My Wandering Mind

Yay!

LaDonna — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:40:22 GMT

That's all I wanted to say right now.

10 Things You Should Remember About John McCain

LaDonna — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 18:38:02 GMT

1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws.1 2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."2 3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.3 4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."4 5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.5 6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.6 7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."7 8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.8 9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."9 10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year.

What To Do? Where To Go?

LaDonna — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:40:16 GMT

I am feeling right now like I am adrift. Hopefully, it is just a passing phase. I have been working now for almost a year aboard a cruiseship in Hawaii. I had a plan when I entered into this, but now, I feel adrift. Months of living under almost military-like conditions. Told what to do and when to do it...where I had to work and whom I had to work with. They try their best to erase you; to make you over into their plastic version of STYLE. I would often fight as hard as I could in little ways..wearing an afro puff instead of a tight bun. I refused to ask for permission to go to the bathroom. Often, just disappeared. This job is helping me to save up money, whereas before, it was nearly impossible. The scenery is beautiful, I admit, and I have met some awesome, hard-ass working people. Phillipino, Puerto Rican, African, European. American. But how much is enough? When can I get back to being the me I used to be? I liked her. She's not very corporate, at all. Oh well, maybe soon. At least the scenery is beautiful. Aloha, Hawaii......

Watching What You Leave Behind

LaDonna — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 21:26:09 GMT

http://www.carbonfootprint.com/

A Party Called 'Butter'

LaDonna — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 01:24:15 GMT

Years ago, when I lived in Denver, I was invited to a 420 party. Now, for those of you who don't know what that is, it's the universal time of day to light up the good green. The house belonged to an older lady who worked as a teacher or something and she also had a big love of worldbeat music; she had an incredible collection. Everyone was invited to bring whatever they liked, food, wine...whatever. The kitchen was overflowing with food, and alcohol. The living room had a baby grand piano and a battery of djembes. Once people had a litle bit of sustanence in them, the music began. Spanish Tejanos, Gypsy, Brazilian, African CDs in perpetual shuffle and people at the party joining in on any instrument they could get they're hands on. I was assigned to tambourine and played so hard, the metal wheels started to pop off. I remember looking up and one friend had his shoes off and dancing with a look on his face like he was in exstacy. I left that party hooked on the jam. I bugged the woman months later to find out if she was going to have another party. It didn't look like it would happen and I was heartbroken. It was so good. So freeing. That party left such a strong imprint on me because, I guess the mix, of people from all backgrounds and races, getting together for a common cause..yes, 420 could be called that for some people...and deciding, to hell with everything else, we need a good time here. We need a little song and dance. We are going to make a stew and see how it comes out. It tasted so good. When I got to Philly, I was given the impression that there was a lot of this kind of thing going on, but instead what I found was very talented artists who, unless it was specifically to make some money, rarely seemed to get together... I don't know, just to wild out; not worry if it's perfect, not worry who's watching. And all the different genres seemed to stay specifically within their own camp; rarely meeting unless coming out to pay to see each other's gigs. it's cool. In that respect, Philly artists are very good at supporting each other in that way. If what you got is good, you will definitely get some hometown support. Maybe there just needs to be a good enough reason for a party like that to come along again, because last night, My friend Adwoa and I got together to throw a combo party; my going away and her birthday. And it was butter. Straight butter. I can't and won't even take the credit. our personal circumstances was a good enough catalyst. It was all the people who came, from different musical disciplines, dragging all of their instruments up into my friend Brian G.'s new place downtown and the other people who came just to hang out that made the party so special. Gregg and Jack from the West Philadelphia Orchestra doing Bahian folk tunes, Gina from Leana Song on her Gyil, the African brothers on the Batas, Brian from Leana doing some solo on his Oud, Leana Song themselves getting down to it with the Ewes, and us, Unidos playing a large battery of Brazilian drums in a place only slightly bigger than a phone booth, blowing down the walls. And the dancing, all of the dancing; people being free and doing what ever they felt in that moment, movements as varied as seductive to seeming possessed. Last night was heaven, and it took every single good and talented individual who was there to make it so. What is doubly funny to me is that it took throwing a going away party for myself to finally have the kind of party I came to Philly to find in the first place. I have been so incredibly lucky in meeting the people that I have in just a two year period here in Philly, and when I say that I was in a room full of Angels, it is no exaggeration. I hope it means I have gotten a lot better at inviting the right elements into my life; people whose energies are on such an amazing level, because they're lives are about creating beauty and art that moves and breathes. I honestly expected to be sad and break down crying because I have to leave all this soon, but to hell with it. I was having way to much fun to waste time on tears. I didn't even have time to make out with anybody. Here's to Philly. Last night was butter and it truly tasted good.

