witness transformation

Life in Africa -- Gulu HQ

solomax — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 07:43:30 GMT

Norman and I are now based at the Life in Africa HQ in Gulu, and have had a busy schedule, touring around with Francis and George. We'll be here for a week. Gulu today is much different than what we saw in Invisible Children. The streets are filled with people night and day going about their lives. Still there are many issues to address and some people are still living in the displaced persons camps, like one we saw today. The war went on for 20 years, so many don't know where home is anymore. This afternoon we gave a lady a lift that didn't know what town she had to get off at to find her village. Her mother told George to make she we drop her at Palenga and then she'd need to find her way walking through the bush. Saturday a group of 45 children were here singing and playing games. They had a lunch together and then we explained the hammock making project. None of them had ever seen a hammock before. Nobody in Norman's village had either. Hammocks are just not common here, so this could be a very profitable opportunity for Life in Africa, and the Good Samaritan School to make them to sell in local and international markets. I asked the kids how many were night commuters traveling from the villages to sleep together in shelters during the war in fear of being abducted. Nearly all of them put up their hands. Most of them also put up hands when I asked how many lost parents. We have one sewing machine here ready, and the other awaits the peddle which fell out of the box on the bumpy bus ride from Mbale. The peddle is in the bus station office, so we'll have it back tomorrow and start sewing hammocks. Yesterday, we attended a wedding in Masindi, a village near Karuma falls on the Nile. Along the drive we fed baboons' begging on the highway, and got some photos. I'd never experienced anything like it. George was the chairman of the wedding committee. He grew up with the family and they paid for his school fees. The family is one of the largest land owners in that district, with 1000 acres, and all of them are very well educated... being doctors, lawyers and teachers. The father died early and eldest brother, a lawyer, was a member of parliament at age 23, and put the other eight siblings through school. They are keen to have more volunteers visit their village and offered their houses to live in and land to set up a camp on. One of the sisters is head teacher at a local school and will be happy to have guest teachers. The place felt very safe and I will work on facilitating this project. We arrived at the village exhausted from an early morning and late night of dancing the night before. I regretted not bring a hammock to rest. Kids everywhere, keen to play with the Muzungu(strange white guy). It seemed like I was the only white person they have ever seen. I wished I had the dance hoop. I looked in hardware shops for materials, but plastic tubing is rare here. I grabbed a large bike tire off the roof of a bycycle repair shop, but it was too soft. The men there thought I was silly the way I was playing with it, but after walking away they called me back to get a more sturdy tire, with treads worn down smooth. It worked perfectly. We washed it at the village water pump, and by then there was a group of 30 kids ready for a show, plus a dozen prison inmates that happened to be sitting there. The hoop play went on for hours before and after the wedding, and they were fighting over it by dark, and following me in a huge crowd, so I needed to hid-out to keep them from following. One little boy took a special liking to the hoop and loved being in front of the camera. He was a pushy kid, obviously needing attention. We became good friends and he stayed with me, holding my hand and asking me to swing him around. This sort of personal connection I find very satisfying, because I was able to give what he needed, and maybe the hoop could be a positive way he can continue to channel energy. The hoop being a bycycle tire ended up being a good thing, so that they could use what they had locally. The choir singing at the wedding was enchanting and I plan to use the music for the soundtrack of my documentary. I shot a good overview of the whole wedding and will give a copy to the family, plus a disc of all the still images. The dance party afterward lasted all night and I was too tired dance, but the bed I was laying in was only a hundred feet from the massive speakers and crowd of 500+, so again I got little sleep. Norman slept in the vehicle far away, and got much better rest. My head hurts, and throat hurts a bit, which I'm sure is due to lack of sleep and water. I can't drink the local water, everyone reminds me, so I always need to be prepared. It is hot, so I need to drink a lot. I need to sleep now. Please take the time to read Aaron's proposal below and help continue the work we are doing here. I really want Aaron to come, knowing he has many gifts. I have given him $380 from the sale of 7 hammocks that Karenann Whalen sold in Montreal. Now we need others to take action soon as possible. The reason I write reports and share images is to inspire a grassroots movement, which will really make a difference on the ground in the long term. I'm not here on vacation. I'm trying hard to upload more images, but with our net connection so slow it is time consuming and frustrating-- so I'm better off doing the work I came to do then sharing the details when I return home. We will continue the work started by the connections made this trip. Already, Shady Willis and Jamie Luv are planning Action Hero adventures in Uganda this coming summer. Aaron's length of stay is April 1st to April 24th. He will be working in Norman's village for most of his stay. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Cory, Yo. All right. So, I do have friends in Kampala, happy to host me if needs be. However, it would be nice to connect with Norman immediately and head straight to the orphanage to continue where you left off. Here are is a rough blueprint for what I hope to do: 1) bring (fruit and vegetable) seeds for commencing on permaculture gardening projects. *is there room to build a small greenhouse? or perennial raised beds? do they have tools? 2) to continue your work with hammocks and geodesic domes. *is there more to do? endless? 3) organize groups of children to perform musical theatre shows based on issues raised by the kids. theatre games. breakdance. beatbox. rap. recycled instrument making. anything which might bring positive media, relevant life reflection, and offer a model of peace and empowerment through the arts. (this would be amazing to film...even to put camera's into the children's hands (disposable cameras, cheap video cams, etc). and what about the refugee camp "ball" where we have local entertainment, local food, etc? 4) and lastly, to do interviews with existing NGO's, community projects, orphanages, musicians, artists, farmers, and others who are bringing real solutions of unity, sustainability, and creativity to Uganda and the world. O.K. So, this is all still pending appraisal- based on what's actually feasible with materials, genuine interest, and monetary logistics- of course. With no agenda, Aaron p.s. i leave on tuesday to teach workshops with native youth in northern canada...then fly to toronto on the 31st...hoping to buy tickets from there... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hi Cory, I am writing to inform you that I don't think Uganda is in the cosmic cards for me right now. I am too stressed about finances and there doesn't seem to be any other method of making this happen. Plus, the tickets are too expensive last minute (even with a generous loan from you). I am a truly bummed and sad, given the amount energy and work I put into lining things up- all the seeds, a rented video camera, workshop plans, musical shows, etc...but, alas, I have exhausted all resources- financial, mental, emotional. I'll have to plan this trip for another time...boo hoooo. Regretfully, Aaron ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Last but not least, I must thank the most recent donors who purchased the sewing machines and fabric. Without their help, this effort would not have happened: Mike Zolis, Gordon Johnson, Debbie Murphy, Glen Maclean, Ray Leaman, Barb Doyle, John and Dorothy Doyle, Nicholas Richard, Janet McClusky, Marcus Mccinsky, Virgina Stites, Robert and Cynthia Donovan, Jeffery Withers, Erin Slovitt, Nelson Hum, Charlene Richard, Monique Morin, Shawna Vassallo, Joey Rudy, Leon Turfitt. Please show your support by donating now: http://www.ihcenter.org/groups/actionheronetwork.html

The place was beautiful... the people.. the mountains... everything.

solomax — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:56:46 GMT

Bunabumali Village is one of the most unique communities I have ever experienced. Houses are peppered on steep slopes connected by foot paths. There are no power lines and no cars. Mount Elgon high above catches clouds and rain comes and goes--- down-pouring, then sunny minutes later. Banana trees and coffee bushes grow everywhere... as do children. There are lots and lots of children. Norman's family, which has 8 children of their own, adopted 10 kids-- two homeless due to AIDS, and 8 that lost their parents in landslides. From 1997 to 2004... 1000 people have died from landslides. I arrived at the school last week to a chorus of children singing and clapping to welcome me. Three days later, I was sitting next to the dead body of one of those kids, Doreen, age 10, the last of three siblings to die from AIDS, leaving her mother weeping with us beside Doreen on the bed. I have been at this computer for nearly two and a half hours and it has yet to let me upload a photo, due to being slow, so we'll work on it tomorrow. I have lots to share. It was one of the most amazing weeks of my life. The place was beautiful... the people.. the mountains... everything. The project was a complete success. Yesterday, we made 21 hammocks. We have recorded many people in the village on video sharing their needs and requests to invite more visitors to come with their talents. Everyone in the village was grateful to have me there and I always felt safe. I was gifted three chickens and countless bananas, passion fruit, tomatoes, avocados, papaya, etc. They said I am the first non-African to stay in the village over-night. Everywhere I went, all eyes were on me, which was a problem at a track and field event, because I was taking attention away from what was going on, so I hid-out in the government hall. Time has run out on this computer. More soon. -C

Inspiration and call to action

solomax — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 20:07:53 GMT

After a few days in London, I fly out tonight to Uganda. Waiting for me at the airport will be Norman, the director of Good Samaritan Orphan and Needy school, and Lucy from Life in Africa. http://LifeInAfrica.com http://bunabumali.my-php.net First, I'll buy sewing machines, fabric, and rope, then bus to Norman's village at the base of Mt. Elgon, which is spectacular: http://www.kws.org/mt-elgon.html Once the kids have a grip on sewing hammocks, we'll get to work building the bamboo dome, which will serve as a shelter and play space for the school. I set up a huge dome in the gulf coast after hurricane Katrina( thanks to Jeff Talyor of www.eons.com ) and it became an amazing community center that made a big difference in many lives(watch the 30 minute doc I shot about this: http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=7741275027359055423&q=Making+Love+in+a+disaster+zone {sorry about the low quality version). The bamboo dome could be a revolutionary demonstration that can be easily duplicated all over the 3rd world. We still need funds to buy canvas to cover this dome. I have 50 bottles of MMS to give out, thanks to Robert in Alberta( http://www.health4allinfo.ca/ ), who donated the entire supply. It cures Malaria with 30 drops in 3 hours, and helps rid the body of many other ills as well. These videos explain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeZsY7iMiqc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80G-Jtb6OsA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp1eqTajcpQ Later in the journey, I'll bus to Gulu in Northern Uganda with Lucy, where we'll sew more hammocks with kids, fool around with hula hoops, and host a fancy candle light dinner theater in a refugee camp. The journey blog is published at: http://stitchugandatogether.blogspot.com/ Thom Woolley, another of myself here in London (an art teacher working with www.artiseducation.com ), hosted me the past couple nights and hooked me up with great inspiration watching videos made by his friends touring with Performers Without Borders: http://www.performerswithoutborders.org.uk/ Check these videos: http://pwb.blip.tv/#719036 This is what we aim to do in Uganda. I have a professional video camera kindly on loan from Andrew MacCormack, and Aaron, a friend from BC who is a film maker/ educator/ musician is keen to join me as soon as possible. His site is www.ablemonk.org Aaron needs a miracle of $800 in donations to buy the tickets needed in the next two days. A little bit from a lot of people could make that happen easy. That's what this is all about. When a lot of people work together, we can do amazing things! This link goes to the Action Hero Network paypal account: http://www.ihcenter.org/groups/actionheronetwork.html Aaron has a lot to offer-- gifts I don't have. Together we'll make a great documentary through which you and many others will get to experience this journey. It is like buying your ticket to the movie theater in advance. This is your chance to take part if you have not already. Watch the videos linked above, then take action by making a donation if you can and forward this message on to others. This is what grassroots activism is all about. Stitch Uganda Together started as a far out vision this time last year, and has been made possible through hammock sales and donations from people like you. Keep sharing positive media about good things that are happening. We need everyone thinking positive, because we all make a difference where we are in the moment and in the big picture. Wish us luck, because your thoughts are powerful! Suggestions and partnerships welcome. -Cor(azon) <3 http://www.actionheronetwork.net Cory Richardson: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=906200533 Stitch Uganda Together on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2408133160 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. - Buckminster Fuller ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Connect to evolutionary grassroots movements through http://groups.google.com/group/Action-Hero-Network Action Heroes Unite!

