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WAR ON DEMOCRACY
John Pilger's 2007 documentary explores the historic and current relationship of Washington with countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Chile. Pilger claims that the film "...tells a universal story... analyzing and revealing, through vivid testimony, the story of great power behind its venerable myths. It allows us to understand the true nature of the so-called "war on terror". According to Pilger, the film’s message is that the greed and power of empire is not invincible and that people power is always the "seed beneath the snow".
Pilger interviews several ex-CIA agents who purportedly took part in secret campaigns against democratic countries and who he claims are profiting from the war in Iraq. He investigates the School of the Americas in the U.S. state of Georgia, where General Pinochet’s torture squads were reportedly trained along with tyrants and death-squad leaders in Haiti, El Salvador, Brazil and Argentina.
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This is a film that should be shown in History classrooms throughout the states and the world. Pilger aptly displays the American government’s involvement in manipulating Latin America’s leadership over the past 60 years or so.
The focus on Venezuela for the first 40 minutes of the film is an interesting change from what we see in mainstream media. An unabashed socialist, Chavez has thrown out American control in Venezuela, and has gone a long way in convincing his neighbors to do the same. However, the beauty of this film is much more than its discussion of Venezuela. Pilger goes through the history of several countries other Latin American countries weaving them into the bigger picture, thoroughly explaining many of the important details. Its rare to find such a comprehensive history of US involvement in Latin America. Pilger tries establish how the system has evolved from physical control to financial control in today's era. Pilger has mastered obtaining great interviews. For example, in this film he the interviews the head former head of CIA involvement in Latin America as well as interviews an American nun who was tortured in Guatemala in 1989.
Add to the list Georgia and Ukraine. When will "we the people" wake up?
INITIATE CONVERSATIONS WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS, CO-WORKERS AND FAMILY MEMBERS. PARTICIPATE IN EDUCATING THOSE THAT COME IN CONTACT WITH YOU. John Pilger's 2007 documentary explores the historic and current relationship of Washington with countries such as Venezuela, Bol... more -
WINE SAVES PLANET! You can help!
Who knew wine could get even better than it is now: all delicious and helpful in awkward social situations?! Through a new Facebook application, users can make wineries transfer to 100% renewable energy for free. Village Green Energy, along with a handful of CA wineries, has launched a Facebook application it’s calling Green My Vino, which will allow users to give “gifts” of renewably generated electricity to each other; each time they hit certain milestones, a winery in Northern California permanently switches its energy consumption to use electricity from renewable sources like wind, geothermal or solar.
GET THE APPLICATION AT:
VillageGreenEnergy.com/facebook.
This looks like a pretty awesome initiative. Now, drinking wine will only harm your liver, not the planet.
Add the app! Oh by the way, the CEO of Village Green Energy is a guy named Michael Jackson. The people who run it are just very smart, enthusiastic socially responsible young people who wanted to make a difference, and this is just one of many socially responsible initiatives created by people just like you and me. Who knew wine could get even better than it is now: all delicious and helpful in awkward social situations?! Through a new Facebook a... more -
Scholarship Entry Form | Project Working Mom:
Project Working Mom has gathered over $2 million dollars in full-ride college scholarships.
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Disaboom | ecrowley | 100 Web Tools for Members of the Disability Community.
comprehensive list/links of web tools for members of the disability community. I'm including all the major web tool categories/a few of tools themselves here (15 out of 100); go to the article to check out the full list! comprehensive list/links of web tools for members of the disability community. I'm including all the major web tool categories/a ... more
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Abandoned mines pose big risks
WASHINGTON - The government has endangered the public's health and safety by failing to clean up abandoned mines on federal land in the West, according to a scathing audit released Friday.
The Interior Department's inspector general found dangerous levels of arsenic, lead and mercury, along with gaping cavities, at dilapidated hard-rock mining sites easily accessible to visitors and residents.
Bureau of Land Management supervisors told staff to ignore the problems, and employees who tried to report contaminated sites were threatened with retaliation, the audit said.
At least 12 people were killed in accidents at abandoned mine sites between 2004 and 2007, and "the potential for more deaths and injuries are ominous," it said.
BLM under fire
The mines are mostly in California, Nevada and Arizona. The California Department of Conservation estimates there are about 47,000 abandoned mines in California. Other surveys have estimated about 500,000 such sites nationwide, where gold, silver, copper, lead and other minerals were mined, often decades ago.
Environmentalists have estimated cleanup costs as high as $72 billion. But the inspector general's audit noted that simple precautions could be taken, such as fences and warning signs. So far, the audit indicates, the Bureau of Land Management has hardly been up to the job.
