costs of passive houses are modest and, because of their growing popularity and an ever larger array of attractive off-the-shelf components, are shrinking.

But the sophisticated windows and heat-exchange ventilation systems needed to make passive houses work properly are not readily available in the United States. So the construction of passive houses in the United States, at least initially, is likely to entail a higher price differential.

Moreover, the kinds of home construction popular in the United States are more difficult to adapt to the standard: residential buildings tend not to have built-in ventilation systems of any kind, and sliding windows are hard to seal.

Dr. Feist’s original passive house — a boxy white building with four apartments — looks like the science project that it was intended to be. But new passive houses come in many shapes and styles. The Passivhaus Institut, which he founded a decade ago, continues to conduct research, teaches architects, and tests homes to make sure they meet standards. It now has affiliates in Britain and the United States.

Still, there are challenges to broader adoption even in Europe.

Because a successful passive house requires the interplay of the building, the sun and the climate, architects need to be careful about site selection. Passive-house heating might not work in a shady valley in Switzerland, or on an urban street with no south-facing wall. Researchers are looking into whether the concept will work in warmer climates — where a heat exchanger could be used in reverse, to keep cool air in and warm air out.

And those who want passive-house mansions may be disappointed. Compact shapes are simpler to seal, while sprawling homes are difficult to insulate and heat.

Most passive houses allow about 500 square feet per person, a comfortable though not expansive living space. Mr. Hasper said people who wanted thousands of square feet per person should look for another design.

“Anyone who feels they need that much space to live,” he said, “well, that’s a different discussion.”

Yes we Can

CANCERactive : Toxic Toiletries - 15 Baddies

CANCERactive : Toxic Toiletries - 15 Baddies: "4:
Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS)
is one of the major ingredients in nearly every shampoo, bubble bath, liquid soap etc. Why, when it is a known skin irritant, stops hair growth, can cause cataracts in adults, damage children's eye development and cause urinary tract infection?

It's cheap and produces lots of bubbles when mixed with salt. Hardly compensation! Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLES) is a slightly less irritant form of SLS, but may cause more drying. Both can lead to potentially carcinogenic cocktails of nitrites and dioxins forming in shampoos and cleansers, by reacting with other ingredients."

Quick Ways to Cope with Pain

Bruce N. Eimer, PhD

Alternative Behavior Associates

ain is an unfortunate fact of life for many people. Medications, balms and salves can help, but don't discount the power of your own mind to relieve pain and ease suffering. Clinical psychologist Bruce Eimer, PhD, offers these techniques to cope with pain quickly, wherever you happen to be.

Redirect your thoughts. Steer them to maximize short- and long-term pleasure... minimize short- and long-term pain. "I will go to the gym and work out for half an hour. I won't be ruled by pain."

Instruct yourself to think and behave in a functional way. "I will take a walk to increase the circulation of blood in my legs, bring oxygen to my tissues and lift my mood."

Decatastrophize. Reframe your pain as less terrible than it feels. "I've been here before. I'm in charge. I can handle it."

Distort your perception of pain. Use your imagination to transform your experience of how pain feels. Shift your attention to sensations, thoughts or feelings that are easier to cope with. Let these new thoughts generate sensations that oppose the pain.

Example: When pain strikes, imagine that one of your hands is immersed in ice water. Concentrate on telling your hand to become totally numb. Then place your hand on the part of your body that hurts most. Imagine the numbness flowing into the part of your body that needs pain relief. If you can't reach that place, such as your back, put your hand on your stomach and let the cold flow through your body to your back.

Distract yourself. Refuse to pay attention to the pain. Ignore it like an annoying car alarm. Shift your attention elsewhere. Tell yourself, "I will concentrate on the sensation of rubbing my fingers together... focus attention on my breathing... squeeze my tension into a fist, then relax my hand and let the tension fly out."

Study the pain sensations as if they were separate from you. Tell yourself, "No pain lasts forever." The pain may still be there, but the suffering will be less.

Bottom Line/Retirement interviewed Bruce N. Eimer, PhD, a licensed, board-certified clinical psychologist in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, and president, Alternative Behavior Associates, www.hypnosisgroup.com. He is author of Hypnotize Yourself Out of Pain Now! A Powerful, User-Friendly Program for Anyone Searching for Immediate Pain Relief (Crown House). In the past 20 years, he has treated thousands of people with chronic pain.