Cuba Offers Free Medical Education To Poor American Blacks

LaDonna — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 22:08:18 GMT

Reprinted from a friend's site on Myspace. Body: www.blackstate.com/studyincuba.html Blacks In Cuban Medical School by Zekita Tucker In the midst of all the US-Cuban relations stories, primarily, the focus is on the imposed economic sanctions against Castro’s Cuba. But, there is a story of unity, progression, and humanitarian efforts lying within those pages written about Cuba. It is one that is hardly, if ever told; a story that calls attention to the concern for human life above economic strife. Since 2001, the Latin American School of Medical Sciences (LASMS) in Havana, Cuba has been admitting students from various countries in Latin America and Africa, as well as low income minority students from the U.S. into its six year medical program (particularly African Americans and some Hispanics). Since the program began in 2001, it has maintained that all of tuition, housing, and meals are free. In some cases the only necessary financing by students is for the trips to Cuba for school and back home again. Each year there are an estimated 500 slots open to prospects from poor African American communities in the U.S. and from many other “third world” countries. These prospective students are all required to be from poor communities and the only graduation requirement is that they return to poor and/or destitute environments to provide proper healthcare for the people who need it most. Many African Americans who have an interest in Medicine or Healthcare and have been fortunate enough to learn about this program have taken advantage of it without hesitation. According to an article found at redandgreen.org (/information/cuba_medical.htm), since the first year of the program Cuba has been willing to accept up to 250 African American students out of the 500 total open slots for low income Americans. While participating in this program and taking full advantage of the opportunity to get a free education in a particular discipline of the Medical Sciences, the African American population can embrace the chance to make a tremendous impact on its own communities without the dependence on the long and tedious process of seeking financing for higher education and perhaps the rejection of sorts. There are two installments within our society that are conducive on both the community and the national level. 1) The African American population receives an increase in qualified medical professionals who are trained to take care of those in need or in extreme poverty. 2) The students who attend become bilingual, speaking Spanish fluently. This is a major plus because not only will these extraordinary women and men become an essential element in the healthcare of the impoverished African American communities, but they can also practice in poor Hispanic communities while having clear and open communication with America’s growing Hispanic population. The information for applying and detailed programs can be found at Afrocubaweb.com. The only requirements for American applicants (listed by Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization –IFCO) are: • You must be a U.S. citizen • You must be between the ages of 18-30 • Be mentally and physically fit • Come from the neediest communities in the U.S. • Be committed to practice medicine in poor and underserved U.S. communities after graduation Black communities suffer greatly in the aspects of proper health care coverage as well as caring and quality health care providers. Potentially, there are many great black doctors and other medical professionals untrained and waiting in the trenches due to lack of the economic resources necessary to penetrate the sturdily built walls of being enrolled in many U.S. medical schools. The African American collective is saturated with persons of exceptional intellectual capabilities, phenomenal talents, and compassion that is undermined by the conditions in which many of us are forced to live (circumstantially). The average cost of both public and private medical schools in the U.S. can exceed $50,000 annually. The cost of medical school in the United States can leave most graduates in a pool of debt soon after graduation. These exorbitant tuition fees alone can make the idea of going to medical school for members of poor communities seemingly unrealistic and even nonexistent in some cases. The social and economic disadvantages of members of these communities shed light on a superfluous disparity between the demand for proper health care of the poor and the supply of doctors and/or medical professionals who will care enough to come back to these environments to provide for the people who are desperately in need. U.S. political ‘bouts’ with Cuba has undoubtedly been instrumental in the neglect or rather the ignoring (by most American media) this program. While we are fed constantly with advertisements, commercials, pamphlets, etc. about improving the individual life and attaining some level of ‘success’ in this country, we overlook the fact that there is always some price tag on our definitions of success. Not to mention, that there may be some concern by the U.S. that too much talk of this ‘free’ education will send too many African Americans packing and ultimately there may be a fear that we may see life outside of our borders and re-analyze our positions, our strategies, and ultimately the imposed ‘American Way’ of Life. Though you can be fed all day long about how bad every other political ideology except ‘democracy’ is bad- there is hardly ever a time when we are shown through media that the world is not just black and white; there are more grey areas than many of us can ever imagine. During hurricane Katrina, Cuba opted to send approximately 1,400 highly trained emergency physicians to New Orleans to care for the ill and those who required immediate care. But in most of the mainstream American media, it was never mentioned. In Race and Empire: African American and Cubans before the Cuban Revolution (1997), it states that out of the U.S. population est. at 290 million there are only about 17,000 African American physicians, but in Cuba a small ‘third world’ country of an est. 11 million; there are approximately 64,000 practicing doctors and about 13, 500 are black. In the U.S. amongst the African American population, there is obviously a lack of doctors. But this is not because there is a lack of intellect, ambition, or lack of urgency when it comes to caring for our ill or fallen. This is largely due to a lack of financial resources. After all of the hardships that have been endured by African Americans, we now have access to a program that is easily accessible and grants us a gift that is truly priceless- education. Cuban educated doctors are acclaimed pioneers in current research in vaccinations and some biotechnology. The LASMS (Latin American School of Medical Sciences) produces forerunners in healthcare and the saving and prolonging of human lives. No matter the American propaganda machine that attempts to turn its citizens against seeking help from those outside of the U.S. who fail to comply with privatized and privileged standards and conditions- African Americans should take full advantage of this opportunity that is being kept from our eyes and ears while we struggle to pay for our education and to be treated for our ills. We need to understand that this program is far from some small scale attempt at swaying U.S. citizens into becoming supporters of communism as some have declared. This opportunity is placed on a grand scale and is backed by members of our own Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) as a potential way to change up the game and perhaps finally be in our favor. Cuba has purported its historical link with Africa and African Americans. This country lends huge support to the AIDS crisis in Africa and now to the poverty stricken remnants of African American oppression in America. It recognizes and accepts our historical and contemporary place on the planet. Although, producing more black doctors is not the end all say all to our very complex community issues; every bit from every helpful source counts in a concerted effort. After hearing our complaints and watching our struggles from abroad, there are those outside of this country who are reaching out to us even when no one here at home will. We had better start grabbing on to some of those hands. Zekita Tucker is a Freelance Writer and Author of ‘Don’t Call Me Nigga’ (for ages 6 yrs and older).