"BLM's abandoned mines program has long been undermined, neglected and marginalized by poor management practices and insufficient staffing and resources," said the report.
In response, BLM issued a statement defending its abandoned mine program as "highly effective." The statement did not address specific circumstances raised in the audit.
"The BLM has an active program in place to identify and address (abandoned mine land) hazards on its lands," said spokesman Matt Spangler. "The agency worked closely with the IG audit team over the last year in examining the abandoned mine site challenges that it faces. The BLM accepts the IG's recommendations and will work diligently to implement them."
'Quick call to action'
BLM is part of the Interior Department and administers 258 million acres of public land primarily in 12 Western states. The majority of abandoned mine sites within Interior Department jurisdiction are on BLM land.
Last year, 13-year-old Rikki Howard died and her younger sister was injured after they accidentally drove their all-terrain vehicle into an open 125-foot mine shaft near BLM's Windy Point Recreation Area in Kingman, Ariz.
The mine shaft is on a small piece of private property surrounded by BLM land. Only after the accident, BLM provided a fence and warning signs for the site. Yet when auditors visited the area, they found two other deep mine shafts nearby, one unfenced and one only partially fenced, and with no warning signs. WASHINGTON - The government has endangered the public's health and safety by failing to clean up abandoned mines on federal land ... more -
Four Useful and Free Cellphone Resources
Want free text-reminders? Perhaps you are ready to enhance your cellphone's capabilities or maybe just send free text messages to all of your friends? These invaluable resources are free, however check with your service provider to make sure you do not pay extra for data usage. Want free text-reminders? Perhaps you are ready to enhance your cellphone's capabilities or maybe just send free text messages to... more
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Future Man
Jacque Fresco is a genius, architect, engineer, designer of cities and transportation modes, inventor, economist, philosopher and futurist. Did I mention that he has comprehensive plans to redesign the world? Jacque Fresco is a genius, architect, engineer, designer of cities and transportation modes, inventor, economist, philosopher and futu... more
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Climate change could cause "global war lasting for centuries", says lead...
Climate change could cause global conflicts as large as the two world wars but lasting for centuries unless the problem is controlled, a leading defense think tank has warned... Climate change could cause global conflicts as large as the two world wars but lasting for centuries unless the problem is controlled,... more
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China has 12 days worth of coal left, its most vital energy source
China only has enough coal for 12 days of consumption, three days less than a month ago, state media reported Wednesday, sounding the alarm bells over the nation's most important source of energy... China only has enough coal for 12 days of consumption, three days less than a month ago, state media reported Wednesday, sounding the ... more
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New Cold War in the Arctic?
As the polar icecap melts, huge deposits of gas and oil below the seabed will become accessible for the first time. But the question of who owns what in the Arctic is far from clear. As the polar icecap melts, huge deposits of gas and oil below the seabed will become accessible for the first time. But the question o... more
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Oil could hit $120 a barrel within six months
Crude oil may rise to $120 a barrel within six months due to the dollar weakness and global political tensions, the chief executive officer of Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. said.
``I think a trading range between $80 and $120 a barrel this year is about right,'' Peter Barker-Homek, the head of the United Arab Emirates state-controlled company, which is also known as Taqa, said in an interview in Dubai today. ``But with the softness of the dollar, and the occasional interruptions that you have because of politics, I think we could see $120 oil.''
In October, Barker-Homek said that crude would rise to $100 from $80 before the end of the first quarter because of unfettered Asian demand growth and possible supply shocks. Oil prices continued to rise today after the Taqa CEO made his latest forecast. Crude oil may rise to $120 a barrel within six months due to the dollar weakness and global political tensions, the chief executive of... more -
Like I've been saying....
"The argument that meat provides useful protein makes sense, if the quantities are small. But the “you gotta eat meat” claim collapses at American levels. Even if the amount of meat we eat weren’t harmful, it’s way more than enough."-Mark Bittman
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True. I've been a vegetarian from 2003-2005, then again from 2006 until present. I'm not against people consuming meat, I just think that Americans consume WAY too much of it. "The argument that meat provides useful protein makes sense, if the quantities are small. But the “you gotta eat meat” claim coll... more -
W. Ross Wells, Film Director
When I was 5, my parents took me to Radio City where we saw Kubrick's masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey. That was almost 40 years ago and I still remember that night as if it was yesterday. The colors, the design, the frosty performances by Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood...the first computer graphics. I think about some aspect of that film (and many others) almost everyday. When I was 5, my parents took me to Radio City where we saw Kubrick's masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey. That was almost 40 years... more
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Wasted: UK Trawlers Dump Most of Their Fish
The reason: Quotas designed to stop overfishing.
