Good people doing it right again!!!!
"What's going on is quite a phenomenon,' said Kami Pothukuchi, a Wayne State University professor specializing in urban planning and food systems. 'You have a community that needs access to fresh food, and you have open land. The two are coming together.'
The number of community and family gardens and individuals raising crops for sale in the city has jumped from 80 in 2004 to 302 in 2006, according to The Greening of Detroit, a nonprofit group that creates public gardens and plants trees.
The total is projected to jump another 25 percent this year.
'The economy is ideal for this,' said Michael Score, who works for the Michigan State University Extension Service, which finds ways to bring crops to market.
The downturn in Michigan's job market -- the city of Detroit has an unemployment rate of about 15 percent -- means people are looking to eat affordably and to generate income, he said.
Detroit provides a perfect setting for urban gardening.
In a city of roughly 880,000 people, there are just two large-scale grocery stores. Because public transportation is not always convenient, and an estimated 37 percent of residents live below the federal poverty threshold, most people shop at small independent stores that charge more and are more likely to have a meager produce selection."
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Friday, March 16, 2007
Fwd: Response to your recent comments
Mel_Martinez@martinez.senate.gov wrote:
Subject: Response to your recent comments
From: Mel_Martinez@martinez.senate.gov
To: stars2man@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2007 10:45:39 -0400
Below is a response to the recent comments I received from you:
Dear Mr. Weaver:
Thank you for contacting me with your concerns over the sale of cloned animal products. I appreciate hearing from you and would like to take this opportunity to respond.
On December 28, 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a draft risk assessment which found that meat and milk from cloned cattle, pigs, and goats and their offspring are as safe to eat as those of conventionally bred animals. It is my understanding that the assessment was peer reviewed by a group of independent scientific experts in cloning and animal health, and its primary conclusion regarding the safety of cloned food was in keeping with the findings of the National Academies of Sciences.
According to the FDA, they have yet to make a decision requiring the labeling of food products from cloned animals. In addition, the draft assessment specifically differentiated between genetic engineering, which involves altering, adding or deleting DNA, and cloning, which does not change the genetic sequence.Under regulations established by the United States Department of Agriculture, the FDA is seeking comments from the public until April 2, 2007 (90 days). To submit electronic comments on the three documents, visit http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/oc/dockets/comments/commentdocket.cfm?AGENCY=FDA. Written comments may be sent to: Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD, 20852. Comments must be received by April 2, 2007, and should include the docket number 2003N-0573. For more information, visit http://www.fda.gov/cvm/CloneRiskAssessment.htm.
Again, thank you for contacting me. If you have any additional questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me. In addition, for more information about issues and activities important to Florida, please sign up for my weekly newsletter at http://martinez.senate.gov.
Sincerely,
Mel Martinez
United States Senator
**Note: PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS E-MAIL. If you would like to reply to this message, please contact me through my website at http://martinez.senate.gov.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
What's At Stake: Stop Meat and Milk From Clones!
Eeeek this is freaky... now I know I'm stuck being vegetarian!!!
No more Ice Cream either!!!
"What's At Stake?
Stop Meat and Milk From Clones!
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is poised to lift a voluntary moratorium on the sale of meat and milk from cloned animals and their offspring. In January, the agency issued a draft risk assessment and other documents to defend its assertion regarding the safety of these products.
The Union of Concerned Scientists has joined many others in opposing the sale of meat and milk from clones in our food supply, particularly when the FDA currently has no plans to require products from clones to be labeled. Dr. Margaret Mellon, director of UCS's Food and Environment Program, said in a statement: 'If consumers aren't going to be told if their meat is from a clone, the FDA has to be certain that meat is safe.'
This move by the FDA comes despite widespread opposition to the practice of cloning animals that are part of our food supply. A 2006 survey by the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology found that 64 percent of consumers are uncomfortable with animal cloning."
No more Ice Cream either!!!
"What's At Stake?
Stop Meat and Milk From Clones!
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is poised to lift a voluntary moratorium on the sale of meat and milk from cloned animals and their offspring. In January, the agency issued a draft risk assessment and other documents to defend its assertion regarding the safety of these products.
The Union of Concerned Scientists has joined many others in opposing the sale of meat and milk from clones in our food supply, particularly when the FDA currently has no plans to require products from clones to be labeled. Dr. Margaret Mellon, director of UCS's Food and Environment Program, said in a statement: 'If consumers aren't going to be told if their meat is from a clone, the FDA has to be certain that meat is safe.'
This move by the FDA comes despite widespread opposition to the practice of cloning animals that are part of our food supply. A 2006 survey by the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology found that 64 percent of consumers are uncomfortable with animal cloning."
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Strong Suspicions of Toxicity in One GMO Corn
Yea, big surprise... pollution in our feed stock...
"Strong Suspicions of Toxicity in One GMO Corn
By Stèphane Foucart
Le Monde
Tuesday 13 March 2007
Allowed to go on the market in France and Europe, MON 863, a transgenic corn invented by Monsanto, has been at the center of a controversy over its innocuousness for over two years (April 23rd, 2004, Le Monde). These debates could resume after the March 13th publication in 'Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology' of a study suggesting this genetically modified organism (GMO) is toxic to the liver and kidneys.
According to this work, consumption of MON 863 corn disturbs numerous biological parameters in rats to a greater or lesser extent: weight of the kidneys, weight of the liver, the level of reticulocytes (new red blood cells), the level of triglycerides, etc. Urinary chemistry is also changed, with reductions in excreted sodium and phosphorus going as high as 35 percent. The effects vary with the sex of the animals. 'Female rats exhibit an increase in blood fat and sugar levels, and an increase in body weight - all associated with greater hepatic sensitivity,' says Mr. Sèralini, principal author of this study and, moreover, president of the Research Committee for Independent Research and Information on Genetic Engineering (Criigen). 'Among males, the impact is"
"Strong Suspicions of Toxicity in One GMO Corn
By Stèphane Foucart
Le Monde
Tuesday 13 March 2007
Allowed to go on the market in France and Europe, MON 863, a transgenic corn invented by Monsanto, has been at the center of a controversy over its innocuousness for over two years (April 23rd, 2004, Le Monde). These debates could resume after the March 13th publication in 'Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology' of a study suggesting this genetically modified organism (GMO) is toxic to the liver and kidneys.