Happy Holi!

LaDonna — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 23:35:04 GMT

So, It's Happening Again.

LaDonna — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 05:05:07 GMT

Time to pull up stakes. I got a position to work for Norwegian Cruiseline in Hawaii for 6 months. I haven't mentioned it before now because I wasn't sure if I was going. They take you thru a rigorous process that lasts for weeks. I have been a nervous wreck! I am going to miss so much around here. My friends, the samba band, for sure, my cousins and the yoga class I have only been teaching for a few weeks. I am going to use the opportuinty to gain more experience in everything that interests me. I know I need it.

Rockin' The Casbah..friend's birthday celebration at Fez

LaDonna — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 21:11:20 GMT

Tibetan Personality Test

LaDonna — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 21:48:22 GMT

Sent from a friend. Enjoy! http://memoriter.net/flash/test.html

AFRICA

LaDonna — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 05:46:29 GMT

I hear the drums echoing tonight, But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation. She's coming in, twelve-thirty flight, The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation. I stopped an old man along the way, Hoping to find some long forgotten words or ancient melodies. He turned to me as if to say, Hurry boy, it's waiting there for you. (Chorus) It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you, It's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do. I bless the rains down in Africa. It's gonna take some time to do the things we never had. (sic) The wild dogs cry out in the night, As they grow restless longing for some solitary company. I know that I must do what's right, Sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti. I seek to cure what's deep inside, Frightened of this thing that I've become. Hurry boy, she's waiting there for you.