Answering Our Higher Calling

solomax — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:45:34 GMT

Stitch Uganda Together is an Action Hero Network mission to create a cultural exchange between students at Forest Hills School in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada and youth in Uganda, Africa. It involves donating sewing machines, providing free hammocks to homeless children, and sharing the process online through web cam and digital video as a demonstration of grassroots activism. We each have the responsibility to continue the growth and evolution of humanity. Be aware that what you do and what you create will have a lasting impression on generations to come. With this awareness, create beauty that will nurture and sustain these future generations and contribute to a more loving and beautiful world for them to live in. Allow yourself to visualize and recognize what you can offer as an unconditional gift for the future of humanity. -Voice of the Galaxy, by Stacia Alana-Leah and Raymond Mardyks Wealth of Experience We have technology to instantly communicate all over the planet, and transportation to carry us anywhere, but what is important to know and worth doing? How can we enrich our lives and make a positive impact in the lives of others? Being responsible global citizens, we take on challenges far removed from our comfortable lives, because the reward for our service is greater than that which can be measured by material wealth. Not only are we helping others, we also benefit greatly from expanded awareness, meaningful relationships and deep appreciation for the basic elements of life that often get taken for granted, such as clean drinking water. I learned this living with people in rural Mexico—wealth is not how much you have, it is how much you appreciate what you have. Tribal Workshop As Citizenship Education Facilitator at Forest Hills School, I offer youth in grades 5 to 8 opportunities to develop character, express creativity and cultivate organizational skills through a variety of artistic workshops which lead to community events where they will be challenged to shine. Using Tribes Learning Communities, we are creating culture through collective consciousness and self expression, which values relationships and environmental awareness. Everyone has a special gift to share, but too often students move through the system without a lot of attention put into discovering their hidden talents and desires. This unique elective course I have designed is focused on filling this need, and requires children to take responsibility for their personal development and encourages them to actively participate in their communities. Stitch Uganda Together Fact: Northern Uganda has been ravaged by civil war for the last 20 years. The people have been robbed of their homes and their livelihoods. The children have been robbed of educations and often times their families through killing, rape of young girls and stealing young boys, forcing them to be child soldiers. Currently, 80% of the overall population of Uganda is youth, of the 80%, 39% are orphans, and 41% are infected with HIV/AIDS. Every family has been torn apart to some extent or another. It is time to help Stitch Uganda Together. Teaching by example, I will spend the first three weeks of March in Uganda setting up community sewing rooms that will make hammocks for homeless children. These cocoon-style hammocks keep kids healthy off the wet ground and protected from mosquitoes that carry malaria. Many of the boys and girls I encounter will have AIDS. A comfortable place to sleep can significantly help their immune systems and enable them to enjoy a fuller life. The impact of this project will be limited only by the amount of resources we can gather to buy sewing machines, fabric and rope. The cost of a sewing machine is approximately $100, and other materials will be around $15 per hammock. The goal of this project is not just to provide free hammocks to homeless children or to provide these young people and their communities with a new income generating opportunity. It is a popular movement to demonstrate how the collective power of many people focusing their energy united in purpose can do amazing things, which will inspire a new generation of activists who will accomplish much more. Here at the school we will have a visual representation of this project in the form of a large tree rooted in our community of supporters from whom the resources are being gathered. Lines will be drawn through the trunk to become branches, which are the sewing machines, and then to the leaves which are the hammocks. Photos of people who receive hammocks and sewing machines will become the fruit on the tree. This tree will serve as an important symbol to show students how grassroots activism connects people to accomplish great tasks through common vision and organization. Spreading Positive Messages To amplify the effect of this mission, the journey will be documented on digital video and broadcast live through web cam. Students at Forest Hills and many other schools in New Brunswick have Smart Boards (online interfaces the size of blackboards) in their classrooms and will have the opportunity to experience culture exchanges with youth in Uganda. A youth activism conference in Moncton on March 14th has also requested that I connect with them online. The documentary will later be presented at the Evolve festival, and submitted to the Tidal Wave Film Festival to raise awareness about issues facing Ugandans and gather support for the many non-profit organizations doing important on-going work. Musician, Educator and filmmaker, Aaron Ableman (www.ablemonk.org) is also planning to join me in Uganda. We will add the video we capture to a global collaboration entitled, Pangea: Stories of Unity and Connection. A team of filmmakers, artists, social & ecological visionaries are weaving film footage from around the world as evidence to the common needs, ideas, and webs which unite people across time zones, nationalities, and cultural divides. From India to Jamaica, Cuba to Uganda, USA to Lesotho, it is the stories of struggle, inspiration, and ingenuity which never have enough media attention. Ranging from world famous musicians to grassroots organizers, from bee farming country folk to urban ghetto youth, we are privy to an in-depth collage of real life witnesses. A variety of themes sing the praise of clean air, water, land, of laughter, music, spirituality, and finally, the struggle to respect familial roots, community ethic, and ancient traditions above the raging storms of suffering and pollution. Through this creative testament, the film calls to honor the interdependent nature of life on planet earth, thereby ensuring further means of resilience and universal suffrage. Many courageous humanitarians from New Brunswick are doing great work in Africa, including: John Tremble, the Parish Priest of Quispamsis who built a girl’s school in Uganda with a huge computer lab; Mark Leger toured several months in Ghana with Journalists Without Borders, and Julie Dingwell, director of AIDS Saint John, is currently working in Swaziland, just to name a few. We plan to have these people and many other inspiring action heroes from our community share their stories in person with the students at Forest Hills School. We need these tales of humanitarian adventures to off-set the dominant corporate media culture focused on fear, consumerism, competition and violence. Preparation Over the past year, students at Beaconsfield Middle School, Morna Heights Elementary and Rothesay High have sewn hammocks to prove that youth can learn to do it easily, and some of those hammocks are going to Uganda to complete the connection of the lesson. Several classes at Beaconsfield, two classes of World Issues students at Saint John High, and all students in grades 5 to 8 at Forest Hills watched Invisible Children, a film exposing the effects of a 20 year-long war on the children of Northern Uganda, which you can view online: http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=3166797753930210643&q=%22Invisible+Children%22 At festivals and markets last summer and fall, hammocks were set up for the public to try out and learn about the project. Approximately 40 hammocks were sold to support this effort. Rogers TV interviewed me twice on its live Daytime talk show, and CBC TV broadcasted two updates on the project, including a feature story Christmas Eve sharing the students at Morna Heights sewing hammocks. The shots went in my arm many months ago, and I now have lots of contacts in Uganda to help keep me safe. I’m sure this journey will be life changing, as it was for others I’ve found through research. Invitation Everyone wants to be rich. Some of us are fortunate to have more opportunities and resources than others. Some of us are not surviving. We dwell in horrifying conditions and don’t know any way out. It is our obligation, being educated and living abundantly, to do what we can to help others less fortunate. The interesting twist is that the more we give of ourselves, and truly understand the hardships others are going through, the richer we feel. Being of service to others gives our life value and meaning. There are many projects worth your time and resources that will greatly benefit your community and environment, which is your life support system. I am asking you now to invest in this timely grassroots effort that will make a profound impact in the lives of hundreds of people who need your help in Africa, and hundreds of thousands more around the planet that will be inspired by the positive media and cultural exchanges that will be created. The mission is simple. Large donations are not required. The objective is to get small investments from a wide base of support to pay for sewing machines, fabric, video equipment and transportation. Can you afford to give just $5? That is all we are asking. This is how we do it! In Canada, make your tax-deductible investment by writing a check to the New Brunswick Minister of Finance, c/o: Forest Hills School, Stitch Uganda If you don’t care about tax deductions, write the check simply to Stitch Uganda Together and send it to Forest Hills School or mail to: Cory Richardson 2 Fishermen’s Rd Saint John, NB E2M-3G9 In the US, your contribution is tax-deductible through The International Humanities Center, but people anywhere can use this Paypal link for fast and secure delivery: http://www.ihcenter.org/groups/actionheronetwork.html Thanks for your interest and taking the time to read this proposal. I’ll be happy to receive feedback and any questions you have. In service and celebration, Cory Richardson art therapist & common-unity organizer ActionHeroNetwork.net cor.contact@gmail.com 506.654.3073

If you can't feel your own miraculousness, you are missing the quintessential experience of life.