According to this work, consumption of MON 863 corn disturbs numerous biological parameters in rats to a greater or lesser extent: weight of the kidneys, weight of the liver, the level of reticulocytes (new red blood cells), the level of triglycerides, etc. Urinary chemistry is also changed, with reductions in excreted sodium and phosphorus going as high as 35 percent. The effects vary with the sex of the animals. 'Female rats exhibit an increase in blood fat and sugar levels, and an increase in body weight - all associated with greater hepatic sensitivity,' says Mr. Sèralini, principal author of this study and, moreover, president of the Research Committee for Independent Research and Information on Genetic Engineering (Criigen). 'Among males, the impact is"
Sunday, March 04, 2007
The New Age
Have you ever wondered when the "New Age" started? Believe it or not, it dates back to the late 1800s, a period of intense spiritual activity in Western
Neptune, ruler of spirituality and psychic phenomena, had just been discovered. Coincidence? Of the many innovations that came out of this extraordinary period was the combination of astrology with Tarot. Today, the connection between the two is a given, and there's no doubt that their divination power is vastly increased when they are used together.
Neptune, ruler of spirituality and psychic phenomena, had just been discovered. Coincidence? Of the many innovations that came out of this extraordinary period was the combination of astrology with Tarot. Today, the connection between the two is a given, and there's no doubt that their divination power is vastly increased when they are used together.
Friday, March 02, 2007
WorldChanging: Tools, Models and Ideas for Building a Bright Green Future: Food is Power
Yes POWER is right... they American Machine takes over the water supplies, uses all their chemicals to destroy all the seeds and foods outside of their control and then pumps their "patented" seeds and GMO's into the counties so you can only eat and survive by buying from a multinational corporation that has taken over...
WorldChanging: Tools, Models and Ideas for Building a Bright Green Future: Food is Power: "“Forum on Food Sovereignty” near Bamako, Mali. For the first time, the world’s largest social movements working on behalf of food producers throughout the world have gathered to discuss the idea of food sovereignty. The organizers include international social movements of peasants, women, fisherfolk, environmentalists, and consumers.
Most of the focus of the forum has been conversation, discussing what the delegates represented here are fighting for, what they’re fighting against, and to set an agenda for the next five to ten years for collective, global campaigns. The gathered groups will also develop position papers on themes ranging from trade and local commerce, to resource rights and urban-consumer partnerships, from production models and appropriate technologies to bilateral and multinational trade policies.
Ultimately, this alliance plans to share these position papers with networks in their home countries as well as heads of state, the United Nations, the FAO, and development bodies.
I’ve been here for a few days now and have been continually amazed by the feat to pull this event off. In rural West Africa, the organizers were able to create a village for more than 600 delegates, from scratch, using mostly local materials and mostly local labor. As one of the org"
WorldChanging: Tools, Models and Ideas for Building a Bright Green Future: Food is Power: "“Forum on Food Sovereignty” near Bamako, Mali. For the first time, the world’s largest social movements working on behalf of food producers throughout the world have gathered to discuss the idea of food sovereignty. The organizers include international social movements of peasants, women, fisherfolk, environmentalists, and consumers.
Most of the focus of the forum has been conversation, discussing what the delegates represented here are fighting for, what they’re fighting against, and to set an agenda for the next five to ten years for collective, global campaigns. The gathered groups will also develop position papers on themes ranging from trade and local commerce, to resource rights and urban-consumer partnerships, from production models and appropriate technologies to bilateral and multinational trade policies.
Ultimately, this alliance plans to share these position papers with networks in their home countries as well as heads of state, the United Nations, the FAO, and development bodies.
I’ve been here for a few days now and have been continually amazed by the feat to pull this event off. In rural West Africa, the organizers were able to create a village for more than 600 delegates, from scratch, using mostly local materials and mostly local labor. As one of the org"
"MORE NATURAL CURES REVEALED"
"A government that once stood for the people is now being sold over and over again to some of the most powerful and influential money interests on the planet. Four of the top ten Fortune 500 companies are pharmaceutical companies. They have a lobbyist for every state representative and senator in Washington, with some extras assigned to the public committees of the House and Senate. Your health is being sold on a daily basis by every representative and senator who takes their money." - p. 74.
"The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) repeatedly puts out press releases which are flagrantly false and misleading. Corruption must stop. The government must stop taking advantage of the citizens. The large multinational corporations must stop putting profits above ethics, integrity, and honesty. We, as a society are being made sick purposely, so that large companies can make billions of dollars in profits. This must cease. The FTC is helping this to continue to occur. They must be stopped. The FTC is supposed to protect us; instead it is protecting the large multinational corporations." - p. 122.
"The FTC is not interested in protecting the consumers; it is interested in protecting the profits of the large companies. The FTC repeatedly sues people like myself who advertise truthfully and honestly, but whose products and opinions can have an adverse effect on the large companies. This is how the FTC protects the monopolies and protects the profits of the large corporations. This is wrong and must be stopped..." - p. 123.
"The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) repeatedly puts out press releases which are flagrantly false and misleading. Corruption must stop. The government must stop taking advantage of the citizens. The large multinational corporations must stop putting profits above ethics, integrity, and honesty. We, as a society are being made sick purposely, so that large companies can make billions of dollars in profits. This must cease. The FTC is helping this to continue to occur. They must be stopped. The FTC is supposed to protect us; instead it is protecting the large multinational corporations." - p. 122.