Why Darwin Is Trash

LaDonna — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 21:55:21 GMT

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE THEORY The roots of evolutionist thought go back as far as antiquity as a dogmatic belief attempting to deny the fact of creation. Most of the pagan philosophers in ancient Greece defended the idea of evolution. When we take a look at the history of philosophy we see that the idea of evolution constitutes the backbone of many pagan philosophies. However, it is not this ancient pagan philosophy, but faith in God which has played a stimulating role in the birth and development of modern science. Most of the people who pioneered modern science believed in the existence of God; and while studying science, they sought to discover the universe God has created and to perceive His laws and the details in His creation. Astronomers such as Copernicus, Keppler, and Galileo; the father of paleontology, Cuvier; the pioneer of botany and zoology, Linnaeus; and Isaac Newton, who is referred to as the "greatest scientist who ever lived", all studied science believing not only in the existence of God but also that the whole universe came into being as a result of His creation. 6 Albert Einstein, considered to be the greatest genius of our age, was another devout scientist who believed in God and stated thus; "I cannot conceive of a genuine scientist without that profound faith. The situation may be expressed by an image: science without religion is lame."7 One of the founders of modern physics, German physician Max Planck said: "Anybody who has been seriously engaged in scientific work of any kind realizes that over the entrance to the gates of the temple of science are written the words: Ye must have faith. It is a quality which the scientist cannot dispense with."8 The theory of evolution is the outcome of the materialist philosophy that surfaced with the reawakening of ancient materialistic philosophies and became widespread in the 19th century. As we have indicated before, materialism seeks to explain nature through purely material factors. Since it denies creation right from the start, it asserts that every thing, whether animate or inanimate, has appeared without an act of creation but rather as a result of a coincidence that then acquired a condition of order. The human mind however is so structured as to comprehend the existence of an organising will wherever it sees order. Materialistic philosophy, which is contrary to this very basic characteristic of the human mind, produced "the theory of evolution" in the middle of the 19th century. Darwin’s Imagination The person who put forward the theory of evolution the way it is defended today, was an amateur English naturalist, Charles Robert Darwin. Darwin had never undergone a formal education in biology. He took only an amateur interest in the subject of nature and living things. His interest spurred him to voluntarily join an expedition on board a ship named H.M.S. Beagle that set out from England in 1832 and travelled around different regions of the world for five years. Young Darwin was greatly impressed by various living species, especially by certain finches that he saw in the Galapagos Islands. He thought that the variations in their beaks were caused by their adaptation to their habitat. With this idea in mind, he supposed that the origin of life and species lay in the concept of "adaptation to the environment". Darwin opposed the fact that God created different living species separately, suggesting that they rather came from a common ancestor and became differentiated from each other as a result of natural conditions. Charles Darwin Darwin's hypothesis was not based on any scientific discovery or experiment; in time however he turned it into a pretentious theory with the support and encouragement he received from the famous materialist biologists of his time. The idea was that the individuals that adapted to the habitat in the best way transferred their qualities to subsequent generations; these advantageous qualities accumulated in time and transformed the individual into a species totally different from its ancestors. (The origin of these "advantageous qualities" was unknown at the time.) According to Darwin, man was the most developed outcome of this imaginary mechanism. Darwin called this process "evolution by natural selection". He thought he had found the "origin of species": the origin of one species was another species. He published these views in his book titled The Origin of Species, By Means of Natural Selection in 1859. Darwin was well aware that his theory faced lots of problems. He confessed these in his book in the chapter "Difficulties of the Theory". These difficulties primarily consisted of the fossil record, complex organs of living things that could not possibly be explained by coincidence (e.g. the eye), and the instincts of living beings. Darwin hoped that these difficulties would be overcome by new discoveries; yet this did not stop him from coming up with a number of very inadequate explanations for some. The American physicist Lipson made the following comment on the "difficulties" of Darwin: On reading The Origin of Species, I found that Darwin was much less sure himself than he is often represented to be; the chapter entitled "Difficulties of the Theory" for example, shows considerable self-doubt. As a physicist, I was particularly intrigued by his comments on how the eye would have arisen. 9 While developing his theory, Darwin was impressed by many evolutionist biologists preceding him, and primarily by the French biologist, Lamarck. 10 According to Lamarck, living creatures passed the traits they acquired during their lifetime from one generation to the next and thus evolved. For instance, giraffes evolved from antelope-like animals by extending their necks further and further from generation to generation as they tried to reach higher and higher branches for food. Darwin thus employed the thesis of "passing the acquired traits" proposed by Lamarck as the factor that made living beings evolve. But both Darwin and Lamarck were mistaken because in their day, life could only be studied with very primitive technology and at a very inadequate level. Scientific fields such as genetics and biochemistry did not exist even in name. Their theories therefore had to depend entirely on their powers of imagination. Darwin's Racism One of the most important yet least-known aspects of Darwin is his racism: Darwin regarded white Europeans as more "advanced" than other human races. While Darwin presumed that man evolved from ape-like creatures, he surmised that some races developed more than others and that the latter still bore simian features. In his book, The Descent of Man, which he published after The Origin of Species, he boldly commented on "the greater differences between men of distinct races".1 In his book, Darwin held blacks and Australian Aborigines to be equal to gorillas and then inferred that these would be "done away with" by the "civilised races" in time. He said: At some future period, not very distant as measured by centuries, the civilized races of man will almost certainly exterminate and replace the savage races throughout the world. At the same time the anthropomorphous apes... will no doubt be exterminated. The break between man and his nearest allies will then be wider, for it will intervene in a more civilised state, as we may hope, even than the Caucasian, and some ape as low as baboon, instead of as now between the negro or Australian and the gorilla.2 Darwin's nonsensical ideas were not only theorised, but also brought into a position where they provided the most important "scientific ground" for racism. Supposing that living beings evolved in the struggle for life, Darwinism was even adapted to the social sciences, and turned into a conception that came to be called "Social Darwinism. Supposing that living beings evolved in the struggle for life, Darwinism was even adapted to the social sciences, and turned into a conception that came to be called "Social Darwinism". Social Darwinism contends that existing human races are located at different rungs of the "evolutionary ladder", that the European races were the most "advanced" of all, and that many other races still bear "simian" features. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Benjamin Farrington, What Darwin Really Said. London: Sphere Books, 1971, pp. 54-56 2 Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man, 2nd ed., New York: A.L. Burt Co., 1874, p. 178 While the echoes of Darwin's book reverberated, an Austrian botanist by the name of Gregor Mendel discovered the laws of inheritance in 1865. Not much heard of until the end of the century, Mendel's discovery gained great importance in the early 1900s. This was the birth of the science of genetics. Somewhat later, the structure of the genes and the chromosomes was discovered. The discovery, in the 1950s, of the structure of the DNA molecule that incorporates genetic information threw the theory of evolution into a great crisis. The reason was the incredible complexity of life and the invalidity of the evolutionary mechanisms proposed by Darwin. These developments ought to have resulted in Darwin's theory being banished to the dustbin of history. However, it was not, because certain circles insisted on revising, renewing, and elevating the theory to a scientific platform. These efforts gain meaning only if we realise that behind the theory lay ideological intentions rather than scientific concerns. 6 Dan Graves, Science of Faith: Forty-Eight Biographies of Historic Scientists and Their Christian Faith, Grand Rapids, MI, Kregel Resources. 7 Science, Philosophy, And Religion: A Symposium, 1941, CH.13. 8 Max Planck, Where is Science Going?, www.websophia.com/aphorisms/science.php.. 9 H. S. Lipson, "A Physicist's View of Darwin's Theory", Evolution Trends in Plants, Vol 2, No. 1, 1988, p. 6.. 10 Although Darwin came up with the claim that his theory was totally independent from that of Lamarck's, he gradually started to rely on Lamarck's assertions. Especially the 6th and the last edition of The Origin of Species is full of examples of Lamarck's "inheritance of acquired traits". See Benjamin Farrington, What Darwin Really Said, New York: Schocken Books, 1966, p. 64..

Getting The Party Started

LaDonna — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 00:54:53 GMT

I had a ball on New Year's Eve. Thank you Alo Brazil. Alo is my samba bandleader's other group. They are a truly fiery band, dealing out hot Samba and Batucada, with 5 dancers in tow. Then there was the house party in Northern Liberties afterwards; til 6 in the morning. Lord, I never knew what it was like to be inside of a bong before. Now I know! I am so glad I got to go out and kick in the new year in this way. Happy New Year everybody!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

LaDonna — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 00:18:12 GMT

Jamaican Eco-Village Needs Help

LaDonna — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 06:32:01 GMT

I just found out some new friends of mine and their circle of brethren are planning an eco-village in Jamaica. Right now, it's very much in the early planning stages. What they are doing at this moment is raising money to send 2 volunteers from their group to Scotland to train at a special school that teaches how to develop a sustainable community. It's called Findhorn, I believe. I know these people and they take holistic living very seriously. If anyone on here is interested in helping them out by donating an item or service for an auction they are planning very soon, you can contact the group through this lady, Zendra at zenaset@yahoo.com or you can reach her thru her site at www.myspace.com/torchlightmarketplace I might be cross-posting this in other related sites, just to let you guys know. This group is located in Philly, so if you donate something, please let it be practical. Peace

Get Involved and Stay Informed!