solomax — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 01:39:42 GMT

Preparing offerings for my first tribal workshops at school tomorrow, I read a short book this afternoon that someone gave me years ago, in the form of a dozen photocopied pages stapled together. I had never read it before, but for some reason it has been on my mind and I felt the need to read it today. Sure enough, it was the perfect intro to action hero training-- providing insights on discovering one's totem, developing a persona, keeping a journal, seeing through illusion, and creating reality. Below are my notes, which do not follow exactly how it is actually written, but are a short summery of what I gathered. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To be a Vagabond by Ed Buryn (And/or Pres, Inc. Berekeley, CA) If you don't like the news, go out and make some of your own. - Scoop Niskar Your brain creates your own reality. - Tim Leary What you see is what you get. Create your reality. Transform visions into reality. Connect with your world. Live in the present. Believe. Trust yourself, trust the world. Actualize your potential. If you can't feel your own miraculousness, you are missing the quintessential experience of life. Love/hate is a basic dualism-- that of invisible but powerful forces equally opposed: love saves the world every day, hate daily destroys it. Expand your views. The most powerful force in your life is your perspective. The direction you look is the way you are going. Create a personal myth. Persona is defined as a "role that a person assumes in order to display his conscious intent to himself and others." A persona is not a substitute for, nor an imposter of yourself; rather, it is an extension that allows you to go beyond what you presently know about yourself. It's good advice to consciously visualize and project an image of yourself. Do not confuse yourself with your persona. The role is only one of the endless extensions of yourself. Refine and redefine yourself. A well-chosen persona (which is a kind of personal myth) effectively generates energy because it automatically introduces us to other varieties of reality. Putting on the mask makes us want to dance; so off we go, and the rest is reality. You are your own expert. I can't be your expert, only your advisor; and I advise you to go out and become your own expert. You can choose to figure it out for yourself, suffering and rejoicing in it as you will. Your life is all for you, uniquely styled in your own vision; and like it or not, nothing can take away your right and duty to live it as fully as you can. You have the power to do this. The only limitations are those you choose, and those imposed by your conditioning, which masks your real freedom. As Tim Leary said, "You can be anything you want this time around." Discover your Totem. Normally we are wrapped in routines, unconscious of the cosmic news and views being broadcast on some other channels. We need a tuning device, and personal "totem" can be such a device. A totem is some natural entity or form, usually an animal or plant species, that is psychically related to you, and which usually represents or symbolizes yourself. A totem is thus a type of omen with personal significance, a personal symbol that directs your attention alone to its meaning. You do not choose your totem; it chooses you. If you don't know your totem, pay more attention to the phenomena of the natural world and try to discover which of them have an affinity or special connection to you. Often you already have a totem but aren't aware of it, even though you collect or employ images of it in your work or play, or attach significance to it in dreams or fantasies. Pay attention to everyone you meet. When you meet someone on your psychic wavelength, the power in that connection has no bounds. People do not appear in your life entirely by chance; anyone can be a psychic messenger or energy-bearer with hot news from the frontlines of your consciousness and your cosmic condition. Energy always manifests in either the physical or metaphysical form. Everything in the world has form--a shape if it’s a physical structure or a symbolical pattern if it’s a metaphysical structure. Routines and habits are examples of metaphysical forms extending through time. They are the Known, protecting us from the Unknown. Habits are also called home. Habits tame the raw wilderness of existence into the civilized comforts of everyday life. Unfortunately, as we all know, habits gradually domesticate all the wildness and energy out of life. So much energy gets bound up in the routines and habituated patterns, keeping them alive, that your life goes dead instead. Thus, if you want to discover again the wild side of life, you have to leave your comfort zone; you have to break or dissolve your habits in order to release the energy locked up inside of them. Break a habit for freedom! Books that come into your life at the right time are also omens and indicators of energy directions. Books themselves are vehicles for energy transfer-- artifacts from magic distilled from the miracle of mind, and can easily reshape or direct your ideas and hence change your life. Dreams are another metaphysical information source. The energizing takes place in all planes of consciousness. Writing down your dreams in a journal reinforces and strengthens the channel, and records this delicate and transitory information for later study before it slips back into the magical realm. Keep a journal that records your metaphysical reality: omens, intuitions, emotions, dreams, drawings, doodles, coincidences, marvel, mysteries, names, and numbers. It will sharpen your perception of holistic reality, and therefore, of magic. Anyplace can be magical. What matters most is not what happens, but how we respond to what happens. The illusion was created out of fear and ignorance, by old imprints. From time immemorial, mankind has chosen a view of reality that it could control in order to escape feeling helpless in a seemingly unpredictable universe. Language and culture were creatively invented to capture and shape the raw energy of life into something we could relate to, a set of black/white boxes containing absolutely everything. Meanwhile, energy itself goes rolling formlessly along, endlessly unable to be contained in those tiny boxes. You get what you've been set up for (your imprints) and what you've set yourself up for (your choices). More than anything else, fear holds us back from knowing ourselves, and thus the Gestapo of consciousness, the internal secret-police force that tries to keep us locked up in the concentration camp of our minds. Living in the present moment is to be new always, reborn endlessly. It is to recapture the innocence and trust of childhood, of a time before the phantoms of the past and future weighed us down with anxiety, guilt and resentment. We were all born without fear, with no thought of life as a hostile experience. We intuitively knew we belonged here in this world, with no need to fear anything in it. Your so-called reality is just a taste of pie in an endless bakery, an appetizer in one plane to interest you in some of the endless others, depending on how much reality you want and can deal with.

Spelling for middle school students

solomax — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:10:18 GMT

I'm in my office at School, going through old journals to share quotes with students... which I like to call "spelling". The disk on this computer says it is full and I can't even save this document... so I'm saving it with this post. Feel free to add your favorite spells. +++++++++++ You can learn through love work or pain. Suffering is a good teacher, but it is tough. The ego wants to be in the comfort zone. It needs to be in control. When you are learning you are out of control. We can not live someone else’s dream. Do you hear your calling? If you are not living your dream…. What are you doing? How much of your life do you want to spend hooked-up to a computer? When you get out there… one thing leads to another. Wake up in the morning and find the magic. Notice what you are focusing on. What you are seeing is yourself. Have you ever been on the cusp of something—the edge of your experience? There are levels of freedom. You are as rich as you feel. Free from want. I am a fruit baring tree with so much to give. You can’t be giving unless you are given to. Your well being is contingent on others. A dog can be a best friend. With the right perspective, anything can become a gift. It takes belief to make things happen. What you believe becomes your truth. Your truth becomes your experience. Surround yourself with signs of intelligent life. People get information when they are ready for it. We don’t want education, we want experiences. We want to feel. The most dangerous thing for the planet is human beings who are not ready for the technology they attain. Nature is waiting for humanity to pick up the ball. Humans--- that is what we are designed to do. It is a partnership emerging. Nature is our support system. In nature, everything goes in circles. Nothing is ever really lost. There are circles all about us. We are all part of it. Either people are getting more and more divided or getting more and more united. You only need money when you don’t have a connection to community and environment. Raise the vibration. Find the joy in connecting with other people. We don’t stop playing because we get old; we get old because we stop playing.

"What time is it?" "There is no time."

solomax — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 08:31:39 GMT

World clock: http://www.peterrussell.com/Odds/WorldClock.php It is easy to get stressed about time and all that comes with it-- dates, ages, expectations, parking meters, tests, taxes, and all of this is a system many of us are forced to fall in line with-- agree with it or not. Is it an unnecessary burden? We put price tags on our time(life). Time(Freedom) is luxury. Also it is true, that if you love what you do, whatever it is... you may never work a day in your life. It is all just life. One step after another. Fortunately, I found my groove in a public school that appreciates a creative spirit, and got granted the privilege to develop an action hero training camp there the rest of the school year. We are recording everything on video, so this process can be easily duplicated, and in the end, the students will be real movie stars! This an elective non-academic course. All classes in the school are divided into tribes of 4 to 6 students. I'll mostly be with grades 5 to 8, which includes 17 separate homeroom classes. Those tribes schedule themselves when they are ready and a time slot is open, so I'm not seeing anyone who doesn't want to be there. We have a full kitchen, a bunch of sewing machines and space for all the toys(tools) we can gather. Together in circle and through workshops we'll identify individual skills, desires and life goals, then create missions that challenge and accommodate. My task as Citizenship Education Facilitator is to inspire, encourage and organize. I'll place students in leadership roles and create safe spaces for self expression to build confidence. I've found that faith/belief in one's self with a heart for common unity is a key to unlock our wildest dreams. Our first topic of discussion will be about time and organization, because we'll need to manage our time effectively to accomplish our missions, which could be complex. Our first workshop will be to create a journal/organizer. Any quotes, views or suggestions you have about the idea of "time" will be greatly appreciated. We also welcome guest speakers, artists, wizards, tools, and art supplies. Snow has been blowing all night and I hear the wind whistling through the apartment building as I write this. The streets are not plowed here in Forest Hills(East Saint John), so it looks as though school will be closed and I'll be snowboarding! Bedtime! ;-) -Cor(azon) <3 Cell: 506-654-3073

It is our dream... we can do what we want.

solomax — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 20:52:02 GMT

From where I am now, cozy in pajamas, the horrors of political struggle are far removed. Maybe you can relate to this. I hope so. "It is my dream... I can do what I want" is my current mantra. I just found this link to a video on Youtube in my facebook inbox: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=sp5HOLvKn2I (a short overview of The SPP/TILMA/NAU and the erosion of Canadian identity.) Have you seen images from Pakistan in the wake of Benazir Bhutto's assassination? There is so much struggle for power. The only answer is love for one and all. Unity. I was inspired by Bhutto's words, much like those of the Kennedy brothers. These words are a call to action--a call to the greatness that exists in each and everyone of us to unite in purpose. Controlling belief systems... elections for our next saviors ... ruling mafia.... it is strange dream... and yet these collective ideas are wide spread. It is our dream... we can do what we want. Keep creating beauty and freedom. <3 +++++++++++++++++ The below is from this Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4251616865 The Security And Prosperity Partnership Of North America (The North American Union) which will limit the rights and freedoms of Canadian citizens by creating hundreds of mirrored American policies such as The Patriot Act (anti-terrorism act), and it will integrate the apparatus which is the structure, substance and the meaning of our nation with American and Mexican ideals. Areas of defense, immigration, foreign policy, finance, Sovereignty over your money and health are all being changed and integrated with US systems... systematically and incrementally. This is not a project under discussion. A dialogue on the integration of Canada, the United States and Mexico is IN PROGRESS. Main ideas have already been implemented. Our democracy is being usurped by an elite few and is being sold off, brick by brick, to the highest bidder. +++++++++++ The following is from: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-pakistan_barker_bddec30,1,2163135.story?ctrack=1&cset=true Who besides Bhutto? Criticized in the past for unwisely making their policy too dependent on the fate of individuals such as Musharraf and Bhutto, U.S. officials quickly reached out to other opposition figures after Bhutto's death Thursday. That included her possible successor in the Pakistan People's Party, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, and Nawaz Sharif, a former prime minister and rival party leader whom the U.S. had long kept at arm's length. Administration officials said Friday they had no plans to throw their support behind Sharif or another candidate. They say they are continuing to push for elections to go forward Jan. 8 as scheduled, and that they believe a more democratic Pakistan will also be a more stable Pakistan.

