Spacetime

Go and enjoy a dig in mr. damon's Fractal Garden.

Will the US bomb Iran Back to the Stone Age?

Check out what Eric Margolis has to say about the mainstream fabricated conceived threat that Iran poses to 'the West' in his most recent article.

Justice in Vermont (with your help)

"A citizen in United States should never expect to gain justice through the judicial system. The system is so corrupted that in the rare case when justice prevails, it is not because of, but it is in spite of, the system."
~Rosemarie Jackowski

We are posting this call to action today because a kind and decent woman needs your help. Rosemarie Jackowski is a 68-year-old grandmother/Air Force Veteran/writer/anti-war activist and an advocacy journalist living in Vermont.

"On March 20, 2003, I participated in a peaceful protest against the war. I was arrested, incarcerated, handcuffed, booked, fingerprinted, photographed, arraigned, tried, convicted and sentenced. My conviction is currently under Appeal in the Vermont State Supreme Court. Courtroom procedure allows the condemned the Right of Allocution. This was the first time that I was allowed to speak freely and openly to the court. Below are my words, as I spoke them, to Judge David Suntag, in Vermont District Court, in Bennington, Vt., on October 7, 2004."

A Courtroom Speech By Rosemarie Jackowski

To get an idea of where Rosemarie is coming from I would suggest you read the above article as well as:
"Silence is the greatest of all crimes"

An interview with Peace Grandma, Rosemarie Jackowski
by author Mickey Z

The details of her protest trial can be found at the Veterans for Peace website.

The idea of a jury steamrolling a grandmother for committing an act of civil disobedience is, unfortunately, not very surprising in America’s current political climate.

BUT…

That is not subject of today’s appeal to you.
The current injustice facing this amicable woman has to do with her actions as a plaintiff stemming from a traffic accident in Vermont in the year 2000.

While waiting in a line of traffic she was rear ended by a loaded logging truck.
Many eyewitnesses reported the truck driver was “distracted” by some young ladies on the roadside and clearly the negligent party in the accident.
It would seem like a straightforward case but for the fact that the truck was owned and operated by the state of Vermont.

It gets worse. It has taken FIVE YEARS for the government to even begin her deposition.

I urge you to read the horrific details of this matter in her recent article:

The Deposition By Rosemarie Jackowski

Being deposed by a government lawyer for a case where the State is the defendant is, no doubt, a rough ride. It would seem that the State of Vermont had an intimidation card up its sleeve when the lawyer’s questions began to stray far from the case at hand into the realm of Rosemarie’s political beliefs and very personal life.

An excerpt from The Deposition:

"The big day arrived. I was taken into a small, windowless room in the state’s attorney’s office complex. I looked around. There was a one-way mirror opposite to where I was seated. There were some metal bookshelves with black garbage bags on them. It reminded me of Abu Ghraib.


I was told to raise my right hand and was sworn in. Then the interrogation by an assistant to the state attorney general began. She asked questions about my political activities… questions about my political writings. She had copied all of them from the Internet and waved them about with great emotion. She seemed excited by the fact that some of my articles had appeared on a web site that has a four-letter word in its name. Obviously, she thought that this would embarrass me. It did not. I calmly explained to her that I do not have a web site and I have no control over what name other people give to their web sites. I don’t know if she believed me or not.


Then the interrogation got even more interesting. She asked questions about my sex life. She asked questions about my marriage that had ended 35 years prior. Then she started to ask detailed questions about the fact that I had been the victim of a brutal rape. The rape, which is irrelevant to this case, had occurred 40, yes 40, years ago during a time when I was working in Florida. By now, it had become very clear to me what was happening. There was no doubt in my mind that this was an attempt to intimidate me."

Whether or not you agree with Rosemarie’s political beliefs they should not hold any bearing in her case against a State-owned trucking company that had cause her much physical anguish and financial devastation. As for the exceptionally private matters of sexual assault or divorce- the representative of the State of Vermont has gone too far!

This is not the progressive State that I have read about over the years. This is brutal.

We are appealing to you, dear reader, to take a few moments to write to one or both of the people listed below and join us in demanding a fair and equitable conclusion to this rather straightforward case of negligence on the part of an employee of the State of Vermont.

The harassment and obfuscation by the assistant to the state attorney general and the dragging out of this otherwise uncomplicated matter are Justice delayed and Justice denied.