LaDonna — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 03:52:09 GMT

Go to these websites and help spread the truth. Global Exchange Truthout GregPalast CorpWatch AmericanFreePress Soldiers are trying to organize to come home. It's legal and called Redress. They have a website. There is an illness related to Uranium affecting our soldiers. All of the profiteering this administration is involved in.

They Want To Come Home. Who Wants To Help?

LaDonna — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 23:56:55 GMT

Soldiers in Revolt: 125 active-duty troops call to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq Christian Avard Published: Wednesday October 25, 2006 Print This Email This For the first time since the U.S. invasion of Iraq, active-duty members of the military are publicly appealing members of Congress to end the U.S. occupation, RAW STORY has learned. Under the Military Whistleblower Protection Act (DOD directive 7050.6), active-duty military, National Guard, and Reservists can send a protected communication to a member of Congress regarding any subject without reprisal. Earlier this week, 65 military service members and National Guardsmen sent appeals for redress to members of Congress to urge an immediate withdrawal from Iraq. That total is now up to 346 service men and women, 125 of whom are on active duty. Three active-duty servicemen (one of whom spoke under condition of anonymity) held a press conference today, along with a retired Judge Advocate General lawyer, to discuss their appeals. "Many of us--who have to follow orders and took an oath to defend the constitution against all enemies both foreign and domestic--[also] have reservations about the orders. And," Jonathan Hutto, a Navy Seaman based in Norfolk, Virginia, concluded, "at this point some of us feel compelled to let our reservations be known and that the occupation should come to an end right now." Hutto added the group are not pacifists or conscientious objectors and are not urging any actions that might be deemed illegal. The grievances Liam Madden, a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps stationed at Quantico, continued, "The real grievances are, if democracy is our goal than I believe we are going about it all wrong. The occupation is perpetuating more violence and I think is the biggest destabilizing thing we can do to the Middle East." One service member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity of her recent year in Iraq, said that she "was hit by IEDs, by mortars... I was hit by snipers in my convoy and I’ve seen friends injured and affected by deaths in my brigade and my unit. I can tell you that many of them are not quite sure what their purpose or focus is now. "A lot of people don’t want to admit it," she insisted, "but we are stuck in a civil war and it’s hard for the soldiers seeing the ethnic fighting going on around them and feeling like they’re stuck in the cross fire and not really feeling like there’s anything they can do to stop it. "And it’s very frustrating to go out in convoys and get hit and not really sure why it is and not seeing any tangible results for their actions," she added. "I think it’s very important that Congress members and people understand that we do have a voice, and pay attention to our surroundings and what’s going on--and listen to what we have to say." Appealing for redress Hutto explained that the idea of issuing Appeals for Redress originated in early 2006, when he was deployed off the coast of Iraq on the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt. "An old buddy of mine, who was a member of the GI movement back in the early 1970s," Hutto explained, "sent me a 30th anniversary copy of Soldiers in Revolt, written by David Cortwright. The book chronicles the GI movement within the military during the Vietnam War who advocated to end that war and bring the troops home." Hutto continued, "One of the avenues that they used, which was a legal one, is appealing to their political leaders in Washington. By 1971 over 250,000 of these active duty servicemen had appealed to the Congress people." "None of the Marines know that there is a policy available to them," Madden added, "and that it’s everybody’s duty to support democracy and do it much more effectively than we are in exercising these rights in Iraq." J.E. McNeil, a former military JAG lawyer, emphasized that all servicemen and women still have their rights as U.S. citizens and can exercise them when need be. "When men and women join the military and put on the uniform, they don’t give up their rights as U.S. citizens," said McNeil, though "there may be some small limitations to their first amendment rights." "They are supposed to be very clear," McNeil elaborated, "and they have been, that they’re speaking on their own behalf and not using any of the military resources to make these statements that are their own beliefs, and we should be very proud of them to do that." Fear of reprisal Many in the military fear reprisals for coming forth, even though they have the legal right to do so. One soldier in the Army, who participated anonymously in the press conference, had more information to reveal, saying, "Anyone who’s been involved in the military does know there are informal means of punitive actions that circumvent the legal system which are often used in different means to intimidate soldiers." "I’ve talked to numerous soldiers," the anonymous soldier said, "and obviously looking at the numbers now, they obviously haven’t stepped forward. I will tell you, though--and I don’t think the American Public realizes--just how many soldiers and service members in general really do have reservations about the actions going on in Iraq. "And fear," she added, is a main reason why people aren’t stepping forward.... I think that once they start seeing momentum going forward and more and more service members come out, that they will be more inclined to come out as well." "It’s costing way too many humans, Iraqi civilians, and American service member lives," Madden concluded, "and brings us no benefits. The only people who benefit in my eyes are corporations like Halliburton. I don’t think that war is being paid for in the right manner and I think that if people want to support the troops then they should support us coming home." Appeal for Redress may be contacted via their website at Appealforredress.org.

Wow...

LaDonna — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 05:08:56 GMT

Everbody's awake right now...never saw this many red lights on before.