Warm Wishes from Winter Wonderland!

solomax — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 05:49:54 GMT

2008 is going to be a break-through year! Breaking through fear... really.... fully... becoming! Less time for talking and writing, more time doing-- working in schools, building with bamboo, playing with kids, living in new spaces, capturing images, exchanging my skills and art for lots of money, which I will do even more great things with to create joy and freedom. I was up late sewing hammocks last night, preparing for the flea market today, and then a faery visited to snuggle for a spell, leaving me to get 5 hours of rest before the market. I didn't sell any hammocks, but I did sell a dance hoop and a few of the necklaces I made from shells found on a near-by island where I often kayak. At the market, I bought a strobe light, a couple hats, jiggle bells, a bunch of phat beaded necklaces, 10 pounds of coffee beans and a few dozen doilies to use as spray painting stencils(which I'm stoked about--- cuz they'd have taken over 1000 hours to make.) I went to bed at 5pm and got up at 10pm. Currently, it is 1:19am. and freezing rain is falling on a thick blanket of snow... sure to make tough plowing and wild driving conditions. I have hot pizza and a quiet house. My folks are on floating city on the other side of the planet. I'm happy. Better put another log in the fire place. My left hand freezes because it is often on the mouse, which is close to the window. I hurt my pinky on that hand snowboarding yesterday, so it is still sore. I have chronic wrist problems from kayaking, climbing, skateboarding... etc. Amy called tonight to say she had a family meeting with her two kids, and hey voted to have me live with them. We had a dance party-- Amy the kids and I, in their living room last week. I think that sealed the deal. They live within site of the school I'll be working until June. I'm staying away from buying a spaceship. Nacho and Angel, friends from Spain, who currently live here in San Juan Del Norte, sent me a cute site of them dances as Elves, so I made one of my (s)elf and two bestest friends: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1473174686 Now back to my elfin workshop to create more corcoon cuddle puddles... to bring humanity together through snuggling! Good morning! Ihugyouverymuch! :-)

Tribes in Schools -- Opok Farm, Uganda -- Mazatlan Awareness Festival

solomax — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 15:04:34 GMT

I've not been posting as much on Tribe.net since using facebook.com ...but I don't want to loose touch with all you amazing people, so here is an update. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++Tribes++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I got a job at a K to 8th grade school being a "citizenship facilitator" here at home in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Gotta love it when positions are created for you! All teachers at this public school are trained in the TRIBES process. From the Tribes workbook: "The first custom of the Tribes process , no matter where it is used, is to invite people to reflect upon and share their own experiences. The outcome of the Tribes process is to develop a positive environment that promotes human growth and learning. Throughout the process people learn to use specific collaborative skills, and to reflect both on the interaction and the learning that is taking place. The Tribes process not only establishes a caring environment for cooperative learning, but provides structure for positive learning interaction and continuity for working groups whether in the classroom, the faculty, the administration or the parent community." This is a HUGE step forward in creating a more egalitarian culture, and I'm stoked to be taking part. If you are a teacher, search for "Tribes by Jeanne Gibbs". ++++++++++++++++++++++Stitch Uganda Together++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I'm busy sewing hammocks to fund Opok Farm in Uganda, a re-settlement village for 150 child-headed families. You can learn more and make a donation to support the farm here: http://www.givemeaning.com/proposal/OpokFarms. If you rather make a tax-deductible contribution directly to the projects I'm leading at Opok Farm, building a huge bamboo dome and buying sewing machines to create a hammock workshop, you can put your money where you heart it here: http://www.ihcenter.org/groups/actionheronetwork.html If you'd like to own one of these sweet travel hammock cuddle puddles($50)... made with the lightest and most durable materials... rip-stop nylon and climbing webbing... you can see them at http://www.actionheronetwork.net ... email me( cor.contact@gmail.com ) ....I can have it to you by Christmas... if you order now! Join Stitch Uganda Together on Facebook and stay updated on my project and other positive efforts in Uganda: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2408133160 Updates are also posted through the Action Hero Google group(all action heroes are invited to post to this list): http://groups.google.com/group/Action-Hero-Network Action Hero Network on tribe.net also gets posted, and invite you to go there to share what matters most: http://actionhero.tribe.net +++++++++++++++++Mazatlan Awareness Festival++++++++++++++++++++ The Roblito Community for Cultural Exchange in Central Mexico had more than a dozen participants gathered through Tribe.net take part last winter. Together our crew donated 5 bikes, dozens of soccer shoes, a piano, a guitar, a dozen dance hoops and a sewing machine. We renovated a playground, did a couple garbage sweeps, lots of beading workshops with mothers and kids, plenty of adventures, life enhancing experiences(Ayahuasca), and general silliness. In Mazatlan, I made a lot of friends in the tourism industry, and have begun to gather people around the idea of developing a Mazatlan Awareness Festival. Again, if you use Facebook, this is where we are gathering, because more people from Canada and Mexico use it: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=19571155904 Below is an invitation and outline to gather interest in this idea. I'll be keen to have you join the circle. I'd be happy to connect with your through facebook if you also want to be friends there: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=906200533 What you are working on? Maybe I can help someone find you? Enjoy your journey! -Cor 506-635-4122 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Hi everyone! Thanks for your interest in the Mazatlan Awareness Festival. This can go many directions. It depends on who gets involved. The intention is to bring "awareness" to Mazatlan in two different ways: In co-operation with tourism operators in Mazatlan and surrounding area, we will increase general awareness of all that the region has to offer through the internet and marketing at festivals and schools in Canada and USA, establishing Mazatlan as a center for eco-tourism. For the sake of all life on this planet, we must create cultural awareness and build a sustainable infrastructure that support healthy habits and reduce energy consumption. This is a time of great change. We have a lot of work to do in the areas of community organization, understanding natural cycles and learning to live in harmony with nature. Personally, this festival is an opportunity to unite in a beautiful place with people I love or want to know better, and I am developing tourism businesses to support cultural education centers. My life's purpose is to create and inspire gathering places all over the planet that increase awareness, create solutions, spread love, and help people of all income levels to discover true freedom. I'm open to working with anyone who shares these ideals. We are all on the same team. Our goal is to create experiences that are culturally rich and creative, luxurious and affordable. ~ Possible outline ~ Day 1: Morning yoga at Villa Margarita Spa with Roberta. Afternoon Whale watching with Oscar of Onca Explorations. Evening presentations and networking at Playa Mazatlan Hotel. Day 2: Bus to Palmillas. Kayak to Roblito with Paul of Sendero Mexico, through Agua Grande estuary. Camp or stay with a family in Roblito (http://www.solomax.com/roblito.html). Day 3: Fishing, surfing, horseback riding, and bird watching. Finish day with campfire stories, songs, and history lesson about ancient shell mounds. Day 3: Garbage sweep the village and create art with found objects. Cooking lessons become a feast that includes the entire town, which leads to a dance party. Day 4: Bike to hot springs and camp for the night. Day 5: Bike to Palmillas, try some rock climbing on the way. Stay the night at Elfego's. Day 6: Climb Cerro Del Muerto, bus back to Mazatlan for a relaxing ocean-side dinner at Playa Mazatlan Hotel, followed by presentations and reflections. Day 7: Form groups to work on community projects. ------------------------------ TAKE PART ------------------------------ We would all love to see your favorite images of Mazatlan in our group photo album. There are currently 115 images I shot last winter. More can be seen at: http://actionhero.smugmug.com Please introduce yourself and share your thoughts on our wall. This festival could be a very important networking opportunity for whatever you want to do. Maybe you’ll find a new friend or passion that will take your life in a totally new direction. I’m calling together action heroes from everywhere to sit in a circle in Mazatlan, and I hope you do the same. We might as well start passing the talking stick now to get to know each other. There are already a lot of amazing people in this circle. If you want to invite a lot of people from your list of friends to join this group, you are welcome to be an admin, which makes the task much easier. ------------------------ LINKS ---------------------------- We Are Many is another “awareness” festival that we could learn from: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4879884806 “The We Are Many Arts and Environmental Festival will take place in Saskatoon(Canada) in August 2008. The organizers, a group of individuals from Saskatoon and elsewhere, have incorporated themselves as a not-for-profit entity to take action for environmental sustainability.” The Evolve Festival(www.evolvefestival.com) is another great gathering I am involved with here in Eastern Canada. The owner of Evolve, Jonas Colter, is a member of the Mazatlan Awareness Festival group. You can see images I shot at this event (pages 7 to 19): http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?page=7&oid=4048383258&aid=-1&auser=&view=all http://www.solomax.com/roblito.html --- The village of Roblito is a fishing and farming community on Mexico's Central Pacific Coast -- where Aztecs lived before making Mexico City. The Roblito Community Center for Cultural Exchange is a project between the Action Hero Network and the people of Roblito to share ideas and opportunities that foster education and culture. Join the Roblito tribe: http://tribes.tribe.net/roblito Fernando Haro (www.sinaloainformative.com) created this website for my tourism project between Palmillas, Sinaloa and Roblito Nayarit: http://www.vivesinaloa.com/kiosko_turistico/productos_turisticos/escuipal.htm Join Action Hero Network to connect to evolutionary grassroots movements globally, go to: http://groups.google.com/group/Action-Hero-Network Action Heroes unite! http://www.actionheronetwork.net -Corazon cor.contact@gmail.com