"The FTC is not interested in protecting the consumers; it is interested in protecting the profits of the large companies. The FTC repeatedly sues people like myself who advertise truthfully and honestly, but whose products and opinions can have an adverse effect on the large companies. This is how the FTC protects the monopolies and protects the profits of the large corporations. This is wrong and must be stopped..." - p. 123.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Ivory Trade Threatens Future of African Elephants
But you know this will also happen to Oil, Old Growth Forests, Wild Tuna and Salmon and every other commodity. . . The Profit Machine is designed to increase the use until there is NO MORE. then they will have total control of the market with Stored supplies and pirated access. Just like the Diamond trade where all the African Tribes that could compete in the market are getting systematically exterminated... ALL of them!!!!
Ivory Trade Threatens Future of African Elephants: "Ivory Trade Threatens Future of African Elephants
SEATTLE, Washington, February 27, 2007 (ENS) - The illegal ivory trade is flourishing and threatens to undermine efforts to save the African elephant from extinction, according to a new study released Monday. Poaching of the species has risen to a level not seen in two decades, researchers report, and could doom the world's largest land animal unless western governments step up efforts to halt the illegal trade.
'The illegal ivory trade recently intensified to the highest levels ever reported,' according to the study, published in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
China's burgeoning economy is a major force driving the growth of the illegal trade, escalating prices and attracting organized crime.
A kilogram of ivory that $200 by 2004 now fetches some $750, the researchers said, and from August 2005 through August 2006, authorities seized some 24 tons of illegal ivory destined for Asia.
But that figure represents only about 10 percent of the estimated illegal shipments, bringing the total closer to 240 tons - an amount that would require the slaughter of more than 23,000 elephants, about 5 percent of the estimated"
Ivory Trade Threatens Future of African Elephants: "Ivory Trade Threatens Future of African Elephants
SEATTLE, Washington, February 27, 2007 (ENS) - The illegal ivory trade is flourishing and threatens to undermine efforts to save the African elephant from extinction, according to a new study released Monday. Poaching of the species has risen to a level not seen in two decades, researchers report, and could doom the world's largest land animal unless western governments step up efforts to halt the illegal trade.
'The illegal ivory trade recently intensified to the highest levels ever reported,' according to the study, published in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
China's burgeoning economy is a major force driving the growth of the illegal trade, escalating prices and attracting organized crime.
A kilogram of ivory that $200 by 2004 now fetches some $750, the researchers said, and from August 2005 through August 2006, authorities seized some 24 tons of illegal ivory destined for Asia.
But that figure represents only about 10 percent of the estimated illegal shipments, bringing the total closer to 240 tons - an amount that would require the slaughter of more than 23,000 elephants, about 5 percent of the estimated"
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Fwd: RE: [discussionlist] dharma and mental illness
MLRN Discussion List
As I read the response below, I find myself thinking "the criteria for inclusion are very subjectively guided." We have to keep in mind that meditation in general is INCREDIBLY broad. Mindfulness is a bit more focused (no pun intended), but still, adherents of TM will vouch for empirically validating TM; adherents of mindfulness will go for mindfulness, etc., just as it happens with CBT being empirically validated first, even though theoretically, it's the new kid on the block. And the fact remains that exactly *what* mindfulness is is up for debate. Is it the posture? Is it the breathing? Is it the acceptance? Is it a synthesis of these and other things? I imagine as many of you read these components, you are thinking "oh, he left out ____." And that's my point exactly. Where we start is fairly subjective, and we must acknowledge that, whether we are in the empiricism-is-best camp or whether we are in the qualitative-is-more-clinically-relevant camp. As is often the case, how this lump of clay is sculpted into a meaningful body of research is as much a result of serendipity, political intrigue, and synchronicity more than intentional design.
As I frequently do on this list, I also feel compelled to draw attention to the false dichotomy between the sick, depraved nature of "western" society, versus the enlightened, spiritual "east". If anyone one of us wish to do serious academic or dharma work, we have to absolutely dispel such wrong views that perpetuate a eurocentric dichotomy that only insidiously perpetuates very colonial, imperialistic ideas. Where is the boundary between "west" and "east"? Is it in Jerusalem? Russia? Where is the center of this two-armed cosmology? (Europe). How do we explain the awful things that have gone on in the "east" that go against our romanticized notions of how perfect and evolved those cute little Asians are?
Clearly, I am being a gadfly, but my point is that any serious meditation practice or research cannot come from holding a group, a practice, or even a teacher up on an idealized pedestal. I can assure you the depravity and vice is just as rampant in Thailand, India, or China as it is in New York, and isn't there because these pristine societes were contaminated by the "west". I heard on NPR some months ago that Wahabbis in Baghdad were killing grocers whose produce might interpreted as pornographic-- eggplants and peaches assembled just so. So what depravity and vice are is clearly very, very subjective. I am also reminded of the bitter complaints Steven mentioned he recieved after his book was mentioned in a popular magazine. Obviously, some Buddhists somewhere were offended, and being "Buddhist" didn't mean they were civil.
Human beings are human beings everywhere. I can't vouch for what goes in every society, but thinking in terms of "east" and "west" only highilights differences, not our common flaws and potentials. My mind, being Indian, wanders as much as anyone elses, I imagine, who has been engaged in daily practice for over a decade. Is this more or less because I am Indian? Does it, or should it, matter? I don't think it does.
Sameet Kumar, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist
Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Center
4306 Alton Road
Miami Beach, FL 33140
phone: (305) 535 3362
fax: (305) 535 3352
As I read the response below, I find myself thinking "the criteria for inclusion are very subjectively guided." We have to keep in mind that meditation in general is INCREDIBLY broad. Mindfulness is a bit more focused (no pun intended), but still, adherents of TM will vouch for empirically validating TM; adherents of mindfulness will go for mindfulness, etc., just as it happens with CBT being empirically validated first, even though theoretically, it's the new kid on the block. And the fact remains that exactly *what* mindfulness is is up for debate. Is it the posture? Is it the breathing? Is it the acceptance? Is it a synthesis of these and other things? I imagine as many of you read these components, you are thinking "oh, he left out ____." And that's my point exactly. Where we start is fairly subjective, and we must acknowledge that, whether we are in the empiricism-is-best camp or whether we are in the qualitative-is-more-clinically-relevant camp. As is often the case, how this lump of clay is sculpted into a meaningful body of research is as much a result of serendipity, political intrigue, and synchronicity more than intentional design.