It Just Gets Worse And Worse

LaDonna — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 21:21:35 GMT

From Tribe member, Al: Forty-one months ago the Liar in Chief declared that our "Mission was accomplished" in Iraq. Since then thousands of Americans have died. Tens of thousands of Americans have been maimed. Tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been wounded. If we continue to "stay the course" we will see exponential increases in all of these statistics. Each day we make new enemies. Each day we recruit new terrorists who will spend all the days of their lives looking for an opportunity to strike back at the US and would rather die than miss that opportunity. This week marks the third anniversary of one of our most stupid actions to recruit new adversaries. On October 10, 2003 in Duluiyah, Iraq Khudeir Khalil was a simple quiet Iraqi farmer before U.S. forces drove tanks onto his property. Claiming his lush date and orange groves provide camouflage for resistance fighters, the U.S. occupation forces leveled Khalil's plantations. But he feels skeptical, wondering "what kind of civilized people are those who are destroying my plants". "They say resistance fighters could hide in the fields, but I tell you these are my fields and nobody goes into them. There are no attacks around here," he told Agence France-Presse (AFP), as a mob of angry men in traditional Arab white robes nod in support. Khalil is sitting on the side of a dusty road leading to his native Duluiyah, a large village where Sunni Muslim tribes farm a modest living out of the banks of the Tigris river. But the plantation fields are barren resembling the aftermath of a hurricane after U.S. troops that week razed the paddocks of fruit trees. Now a handful of residents are scavenging the trunks and debris to make charcoal. "We cannot benefit from the fruits anymore, so we will try to earn some money from charcoal," explained Mohammad Saleh amid the stone houses which were once shaded by the plantation. Duluiyah, more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of Baghdad, lies in an area where most attacks against U.S. occupation forces are being launched. U.S. authorities in occupied Iraq have been tight-lipped about the plantation clearing, as U.S. overseer Paul Bremer said he had "no idea" when asked why the plantations were cleared, adding: "It's the first I've heard about it." And Master Sergeant Robert Cargie, of the 4th Infantry Division controlling the area, said "we cannot get specific on these operations. "But if an area is determined to be useful as an ambush point, we will seek to eliminate that as a threat." Such operations may not be widespread across the country, but trees have been felled around Baghdad International Airport, which has been attacked by mortar fire since the U.S. took control with the fall of the regime on April 9. But for Khalil and his neighbors, the destruction of more than 25,000 square meters (30,000 sq. yards) of palm groves and fruit trees by U.S. forces which farmers said were feeding around 500 people is inexcusable. "They came in last week without prior notice, cut off the main road and worked for three days and three nights to destroy our plantations with their bulldozers," recalled farmer Fida' Shehab. "Some women and children tried going into the fields to pick and salvage some of the fruit from destruction, but the American troops fired into the air to scare them off," he said. Mubarak Saleh, another farmer from the area, explained that a delegation of farmers and municipality officials held meetings with the top U.S. officer in town in a bid to settle the spiraling dispute. "We tried to make them stop destroying our fields or at least ask for compensation," he said. "But all they said was: 'When the resistance will stop, we will stop destroying the fields,'" said Saleh. "We are not responsible for the Americans' failure to stop attacks, and killing trees will not stop them," he added. Khalil, a 35-year-old father of seven children, said: "I just lost 15 million dinars (7,500 dollars) in dates and eight million dinars (4,000 dollars) in oranges. "This is a fortune here in Iraq and my only way of living," he said. A tall man standing behind the crowd suddenly raises a warning finger and says: "Some people who lost their fields are begging, others are stealing cars, but now that we have nothing to do, maybe we will join the resistance. "Is this what the Americans want?" The stumps of palm trees, some 70 years old, protrude from the brown earth scoured by the bulldozers beside the road at Dhuluaya, a small town 50 miles north of Baghdad. Local women were yesterday busily bundling together the branches of the uprooted orange and lemon trees and carrying then back to their homes for firewood. Nusayef Jassim, one of 32 farmers who saw their fruit trees destroyed, said: "They told us that the resistance fighters hide in our farms, but this is not true. They didn't capture anything. They didn't find any weapons." Other farmers said that US troops had told them, over a loudspeaker in Arabic, that the fruit groves were being bulldozed to punish the farmers for not informing on the resistance which is very active in this Sunni Muslim district. "They made a sort of joke against us by playing jazz music while they were cutting down the trees," said one man. Ambushes of US troops have taken place around Dhuluaya. But Sheikh Hussein Ali Saleh al-Jabouri, a member of a delegation that went to the nearby US base to ask for compensation for the loss of the fruit trees, said American officers described what had happened as "a punishment of local people because 'you know who is in the resistance and do not tell us'." What the Israelis had done by way of collective punishment of Palestinians was now happening in Iraq, Sheikh Hussein added. Informing US troops about the identity of their attackers would be extremely dangerous in Iraqi villages, where most people are related and everyone knows each other. The farmers who lost their fruit trees all belong to the Khazraji tribe and are unlikely to give information about fellow tribesmen if they are, in fact, attacking US troops. Asked how much his lost orchard was worth, Nusayef Jassim said in a distraught voice: "It is as if someone cut off my hands and you asked me how much my hands were worth." Several orchards in Dhuluaya were cut down… except it’s not only Dhuluaya… it’s also Ba’aquba, the outskirts of Baghdad and several other areas. The trees are bulldozed and trampled beneath heavy machinery. Observers see the residents and keepers of these orchards begging the troops to spare the trees, holding up crushed branches, leaves and fruit- not yet ripe- from the ground littered with a green massacre. The faces of the farmers are crushed and amazed at the atrocity. A French Reporter stated, “I remember one wrinkled face holding up 4 oranges from the ground, still green (Iraqi citrus fruit ripens in the winter) and screaming at the camera- “Is this freedom? Is this democracy?!” And his son, who was about 10, stood there with tears of rage streaming down his cheeks and quietly said, “We want 5 troops dead for each tree they cut down… five troops.” A “terrorist”, perhaps? Or a terrorized child who had to watch his family’s future hacked down in the name of democracy and freedom?” Patrick Cockburn, reporting for the Globe says that Dhuluaya is a Sunni area- which is true. Sunnis dominate Dhuluaya. What he doesn’t mention is that the Khazraji tribe, whose orchards were assaulted, are a prominent Shi’a tribe in Iraq. The lives of farmers in Dhuluaya, Iraq and Pioneer Valley families of military personnel serving in Iraq seem worlds apart, but they share at least one thing in common—they're both having a hard time feeding themselves. Through the Harvest Aid Fund, Pioneer Valley farmers and residents are joining together this harvest season to help feed their neighbors—both near and far—hurt by the war in Iraq. The Dhuluaya farmers lost their livelihoods when US soldiers bulldozed their orange, lemon and date groves as "punishment" for the farmers not revealing the identities of resistance fighters allegedly hiding in their groves. Without their groves, they have no way to support their families. Meanwhile, many military families in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts have been hurt financially while their family members serve in Iraq. Whether as National Guard troops and Reservists who leave behind better paying jobs when called up for service or because of low pay in other branches of the military, they can't make ends meet. The Pioneer Valley USO Food Pantry, an organization that serves local needy military families, has seen a three-fold increase in demand for their services in the past year. The Harvest Aid Fund is an attempt to share the abundance of Pioneer Valley agriculture with these two very different groups of people who have been hurt by the war in Iraq. Half the funds raised will go to the farmers of Dhuluaya and half will go to the Pioneer Valley USO Food Pantry. In the event that the funds cannot be delivered directly to the farmers in Dhuluaya, their share will go to an Iraqi organization working on hunger issues and rebuilding Iraq's agriculture. The Harvest Aid Fund is a people to people, farmer to farmer effort that grew out of a letter of apology to the farmers of Dhuluaya created by Ann Gibson and Mary McClintock of Conway this past spring. The letter was signed by 150 residents of Western Massachusetts. The following is the text of that letter: March, 2004 Dear farmers of Dhuluaya, We write with great sadness about and sincere apologies for the destruction of your fruit trees last September. We are American citizens who know that you and your trees are not our enemies. We abhor the actions of the US military to destroy your trees and your way of making a living for your families. We work hard to support our neighbors who are farmers, and we know that like them you are serving your families and the people of your country by growing food for us all to eat. We know that your groves were precious and worth much more than money. We know our words won't bring back your beloved fruit groves. We are doing everything we can to have the US military held accountable for what they did to your farms and to pay for your financial losses. With peace, signed by 150 residents of the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts including many farmers When Alexander the Great swept through Asia Minor in 337BC, he came to the impregnable mountain fortress of Termessos, not far from the modern-day Turkish city of Antalya. Termessos possessed a network of huge underground reservoirs and storerooms and, realising he would not bring the city to submission in a short time, Alexander ordered that the olive groves which provided Termessos with much of its income be levelled. It was an unusually spiteful act that was remembered for centuries afterwards. We are supposed to be the leader of the world, the bastion of freedom and humanity. When will we learn the lesson that when you sow the wind you will reap the whirlwind.