Action Hero members audit & Vote for Opok Farm on Givemeaning.com

solomax — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 21:46:51 GMT

A survey will soon be sent to the Action Hero Network Google Group to create a data base of members, like a phone book, listing the activists in our circle and the organizations they are associated with and areas of interest, including business, so that we can better find each other, communicate our action plans, calls for support or voice concerns. This network is not just for when things go wrong... but to create the world we want. This new listing will be forwarded to everyone in the Google Group. I know most of the people, and they are all doing great things, but they don't know each other. If you are not part of this circle already and would like to be, join and feel free to post: http://groups.google.com/group/Action-Hero-Network We all make it what it is! The Action Hero Google Group has recently been open up so all members can message to the entire group. The purpose of this group is to promote what activists are doing everywhere, and to foster more connections, because we are all on this adventure in humanity together. It will be interesting to see what you are all working on. _______________________________________________________ Stitch Uganda Together is developing in many positive directions...... Opok Farm is a 3000 acre farm in Northern Uganda, which will be made into a village for 150 child-headed families. It is a very exciting opportunity for these youth, and those who get to work with them. The farm also has huge potential for being an eco-tourism destination to foster a culture of caring and sustainable development. Currently the Opok Farm team has a proposal that needs votes on Givemeaning.com and it would be very helpful to have your support: www.givemeaning.com/proposal/OpokFarms +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Funds raised thus far from hammock sales purchased 100 yards of rip-stop fabric and 2700ft of webbing. Now, %100 of hammock sales will go toward building a bamboo dome at Opok Farm and buying sewing machines to set up a workshop where hammocks will be made to help the farm be sustainable. You can get one of these ultra-light travel hammock for $50 at www.actionheronetwork.net Tanya Whitney, principal of Forest Hills Middle school here in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada is helping set up a sewing workshop for her students to get involved in this project sewing hammocks. I wrote Tanya today saying, "The hammock design is very simple and your older kids shouldn't have a problem. It will be a good test to know what kids in Uganda may be able to do. I could even take the hammocks they make to Uganda with me and take photos of kids using them there to show the students who make them. I'm sure your students would like that better than selling them. For me the issue is luggage. We can work on it. I just need to manage creating a product that is safe. We can make them in time for Christmas gifts also. The materials are around $10 per hammock, which I have already paid for using the funds generated from the project thus far. If the kids are taking hammock home they will need to pay for them, but if they are going to Uganda, that's fine... I got it covered!" ________________________________ I've done presentations in a couple Saint John schools sharing the need for attention in Uganda to get students thinking about what can be done to build communities for the orphaned children. I plan to create sewing workshops in several schools where students can help raise funds for Opok Farm village by making hammocks. I hope to partner with The Marimichi Uganda Foundation and do a presentation at the youth prison in Marimichi, and get youth there doing the same. I worked for John Howard Society last year, so they are willing to help me get into the prison. We need markets for the hammocks we are making. Anyone could use a travel hammock, so they are perfect gifts. Organizations or companies could buy quantities of these hammocks to sell to their members or give to their employees. The plan is to set up a hammock making business in Uganda. To do this I need investors and people to buy the hammocks before I go to Uganda. This link offers info about my project to build a bamboo dome to serve as a community center, dorm and workshop at Opok Farm: www.ned.com/group/opokfarms/news/2/ ______________________________ Again...please VOTE for the Opok Farm proposal at Givemeaning.com -- www.givemeaning.com/proposal/OpokFarms The photo above shows an IDP camp where many of the kids in Northern Uganda live now.

VOTE for your new Ruler-God!

solomax — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 16:48:22 GMT

Isn't it a waste to spend so much time and energy focused on egos? One team against another? Vote for me.... I'll save you! We can have councils of people... but having one leader/God is strange... however common. Why do we do this? Do we need someone to blame when things go bad? Harper and Bush are far from Jesus or Buddha. Not even close. They don't inspire me or anyone I know. I've never heard a single person they were inspired by either of these people. My father and brother know Harper personally, and Harper kicked the out of the Harper party because he only wants people who say "YES". Top down-- what he says goes. Build that pyramid! I wouldn't want to be in that "World leader position"... with wizards knocking on your door every day... casting spells on you. It would be hard not to be pulled to the darkside... into the relms of men who lust for power. You want to be in the elite... right? There are people more powerful than world leaders. The banks that control them. Harper and Bush are slaves to money, like most of us. Watch The MONEY MASTERS - How International Bankers Gained Control of America (3hrs 35minutes) historical documentary that traces the origins of the political power structure that rules our nation and the world today. Go to: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-515319560256183936&q=money+as+debt&hl=en And this is a clip from the Network... a movie I am looking forward to watching: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AI8mC8XucY

Seek the unexpected.

solomax — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 18:20:58 GMT

Be that Buddha. I was working on it last night at the club. I'll go find that paper I was writing on... Ok... got it: It is all about the play. Hang with fun people. Connect. Feel free. Say what you think. Dance. We get too in our head. Relax. [Donna Black wrote: "Bass and moroccos. Good friends, good times. :-) OX"] Who are you vibing? Of all the things I respect... the most is fearlessness. Create the space to play. Feel good. Others will join. Play your heart out. Step out of bounds. [Another friend said: Mountains make great play grounds. Endless adventures.] Play is what it is all about. "Daisy.... you play at high levels. I want to higher you, but I don't know how." She returned, "I am my own boss". A band is playing their hearts out to an empty room. They sing, "You took my joy... and I want it back!" See me. For who I am. Ask for want you want. Seek the unexpected. Who says "they" have any power over us? "It" is about getting organized. "It" is all about connections. ++++++++++++ The photo above shows the space where I may make a bamboo dome on Opok Farm in Northern Uganda. Kelly Boutilier in Ireland sent me this TED video( http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/54 ) after I forwarded the video Eric Klein sent me from Rwanda sharing his current project: http://youtube.com/watch?v=HzkTLS4iHsc Very exciting stuff. It is all about the connections. As a planet and people we have everything we need; we just need to put it together. ++++++++++++ TED Video: Cameron Sinclair demonstrates how passionate designers and architects can respond to world housing crises. The motto of his group, Architecture for Humanity, is "Design like you give a damn." Using a litany of striking examples, he shows how AFH has helped find creative solutions to humanitarian crises all over the globe. Sinclair then outlines his TED Prize wish: to create a global open-source network that will let architects and communities share and build designs to house the world. Eric's video: This footage was taken last week and sent from the field the last week of September, 2007. On September 18th CAN-DO travelled to Rwanda in partnership with the International Education Exchange (IEE). Upon arrival we learned of a northern village that was destroyed by floods leaving 2,000 homeless and more than one hundred dead or missing. We travelled 3 hours to the Congo border and found the decimated village of Bigogwe still under water. Seasonal rains had flooded the 4,434 acres, forcing the relocation if its 1,979 inhabitants. Despite promises from prominent NGO's for shelter, and relocation, villagers received only small tarps. More than half of the 351 families affected by the flood still have no shelter, and these tarps will do little against the heavy rains of the season, which last through December. Also, because the survivors had yet to deal with a disaster of this magnitude, the improper design layout of shelter and toilets has resulted in 10 cases of dysentery and has set the stage for a potential health disaster. The villagers of Bigogwe have very few supplies and the situation is growing worse daily. Because the situation is so bad in Bigogwe, CAN-DO is heading back as soon as we can...we are making a plea to the YouTube and Face Book Community; Join us in a social experiment to raise grassroots dollars to reconstruct this village in Bigogwe. All the funds we receive will be applied directly to the rebuilding effort proving that there is a practical and efficient way to provide aid without getting caught up in bureaucracy. Upon our return in late November, we will stream live video documentation of the reconstruction efforts that you made possible! Help us provide a real first step toward a global community, where neighbors help neighbors, from nations apart. It is very simple; In the beginning of November, CAN-DO will be returning to the Bigogwe community. Our first priority will be to reestablish a refugee camp that is not a health risk and can serve the people who have lost everything for up to 18 months. There are 351 families still in need of shelter and supplies. Tents have been provided at cost by our friends at The North Face and we will have a cost sheet outlining material costs for each new home and survival packs for an individual family. Our material cost sheet may be viewed on our website and purchases can be made through the CAN-DO website https://secure.can-do.org/ which will be shipped out with our team. Each donor with purchase (ie tents, building supplies or survival packs) will have their name attached to their gift. You will see first hand that your contribution went directly to the family for which it was intended. You can also make monetary donation which will go towards food for the next 6 months. Donate a dollar, or a thousand. No gift is too small or too big and all donations collected will be accounted for. Pass this message along to a friend, and encourage them to do the same. CAN-DO will also be launching our virtualvolunteer.tv site which will give viewers and donors the option to have direct contact through live-streaming video of the progress from the field. Please visit our website and sponsor a family today- www.can-do.org As always, CAN-DO will give a full accounting of all funds received and the impact and effectiveness of your generosity. Together, we can begin to set in motion a philanthropic movement; a community that knows what they can do and is accountable for what is done. SEE what you CAN-DO... Thank you for your support. The CAN-DO team

Letter to Abe a moment ago. I'm now about to teach a class where I once sat 15 years ago... yahoo!

solomax — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 14:09:39 GMT

Keep wishing, dreaming, and making those visions clear as can be, and you shall find yourself in those places with those people you are dreaming of, my friend. Last night I was sharing poems with a love, and found this one from long ago ( http://www.solomax.com/sep.24.3.html ): Life is the Oyster Souls and late-night conversations, With those who would change the world. With those who are changing the world. Laying on floors, Sitting on counters. Under streetlights. In parked cars, Empty parking lots. We are those who are free. We are the ones who have escaped entrapment. We are the movers, the shakers, the thinkers, the speakers. Our power does not come from finite finances, But from something far more vast. Our power comes from the most potent infinity Of possibility itself. We are those who carry the hearts of humanity forward with our inspiration. We are the voices of passion, of emotion, of struggle. We are the toil, the pain, the pleasure, the joy, and the ecstasy. We are the celebration of imperfection in all of its glorious beauty. We are the oddballs, the outcast, the freaks and the entertainers. We are the dreamers. Much love along your journies, - JAmie S. Uyematsu ++++++ Just now, after reading that journal page where I found this poem, I see that Jeff and Carrie were in Mexico with me this past year, and the dreams I shared years before about the school in Mexico, have now become reality. in 20 minutes I teach a world issues class here at the high school I attended.... sharing a presentation about problems and solutions for Uganda, and ideas about activism and community. It was in this very room where I dreamed about kayaking around north america at age 17. I've come full circle. Have a memorable day! I'm glad to know you have a good boy to share it with. -C Ps... I'm going to share this email on the action hero tribe. I'm feeling like this is an important moment. Thanks for helping create it.