Dick Sears, Chairman of the State Judiciary Committee:
rsears@leg.state.vt.us

Speaker of the State House, Gaye Symington:
speaker@leg.state.vt.us

Governor of the State of Vermont, Jim Douglas:
http://www.vermont.gov/governor/contact.html

A susinct sentence or two is all we ask.

If you are a Blogger we would ask that you perhaps utilize your own space to help spread this appeal with your own article or a link back to this one.

Thank you very much.

Amelopsis and Youngfox.

The Beauty of Bhutan

More pictures from the land where the Gross National Happiness takes priority.


via Moon River

Japanese Killing Whales in Protected Waters - please help

The following is an email I received from IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare)

Please help if you can.

International Fund for Animal Welfare
January 18, 2006

Urgent: Japanese Fleet Now Killing Whales


Dear Friend,

A half century ago, a ship's physician on a whaling trip in the Antarctic wrote the following
description:

"If we can imagine a horse having two or three explosive spears stuck in its stomach and being made to pull a butcher's truck through the streets of London while it pours blood into the gutter, we shall have an idea of the method of killing whales. The gunners themselves admit that if whales could scream, the industry would stop for nobody would be able to stand it."

Sadly, this doctor could have easily been talking about the cruelty of killing whales today.

Harpoons with explosive grenade heads are still used by Japanese whalers to hunt whales in the protected waters of the Southern Ocean Sanctuary. And despite a worldwide ban on whaling and international criticism, this cruel killing of whales by Japanese whalers is now underway.

Please help us stop the unnecessary slaughter of whales before it is too late. Contribute to IFAW today.

There is no need to kill a whale in order to study it

A ban on commercial whaling is in effect, but whaling for "research" purposes is permitted under International Whaling Commission (IWC) rules.

Japanese boats left port several weeks ago to begin hunting up to 935 minke whales for "research" purposes in a marine mammal sanctuary -- more than double the number of whales they killed last year. And for the first time, 10 fin whales, the world's second largest animal, will also be killed.

Perhaps most terrifying of all, Japan plans to kill 50 endangered humpback whales a year in the near future. Graceful and magnificent, the songs and athletic displays of humpback whales inspire awe in young and old alike.

This painful killing of whales does not benefit science, whales or people. Japan claims that scientific whaling is necessary to determine if whales are hurting commercial fish stocks. Yet some of the whale species killed by Japan do not even eat fish!

"Which Whale Species Has the Best Flavor?"

The truth of "research" whaling can be found in this outrageous question from a former Deputy Commissioner in Japan's Fisheries agency. Under IWC rules, any meat that results from research whaling must be utilised, and Japan openly sells the whale meat in markets and restaurants. This is commercial whaling in disguise.

The IWC has passed resolutions critical of Japan's research whaling program forty-one times. It is long past time for the Japanese government to abide by the wishes of the international community that supports whale conservation measures such as whale watching, which is both more economically viable and sustainable. IFAW is working with responsible whale watch operators around the world, including in Japan, to promote this new industry that has tremendous benefits for coastal communities worldwide.

We can't match Japan dollar for dollar without your help

The risk of future generations forgetting the sight of these majestic creatures forever is very real. Until the ban on whaling in 1986, many species of whales, including the humpback, were hunted to the brink of extinction. Endangered whales already face many threats from marine pollution, ship strikes, gear entanglement and habitat destruction.

Please give what you can now to stop the continuing injustice of needlessly killing whales in an international sanctuary. These magnificent creatures should be appreciated for their natural beauty, not eaten.

In addition to establishing and promoting alternative whale watching programs around the world, IFAW is investigating legal options to stop Japan's scientific whale hunt via international law.

Through continued research, lobbying and public awareness, your generous contribution will help us stop the cruelty of the explosive harpooning of the most mysterious, soulful creatures on Earth.

Thanks for all you do,

Fred O'Regan
President and CEO

When any Zawasomebody will do...

...this is the sort of nonsensical crap that follows.


American planes have fired missiles into Pakistan near the village of Damadola in a purported attempt to kill the 2nd in command to the Stuff of Legend, Bin Laden himself. (You remember, his name's Osama)


While some American news agencies are busy jumping the gun in the effort to make 'good' news (good for their paymasters);
sources of the non american variety report the killing of families. Women, children.


It's all just more killing.

"I've got a little book with pages three, And every page spells liberty"

It seems that we in North America must still look abroad to find honest criticism of the Neocon Robber Barons currently ruining the world.