NATO's Doomsday Seed Vault in the Arctic

NATO's Doomsday Seed Vault in the Arctic
By F. William Engdahl | GlobalResearch. ca
September 30, 2008

Using "Climate Change" as a Pretext to Appropriate World Seeds' Treasure

The controversial `Doomsday Seed Vault', a nuclear-bomb- proof vault deep into the side of a mountain in NATO-member Norway's Svalbard, near the Arctic Circle, has begun to collect seed samples from the entire world to freeze in the newly opened facility. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, along with the Rockefeller Foundation, Monsanto Corporation, Syngenta Foundation and the Government of Norway, among others, have constructed what is called by BBC the `doomsday seed bank.'

Officially the project is named the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. It sits on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, part of the Svalbard island group. Now scientists connected with the project are roaming the world to collect samples of every seed variety known, using the fraudulent argument of protecting against Global Warming to obtain samples of the crop diversity of the planet. The implications are potentially more dangerous than the threat of nuclear war.

As climate change is credited as one of the main drivers behind soaring food prices, the Global Crop Diversity Trust, the private organization which is responsible for maintaining the Seed Vault, is searching crop collections from Azerbaijan to Nigeria, allegedly for the traits that could defend the world agriculture against the impact of future changes. Traits, such as drought resistance in wheat, or salinity tolerance in potato, they argue, will become essential as crops around the world have to adapt to new climate conditions under forecast changes from Global Warming.

Beginning this past March, more than 200,000 crop varieties from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East — drawn from vast seed collections maintained by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) — were shipped to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (SGSV), a facility capable of preserving their vitality for thousands of years.

The seeds were from varieties of rice, wheat, beans, sorghum, sweet potatoes, lentils, chick peas and a host of other food, forage and agro-forestry plants. They are being safeguarded in the facility, which was created as a `repository of last resort for humanity's agricultural heritage.' The vault was officially built by the Norwegian government as a service to the global community, and a Rome-based international NGO, the Global Crop Diversity Trust, will fund its operation. It officially opened on February 26, 2008.

Unofficially, the Seed Vault project is one of the largest steps taken yet by the handful of GMO agribusiness giants including Monsanto Corporation, Syngenta of Basle, the Rockefeller Foundation in addition to the Gates family foundation, the world's largest private foundation combining the wealth as well of Warren Buffett. As I described in an earlier piece, the project appears to be far from the innocent humanitarian enterprise its promoters claim. The key organizations involved have a long, often dirty history of fraud, intimidation and dubious methods to force the spread of patented Genetically Modified plant seeds into the world agriculture food chain.

Readers seeking a more detailed background on the GMO companies, the so-called Four Horsemen of the Seeds Apokalypse — Monsanto, Syngenta, Dow Chemical and DuPont — are encouraged to look further in my book, Seeds of Destruction: The Hidden Agenda of Genetic Manipulation. There I describe the decades long background of the Rockefeller Foundation, working in close concert with Monsanto and others to create the scientifically flawed technology of introducing foreign traits into the seeds of the world's main food crops and thereby claiming grounds for exclusive patent rights to sell seeds of corn, rice, potato varieties, soybeans and countless other basic crops including cotton. GMO is a scientifically unstable technique whose long-term health impact on humans or even animals has never been independently tested by any Government.

That is a result of deliberate US policy, initiated in 1992 by then-President George H. W. Bush in consultation with top officials of Monsanto. Then Bush signed an Executive decree mandating the responsible Federal agencies such as the Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration and others NOT to independently test the genetically modified seeds for possible harmful effects, but to consider them to be `Substantially Equivalent' to conventional corn, soybeans, rice and such. That political fraud allowed Monsanto to submit GMO seed varieties for approval to plant commercially using only Monsanto-conducted test results as `proof' that the seeds were safe. That was only the beginning of a policy of malign neglect on the side of the US Government regarding the dangers of GMO. Toxic for human embryos



Compounding the dangers, the US Government also refused to examine, independently, the possible harmful effects to ground water and to humans and animals of the patented chemical herbicides which had to be sold alongside the Monsanto or DuPont or other GMO seeds. The seeds were patented in effect to force farmers to buy exclusively the herbicide of the seed patent owner.