"By the government's own figures, of the 186 million fish caught in UK waters last year, 117 million of them were thrown away dead as waste.
"That's actually 63% of the catch."
What a colossal waste. The reason: Quotas designed to stop overfishing. ... more -
SMOKIN' YOGI VISIONS
SMOKIN YOGI VISIONS is a Minneapolis-based Production Company dedicated to creating high-quality, unique, and forward-thinking Film, Literature, and Communications. Balancing a love of art with a passion for supporting women in commerce, SMOKIN YOGI provides products that are as meaningful as they are entertaining.
SMOKIN YOGI focuses on projects that offer the public an avenue to thoughtfully consider subjects that are prevalent everywhere, and yet remain taboo for manye.g., divorce, mental illness, sexuality, money, etc. Co-authored by Smokin Yogi founder, Julie Rappaport, along with her former husband of seventeen years and their teenage daughter, their newly published book, 'RELATIONAL SHIFTS, A Family Doesn't Have To End Just Because A Marriage Does,' details one such story--their own family's personal story of their journey through divorce to the other side of their 'relational shift.' (See BOOKS for more information and to order your copy today.)
As SMOKIN YOGI values projects that develop themes that have been unmentionable, SMOKIN YOGI also values the ability to create an open dialogue for discussion of these difficult subjects. As such, SMOKIN YOGI provides peer-to-peer social therapy as well as related links of interest to all through EZINE, where individuals can find important social, spiritual, and emotional resources.
In addition, SMOKIN YOGI is building a library of short films for distribution via the net, ipods, and cell phones. Please see FILM for more information regarding the upcoming Abnormally Normal, a series that parallels and highlights many of the issues discussed in the book, Relational Shifts. The demo-pilot for Abnormally Normal, Just Breathe, Part I, She Says... has been awarded a Fiscal Sponsorship by the IFP MN, as an Independent Feature Project. Abnormally Normal had its premiere screening at the Swansea Bay Film Festival, Wales, UK, June, 2007. SMOKIN YOGI VISIONS is a Minneapolis-based Production Company dedicated to creating high-quality, unique, and forward-thinking Film, ... more -
RELATIONAL SHIFTS
Relational Shifts is a new book that provides families with an intimate portrait of the realities of divorce while offering a potentially positive alternative. Divorce affects all aspects of every family members physical, mental, emotional, social, sexual, and spiritual self. This book asks: Does a family have to end just because a marriage does?
Co-written by Julie Rappaport and former husband Lee Liberman, with their teenage daughter Tasha Liberman, Relational Shifts offers three unique perspectives on divorce voiced personally by each family member.
In their respective, distinct voices, Julie, Lee, and Tasha reveal their emotions while voicing their perspectives as they recollect their individual experiences about specific events and issues in this familys true story about divorce. Each chapter is followed by a provocative discussion of the preceding chapter, along with Evocations, which readers can personally utilize to evoke thoughtful consideration of the presented themes. The books covers many of the different facets of very difficult subjects regarding divorcemoney, sexuality, traditions, custody, remarriage, and more. Relational Shifts is a new book that provides families with an intimate portrait of the realities of divorce while offering a potentia... more -
E-ZINEDIVORCE.COM
WWW.E-ZINEDIVORCE.COM for FREE sites and links to great books, sites, and places like the collaborative law organizations that keep divorces out of court and families interests first. Readers share their own personal stories of inspiration to empower others in their Relational Shifts. Check out the blogs and articles that deal with Relational Shifts. WWW.E-ZINEDIVORCE.COM for FREE sites and links to great books, sites, and places like the collaborative law organizations that keep di... more
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Diving Too Deep - Part 1
As scientists warn of an alarming decline in ocean resources, Current's Mariana van Zeller travels to the Miskito Coast of Nicaragua where the depletion of lobsters is forcing local divers to take ever greater risks to earn a living. As scientists warn of an alarming decline in ocean resources, Current's Mariana van Zeller travels to the Miskito Coast of Nicara... more
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Diving Too Deep - Part 2
As scientists warn of an alarming decline in ocean resources, Current's Mariana van Zeller travels to the Miskito Coast of Nicaragua where the depletion of lobsters is forcing local divers to take ever greater risks to earn a living. As scientists warn of an alarming decline in ocean resources, Current's Mariana van Zeller travels to the Miskito Coast of Nicara... more
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