Harry Belafonte, in the company of Danny Glover and Cornell West, had this to say to Hugo Chavez in Venezuela during his weekly broadcast to the nation's people:

"No matter what the greatest tyrant in the world, the greatest terrorist in the world, George W. Bush says, we're here to tell you: Not hundreds, not thousands, but millions of the American people ... support your revolution,"

Say it loud and clear Mr. Belafonte, millions around the world agree.

Feathered Friday

Very seldom today does a sense of marvellous wonder overcome me as it did the other evening when I learned about the flightless birds of New Zealand. I was aware of the Kiwi, but I invite you to meet the Kakapo:



This marvellous creature's only natural enemy was a large predatory hawk; it's means of defence to be silent and still. As you can imagine this defense is ineffective against the introduced species of cats and other predatory four legged mammals such as rats who'll eat their eggs.



Kakapos exist today on the brink of extinction on a few islands that are cat and rat free. People are carefully monitoring and supporting the survival of this bird; against all odds.


"The kakapo is a bird full of surprises.

It's a parrot that looks like an owl, but which cannot fly. It can hop like a sparrow and growl like a dog. And it has a smell unlike anything else in the world - except perhaps the smell of flowers or honey!"


Kakapo Recovery Project

What a mysterious planet we live on.

So many wondrous places and creatures to learn about every day.

Let's make certain to learn more about the magic and wonder around us before we use it all up.
That'll be sometime next week by the way.
The time is now - there's none to waste!

7SEVEN7seven7SEVEN7seven7SEVEN7

Hawk at Spontaneous Arising has tagged me for the Magnificient 7's meme.
If I over-analyse, I'll NEVER post this...so here goes nothing:


Seven Things to Do Before I Die


Love - as much as I can


Live - on the Canadian West Coast


Add Canine to my list of animal companions


Go completely vegan


Recrudesce my practice of Ashtanga Yoga (hopefully LONG before I die)


Visit a peaceful Middle East where I could drive myself anywhere I chose to.


Procrastinate less




Seven Things I Cannot Do


Remain silent in the face of injustice or suffering


Keep quiet at some times when I really should


Consider plastic surgery


Enjoy most music on the radio


Abide willful ignorance


Empathise with Conservatives


Patronise for the sake of ambition




Seven Things That Attract Me to Blogging


I always have an opinion


I learn something new every day (through one blog or another)


I met (and continue to meet) interesting people


It's EASY


I prefer the medium to others for self expression


It's more convenient than a soap-box


Youngfox




Seven Things I Say Most Often


"Come for your pilly!"


"Did I see that movie already?"


"It's already Monday tomorrow?"


"Yeah, well..."


"Where's the magic bag?"


"As a matter of legality, please remove my number from your call list"


"I love you."




Seven Books that I Love


Jitterbug Perfume - Tom Robbins


The Secret World of Og - Pierre Berton


50 American Revolutions you're not supposed to know - MickeyZ


The Essential Rumi - Coleman Barks(a collection of Rumi's poetry)


The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant - Stephen Donaldson


The Vampire Chronicles - Anne Rice


Manual of Woody Landscape Plants - Michael Dirr




Seven Movies That I Watch Over and Over Again (and some I just enjoyed once)


Gorillas in the Mist


The Silence of the Lambs


Dial M for Murder


The Life Aquatic


The Usual Suspects


Pulp Fiction


Batman Begins



Seven People Who Must Now Do This



Everyone's off the hook here because most of my blogging friends have already done this sort of post - but if you decide to run with it, I'm looking forward to reading...

Peace.

May you see the Golden Mean in all Things.

Stop The Landmines

You won't see this on 'the box' in the US.
A little too clear of a picture of what reality is like for many in the world.


I came across this Public Service Announcement from an Expendable in Scotland.
(the link is a browser window which plays a quicktime movie)



Apparently all US media outlets are refusing to carry this PSA in support of Stop Landmines .

Happy Winter Solstice to One and All

Newgrange in Co. Meath, Ireland is also known as Bru na Boinne. It's an absolutely beautiful place where ancient society marked the magic of Nature at the Winter and Spring Solstices. People still flock there today to see the sun rise through the narrow shaft and send a beam of warmth and life into a 5000 year old coffered-ceiling structure corbelled ceiling built into the earth like a cave. Beautiful sculptures and rock (originating far from the structure itself) was built by people long before the pyramids came to be and still we are uncertain of so many things about our own histories.