As an example, Monsanto initially held patent rights to a powerful herbicide, Roundup®, which today is the world's most used herbicide. Monsanto developed and patented a soybean seed it names Roundup Ready®. Roudup Ready soybeans are "ready" for the Roundup herbicide. The Monsanto soybean is specially developed to be resistant to Roundup herbicide, a powerful poison that kills everything it touches. That pairing of herbicide and seed gives companies promoting the GMO product a lock on both sale of patented seeds as well as their mated herbicide chemicals. All major GMO seed giants started out as chemical companies.

More alarming is the fact that, according to numerous studies worldwide, GMO crops over time need more, not less, herbicide as the weeds develop a special resistance to become 'superweeds' . Then a scientific study that has to date been blocked out of the public debate, suggests that the active elements in the world's largest-selling herbicide, Monsanto's Roundup, are toxic and get into ground water and into the human diet. The study found that Roundup had a measurable effect on human embryonic and placental cells.

The scientific study, released in the magazine, Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology in November 2006 by a group of scientists headed by N. Benachour and G. E. Seralini of the University of Caen in France, following extensive tests with rats fed a diet of plants treated with Roundup, whose active ingredient is Glyphosate, that `we can conclude that the failure to account for the combined effects… will undoubtedly lead to the underestimation of potential hazards, especially at the endocrine disruption level, and hence to erroneous conclusions at a regulatory level regarding the risk that they provoke.' The scientists concluded, `Thus the toxic or hormonal impact of chemical mixtures in formulations (of Roundup — W.E.) appears to be underestimated. ' Moreover, the Caen University scientists found that the toxic effects of Roundup were `thus amplified with time. Taken together, these data suggest that Roundup exposure may effect human reproduction and fetal development in case of contamination. '

The last statement, translated into layman's language is that the world's most popular herbicide has manifest impact on human embryo cells and no Government is moving to call for a ban on its sale pending larger more thorough independent tests. The scientific article was buried and no one outside a tiny scientific community even knew the alarming results. The story should have been banner headline in the world press: `Scientists claim GMO Herbicide toxic to human embryo!' NATO gets world seed samples

The fact that GMO is a product of the Rockefeller Foundation, an organization which has been the leading world organization promoting the racialist eugenics agenda since the 1920's, and promoting population reduction programs including forced sterilization of women in Puerto Rico, Nicaragua and elsewhere in the developing world is relevant to the probable agenda of the people who placed a global seed vault on the property of a NATO country far remote from any prying of the public.

The picture gets more ominous in context of the Arctic Seed Vault of the Rockefeller Foundation, Gates, Monsanto et al. The seeds for the Doomsday Seed Vault are being gathered from select seed banks around the world established by CGIAR. This first installment from the CGIAR collections will contain duplicates from international agricultural research centers based in Benin, Colombia, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, the Philippines and Syria. Collectively, the CGIAR centers maintain 600,000 plant varieties in crop gene-banks, which are regarded as the foundation of global efforts to conserve agricultural biodiversity. The seed banks are supposed to be protected from attempts of Monsanto et al to try to use the seeds for their patent efforts. There have been documented cases, however, where seed samples were illegally given to Monsanto or other GMO giants to develop GMO traits. Now by collecting all possible seed varieties far away from prying eyes in the Arctic, the seed companies such as Monsanto who are part of the Svalbard Doomsday Seed Vault project, have at least the theoretical possibility of taking those seeds and patenting the most essential for their proliferation of GMO across the human food chain.

"We're tempted to say that nobody in their right mind would ever use these things," remarked Stanford University biophysicist, Professor Steven Block, a man with years of personal experience with classified Pentagon and Government biological research. "But," Block added, "not everybody is in their right mind…"

The Svalbard project deserves far more public attention and scrutiny. from:
http://www.wariscri me.com/2008/09/30/news/natos-doomsday-seed-vault-in-the-arctic/

SWAT TEAM conducts food raid in Ohio

"Over the past 20 years Congress has encouraged the U.S. military to supply intelligence, equipment, and training to civilian police. That encouragement has spawned a culture of paramilitarism in American law enforcement. The 1980s and 1990s have seen marked changes in the number of state and local paramilitary units, in their mission and deployment, and in their tactical armament." --Cato Institute (more information below)

"We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded. " --Barack Obama, "Obama's Civilian National Security Force"

