As an update to my last entry, today CNN reports that the 41-square mile Ayles Ice Shelf, one of the six major ice shelves which remain in Canada’s arctic, broke off the coast about 16 months ago.
According to scientists, this “disturning event” shows “we are crossing climate thresholds.”
This week, an article in The Independent entitled “Disappearing world: Global warming claims tropical island” seems to confirm for the first time that an inhabited island has been officially washed off the face of the Earth by rising seas. “The obliteration of Lohachara island, in India’s part of the Sundarbans where the Ganges and the Brahmaputra rivers empty into the Bay of Bengal, marks the moment when one of the most apocalyptic predictions of environmentalists and climate scientists has started coming true.” Refugees fled to neighbor islands which are doomed to similar fates; a total of 70,000 people will soon become homeless due to global warming.
The Independent also reported eight years ago when the first uninhabited islands, in the Pacific nation of Kiribati, “vanished beneath the waves.” One may remember when the tiny island nation of Tuvalu was evacuated in 2001. Another article from 2002, “Global Warming & Rising Oceans” by Florida State University oceanographer Jeffrey Chanton, Ph.D., explains that rising oceans are eroding coastal areas and submerging low-lying islands. He suggests the “near future could see millions of ‘climate refugees’”, and recommends alternative fuel sources to alleviate the problem. His references include great links to scientific studies, online maps of sea levels, and a personal carbon counter to estimate your own CO2 emissions.
By now most people have seen or at least heard about Al Gore’s movie An Inconvenient Truth, about global warming. What have we done to our planet, and can it be saved?
“The world is sacred. It can’t be improved. If you tamper with it, you’ll ruin it. If you treat it like an object, you’ll lose it.” –Tao Te Ching #29
Thanks to www.wanttoknow.info
Aloha and Mele Kalikimaka, warm Hawaiian wishes this Christmas! Peace on Earth and Goodwill to all.
Very brave commentary on the loss of civil liberties in our new age. If you haven’t seen it yet check it out.
On Christmas in 1914, just a few months after the start of World War I, German and British troops along the Western Front held an unofficial cease-fire, meeting each other in No Man’s Land, exchanging gifts, burying their dead, singing Christmas songs and playing ball together. This incredibly moving story has inspired many articles, a song and a movie, Joyeux Noel, a French film nominated for Best Foreign Language film in the 78th Academy awards. David G. Stratman wrote about it in his book, We Can Change the World. Here is an article from the London News in 1915, along with an illustration of the event.
Tom Morgan writes, “The image of opposing soldiers, shaking hands with each other on one day and then deliberately trying to kill each other the next, is a powerful one, and one which is part and parcel of remembrance of the Great War. It was, perhaps, a last example of open-handed chivalry before the squalor and horror of the next three years changed the old world for ever.” His site also includes remembrances from soldiers who were there.
As much as war is an obvious moneymaking racket for so many rich and powerful people, one cannot help but think, how much power is in the hands of those who do the actual fighting, and that the possibility of peace may be closer than we realize – all it would take is the softening of hearts.
“He who is centered in the Tao
can go where he wishes, without danger.
He perceives the universal harmony,
even amid great pain,
because he has found peace in his heart.” –Tao Te Ching, #35
Thanks to Wanttoknow.info.
“Everyone should know that most cancer research is largely a fraud…” - Linus Pauling PhD (1901-1994) Two times Nobel Prize winner.
Vitamin B17 (also called Amygdalin or Laetrile) is one of the most controversial substances in cancer research. It is a nitriloside, which occurs naturally in fruit seeds, some berries, flax, millet, and some beans, leaves, grasses and nuts. Touted as a cure for cancer several decades ago by Dr. Ernst T. Krebs, it has since been discredited by orthodox medicine as “quackery.” Respected researcher Dr. Kanematsu Sugiura was fired after refusing to publish false test results on Laetrile – he stood firm in his belief in it. One of the most famous proponents of B17 is G. Edward Griffin, whose book, video and articles attempt to explain what the fuss is all about.
These and other researchers contend that cancer is little more than a deficiency disease, much like scurvy or pellagra. In cultures that eat foods high in nitrilosides such as the Hunza or the Eskimo, cancer is unheard of. But today, our modern diets have all but eliminated this vital nutrient. The medical establishment, on the other hand, has worked hard to undermine confidence in this substance. Their “official” reason? Because it contains a molecule of cyanide. But Mr. Griffin’s video and many other articles and websites explain how the molecule is uniquely absorbed and used by the body: the only enzyme that can break it down exists only in a tumor cell, so in a sense it becomes a kind of “cancer smart-bomb,” and is neutralized in the body’s other healthy cells.
Of course many also contend that the pharmaceutical industry has a lot of financial incentive to ensure that vitamin B17 remains illegal and unacceptable by the medical establishment. Unable to patent a naturally occurring substance (and thereby in risk of losing a $200 billion a year industry), a war is being waged on the forefront of cancer research – each side supporting various studies on its effectiveness. In fact it is even illegal to sell Laetrile as a cure for cancer in the U.S. – and some have gone to jail for it. Despite this I found information online about proper dosages and “The Little Cyanide Cookbook” which explains how to prepare foods high in Vitamin B17. Foods containing B17 include berries, beans, nuts (especially the bitter almond), and various veggies – but the most is found in apricot seeds (the little seed found inside the pit) and apple seeds – in fact it’s said three apples a day, including the seeds, could prevent cancer.
What’s that old saying, an apple a day? Could be more important than we know.
“…when government officials spend money on weapons instead of cures;…all this is robbery and chaos. It is not in keeping with the Tao.” -Tao Te Ching #53
A man in Sydney, Australia walks around a mall holding a “Free Hugs” sign…and what do you think happens? If you haven’t yet seen this three and a half minute YouTube video, now’s the time. I keep coming back to it because it’s so heartwarming, and the movement continues to grow. First released in September on YouTube, by November the video had over seven million views. The story is amazing, and there is more to it…Good Morning America aired it, and the man, calling himself “Juan Mann”, even recently appeared on Oprah. The Sydney Morning Herald covered it here. Here is another article about it – and here is the official website. Wikipedia has a great overview too, and links to much more about it. It started a worldwide movement…and Juan Mann isn’t the only hugger to face problems; in China huggers were thrown in jail!
Let’s all give someone a hug today and make the world a better place.
“The Master is available to all people and doesn’t reject anyone.”
-Tao Te Ching #27