My 30th year has been sweet thus far, even with the new scar tissue!

solomax — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 06:39:48 GMT

Most of the past week I was in retreat on Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick. After turning 30, last week, I did a face-plant in the middle of the street when an early morning circus trick involving a friend hula hooping while riding my back went wrong. I looked like Two-Face from Batman. I'm fine now after lots of rest and fresh air. I made a fish sculpture out of beach glass and wire, and hiked along a beautiful coastal trail on Grand Manan with Argon visiting from Portland, Oregon. He has been on Super Hero bike rides and joined Action Heroes last winter in Roblito, Mexico -- that's Argon in the green shirt: http://actionhero.smugmug.com/gallery/2571309#136653110 I stayed at James' cabins on Castalia Marsh. He's the guy that owns the Tribal Spaceship.. whenever we are ready. These are images from hangin' with James and Vanessa on Grand Manan this time last year: http://actionhero.smugmug.com/gallery/1970187#P-1-9 James is looking for someone to work-trade next spring, summer and fall... working in the garden and cooking meals... in exchange for room and board in the magical world he created on Grand Manan. It would be prefect for a writer or artist who wants to live in a quiet, beautiful place: http://www.sea-landadventures.com/ My most amazing 30th birthday gift was from Amy Gow, who sent this reminder, showing that really my birthday was a shared experience with my mother. I've certainly been a bigger pain in the ass than this kid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aht0HqI7GSw I've spent all after noon and evening making hammocks and listening to the news on TV. Wear red on Friday in support of our brothers and sisters in Burma. Those are some action heroes! Bedtime for me here in Eastern Canada. With love, Cor <3 PS... the photo was a couple weeks ago. I admire all these people very much!