Power Of The Mind, Part 2

LaDonna — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 21:04:30 GMT

I gotta show. This woman is incredible, truly. GREAT-GRANDMOTHER DEFIES NATURE: 86 year-old develops mind-blowing physique through weight-training to maintain independence. (August 24, 2006)Email to a friend | Print Friendly *If you've ever made an excuse to avoid putting in the work to get in shape, read on and bow your head in shame. Great-grandmother Morjorie Newlin, now 86 years old, began pumping iron fourteen years ago, at 72, and has been dedicated to her regimen ever since reports Tasha Ho-Sang for the (Philadelphia) CityPaper.net. Prompted by an incident while shopping at her neighborhood supermarket and having to struggle to carry 50-pound bags of kitty litter back home by herself, the retired nurse decided to do something about her deteriorating physical capabilities. "I want to be as independent as I can be, for as long as I can. I just want to do things for myself," says Newlin, The daughter of very active Barbadian immigrants who says athleticism is in her genes. Now, after 13 years of weight training, Newlin is more than taking care of herself. At her two-story home in Mt. Airy (in the Philadelphia area), she is as spry as a teen and has a room dedicated entirely to plaques, certificates and trophies (some almost as tall as her) from bodybuilding competitions that have taken her as far away as Italy, France and Germany. She's won more than 40 trophies since she began turning back the aging clock. "There are so many, I don't know what to do with all of them," she says. "I chuckled when I saw this little old lady walk inside the gym," says Richard Brown, a personal trainer at Rivers Gym in Mt. Airy, where Newlin began her training. "I was a little leery. I was just training young athletes at the time." The little old lady quickly put all his doubts to rest. "She kept coming in day after day, week after week, and month after month," Brown remembers. "She didn't want to do 'girly' workouts. She wanted to train with us fellows." 86-year-old Marjorie Newlin (photo courtesy citypaper.net) Newlin could bench-press 65 pounds when she was 73 years old and one year later she was tossing up 85. "After a few months of training, I looked at her physique and knew she was ready for a [bodybuilding] show," he continues. "She definitely had something to show." The bodybuilding competitions are broken into two divisions. Newlin's first competition was in the Amateur Athletic Union, which is open to the public. She recalled being a little reluctant when she saw the string bikini she'd have to wear in front of the bodybuilding audience. "I knew the contest meant a lot to my trainer so I went along with it," she says. To everyone's surprise, Newlin won. When they discovered that she was 74 years old, the crowd went wild. Newlin began her competition career in that AAU's Master's Division, which splits contestants into two categories: under and over a certain age limit, usually 35 or 45 years old. Newlin obviously fell way over the dividing line, wherever it was set, but was competing and winning against women half her age. "I was always the oldest in all my competitions," says Newlin. Although she's taking a break from bodybuilding competitions for now, Newlin is still training at least three days a week, now at Bally Total Fitness in Cedarbrook. "I could bench-press 90 pounds with a spotter. I can dead lift 95 pounds. I can squat 135 pounds," she says. She's made apearances on 'Oprah' and 'The View' and now does motivational speaking on the importance of exercise, weight training and dieting.