"At the World Food Programme we have recognized what a valuable tool food aid can be in changing behavior. In so many poorer countries food is money, food is power....." --Catherine Bertini, Executive Director of the World Food Program, "The UN Plan for Food and Land"

On Monday, December 1, a SWAT team with semi-automatic rifles entered the private home of the Stowers family in LaGrange, Ohio, herded the family onto the couches in the living room, and kept guns trained on grandparents, their daughter-in- law (whose husband is currently serving as a U.S. Navy Seabee in Iraq), their children and grandchildren for four hours. The team was aggressive and belligerent. The children were quite traumatized. At some point, the "bad cop" SWAT team was relieved by another team, a "good cop" team that tried to befriend the family.

The Stowers family has run a very large, well-known food cooperative called Manna Storehouse on the western side of the greater Cleveland area for many years. [See video: The Stowers tell their story]

There were agents from the Department of Agriculture present, one of them identified as Bill Lesho. The search warrant is reportedly suspicious-looking. Agents began rifling through all of the family's possessions, a task that lasted hours and resulted in a complete upheaval of every private area in the home. Many items were taken that were not listed on the search warrant. The family was not permitted a phone call, and they were not told what crime they were being charged with. They were not read their rights. Over ten thousand dollars worth of food was taken, including the family's personal stock of food for the coming year. All of their computers, and all of their cell phones were taken, as well as phone and contact records. The food cooperative was virtually shut down. There was no rational explanation, nor justification, for this extreme violation of Constitutional rights.

Presumably Manna Storehouse might eventually be charged with running a retail establishment without a license. Why then the Gestapo-type interrogation for a 3rd degree misdemeanor charge? This incident has raised the ominous specter of a restrictive new era in State regulation and enforcement over the nation's private food supply.

For verification see this court filing showing that government exceeding its authority

This same type of abusive search and seizure was reported by those innocents who fell victim to oppressive federal drug laws passed in the 1990s. The present circumstance raises the obvious question: is there some rabid new interpretation of an existing drug law that considers food a controlled substance worthy of a nasty SWAT operation? Or worse, is there a previously unrecognized provision(s) pertaining to food in the Homeland Security measures? Some have suggested that it was merely an out-of-control, hot-to-trot ODA [Ohio Department of Agriculture] agent, and, if so, this would be a best-case scenario. Anything else might spell the beginning of the end for the freedom to eat unregulated and unmonitored food.

One blogger familiar with the Ohio situation has reported that:

"Interestingly, I believe they [Manna Storehouse] said a month or so ago, an undercover ODA official came to their little store and claimed to have a sick father wanting to join the co-op. Both the owner and her daughter-in- law had a horrible feeling about the man, and decided not to allow him into the co-op and notified him by certified mail. He came back to the co-op demanding to be part of it. They refused and gave him names of other businesses and health food stores closer to his home. Not coincidentally, this man was there yesterday as part of the raid."

The same blog also noted that the Ohio Department of Agriculture has been chastised by the courts in several previous instances for its aggression, including trying to entrap an Amish man in a raw milk "sale," which backfired when it became known that the Amish believe in a literal interpretation of "give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away" (Matthew 5:42)

The issue appears to be the discovery of a bit of non-institutional beef in an Oberlin College food service freezer a year ago that was tracked down by a county sanitation official to Manna Storehouse. Oberlin College's student food coop is widely known for its strident ideological stance about eating organic foods. It seems that the Oberlin student food cooperative had joined the Manna Storehouse food cooperative in order to buy organic foods in bulk from the national organic food distributor United, which services buying clubs across the nation. The sanitation official, James Boddy, evidently contacted the Ohio Department of Agriculture. After the first contact by state ODA officials, Manna Storehouse reportedly wrote them a letter requesting assistance and guidelines for complying with the law. This letter was never answered. Rather, the ODA agent tried several times to infiltrate the coop, as described above. When his attempts failed, the SWAT team showed up!

Food cooperatives and buying clubs have been an active part of the American landscape for over a generation. In the 1970s, with the rise of the organic food industry (a direct outgrowth of the hippie back-to-nature movement) food coops started up all over the country. These were groups of people who freely associated for the purpose of combining their buying power so that they could order organic food items in bulk and case lots. Anyone who was part of these coops in the early era will remember the messy breakdown of 35 pounds of peanut butter and 5 gallon drums of honey!