As I frequently do on this list, I also feel compelled to draw attention to the false dichotomy between the sick, depraved nature of "western" society, versus the enlightened, spiritual "east". If anyone one of us wish to do serious academic or dharma work, we have to absolutely dispel such wrong views that perpetuate a eurocentric dichotomy that only insidiously perpetuates very colonial, imperialistic ideas. Where is the boundary between "west" and "east"? Is it in Jerusalem? Russia? Where is the center of this two-armed cosmology? (Europe). How do we explain the awful things that have gone on in the "east" that go against our romanticized notions of how perfect and evolved those cute little Asians are?
Clearly, I am being a gadfly, but my point is that any serious meditation practice or research cannot come from holding a group, a practice, or even a teacher up on an idealized pedestal. I can assure you the depravity and vice is just as rampant in Thailand, India, or China as it is in New York, and isn't there because these pristine societes were contaminated by the "west". I heard on NPR some months ago that Wahabbis in Baghdad were killing grocers whose produce might interpreted as pornographic-- eggplants and peaches assembled just so. So what depravity and vice are is clearly very, very subjective. I am also reminded of the bitter complaints Steven mentioned he recieved after his book was mentioned in a popular magazine. Obviously, some Buddhists somewhere were offended, and being "Buddhist" didn't mean they were civil.
Human beings are human beings everywhere. I can't vouch for what goes in every society, but thinking in terms of "east" and "west" only highilights differences, not our common flaws and potentials. My mind, being Indian, wanders as much as anyone elses, I imagine, who has been engaged in daily practice for over a decade. Is this more or less because I am Indian? Does it, or should it, matter? I don't think it does.
Sameet Kumar, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist
Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Center
4306 Alton Road
Miami Beach, FL 33140
phone: (305) 535 3362
fax: (305) 535 3352
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Readers' Q & A with Wikipedia founder - opinion - 20 February 2007 - New Scientist
Readers' Q & A with Wikipedia founder - opinion - 20 February 2007 - New Scientist: "Wikipedia has opened - as New Scientist asserts - knowledge to the people. This is one of the benefits that the internet brings to the world. There remains one area where its impartial and basically incorruptible powers should be brought to bear - this is the area of politics. Can you think of methods by which the stupidity, misdeeds, hidden links and crimes of those who plan (and often succeed) to govern us, could be brought to the attention of the voting public? Such a system would prevent the emergence of the Hitlers, the Dubyas and the Mugabes. A sort of Whistleblowers International...
Jimmy Wales replies:
I don't think we need any special new system, but rather to simply continue to expand the use of the internet as a whole. Blogs are a fantastic tool, which allow anyone to publish anything quickly and at virtually no cost, and the blogosphere quickly spreads the word so that interesting voices are quickly amplified. And then wikis provide a fabulous tool for groups to come together to summarise and catalogue.
My own political project, Campaigns Wikia, is specifically focused on helping to make political campaigns more transparent and responsive to internet technologies. It is my belief that no one system is needed, but rather an explosion of free speech."
Jimmy Wales replies:
I don't think we need any special new system, but rather to simply continue to expand the use of the internet as a whole. Blogs are a fantastic tool, which allow anyone to publish anything quickly and at virtually no cost, and the blogosphere quickly spreads the word so that interesting voices are quickly amplified. And then wikis provide a fabulous tool for groups to come together to summarise and catalogue.
My own political project, Campaigns Wikia, is specifically focused on helping to make political campaigns more transparent and responsive to internet technologies. It is my belief that no one system is needed, but rather an explosion of free speech."
Monday, February 19, 2007
How Gov't Decided Lunch Box Lead Levels
How does any Government decided how to enforce regulations???
easy!
SHOW ME THE MONEY$$$$
How Gov't Decided Lunch Box Lead Levels - washingtonpost.com: "How Gov't Decided Lunch Box Lead Levels
By MARTHA MENDOZA
The Associated Press
Sunday, February 18, 2007; 11:19 PM
-- In 2005, when government scientists tested 60 soft, vinyl lunch boxes, they found that one in five contained amounts of lead that medical experts consider unsafe _ and several had more than 10 times hazardous levels.
But that's not what they told the public.
Instead, the Consumer Product Safety Commission released a statement that they found "no instances of hazardous levels." And they refused to release their actual test results, citing regulations that protect manufacturers from having their information released to the public.
That data was not made public until The Associated Press received a box of about 1,500 pages of lab reports, in-house e-mails and other records in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed a year ago.
The documents describe two types of tests. One involves cutting a chunk of vinyl off the bag, dissolving it and then analyzing how much lead is in the solution; the second test involves swiping the surface of a bag and then determining how much lead has rubbed off.
The results of the first type of test, looking for the actual lead content of the vinyl, showed that 20 percent of the bags had more than 600 parts per million of lead _ the federal safe level for paint and other products. The highest level was 9,600 ppm, more than 16 times the federal standard.
But the CPSC did not use those results.
"When it comes to a lunch box, it's carried. The food that you put in the lunch box may have an outer wrapping, a baggie, so there isn't direct exposure. The direct exposure would be if kids were putting their lunch boxes in their mouth, which isn't a common way for children to interact with their lunch box," said CPSC spokeswoman Julie Vallese.
Thus the CPSC focused exclusively on how much lead came off the surface of a lunch box when lab workers swiped them.
easy!
SHOW ME THE MONEY$$$$
How Gov't Decided Lunch Box Lead Levels - washingtonpost.com: "How Gov't Decided Lunch Box Lead Levels
By MARTHA MENDOZA
The Associated Press
Sunday, February 18, 2007; 11:19 PM
-- In 2005, when government scientists tested 60 soft, vinyl lunch boxes, they found that one in five contained amounts of lead that medical experts consider unsafe _ and several had more than 10 times hazardous levels.