Good Morning To You))))))))))))))))))))))

LaDonna — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 19:12:23 GMT

Subject: FW: Good Morning!!! What a more inspiring way at looking at our morning greeting.... When I say good morning I mean to say: G-od O-ffers us His O-utstanding D-evotion to M-ake us O-bedient & R-eady for a N-ew day with Him. I-nspire others please, and N-ever forget G-od loves you! If you like it send it to others. God will bless you for doing just that!!!

POwer Of Pranayam!

LaDonna — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 01:54:22 GMT

This is what I'm talking about. I tried to describe to some of you a while back about the events held after a religious ceremony up at Madonna. I just got these photos from one of the girls there, Tammi. Tammilicious! I miss her. But anyway, the Power of Prana exercises were exhibitions in the mind over matter; the power of the breath, and they were amazing to watch. Here's a photo of the one of the locals, Jairag. Part time Pujari, part time onsite volunteer fireman, organizer of children's events, and a guy who also doesn't mind having hundreds of lbs. of rock sitting on his head with another guy ready to take a whack at it with a sledge hammer. I'm speechless.

I Taught A Class!

LaDonna — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 17:23:31 GMT

Finally! I can't believe I finally got the chance to teach. Now I know I won't freeze or pass out on the spot. It was so nice. This gentleman by the name of Frank Burkhauser organizes free yoga in a little park in downtown Philly called the Louis I. Kahn Park. I have walked thru there dozens of times-never thought I would get to do this. The feedback from the 1/2 dozen participants who came out was really helpful and I think they might want me to come back at some point. Mr. Burkhauser says he enjoys letting new yoga teachers come out to test their skills on the crowd. It keeps the sessions fresh. All I know is I had a really good time and I am so happy to finally feel initiated into teaching and sharing. Now, for the next class. Hmmm....

Passin' It On!

LaDonna — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 04:54:54 GMT

Per request from pal Dj Lyf. May the blessings begin! Om, Shanti Om > This is hilarious! > Be sure to read the warning at the bottom. I > didn't change a word! I'm > not messing with the Sex Fairy! > > ------------------------------------------------- > 1. Sex is a beauty treatment. Scientific tests > find that when women > make love they produce amounts of the hormone > estrogen, which makes > hair shine and skin smooth. > ============= > 2. Gentle, relaxed lovemaking reduces your > chances of suffering > dermatitis, skin rashes and blemishes. The sweat > produced cleanses the > pores and makes your skin glow. > ============= > 3. Lovemaking can burn up those calories you > piled on during that > romantic dinner. > ============= > 4. Sex is one of the safest sports you can take > up. It stretches and > tones up just about every muscle in the body. > It's more enjoyable than > swimming 20 laps, and you don't need special > sneakers! > ============= > 5. Sex is an instant cure for mild depression. > It releases endorphins > into the bloodstream, producing a sense of > euphoria and leaving you > with a feeling of well-being. > ============= > 6. The more sex you have, the more you will be > offered. The sexually > active body gives off greater quantities of > chemicals called > pheromones .. These subtle sex perfumes drive > the opposite sex crazy! > ============= > 7. Sex is the safest tranquilizer in the world. > IT IS 10 TIMES MORE > EFFECTIVE THAN VALIUM. > ============= > 8. Kissing each day will keep the dentist away. > Kissing encourages > saliva to wash food from the teeth and lowers > the level of the acid > that causes decay, preventing plaque build-up.. > ============= > 9. Sex actually relieves headaches. A lovemaking > session can release > the tension that restricts blood vessels in the > brain. > ============= > 10. A lot of lovemaking can unblock a stuffy > nose. Sex is a natural > antihistamine. It can help combat asthma and hay > fever. > ============= > This message has been sent to you for good luck > in sex. The original > is in a room in the basement of the Dwight House > Pub. It has been sent > around the world nine times. Now the sex fairy > has been sent to you! > The "Hot Sex Fairy" will visit you > within four days of receiving this > message, provided you, in turn, send it on. > > If you don't, then you will never receive good > sex again for the rest > of your life. You will eventually become > celibate, and your genitals > will rot and fall off. This is no joke! Send > copies to people you > think need sex (who doesn't?). Don't send money, > as the fate of your > genitals has no price. > > Do not keep this message. This message must > leave your e-mail in 96 > hours. Please send ten copies and see what > happens in four days. > > Since the copy must tour the world, you must > send it. This is true, > even if you are not superstitious. > >

swadistan Chakra

LaDonna — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 03:10:17 GMT