These buying clubs have persisted and flourished over the years due to their ability to purchase high quality organic foods at reduced prices in bulk quantities. Most cooperatives have participated greatly in the local agrarian economies, supporting neighborhood organic farmers with purchases of produce, eggs, chickens, etc. The groups also purchase food from a number of different local, regional and national distributors, many of them family-based businesses who truck the food themselves. Some of these food cooperatives have become large enough to set up mini-storefront operations where members can drop in and purchase items leftover from case lot sales. Manna Storehouse had established itself in such a manner, using a small enclosed breezeway attached to their home. It was a folksy place with old wooden floors where coop members stopped by to chat and snack on bags of organic corn chips.

The state of Ohio boasts the second largest Amish population in the country. Many of the Amish live on acreages where they raise their own food, not unlike Manna Storehouse, and sell off the extras to neighbors and church members. There is a sense of foreboding that this state crackdown on a longstanding, reputable food cooperative operation could adversely impact the peaceful agrarian way of life not only for the Amish, but homeschoolers and those families living off the land on rural acreages. It raises the disturbing possibility that it could become a crime to raise your own food, buy eggs from the farmer down the road, or butcher your own chickens for family and friends – bustling activities that routinely take place in backwater America.

The freedom to purchase food directly form the source is increasingly under attack. For those who have food allergies and chemical intolerances, or who are on special medical diets, this is becoming a serious health issue. Will Americans retain the right to purchase food that is uncontaminated by pesticides, herbicides, allergens, additives, dyes, preservatives, MSG, GMOs, radiation, etc.? The melamine scare from China underscores the increasingly inferior and suspect quality of modern processed institutional foods. One blog, commenting on the bizarre and troubling Manna Storehouse situation, observed that:

"No one is saying exactly why. At the same time the FDA says it is safe to eat the 40% of tainted beef found in Costco's and Sam's all over the nation. These farm raids are very common now. Every farmer needs to fully equipped [sic] for the possibility of it happening to them. The Farmer To Consumer Legal Defense Fund was created just for this purpose. The USDA just released their plans to put a law into action that will put all small farmers out of business. Animals for the sale of meat or milk will only be allowed in commercial farms, even the organic ones." December 3, 2008 7:09 PM

"The police paramilitary units also conduct training exercises with active duty Army Rangers and Navy SEALs. State and local police departments are increasingly accepting the military as a model for their behavior and outlook.... The problem is that the mindset of the soldier is simply not appropriate for the civilian police officer. Police officers confront not an 'enemy' but individuals who are protected by the Bill of Rights. Confusing the police function with the military function can lead to dangerous and unintended consequences. ..." (Diane Cecilia Weber, Cato Institute, "Warrior Cops: The Ominous Growth of Paramilitarism in Police Departments" )

Updates: December 26: Declaration of Intent, Notice & Demand: See the last document in this pdf file -- a letter from Mrs. Stowers dated December 10.

Global Food Control. Raid on family's home and organic food co-op challenged: "The Buckeye Institute's 1851 Center for Constitutional Law today took legal action against the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) and the Lorain County Health Department for violating the constitutional rights of John and Jacqueline Stowers of LaGrange, Ohio.... ODA and Lorain County Health Department agents forcefully raided their home and unlawfully seized the family's personal food supply, cell phones and personal computers. ... The Buckeye Institute argues the right to buy food directly from local farmers; distribute locally-grown food to neighbors; and pool resources to purchase food in bulk are rights that do not require a license. In addition, the right of peaceful citizens to be free from paramilitary police raids, searches and seizures is guaranteed under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Section 14, Article 1 of the Ohio Constitution.

'"The Stowers' constitutional rights were violated over grass-fed cattle, pastured chickens and pesticide-free produce.... Ohioans do not need a government permission slip to run a family farm and co-op, and should not be subjected to raids when they do not have one. This legal action will ensure the ODA understands and respects Ohioans' rights.'...

"On the morning of December 1, 2008, law enforcement officers forcefully entered the Stowers' residence, without first announcing they were police or stating the purpose of the visit. With guns drawn, officers swiftly and immediately moved to the upstairs of the home, finding ten children in the middle of a home-schooling lesson. Officers then moved Jacqueline Stowers and her children to their living room where they were held for more than six hours."

(Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund) TCLDF Joins Buckeye Institute as Co-Counsel in Civil Suit over Manna Storehouse Raid: "The complaint claims that the Stowers' due process, equal protection and other constitutional rights were violated when their house was raided by representatives from various state and local governmental agencies, including the Ohio Department of Agriculture...several of whom had guns drawn and who treated the Stowers family like drug dealers....one of the deputies even snatched a cell phone out of the hand of a teenage son who was attempting to call Mr. Stowers....

"FTCLDF General Counsel Gary Cox said 'this is an example where, once again, the government is trying to deny people their inalienable, fundamental right to produce and consume the foods of their choice. The purpose of our complaint is to correct that wrong.' The complaint also seeks a preliminary injunction against the Department of Agriculture and declarations stipulating that Manna Storehouse and the Stowers are not a 'retail food establishment' under Ohio's Food Safety Code. As a private cooperative, Manna Storehouse is exempted from the Food Safety Code."

December 11: A media response to this article repeatedly refers to Manna Storehouse as a "business," not a food cooperative. That distinction may be part of the problem. Perhaps the government wants to redefine a legal co-op as a "business" -- and is therefore using Manna Storehouse as a warning to other long-established co-ops. The Sheriff's report doesn't clarify this issue. But it does mention that one of the eleven "assisting officers" was wearing "raid pants" as "a member of the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force."

Until now, rural co-ops like Manna Storehouse have been operating freely. For a glimpse of how they might function, look at this definition by "United Buying Clubs:

"A buying club is a group of people who pool their time, resources, and buying power to save money on high quality healthful foods. Members of a buying club share the work and expenses involved in acquiring and distributing the food to their group. Each member contributes to the buying club by doing at least one job, and the buying club in turn benefits from the talents and skills of many. Members divide the work equally among themselves, trading their time for the lower prices. Members also enjoy the camaraderie of working with other people in their community."

Most of the cooperatives buy produce, eggs, and a variety of meats from local farmers. This is part of their commitment to a simple and sustainable lifestyle, a goal many Christians share with environmentalists. Co-op members seek to reduce the costs of energy & transportation. And they like to know WHERE; HOW their food is grown, so they can avoid questionable food and ingredients from countries such as China.

What's at stake here is the freedom to purchase food directly from the farmer, or directly from one middleman. Can we no longer buy eggs or chicken from a neighbor? Would this become a crime? When does the traditional practice of communal sharing become a formal BUSINESS? If a few friends get together and split a few cases of honey and soy milk, should that be defined as a BUSINESS?

Does the local police have the constitutional right to treat peaceful, unarmed families as dangerous enemies?

It's not surprising that the mainstream news media is downplaying and distorting this event. The fact that the initial "belligerent" SWAT team was replaced by a "good cop team" that tried to befriend the family -- and the lack of specific data on the sheriff's report -- suggest that someone recognized the threat to the public image of "law enforcement" and chose to conceal the most damaging data.

Since globalist leaders plan to control food and supplements, water, physical and mental health, energy, and "human settlements" – and as the unthinkable global standards and surveillance system are being implemented -- they will obviously need paramilitary forces to control the unhappy masses.

The Stowers family has been financially devastated by this atrocity. As far as they know, they have broken no law -- no charges have been filed -- yet they lost all of their computers, phones [some have now been replaced] and personal food for the coming year. They are not asking for help, but if you can help them, you can find contact information at: www.mannastorehouse .com
from: http://www.crossroa d.to/articles2/ 08/swat-team. htm
more here: http://www.crossroa d.to/News/ food.htm

Rewards of Keeping a Journal

The Surprising Rewards of Keeping a Journal

Ev Ellsworth

I started keeping a journal in 1953, not long after my mother, then 70 -- just about the age I am now -- gave me journals she had begun when I was three years old. With some breaks, I've been "journaling" ever since.

Years ago, especially when my children were small, it was harder to find the time. Now I'm a proud great-grandma with plenty of time and an increasing interest in recording my thoughts and dreams, my family history and my own past. I assigned journaling to my high school English students for many years and teach it to adults now.

WHAT'S THE POINT?

I'm often asked the difference between a diary and a journal. In diaries, we create a factual record of what we did on a given day. In journals, we may do the same, but we also describe how we felt about what happened during the day and about life's big questions.