But that's not what they told the public.
Instead, the Consumer Product Safety Commission released a statement that they found "no instances of hazardous levels." And they refused to release their actual test results, citing regulations that protect manufacturers from having their information released to the public.
That data was not made public until The Associated Press received a box of about 1,500 pages of lab reports, in-house e-mails and other records in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed a year ago.
The documents describe two types of tests. One involves cutting a chunk of vinyl off the bag, dissolving it and then analyzing how much lead is in the solution; the second test involves swiping the surface of a bag and then determining how much lead has rubbed off.
The results of the first type of test, looking for the actual lead content of the vinyl, showed that 20 percent of the bags had more than 600 parts per million of lead _ the federal safe level for paint and other products. The highest level was 9,600 ppm, more than 16 times the federal standard.
But the CPSC did not use those results.
"When it comes to a lunch box, it's carried. The food that you put in the lunch box may have an outer wrapping, a baggie, so there isn't direct exposure. The direct exposure would be if kids were putting their lunch boxes in their mouth, which isn't a common way for children to interact with their lunch box," said CPSC spokeswoman Julie Vallese.
Thus the CPSC focused exclusively on how much lead came off the surface of a lunch box when lab workers swiped them.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Google Groups
wow. . . have I done some SERIOUS research!!!
I googled "stars2man" again . . . eeek this is so freaky . . . like I can't find anything that I didn't write yet . . . or start . .
Google Groups: "HELP Qigong/Reiki Standing forms???
alt.healing.reiki Jun 14 2001
HELP Qigong/Reiki Standing forms??? alt.meditation.transcendental Jun 14 2001
HELP Qigong/Reiki Standing forms??? alt.philosophy.zen Jun 14 2001
HELP Qigong/Reiki Standing forms??? alt.meditation.shabda Jun 14 2001
Outlook Express 5.5 reinstall?? microsoft.public.win...tlookexpress Jun 12 2001
Chi Gong??? alt.philosophy.taoism Jun 8 2001
Chi Gong??? alt.meditation.qigong Jun 5 2001
Chi Gong??? alt.philosophy.taoism Jun 5 2001
Chi Gong??? alt.yoga Jun 1 2001"
I googled "stars2man" again . . . eeek this is so freaky . . . like I can't find anything that I didn't write yet . . . or start . .
Google Groups: "HELP Qigong/Reiki Standing forms???
alt.healing.reiki Jun 14 2001
HELP Qigong/Reiki Standing forms??? alt.meditation.transcendental Jun 14 2001
HELP Qigong/Reiki Standing forms??? alt.philosophy.zen Jun 14 2001
HELP Qigong/Reiki Standing forms??? alt.meditation.shabda Jun 14 2001
Outlook Express 5.5 reinstall?? microsoft.public.win...tlookexpress Jun 12 2001
Chi Gong??? alt.philosophy.taoism Jun 8 2001
Chi Gong??? alt.meditation.qigong Jun 5 2001
Chi Gong??? alt.philosophy.taoism Jun 5 2001
Chi Gong??? alt.yoga Jun 1 2001"
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Inside Bay Area - Scientists expose body toxin risks
Truth about all the pollution in our foods and environment is finally getting out...
Inside Bay Area - Scientists expose body toxin risks: "You scramble those reactions at your peril, in other words, and last week hundreds of researchers gathered at the University of California, San Francisco, warned society may be doing exactly that with synthetic chemicals.
The chemicals, known as endocrine disruptors, are found everywhere in our environment: food, lotions, shampoos, baby bottles, toys, appliances, even casings for medicines. They mimic hormones at levels scientists only recently have been able to measure, and some are active at concentrations of a part-per-trillion or less — a speck of dirt sullying 55 tons of clean laundry.
Most worrisome to scientists: In many cases, the effect of such pollution on our bodies remains as unknown and mysterious as the processes they potentially disrupt.
'In the absence of concrete data for many of these chemicals, the precautionary principle should be exercised,' said Dr. Linda Guidice, chairwoman of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at UCSF and the organizer of the reproductive health conference that brought 500 scientists, clinicians and community activists together."
Inside Bay Area - Scientists expose body toxin risks: "You scramble those reactions at your peril, in other words, and last week hundreds of researchers gathered at the University of California, San Francisco, warned society may be doing exactly that with synthetic chemicals.
The chemicals, known as endocrine disruptors, are found everywhere in our environment: food, lotions, shampoos, baby bottles, toys, appliances, even casings for medicines. They mimic hormones at levels scientists only recently have been able to measure, and some are active at concentrations of a part-per-trillion or less — a speck of dirt sullying 55 tons of clean laundry.
Most worrisome to scientists: In many cases, the effect of such pollution on our bodies remains as unknown and mysterious as the processes they potentially disrupt.
'In the absence of concrete data for many of these chemicals, the precautionary principle should be exercised,' said Dr. Linda Guidice, chairwoman of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at UCSF and the organizer of the reproductive health conference that brought 500 scientists, clinicians and community activists together."
THE INTENTION EXPERIMENT
THE INTENTION EXPERIMENT by Lynne McTaggart: "THE INTENTION EXPERIMENT
Lynne McTaggart
For the last forty years renegade scientists, experimenting with the limits of quantum physics, have made seemingly impossible discoveries. In 1966, for instance, a lie-detector expert accidentally discovered that plants can read thoughts; in 1982 Buddhist monks in the Himalayas were found to be able to turn their bodies into furnaces; and a psychologist’s experiments in 1992 revealed a stream of light flowing from healers during healing. All pointed towards one thing - evidence that a thought is a tangible thing, with the power to affect the physical world. In The Intention Experiment, Lynne McTaggart explores scientific evidence supporting the idea that the power of human intentions can actually change the world around us. She also shows you exactly how to ‘power up’ your own thoughts and intentions to change your life. And, joining forces with an international team of scientists, she also invites her readers to participate in the biggest intention experiment in history. Exciting eh?