Cor Report -- Action Hero Network digest

solomax — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 06:36:16 GMT

In the Service of Life Serving is different from helping. Helping incurs debt. But serving, like healing, is mutual. Serving is also different from fixing. There is distance between ourselves and whatever or whomever we are fixing. Fixing is a form of judgment. All judgment creates distance, a disconnection, an experience of difference. If helping is an experience of strength, fixing is an experience of mastery and expertise. Service on the other hand, is an experience of mastery, surrender, and awe. We cannot serve at a distance. We can only serve that to which we are profoundly connected-- that which we are willing to touch. We serve life not because it is broken, but because it is holy. -Adapted from Rachel Naomi Remen Heroes: Eric Klein (Can-do.org) We(can-do) are heading to Rwanda & Uganda September 17th, Sudan in November and still continuing our work in the gulf coast...PLEASE...we are asking for help on getting the word out on some of the projects in which we desperately need funding for. (you can read about our projects at www.can-do.org) Keeping with the can-do philosophy, all our projects will be documented and will eventually be linked through a satellite hook up so people who donate can log on and watch LIVE how there donations are making an impact. We will soon have press releases going out but in the mean time we could really use your help to help us spread the word. If you can make a donation great!!! (here's the link- https://secure.can-do.org/ If you cant, all we ask is that you please circulate the links below so we can continue doing what we do... CAN-DO is a registered 501c3 so all donations are tax deductible. Your help is greatly appreciated!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D__yFDBIR_4 www.can-do.org ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Meggio aka: "Algae Girl" Aaron Wolf Baum aka: Dr. Friendly (Alge biofuels) http://www.chlorophyllcollective.org http://tribes.tribe.net/chlorophyllcollective http://www.insidegreentech.com/1224/algae-biofuel-of-the-future ====================== Captain Sweep (Security and Prosperity Partnership of N America) On August 15th, 2007 there was a forum held in Victoria, BC, to educate the public on the North American Security and Prosperity Partnership Agreement between Canada, The U.S. and Mexico signed in May of 2005 by the leaders of Mexico, the US and Canada. Captain Sweep hosts his First Web-TV Show called Wake Up Calls and Episode # 1 is to bring attention to what is covered in this forum put on by a coalition of the Victoria Peace Coalition, The Victoria Seniors and the Victoria Chapter of the Council of Canadians. There are 4 speakers: Connie Fogal (The Leader of the Canadian Action Party); Bo Filter(social scientist and author); Bob Hansen, (Nanaimo representative of the Council of Canadians); Denise Savoie(the Victoria MP). The Wake Up Call Web TV show is an alternative media medium to bring attention to those issues that concern us all and yet the mainstream media does not cover or only does so from a limited perspective. Signed in May of 2005 between Martin, Bush, and Fox, the North American Security and Prosperity Partnership Agreement had no public consultation. Over 300 resolutions have been passed that severely alter the course of Canada as a nation yet no one has heard about it. On August 20th, 2007, George Bush visits Steven Harper in Ottawa in a historic 3rd meeting in regards to this agreement. Canadians are just now realizing that they have been had. This show is to wake them up about how badly the treason has been. http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-2066838713748894566&hl=en-CA Montebello SPP Protest Rebels Against Global Enslavement -- www.rebelsagainstglobalenslavement.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St1-WTc1kow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q69oW-28jc4&NR=1 http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=1043433113639667516&hl=en-CA ============================================================= Munnu Morrish (Internet for Change, Uganda) http:www.internet4change.com/Uganda ======================================== Neal White Arrow & Maritza (The Abundance League, SF, CA) http://www.theabundanceleague.org/ ====================================== Ben Parkinson (Bringing Wealth to Wasteland in rural Africa) http://www.nfiafrica.org =================================================== Damien Jones ( http://www.damienjonesart.net ) Photos of Burning man - http://picasaweb.google.com/damienart/BurningMan0702 ======================================== Franklino (Burning Man pics) http://franklino.phanfare.com/album/380735 ============================= Paul Addis (accused Burning Man arsonist) http://valleywag.com/tech/exclusive/interview-with-the-accused-burning-man-arsonist-295378.php http://valleywag.com/tech/burning-man/the-arsonist-of-black-rock-city-speaks-295325.php ========================================== Kelly Lambrock, New Brunswick Minister of Education, (developing the “Community Schools” concept ) http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2266028687&topic=2526 ============================================== Frerieke van Bree (Umeebee) http://www.umeebee.com/ http://beta.razoo.com/groups/umeebee A service that makes it easy and fun to donate to children in Africa. To really get to know them! At the moment we're not live yet, an enthusiastic team of freelance professionals volunteering, trying to fund the project, but definitely working it out! See our blog for some interesting first videos! Cheers! - Fre Hi all,we'll probably attend at the Web-of-Change conference in Canada 19-23 sept. Afterwards we're planning to do an aware-raising trip in the USA Travelling together with Peter Deitz (www.foik.org), who is about to launch his new Social Actions. Our traveldates are (flexible dates) 19 - 23 Sept Conference at Hollyhock 24 – 26 Sept Victoria 27 – 28 Sept Seattle 29 Sept – 6 oct San Francisco 7 oct – 16 oct New York, Vermont, Montreal +/- 17 oct Fly back to South Africa Let me know if you want to meet us or have ideas of people we should definitely meet! mail frerieke (at) gmail.com ========================================= You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. - Buckminster Fuller ++++++++++++++++++++++ Online Videos: http://www.Zeitgeistmovie.com http://www.theshiftmovie.com Flying over mountains: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyaGqOQNCvQ Speed Free soloing Lovers Leap: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D0P9aPu51A If Americans Knew AIPAC ADL Zionist control of America: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g6_kV7Rw38 Ron Paul in Iowa: Clip 5: Federal Reserve, Monetary Policy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn2Gzfk6Gww Tequila: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoLdONp-enc Kiva.org video found near the bottom of this page: http://www.ned.com/group/neduganda/news/4/ ====================================================== Web sites: http://www.unepie.org/pc/sustain/home.htm http://www.engagemedia.org http://www.artcaragency.com/showcase.php?cat=dada_symbolistic_mix# http://www.happyplanetindex.org/ ================================ Goggle Earth images: Alberta and Jim’s Action hero Training Camp in St. Bernard Parish - http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=7718+W+Judge+Perez+Dr,+Arabi,+LA+70032&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=39.729049,70.664062&ie=UTF8&t=k&om=1&ll=29.868301,-89.872807&spn=0.001033,0.001427&z=19 Made with Love Café -http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=7718+W+Judge+Perez+Dr,+Arabi,+LA+70032&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=39.729049,70.664062&ie=UTF8&t=k&om=1&ll=29.95648,-89.989869&spn=0.001032,0.001427&z=19 ============================================== Inspiration from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Divide and rule, the politician cries; unite and lead, is watchword of the wise. There is nothing insignificant in the world. It all depends on the point of view. Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men. A person hears only what they understand. He who enjoys doing and enjoys what he has done is happy. Deeply earnest and thoughtful people stand on shaky footing with the public. For a man to achieve all that is demanded of him he must regard himself as greater than he is. None are so hopelessly enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free. More Quotes: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/johann_wolfgang_von_goeth.html ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Networks: Matador Travel http://matadortravel.com ++++++++++++++++++ Idealist Groups – http://www.idealist.org/groups - allow people to meet and network, online or in person, share ideas and resources, and get involved in local or global projects. My name is Anne, I work at Idealist.org, and I am writing to invite you to connect with other people on Idealist who share your interests - from finding a job or an internship, to working on an issue that concerns you. There's already a growing network of more than 200 groups in 50 countries. Take a look at a few examples: Chicago Idealists http://www.idealist.org/en/org/164363-282 Dallas-Fort Worth Careers in Nonprofits http://www.idealist.org/en/org/164859-184 New York Idealist Network http://www.idealist.org/en/org/167306-129 Your Campus Is Broken (and How to Fix It) http://www.idealist.org/en/org/166804-34 Open Source software - help for non-Geeks http://www.idealist.org/en/org/167223-72 Protect San Francisco Bay http://www.idealist.org/en/org/166998-194 Global Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation http://www.idealist.org/en/org/166902-297 You can start an Idealist Group right now, and as soon as your group is online, you can invite friends to join it, and you can also post events and volunteer opportunities for your group. In addition, each group has a forum that members can use for online discussions. Please note that to join a group you need to be logged in on Idealist, so you may want to log in first, and then explore the groups at: http://www.idealist.org/groups Please share this message with friends and colleagues, and feel free to write me with any questions about starting or joining an Idealist Group. Thanks and all the best! Anne Lind Action Without Borders http://www.idealist.org ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.EcologyCenter.org The Ecology Center provides information, tools, technical assistance, referrals, political strategies, and models for sustainable living. We address the public need for non-commercial information about ecologically-sensitive practices and the numerous toxic threats to society and the environment. ++++++++++++++++ Events: Rex Foundation Black Tie-Dye Ball Thursday, October 4th, at The Fillmore in San Francisco Go to: http://www.rexfoundation.org/NRPS9_07.html Dear Friends, Take out your calendars and get on board the Rex Musical Caravan to enjoy great music and connections on the East and West coasts, all in support of the Rex Foundation. The following events bring to life another whole dimension of the Rex Community Caravan, demonstrating how the musical community of performers and fans are helping further what the Grateful Dead started 24 years ago: Thursday, October 4th, Rex Foundation Black Tie-Dye Ball with Dark Star Orchestra at The Fillmore in San Francisco, celebrating the special Dark Star Orchestra Rex Caravan Tour, where all shows between September 26 and October 20 include $1 per ticket sold for the Rex Foundation. Join us for a pre-concert reception with the artists, great food and connection. Click here for details . Thursday, October 4th, Assembly of Dust with JJ Grey & Mofro, The Roxy, Boston, MA, designating $1 per ticket sold for the Rex Foundation. Click here for details. October 4th through November 3rd, The Ryan Montbleau Band’s Patience on Friday CD Release Tour includes many shows with ticket sale contributions to the Rex Foundation. Click here for details. Saturday, November 17th, Donna the Buffalo, Ollabelle and special guest David Gans at the Highline Ballroom in New York City, where $5 per ticket sold will be contributed to the Rex Foundation. Join us for a special pre-concert reception with the performers and great concert seats. Click here for details. In the Works: Saturday, December 1st, Rex Foundation Benefit, San Francisco We look forward to celebrating with you to enjoy the music and spirit of the Rex Community Caravan. Thank you for all of your support! Sandy Sohcot Executive Director ++++++++++++++ Earth Flow Permaculture Design 2007-2008 Schedule of Events http://www.earthflow.com/calendar.php October 2007-March 2008 • Los Angeles, CA - Permaculture Design Certificate Course Series The first weekend of each month: October 2007-March 2008 More info here • Part One - Oct 6 & 7, Nov 3 & 4 • Part Two - Dec 1 & 2, Jan 5 & 6 • Part Three - Feb 2 & 3, Mar 1 & 2 October 2007 • October 6/7 Los Angeles, CA: Weekend 1 of the PDC Series "Fire, Water, Earth & Air... New Ecology and Sacred Geometry" with L. Santoyo. • October 6/7, 27/28 Albuquerque, NM: Permaculture Design Certificate Course The Permaculture Institute's Weekend Permaculture Design Course at the Center for Action and Contemplation with Scott Pittman and L. Santoyo. • October 16 Santa Barbara, CA: "Permaculture Design: A Revival of Common Sense" L. Santoyo guest lectures at the Faulkner Library, for The Sustainability Project's new adult education series. ++++++++++++ Signs of the Times: Marjorie Cohn is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and president of the National Lawyers Guild. No one can know how right these predictions are and what's in store, but an attack on Iran would be folly and cruelty on an unimaginable scale Excerpt: Barnett Rubin reported on Global Affairs blog that one of the leading neo-conservative institutions has "instructions" from Dick Cheney's office to "roll out a campaign for war with Iran in the week after Labor Day; it will be coordinated with the American Enterprise Institute, the Wall Street Journal, the Weekly Standard, Commentary, Fox, and the usual suspects. It will be heavy, sustained assault on the airwaves, designed to knock public sentiment into a position from which a war can be maintained. Evidently they don't think they'll ever get majority support for this - they want something like 35-40 percent support, which in their book is 'plenty.' Bush Plans War on Iran By Marjorie Cohn September 2, 2007 The Sunday Times of London is reporting that the Pentagon has plans for three days of massive air strikes against 1,200 targets in Iran. Last week, Alexis Debat, director of terrorism and national security at the Nixon Center, told a meeting of The National Interest, a conservative foreign policy journal, that the military did not intend to carry out "pinprick strikes" against Iranian nuclear facilities. He said, "They're about taking out the entire Iranian military." Bush has already set the wheels in motion. With Rovian timing, Alberto Gonzales' resignation was sandwiched between two Bush screeds - one aimed at ensuring Congress scares up $50 billion more for the occupation of Iraq, the other designed to scare us into supporting war on Iran. As Gonzales rides off into the sunset, the significant questions are who will take his place and how that choice will facilitate Bush's occupation of Iraq and attack on Iran. One name that's been floated for Bush's third attorney general is Joe Lieberman, the "independent" senator from Connecticut. Lieberman, who advocates the use of military force against Iran, was the only person Bush quoted in his August 28 speech to the American Legion. Bush called Iran "the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism" and pledged to "confront Tehran's murderous activities." Gonzales greased the Bush/Cheney wheels for torturing in violation of the Geneva Conventions, illegally spying on Americans, and purging disloyal Bushies. Similarly, Lieberman would ensure the Justice Department mounts a vigorous defense of a war of aggression against Iran. And Bush would get a two-fer: Connecticut's Republican governor would appoint a Republican to fill Lieberman's seat, returning control of the Senate to the GOP. A Republican-controlled Senate would direct the agenda, thereby furthering the Bush/Cheney plan. Lieberman is closely affiliated with American Israeli Public Affairs Committee. "AIPAC leverages its power by an alliance with the Christian Right, which has adopted a bizarre ideology of 'Christian Zionism,'" according to University of Michigan professor Juan Cole. "It holds that the sooner the Palestinians are ethnically cleansed, the sooner Christ will come back. Without millions of these Christian Zionist allies," Cole added, "AIPAC would be much less influential and effective." During the 2004 election, a 100% "AIPAC voting record" was Lieberman's litmus test for an acceptable presidential candidate. As the House of Representatives was on the verge of passing a resolution that would've required Bush to consult Congress before attacking Iran, the AIPAC lobby stopped it in its tracks. Bush's WMD-hyping against Iran is déja vu in the run-up to Operation Iraqi Disaster, where he played loose and fast with the truth about Iraq's alleged WMDs. His statement that a nuclear Iran could put the region "under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust" conjures up his images of a "mushroom cloud" in the hype-up to Iraq. How inconvenient for Bush that the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) just found Iran's uranium enrichment program is operating well below capacity and is nowhere near producing significant amounts of nuclear fuel. The IAEA report says Iran "has been providing the agency with access to declared nuclear materials, and has provided the required nuclear material accountancy reports in connection with declared nuclear material and facilities." Iran and IAEA agreed on a plan with a step-by-step timetable of cooperation to settle unresolved issues. The agreement said there were "no other remaining issues and ambiguities regarding Iran's past nuclear program and activities," and characterized the accord as "a significant step forward." "This is the first time Iran is ready to discuss all the outstanding issues which triggered the crisis in confidence," said IAEA director general Mohamed ElBaradei. "I'm clear at this stage you need to give Iran a chance to prove its stated goodwill. Sanctions alone, I know for sure, are not going to lead to a durable solution" In 2003, when Dr. ElBaradei reported there was no evidence that Iraq was reconstituting its nuclear program, the White House was not pleased. And as Saddam Hussein became more cooperative with the weapons inspector, Bush became "infuriated," according to Bob Woodward. Bush's vow, "We will confront this danger before it is too late," is the Iran incarnation of his illegal preemptive war doctrine, which he inaugurated in Iraq. In a clear signal he is seeking regime change in Iran, Bush called for "an Iran whose government is accountable to its people, instead of leaders who promote terror and pursue the technology that could be used to develop nuclear weapons." Barnett Rubin reported on Global Affairs blog that one of the leading neo-conservative institutions has "instructions" from Dick Cheney's office to "roll out a campaign for war with Iran in the week after Labor Day; it will be coordinated with the American Enterprise Institute, the Wall Street Journal, the Weekly Standard, Commentary, Fox, and the usual suspects. It will be heavy sustained assault on the airwaves, designed to knock public sentiment into a position from which a war can be maintained. Evidently they don't think they'll ever get majority support for this - they want something like 35-40 percent support, which in their book is 'plenty.'" Bush/Cheney created the White House Iraq Group (WHIG) to lead a propaganda campaign to bolster public support for war with Iraq. The White House decided to wait until after Labor Day of 2002 to kick off WHIG's mission. Chief of staff Andrew Card explained, "From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August." Five years later, they're marketing a new and even more dangerous product - war with Iran. British military historian Corelli Barnett says "an attack on Iran would effectively launch World War III." Our military spending has reached $1 billion every 2-1/2 days and we are borrowing $2-1/2 billion per day. Bush is mortgaging our children's future security and wealth. We have lost more than 3,700 soldiers in Iraq and tens of thousands of Iraqis have died. We have already seen how easily Congress caves in to AIPAC. It's up to the people. As Noam Chomsky said, "The most effective barrier to a White House decision to launch a war [on Iran] is the kind of organized popular opposition that frightened the political-military leadership enough in 1968 that they were reluctant to send more troops to Vietnam." ------------------------------ Marjorie Cohn is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and president of the National Lawyers Guild. She is the author of "Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law." Her articles are archived at http://www.marjoriecohn.com/. Make war extinct. +++++++++++++++ Humanitarian Situation Still Deteriorating in Iraq http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/152667/1/3319 +++++++++++++ White House preparing to stage new September 11 - Reagan official 20/07/2007 13:58 WASHINGTON, July 20 (RIA Novosti) - A former Reagan official has issued a public warning that the Bush administration is preparing to orchestrate a staged terrorist attack in the United States, transform the country into a dictatorship and launch a war with Iran within a year. Paul Craig Roberts, a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, blasted Thursday a new Executive Order, released July 17, allowing the White House to seize the assets of anyone who interferes with its Iraq policies and giving the government expanded police powers to exercise control in the country. Roberts, who spoke on the Thom Hartmann radio program, said: "When Bush exercises this authority [under the new Executive Order], there's no check to it. So it really is a form of total, absolute, one-man rule." "The American people don't really understand the danger that they face," Roberts said, adding that the so-called neoconservatives intended to use a renewal of the fight against terrorism to rally the American people around the fading Republican Party. Old-line Republicans like Roberts have become increasingly disenchanted with the neoconservative politics of the Bush administration, which they see as a betrayal of fundamental conservative values. According to a July 9-11 survey by Ipsos, an international public opinion research company, President Bush and the Republicans can claim a mere 31 percent approval rating for their handling of the Iraq war and 38 percent for their foreign policy in general, including terrorism. "The administration figures themselves and prominent Republican propagandists ... are preparing us for another 9/11 event or series of events," he said. "You have to count on the fact that if al Qaeda is not going to do it, it is going to be orchestrated." Roberts suggested that in the absence of a massive popular outcry, only the federal bureaucracy and perhaps the military could put constraints on Bush's current drive for a fully-fledged dictatorship. "They may have had enough. They may not go along with it," he said. The radio interview was a follow-up to Robert's latest column, in which he warned that "unless Congress immediately impeaches Bush and Cheney, a year from now the U.S. could be a dictatorial police state at war with Iran." Roberts, who has been dubbed the "Father of Reaganomics" and has recently gained popularity for his strong opposition to the Bush administration and the Iraq War, regularly contributes articles to Creators Syndicate, an independent distributor of comic strips and syndicated columns for daily newspapers. Article taken from: http://en.rian.ru/ Peace & Healing ~ Janet ~ We Are the Ones We've Been Waiting For ~ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Darkside: http://www.fightglobalwarming.org/ http://www.reason8.net/affiliates/ Dead Society.... 55 minutes... http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3472027511360559953&q=John+Zerzan&total=27&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1 Brightside: We see the world, not the way it is, but the way we are. – Talmud Tell me…. http://www.thepositivemind.com/Gifs/pixfaces.gif