I hope everyone takes a moment to enjoy the day, the sun, the Life.


A rock at Bru na Boinne carved in the typical Irish pattern:




Winter Solstice illuminates the Mound:






The view at Solstice from inside:

Law Suits filed in an effort to have the Polar Bear declared "Endangered"

I can't beleive that they have not already been declared an Endangered Species. How can they not be?






Our world is warmer than has ever been previously recorded and these animals depend upon the annual onset of cold weather for their very survival.




For as long as modern man has walked this planet, Nanuk has wandered the North and been the most powerful individual ever to survive it's harsh and unique environment. They have forever wandered out onto the sheet ice, swimming from from one ice floe to another as they hunt, as is their very existance.




Now the Polar Bears are now drowning while they hunt, swimming from one ice floe to another is no longer as easily done. Sheet ice is melting and breaking up; ice floes are farther apart; the once fruitful shoreline is changed. Their prey now move to deeper water themselves and are no longer as accessible to the Great Nanuk.




They drown while they hunt because they are tired and hungry.



They drown because for so many generations we've talked about climate change and what we might do to prevent Catastrophe; but we've not done nearly enough.

Now a group of Conservationists in Alaska is doing what little they can to try and prevent these wondrous creatures of the North - an integral and identifiable part of what we think of as 'Canadian'- from slowly disappearing while nothing is done.

"ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP 12/15/05) - Three conservation groups say they will file a lawsuit Thursday under the Endangered Species Act seeking to protect polar bears from extinction.




The lawsuit says Arctic sea ice that bears depend on for hunting, mating and travel is melting at an unprecedented rate because of global warming.




Center for Biological Diversity spokeswoman Kassie Siegal says the lawsuit will be filed in federal district court in San Francisco.




The other plaintiffs are the Natural Resources Defense Council and Greenpeace.




The groups petitioned to have the polar bear listed as threatened last February.




The Endangered Species Act requires that the Interior secretary respond within 90 days of receiving such notice but the secretary has yet to comply.




Scientists with the US Minerals Management Service Wednesday released a report documenting the deaths of four polar bears found drowned in September 2004 when sea ice had retreated a record 160 miles north of the northern coast of Alaska.




The researchers say that more polar bears may have drowned that have not been found.

full article



The Center for International Environmental Law CIEL is helping.



I hope for all our sake's that the Polar Bears of the Arctic will continue to exist as they should - in the wild, hunting, swimming, playing, fighting, rearing their young, braving the harsh elements; not just in cages in zoos around the world.

Indigenous Colombians successfully using pacifism to stand their ground against violence

The indigenous natives of Colombia are standing their ground to keep their ancestral lands from violent marxist and government forces using nothing but their ceremonial staffs bound with the colours of their flag.




They are organised and determined.




Peace CAN be a force for change - even today.









Thanks to mr. damon who posted a great write up with many links at his site and at American Samizdat.
Check it!

In times like these, there's no time to waste

Thanks to Michael at Spontaneous Arising for this excerpt from Hazrat Inayat Khan

"Since there is faith these days, but absence of inner life, there seems to be a greater need of the inner life than there has ever been before. It is the head quality which is developed and it is the heart quality which needs to be developed in order to bring balance in life. Life, so balanced, is then prepared for the inner culture or spiritual life.



Many consider sentiment something quite unimportant, something that should be kept aside from the central theme of life today which is intellectuality. No one who has given a thought to the deeper side of life will deny for one moment the power and inspiration that manifest themselves once the heart is kindled.



A person with heart quality need not be simple, he need not discard intellect; only the heart quality produces that perfume in the intellect which is as fragrance in a flower. Morals learned from logic are dry morals, a fruit without juice, a flower without fragrance.



It is the heart quality that as a course of nature produces virtues which no one can teach; a loving person, a person with sympathy in his heart, teaches morals through himself. It is the balance of mind and heart, or the balance of thought and feeling that makes the ground ready for sowing the seed of the inner life."

We can but attempt to improve ourselves to be the change we want to see in the world.

America’s “Ghost Detainees” Shuttled to Morocco

“December 8, 2005 — North African nation hosting secret prisoners identified. According to informed intelligence sources, the country that is hosting most of the U.S. terrorist suspects moved from Eastern European secret prisons in advance of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s recent European visit is Morocco.