When people ask why I keep a journal, I say, "To make sense of my life."

In her book Leaving a Trace, Alexandra Johnson observes that both "diary" and "journal" are derived from words for "day," but neither need become a daily rite. Instead, she suggests that we think of writing as a way to help us see our world differently every day.

A journal is essentially unedited. You can cross out things and play with the material later, if you wish. The purpose is not to build a storehouse of materials for polishing -- you are writing thoughts as they occur for yourself and, if you wish, for posterity.

SETTING UP

All you need is a pen and some paper, preferably bound into a book. My journals range from a silk-bound volume -- a gift and too beautiful to use, although others may prefer such things -- to dime-store notebooks. Most of my students favor the six-by-eight-inch spiral-bound type -- it's portable, but big enough for easy writing. Use what pleases and inspires you.

Running your finger down the smooth surface of creamy paper may spur you to pick up a pen. If, like me, you're intimidated by gorgeous materials, buy cheap ones.

After several years of using both sides of the paper, I began writing on one side only. That way, I can write notes and further thoughts on the back. If you decide to remove or expand on any entries later, one-sided writing will make it easier. Keep your journal with you at all times, and jot down thoughts whenever and wherever you wish.

Millions of people keep computer journals. I do, too, but my writing has a different quality then. For me, personal musings must be done at a slower pace, using nothing electric.

WHEN SHOULD I WRITE?

Some people write every morning or night. That's too often for me. I write in my journal for two to three hours three times a week. You'll learn what works for you.

Unlike a diary, a journal needn't be dated at every entry. I date mine every few weeks.

WHAT SHOULD I WRITE ABOUT?

Let your thoughts wander. Example: My journal entry about throwing out stuff to prepare for an aged relative's visit led to reflections on the visit itself... Aunt Ale's personality... the nature of aging.

You may choose to use your journal as sheer therapy. Caveat: You may want to throw certain very personal entries away.

Recording the details of important events and memorable times will give you pleasure later. Example: Rereading my journal from a trip to the Florida Keys eight years ago reminds me of the strong sense of place I felt there.

Excerpt: "I still see the long, shadowy driveways along Route 1 through the Keys... mysterious, the homes too far back to be seen. I picture women in evening gowns, stepping into Rudi Vallee roadsters, servants watching and knowing -- what family secrets? The sandy roads with overhanging vines -- what are they? Some with weathered concrete pillars, an iron gate -- and then darkness."

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

Consider joining a journaling class for encouragement. For sufficient interaction, the ideal number of participants is six to 10. Can't find a class? Start a writers' group at a library, local school or just in members' homes.

Agenda: Taking turns, read selections from your journals. Then take turns critiquing the writing, not the content. Offer positive suggestions that are likely to be helpful for future writing.

Example: "I liked that metaphor... I enjoyed the connections you made... I'd like to know more about..."

Journal writers often omit important details when they know a story well. Ask questions about what's missing.

Participants can refrain from reading any highly personal details aloud. Maintain confidentiality and encourage candor with this rule: "What is read and said in our group stays here."

REVIEWING YOUR ENTRIES

I like to reread my journals, looking for patterns. Doing so a couple of years ago, I discovered several topics that must interest me more than I realized, since I pondered them so often.

I found that the bulk of my journals were banal, focused on my struggle with personal habits. But I seem to be fascinated by what people want done with their remains! Of the 18 or 20 volumes, I threw about half away, dispensing with those that might be hurtful or boring to my children and retaining the narratives of my childhood and other notes of interest to my family.

Here's a passage I kept. Years ago, after a brief estrangement from one of my daughters, I wrote: "How do people cope when family members break away? Who else has been through this? Barbara. Sherry. Elaine is speaking again to her son, thank goodness. What of children who join cults, join the Army, run away, disappear? What about parents who never even look for a missing child, like the ones in that Annie Proulx novel Postcards."

JUST DO IT

Most of us go about with something on our minds. In your journal, write about it.

Don't worry about titles, writing style, creating a "writing arc" or any other fancy literary terms you may know. Your journal is your special place to write your thoughts. Deciding whether to send excerpts to friends, family members or editors can come later.

Your writing style is uniquely your own. It will emerge, as will your "voice" -- the personality who speaks in your words. You may find that that person interests you very much.