Life or death opportunity for a lot of children.

solomax — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 07:16:12 GMT

Opok Farm in Northern Uganda is a project in development on 300 acres of land to support 150 child-headed households by setting up a sufficiency economy village. Through Razoo.com and ned.com I have been in contact with Linda and Christina, who are leading this project, and I am excited by their openness and heart. Your help is needed NOW to win $10,000 for Opok farm. All you need to do is join razoo.com ... then join Opok farm ( http://beta.razoo.com/groups/opok_farm_village ) and Action Hero Network ( http://beta.razoo.com/groups/action_hero_network ). If either group wins the grant, the money will go to support Opok Farm and it will make a huge difference... taking only a couple minutes of your time. Opok farm will be a life or death opportunity for a lot of children. In addition to creating sewing rooms, I'm also planning to create a huge bamboo dome at the farm that will serve as a gathering place and dorm. The info about that can be read at: http://www.ned.com/group/opokfarms/news/2/ Through ned.com, we are sharing ideas about what is happening now and can be done. I've been looking for a group like this, and I'm sure they'd welcome others with new ideas and fresh energy. These are two quotes from a thread I read today on ned.com ( http://www.ned.com/group/econo-politics/news/0/?page=4#comment80 ) "another one of Mwenda's rants I've heard about locally is about all the very young people (arrogant, inexperienced, primarily out to glorify their own experience & find themselves) coming to "volunteer" their wisdom about how the world should work, all in the name of helping Africa. Quite simply put, kids will often behave childishly, and today's young (post-high school/college age) volunteers are getting themselves labeled a pretty childishly behaving group as a whole. I agree with Mwenda that the new fad in youth driven international grassroots "aid" is indeed showing itself to have some inherent drawbacks. Maybe the problem is in the premise that it's Africa who needs help - I don't really think it is. I think most of the Western kids who come to Africa today are looking for something, and they think they are going to find it here by "helping" Africa become more like them. Arguably what they really need to be doing is looking at what Africa has to offer in terms of lessons about what their own lives are missing. It occurs to me the way to find the right approach is to reframe the question completely - not what can we do to help Africa and how do we make that happen, but what can Africa offer to help us improve our societies, and how do we make that happen?" +++++second quote: "Money isn't wealth, it's just a kind of signal which can be used to help identify good ideas and channel more resources to them. On the internet we are increasingly finding alternative ways of identifying and signalling what things are worthwhile. And the better the network does this, the less need there is for money to be involved at all. Most of us here at <Ned> take this idea of wealth creation via a communication network very seriously. And I think it's the heart of Christina's vision of Webbed Empowerment. She is so right in pointing out that Africa holds lessons for our own lives. "Helping Africa" implies a linear direction: handing out or handing down. Webbed Empowerment implies multi-directional communications. When we engage we are prepared to be changed by the engagement. Christina is right that resource flows are not just about money. How we invent ways of creating wealth by Webbed Empowerment will say much about how much wealth we can create together as people. Mwenda asks us to consider reframing the challenges of Africa: From Despair: Poverty Reduction; To Hope: Creating Wealth. If we take seriously Christina's ideas of Webbed Empowerment, we see that wealth creation is not only about money. Money as Phil Jones says "money is a kind of signal" and that the "peerosphere"--a term Jones coined elsewhere--is a rival communication network capable of creating wealth." ++++End of quotes+++ These are important concepts that apply to activism everywhere, and anyone who is serious about making positive change in the world is invited to take part in these discussions. http://www.ned.com -- Connect to evolutionary grassroots movements through bi-weekly Cor Reports -- add yourself to the Google Group at http://www.actionheronetwork.net Action Heroes Unite!

New network for activists

solomax — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 16:41:05 GMT

There is a new network for activists called Razoo, and they have a promotion to get it started. They will give $10,000 to a group with 100 people in it by September 15th. I don't think there are many if any groups yet with 100 people, so we'd have a good chance at getting it. It could be used in Uganda this October to create amazing play spaces and feed a lot of people. We could gather in Roblito, Mexico again this winter to host an international Action Hero Training Camp. You can easly make it happen in the time it takes you to type your name and click. And Razoo.com is great, so you'll want to be of it anyway if you are into networking with other empowered souls. I'm finding it very helpful for finding people and orgs in Uganda. This is the Action Hero Network... please take a minute now to join us: http://beta.razoo.com/groups/action_hero_network You can make a huge difference! <3 PS... this 6 minute video shows why I'm moved to work in Uganda: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FOnOFVloiA

Trash Planet

solomax — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 19:31:38 GMT

I made this globe lamp today from glass and metal collected from a trash pile on my cottage property. These things are 50 to 150 years old, from a gingerbread house next door. To see pics of the house and the trash pile go to: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=45581&l=892e9&id=906200533 These show making the globe: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=45587&l=bbb01&id=906200533 I've submited it to Third Space Gallery, the only art run gallery in my city. I had the idea before I knew the theme they were seeking, but it fit perfectly. "Beginning in 2008 Third Space Gallery will present a series of exhibitions that focus on a vision for small urban areas in the future: how will these spaces grow and change in the coming years? What is the impact of globalisation on smaller centres? How do places like New Brunswick and Saint John in particular become "self-sufficient" and what does that really mean?"

We are the new civilization.

solomax — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 01:57:06 GMT

We are the New Civilization We are here. We are waking up now, out of the past, to dream a bigger dream. We are friends and equals, we are diverse and unique, and we're united for something bigger than our differences. We believe in freedom and cooperation, abundance and harmony. We are a culture emerging, a renaissance of the essence of humanity. We find our own guidance, and we discern our own truth. We go in many directions, and yet we refuse to disperse. We have many names, we speak many languages. We are local, we are global. We are in all regions of the world, we're everywhere in the air. We are universe being aware of itself, we are the wave of evolution. We are in every child's eyes, we face the unknown with wonder and excitement. We are messengers from the future, living in the present. We come from silence, and we speak our truth. We cannot be quieted, because our voice is within everyone. We have no enemies, no boundaries can hold us. We respect the cycles and expressions of nature, because we are nature. We don't play to win, we play to live and learn. We act out of inspiration, love and integrity. We explore, we discover, we feel, and we laugh. We are building a world that works for everyone. We endeavor to live our lives to their fullest potential. We are independent, self-sufficient and responsible. We relate to each other in peace, with compassion and respect, we unite in community. We celebrate the wholeness within and around us all. We dance to the rhythm of creation. We weave the threads of the new times. We are the new civilization. +++++++++++++ by Flemming Funch www.newciv.org/ncn/weare.html

Facebook people... please VOTE for Stitch Uganda Together!

solomax — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 04:28:12 GMT

We can win an easy $500 toward Stitch Uganda Together if you go to http://apps.facebook.com/speedgranting/proposal.php?pid=47 and vote(you must have a profile on facebook.com ...if you don't ...getting one is free). Please... this is simple! A person in rural Uganda would need to work nearly two years to make $500... and you can do it in seconds with just a few clicks. If you want to be super loving, take one minute to share this opportunity with your friends. The contest is finished after July 31 .... we only need a couple hundred votes! Thank you! -Cor Stitch Uganda Together Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2408133160 ++++++++++++++++ This is what the grant proposal I wrote says: __________________ Need / Situation: __________________ Thousands of children in Uganda are orphans due to the AIDS crisis and 20 years of war. Joshua Dysart, a recent visitor to Northern Uganda reported a ratio of children to adults being approximately ten to one. "The whole social fabric has broken down," said UNICEF Representative in Uganda Martin Mogwanja. James, a resident of Gulu who works with Invisible Children, said that many are trained with tailoring skills after coming out of the bush, but have no work. _________________ The Pitch: ___________________ Stitch Uganda Together is sewing and selling light-weight hammocks in North America to purchase sewing machines for people in Uganda to offer employment and provide hammocks to the homeless. Art Therapist and Action Hero Network space creator, Cory Richardson, will be in Uganda for the month of October to create sewing rooms, public art projects, and play spaces with tightropes, treehouse hammocks and dance hoops. The Action Hero Network promotes the efforts of all heroes working in Uganda by broadcasting their stories to generate more awareness and support. Thousands of reasons why this is important: According to a random survey of over 2,500 individuals in displaced persons camps by the International Center for Transitional Justice and the Human Rights Center, 40 percent of respondents had been abducted by the rebel LRA (Lord's Resistance Army), 45 percent had witnessed the killing of a family member and 23 percent had been physically mutilated at some point during the conflict. There are approximately three hundred thousand child soldiers in our world, over one-third of them are in the Great Lakes region of Africa. Going home for child soldiers is seldom easy. They are stigmatized through name calling and ridicule, often coming from their peers, whose acceptance they crave. Their normal emotional development has been arrested as a result of the brutality they have known. Living in North America, we are far more fortunate than we realize. Stitch Uganda Together creates hammocks that can improve many lives. Please show your support and treat yourself to this simple luxury. These hammocks are a great gift to yourself and others. Get one online at www.actionheronetwork.net