Many of the prisoners are being held at remote prisons established by former King Hassan II to torture political prisoners. Many of these prisons are in located high in the Atlas Mountains and are so remote, they can only be easily reached by helicopter.



The deal with Morocco was reached as a result of the close relations between Morocco’s King Mohammed VI and former Secretary of State and UN Special Envoy for Western Sahara James Baker, Baker’s Special Envoy assistant John Bolton, and former US ambassador to Morocco Margaret Tutwiler. Western Sahara is illegally occupied by Morocco but the Bush administration supports the continued Moroccan occupation of the oil and mineral rich territory. In return, Morocco has supported the holding of “Al Qaeda” suspects, interrogations by its security services, and close liaison with Israeli intelligence and military personnel.”

Thanks to Youngfox for posting this Wayne Madsen article at Pourquois Pas?.

National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

Pausing to mark a dark day in Canada's recent history.






So many women today, in so many countries, struggle for equality under the most adversarial conditions. We can immediately conjure up images of Afghani women and young girls who do not have the freedom to get an education simply by virtue of their gender; but we need not look so far afield to find examples of oppression.





While Western Nations or NGOs attempt to effect real and positive change around the world to empower women with the most basic rights, it would serve us well to remember that the underlying reasons for the discrimination against women are often learned at home.





Our own backyard still has many problems that need tending if we are to reach a truly equal society.

The Montreal Massacre






For 45 minutes on Dec. 6, 1989 an enraged gunman roamed the corridors of Montreal's École Polytechnique and killed 14 women.





Marc Lepine, 25, separated the men from the women and before opening fire on the classroom of female engineering students he screamed, "I hate feminists."





Almost immediately, the Montreal Massacre became a galvanizing moment in which mourning turned into outrage about all violence against women.

More stifling of the free press in Iraq

Aside from the obvious - indiscriminate violence all around, kidnappings, among so many inumerable atrocities, now they’re refusing entry to all non-Iraqi Arabs…




The government of Iraq has barred non-Iraqi Arabs from entering the country ahead of the Dec. 15 general elections.

"It covers all border points whether airports, land border crossings or ports," said one senior official.

An Interior Ministry official said it was "part of security procedures" reportedly implemented Nov. 29, with no formal announcement. No date for lifting the restriction has been set.

Here's where it gets really special:

An Associated Press correspondent of Egyptian nationality was also barred from boarding a plane Friday for Baghdad. Iraqi officials say there will be no exceptions to the new rule.

So the AP will now have to rely either on non arabic speakers to report the news from Iraq and/or journalists who speak Arabic as a second language. I realise there are doubtless many talented and hopefully scrupulous journalists who fit this bill, but wouldn't it be nice to know that your news is coming from someone who speaks Arabic as their mother tongue?


Looks like Iraq could be on its way to becoming a Belarus style democracy.

'Democracy' in Belarus

Conveniently this comes before an election set for 2006. It is already illegal to critcize the President who has so far remained in power for 11 years.

The parliament of Belarus has passed a law intended to stop mass protests - ahead of 2006 presidential elections.


The law will make it a criminal offence to "discredit" the Belarusian state both within Belarus and abroad - with a three year jail term for offenders.


The new law was passed overwhelmingly by the lower house of the Belarusian parliament on Friday.


Officials say it will help prevent protests similar to those that led to Ukraine's so-called Orange Revolution.


The new law makes it a criminal offence to deliberately make available to foreign states or organisations, false information on the political, economic or military situation in Belarus, or to discredit Belarus or its government.


Anyone found to have done so could face between six months and three years in prison.



Sanctions threat


The bill broadens the scope of existing legislation - it is already illegal in Belarus to criticise the President, Aleksandr Lukashenko, or any top officials.


The head of the Belarusian KGB, Stepan Sukhorenko, said the law was intended to stop a wave of protests like those in Ukraine last year during the Orange Revolution.

Swaziland cancels all World AIDS Day events by royal decree

I find it truly shameful that rulers of nations are still hampering the treatment, and thereby helping the spread, of HIV among the planets poorest and most destitute while the means exist to deter the spread and treat those already suffering.

In a royal decree, Swaziland's King Mswati cancelled the AIDS Day events, saying they would interfere with a month-long traditional ceremony.

Mantombazana Tshabalala-Msimang told an audience in Durban that they should eat lots of vegetables and garlic, for its anti-fungal properties.


She's been called "Dr. No" for her reluctance to support the use of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, which have been shown to prolong the lives of HIV/AIDS patients.