Visit the website: www.theintentionexperiment.com"
Lynne McTaggart
For the last forty years renegade scientists, experimenting with the limits of quantum physics, have made seemingly impossible discoveries. In 1966, for instance, a lie-detector expert accidentally discovered that plants can read thoughts; in 1982 Buddhist monks in the Himalayas were found to be able to turn their bodies into furnaces; and a psychologist’s experiments in 1992 revealed a stream of light flowing from healers during healing. All pointed towards one thing - evidence that a thought is a tangible thing, with the power to affect the physical world. In The Intention Experiment, Lynne McTaggart explores scientific evidence supporting the idea that the power of human intentions can actually change the world around us. She also shows you exactly how to ‘power up’ your own thoughts and intentions to change your life. And, joining forces with an international team of scientists, she also invites her readers to participate in the biggest intention experiment in history. Exciting eh?
Visit the website: www.theintentionexperiment.com"
Monday, January 29, 2007
How to Always Win
How to Always Win
A stellar characteristic of Americans has always been their ability to compete, indeed to win. This zeal to achieve has accomplished many wonderful things for our country and its citizens, including major medical discoveries, unparalleled economic success, even liberty itself. But after the extremely negative campaigning of the recent elections, and the endless nightly debate about whether or not we are winning the war on terror and who's to blame for what's right or wrong in our country, I can't help but ask if our need to compete has gone awry. It doesn't seem to be enough any more to succeed. What worries me is people's need to take it a step further to prove they are right, and sometimes, to prove they're right no matter what. You can be sure that a win-at-all-costs attitude does not contribute to good relationships on a global scale or, as concerns me here, to personal relationships, which are, after all, the bedrock of a person's emotional and physical well being.
For insight on this painful problem, I talked with Lauren Zander and Meredith Haberfeld of Handel Group Private Coaching (www.handelgrouppc.com). Lauren points out that in every conversation, people have an agenda. It might be to inform, to amuse, to get to know each other better or just to pass the time -- there are lots of reasons for verbal exchanges. But when the agenda includes ensuring that you are right, by definition it means establishing that the other person is wrong. There isn't a conversation in the world that doesn't ultimately come to a screeching halt if one or both parties have the attitude that "I am right, you are wrong, now get used to it." This is incredibly destructive to any relationship -- in the Middle East, in the workplace, with your in-laws, or in the bedroom -- because it slams the door on any real possibility for a dialog. In fact, Lauren says the battle to be "right" is at the base of all dysfunction, be it wars between countries, conflicts at work or closer to home -- marital or parent-child conflicts.
WHAT IS FACT?
There is a simple truth at play here. It is possible to be right -- look out the window and if you see water falling from the clouds you can rightly announce it is raining... or that the sun is shining... or that it is night or day. While some philosophy students may debate this, obvious facts of this nature fall neatly into a right/wrong category. But just about everything else in the world is far more complex and dwells in the world not of black and white, but of gray. This is the realm of relativism, says Lauren, which means that what is right to me is shaped by my point of view and isn't necessarily right to the other person. Meredith explains that often our own point of view is shaped by misunderstandings or misinterpretations that we assume to be hard fact. If you want a relationship to work, she continues, the most important thing you can do is understand that virtually every thought and opinion you have is based on personal perception, not on fact.
Couples may argue that one spouse was being rude or unfair but the so-called offending spouse doesn't see it that way. In fact, that person no doubt thinks the other one was being unfair. Perspective is behind the difference and determines why you both think you are right.
It is crucial to understand and accept that your perspective is not fact and that both parties have a valid point of view. This is how contradictory opinions can exist in a relationship without causing disharmony. The problem is that most people are invested in their own interpretation and perspective and are disinterested in the other person's. Deep inside, people believe that by making themselves right and their "opponent" wrong they'll "win," but this form of winning is not necessarily the key to happiness or success. Once people are willing to accept the existence of contradictory "truths," it changes the dynamics of the discussion because no one is any longer trying to win. Lauren calls this insistence on being right a manipulation, which is a common human trick. People dress their opinion up in self-righteousness -- you have to accept what I am saying because I am right! I am reminded of a couple I know who have different religious beliefs. When he tries to open her thinking to even entertain the idea that others see things differently, she responds "but I know I am right." That ends the conversation -- and much to her frustration, ends her attempts to convert him and win.
SEEKING A NEW DEFINITION OF VICTORY
While the need to win creates continuous and deep-seated relationship dilemmas, it is possible for anyone to pull out of this emotional quagmire and, in so doing, immediately improve interactions with others -- including with those who are closest to you. It is no longer about having one person right and one wrong. Rather, Meredith explains, it is listening to each other's "truths" completely so you have all version(s) of the situation and accept that another person can have a different opinion. Here is what Lauren advises to make this important change...
- Accept that most discussions, including yours, are not based on fact but rather on a relative point of view.
- Always evaluate if you are discussing fact (weather, the time, the color of your new car, etc.).
- Ask yourself if you are treating your platform as fact when it is actually your opinion (and if your discussion has become a battle, you can be sure opinions are the subject).
- Frame your conversation in words that convey not "this is how it is," but rather, "when you said this, what I meant was... " or "this is how it seemed to me" -- in other words, that you accept that your "truth" may be based on important misunderstandings that you believed to be true, and that each view of the situation as it was or is, not as an absolute truth.
- After someone speaks and shares their point of view, before you give yours, first say theirs back to them so they feel heard and understood. And be open to correction, because if you say something that didn't accurately capture their perspective, they should make sure you get it correctly.
CHANGE ONLY TAKES ONE
You may now be thinking that this is great for you, but what about the other guy? If he won't change his position, what good will this do? Take heart -- Lauren observes that when one person assumes responsibility for accepting that his/her perspective is relative and understands that aiming to "win" leaves everyone as losers, it is sufficient to turn a discussion around. You have put one fact on the table and that is there are two different points of view going on. Who can argue with that? You allow the other his/her right to his view of the truth -- but you also claim the right to yours. This acceptance surpasses the need to win, allowing a peaceful negotiation of the situation -- if not immediately than in the near future... and that is truly winning in a far more constructive way.
Sources:
How to Always Win
- Meredith Haberfeld, co-founder and CEO, Handel Group Private Coaching (www.handelgrouppc.com) and Lauren Zander, principle, Handel
Friday, January 19, 2007
medical cartel
"The United States Government and governments of the world have colluded together with international drug and pharmaceutical companies to create a 'medical cartel', a virtual monopoly on what is the 'truth' regarding health, and the treatment of illness and disease. Individuals around the world have been charged criminally for stating their opinions regarding the best ways to prevent and cure disease. This oocurs when these 'opinions' go against what the 'medical cartel' has already established as 'truth'. Therefore, I must write a disclaimer. There is no freedom of speech or freedom of expression in the world when it comes to health. Like it was in Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia, if a person says something that the government, in its supreme infinite wisdom, deems detrimental to society, that person will be severely ridiculed, debunked, discredited, attacked, and in many cases persecuted and prosecuted beyond the wildest imaginations of even the most ardent conspiracy theorists." - from page 15 of "More Natural Cures Revealed" by Kevin Trudeau, published by Alliance Publishing Group, P.O. Box 207, Elk Grove Village, IL 60009 U.S.A. www.naturalcures. com www.thewhistleblower.com www.kevinfightsback .com
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Eckhart Teachings Newsletter - Issue 10 - December 2006
“What does it profit you if you gain the whole world and lose yourself?”
It has been said: There are two ways of being unhappy: not getting what you want, and getting what you want.
When people attain what the world tells us is desirable — wealth, recognition, property, achievement — they’re still not happy, at least not for long. They’re not at peace with themselves. They don’t have a true sense of security, a sense of finally having arrived.
Their achievements have not provided them with what they were really looking for — themselves. They have not given them the sense of being rooted in life, or as Jesus calls it, the fullness of life.
The form of this moment is the portal into the formless dimension. It is the narrow gate that Jesus talks about that leads to life. Yes, it’s very narrow: it’s only this moment.
To find it, you need to roll up the scroll of your life on which your story is written, past and future. Before there were books, there were scrolls, and you rolled them up when you were done with them.
So put your story away. It is not who you are. People usually live carrying a burden of past and future, a burden of their personal history, which they hope will fulfill itself in the future. It won’t, so roll up that old scroll. Be done with it.
You don’t solve problems by thinking; you create problems by thinking. The solution always appears when you step out of thinking and become still and absolutely present, even if only for a moment. Then, a little later when thought comes back, you suddenly have a creative insight that wasn’t there before.
Let go of excessive thinking and see how everything changes. Your relationships change because you don’t demand that the other person should do something for you to enhance your sense of self. You don’t compare yourself to others or try to be more than someone else to strengthen your sense of identity.
You allow everyone to be as they are. You don’t need to change them; you don’t need them to behave differently so that you can be happy.
There’s nothing wrong with doing new things, pursuing activities, exploring new countries, meeting new people, acquiring knowledge and expertise, developing your physical or mental abilities, and creating whatever you’re called upon to create in this world.
It is beautiful to create in this world, and there is always more that you can do.
Now the question is, Are you looking for yourself in what you do? Are you attempting to add more to who you think you are? Are you compulsively striving toward the next moment and the next and the next, hoping to find some sense of completion and fulfillment?
The preciousness of Being is your true specialness. What the egoic self had been looking for on the level of the story —I want to be special —
obscured the fact that you could not be more special than you already are now. Not special because you are better or more wretched than someone else, but because you can sense a beauty, a preciousness, an aliveness deep within.
When you are present in this moment,
you break the continuity of your story, of past and future.
Then true intelligence arises,
and also love.
The only way love can come into your life
is not through form, but through that inner spaciousness that is Presence.
Love has no form.
you break the continuity of your story, of past and future.
Then true intelligence arises,
and also love.
The only way love can come into your life
is not through form, but through that inner spaciousness that is Presence.
Love has no form.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Physics, Mysticism, and the New Holographic Paradigm
The ripple did forget the Self, to be sure--but it was a ripple of the Self, and remained so throughout the play. Thus, this movement from the higher into the lower--which is involution--is at once an act of pure creation and effulgent radiance (on the part of Atman), and a tragic tale of suffering and epic unhappiness (on the part of the self-ripple attempting the Atman project). The ultimate aim of evolution--the movement from the lower to the higher--is to awaken as Atman, and thus retain the glory of the creation without being forced to act in the drama of self suffering.
During the course of our universe's history (and science helps us here), we have evolved from level-1 (which began approximately fifteen billion years ago with the Big Bang) to level-2 (which occurred several billions of years later when matter awakened into some realization of life) to level-3 (which so far has been reached fully by humans only). Evolution is, as it were, half completed. "Mankind," said Plotinus, "is poised midway between the gods and the beasts."
But in the past course of human history, some men and women, through the evolutionary discipline of higher religion, succeeded in pushing their own development and evolution into level-4: that of saintly religion and the first intuition of a transcendental reality, one in essence lying above and beyond the ordinary mind, self, body, and world. This "beyond" was poetically called heaven; this oneness was called the one God.
This intuition did not fully occur until around 3000 B.C., with the rise of the first great monotheistic religions. (Prior to that time, there were only polytheistic realizations--a god of fire, a god of water, etc. This was really sympathetic magic, stemming from a simple manipulation of level-2, emotionalsexual energies and rites.) By the time Of 500 B.C., however, certain evolutionary souls pushed their development into the causal--Christ, Buddha, Krishna, the great axial sages. Their insights were drawn out and extended to produce what the Tibetans called the Svabhavikakaya path--the path of level-6, or already realized Truth, the path of Zen, Vajrayana, Vedanta. What remains is for the world to follow suit, via evolutionary or process meditation, into the higher realms themselves.
According to the perennial philosophy, not only does this whole process of involution and evolution play itself out over centuries, it repeats itself moment to moment, ceaselessly and instantaneously. In this moment and this moment and this, an individual starts out at infinity. But in this moment and this moment and this, he contracts away from infinity and ends up reduced to the level of his present adaptation. He involves to the highest point he has yet evolved--and all the higher realms are simply forgotten, rendered unconscious. This is why all meditation is called remembrance or recollection (Sanskrit smriti, Pali sati, as in satipatthana, Plato's anamnesis, Sufi zikr--all are precisely translated as "memory" or "remembrance").
This whole panoply of higher levels generating the lower moment to moment, and of the dazzling interpenetrating of each level with the others, and of the extraordinary dynamics between the levels, all occurring in a field of effulgent radiance--all this is meant when the mystic-sage speaks of multidimensional interpenetration with nonequivalence
During the course of our universe's history (and science helps us here), we have evolved from level-1 (which began approximately fifteen billion years ago with the Big Bang) to level-2 (which occurred several billions of years later when matter awakened into some realization of life) to level-3 (which so far has been reached fully by humans only). Evolution is, as it were, half completed. "Mankind," said Plotinus, "is poised midway between the gods and the beasts."
But in the past course of human history, some men and women, through the evolutionary discipline of higher religion, succeeded in pushing their own development and evolution into level-4: that of saintly religion and the first intuition of a transcendental reality, one in essence lying above and beyond the ordinary mind, self, body, and world. This "beyond" was poetically called heaven; this oneness was called the one God.
This intuition did not fully occur until around 3000 B.C., with the rise of the first great monotheistic religions. (Prior to that time, there were only polytheistic realizations--a god of fire, a god of water, etc. This was really sympathetic magic, stemming from a simple manipulation of level-2, emotionalsexual energies and rites.) By the time Of 500 B.C., however, certain evolutionary souls pushed their development into the causal--Christ, Buddha, Krishna, the great axial sages. Their insights were drawn out and extended to produce what the Tibetans called the Svabhavikakaya path--the path of level-6, or already realized Truth, the path of Zen, Vajrayana, Vedanta. What remains is for the world to follow suit, via evolutionary or process meditation, into the higher realms themselves.
According to the perennial philosophy, not only does this whole process of involution and evolution play itself out over centuries, it repeats itself moment to moment, ceaselessly and instantaneously. In this moment and this moment and this, an individual starts out at infinity. But in this moment and this moment and this, he contracts away from infinity and ends up reduced to the level of his present adaptation. He involves to the highest point he has yet evolved--and all the higher realms are simply forgotten, rendered unconscious. This is why all meditation is called remembrance or recollection (Sanskrit smriti, Pali sati, as in satipatthana, Plato's anamnesis, Sufi zikr--all are precisely translated as "memory" or "remembrance").
This whole panoply of higher levels generating the lower moment to moment, and of the dazzling interpenetrating of each level with the others, and of the extraordinary dynamics between the levels, all occurring in a field of effulgent radiance--all this is meant when the mystic-sage speaks of multidimensional interpenetration with nonequivalence
"whole in every part" nature of memory storage
In a series of landmark experiments in the 1920s, brain scientistKarl Lashley found that no matter what portion of a rat's brain heremoved he was unable to eradicate its memory of how to performcomplex tasks it had learned prior to surgery. The only problem wasthat no one was able to come up with a mechanism that might explainthis curious "whole in every part" nature of memory storage.
Then in the 1960s, Pribram encountered the concept of holography andrealized he had found the explanation brain scientists had beenlooking for. Pribram believes memories are encoded not in neurons,or small groupings of neurons, but in patterns of nerve impulsesthat crisscross the entire brain in the same way that patterns oflaser light interference crisscross the entire area of a piece offilm containing a holographic image. In other words, Pribrambelieves the brain is itself a hologram.Pribram's theory also explains how the human brain can store so manymemories in so little space. It has been estimated that the humanbrain has the capacity to memorize something on the order of 10billion bits of information during the average human lifetime (orroughly the same amount of information contained in five sets of theEncyclopedia Britannica).
Then in the 1960s, Pribram encountered the concept of holography andrealized he had found the explanation brain scientists had beenlooking for. Pribram believes memories are encoded not in neurons,or small groupings of neurons, but in patterns of nerve impulsesthat crisscross the entire brain in the same way that patterns oflaser light interference crisscross the entire area of a piece offilm containing a holographic image. In other words, Pribrambelieves the brain is itself a hologram.Pribram's theory also explains how the human brain can store so manymemories in so little space. It has been estimated that the humanbrain has the capacity to memorize something on the order of 10billion bits of information during the average human lifetime (orroughly the same amount of information contained in five sets of theEncyclopedia Britannica).
Friday, December 01, 2006
[discussionlist] Physiology of relaxation/meditation
There appears to be a molecular process for relaxation. Given this, we attempt to demonstrate
this phenomenon based on established molecular and physiological processes in light of our current understanding of central and peripheral nervous system mechanisms. Central to our hypothesis is the signifi cance of norepinephrine, nitric oxide, dopamine and morphine signaling both in the central and peripheral nervous system. We fi nd that nitric oxide and morphine control catecholamine processes on many levels, including synthesis, release and actions. We conclude that enough scientifi c information exists to support these phenomena as actual physical processes that can be harnessed to provide better patient care.
this phenomenon based on established molecular and physiological processes in light of our current understanding of central and peripheral nervous system mechanisms. Central to our hypothesis is the signifi cance of norepinephrine, nitric oxide, dopamine and morphine signaling both in the central and peripheral nervous system. We fi nd that nitric oxide and morphine control catecholamine processes on many levels, including synthesis, release and actions. We conclude that enough scientifi c information exists to support these phenomena as actual physical processes that can be harnessed to provide better patient care.
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