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Dear friends,




Brazil's top environmental regulator resigned last week under pressure to allow the hugely destructive Belo Monte Dam Complex, which would scar the Amazon and displace thousands of people. Protect the Amazon, its people, and its species -- sign the petition to Brazil's President Dilma opposing the dam and calling for energy efficiency instead:
Last Wednesday, Brazil's top environmental regulator resigned in refusal to license a project that experts say would be an ecological disaster: the Belo Monte Dam Complex, which would carve a scar bigger than the Panama Canal into the heart of the Amazon.

The mega-dam would flood huge tracts of rainforest and displace thousands of indigenous people. The companies who would profit from the dam have been trying to bulldoze past environmental laws -- and want to break ground within weeks.

The Amazon is a global treasure, and a worldwide outcry is needed now. The resignation could clear the way for the dam's license--or, if enough of us raise our voices, it could mark a turning point against the project. Let's make this a defining moment on the world stage for Brazil's new President Dilma. Sign the emergency petition to Dilma to stop Belo Monte and protect the Amazon -- it will be delivered spectacularly with Avaaz's indigenous partners in Brazil's capital once we reach 150,000 signatures:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/amazon_under_threat/?vl

Eletronorte, the company who will profit most from Belo Monte, is demanding that the license to start construction be issued even if the project does not meet environmental standards.

Experts and officials who study the proposed dam overwhelmingly reject it as a catastrophe in the making. Abelardo Bayma Azevedo, who stepped down last week as president of Brazil's environmental agency, is not the first resignation caused by pressure to allow Belo Monte; his predecessor stepped down for the same reason last year, as did Brazil's Minister for the Environment -- among other top officials. Now, it's up to us to ensure that these resignations, and decades of protest within Brazil, will not be in vain.

Belo Monte would flood 100,000 acres of rainforest, affect hundreds of kilometres of the Xingu river, and displace over 40,000 people, including indigenous communities of 18 different ethnic groups who depend on the Xingu for their subsistence. It is so economically risky that the government has had to turn to public funds for most of the $16 billion investment. And the dam would be one of Brazil's least efficient, operating at only 10% capacity for the dry months from July to October.

The dam's backers argue that it will supply Brazil's growing energy needs. But a far greater, greener, and cheaper supply of energy is available: energy efficiency. A WWF study found that efficiency alone could save the equivalent of 14 Belo Monte dams by 2020. The benefits of a truly green approach would go to everyone, rather than a handful of powerful corporations. But it's only the corporations who hire lobbyists and wield political muscle -- unless enough of us, in the global public, raise our voices, and ensure that Dilma faces a real choice for Brazil's future.

Belo Monte's construction could start as early as February. Brazil's Minister of Energy and Mining, Edson Lobão, says the next license will be approved soon -- we need to stop Belo Monte before the bulldozers move in. Let’s welcome Dilma into the presidency with a massive outcry to do the right thing: stop Belo Monte!

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/amazon_under_threat/?vl

Brazil might be the world's best hope for progress against climate change, and for bringing North and South countries together on the most hopeful common ground. Now, that hope resides in President Dilma. By calling together for her to reject the Belo Monte dam and pursue a better path, we invite her to live up to that opportunity -- and to help build a future that all of us, from the tribes along the Xingu to the grandchildren of today's city dwellers, can be proud of.

With hope,

Ben, Graziela, Alice, Ricken, Rewan, and the whole Avaaz.org team

SOURCES:

IBAMA President Resigns Over Belo Monte Licensing:
http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/blog/zachary-hurwitz/2011-1-13/ibama-president-resigns-over-belo-monte-licensing

PowerSwitch report by WWF-Brazil examining opportunities for energy efficiency:
http://www.internationalrivers.org/files/brazil_pswstudy_english_summary_0.pdf

Amazon Watch fact sheet:
http://www.amazonwatch.org/amazon/BR/bmd/index.php?page_number=99

Power and the Xingu:
http://www.economist.com/node/15954573


Support the Avaaz community! We're entirely funded by donations and receive no money from governments or corporations. Our dedicated team ensures even the smallest contributions go a long way -- donate here.

Posted by asd Tuesday, January 18, 2011 0 comments

Stumbling across this article, I was struck bu its openeness and common sense approach-
Without taking side, driving you onto a high or burrying you in a depression, its down to earth approach synthesizes most things we heard, think could be good, but never really got down to put in practice

Here is another chance to have a stab at it ....


The book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has sold over 15 million copies since it was first published in 1989, teaching people all over the world how to live a happier, more successful and more satisfying life. One of the prevailing themes of the book is the fact that to change your life you need to change your attitude because no one else is responsible for what happens to you but you, so you can either complain about the things you don’t like in your life or you can set about changing them. Not surprisingly, this directly relates to the state of your finances.
If you are tired of living week to week, of having your phone regularly cut off or having to make excuses to skip dinners with your friends if the money has run out before the end of the month then you can use the seven habits of highly effective people to take control of your money situation and live a more frugal lifestyle, and a happier one.

Habit One: Be Proactive

The first habits of highly effective people is to take responsibility for your life, there is no one else to blame but yourself. Regardless of how you were raised or how you were treated at school you are able to choose your behavior now. Being proactive means understanding that you are in control of the direction your life takes and in control of your day to day interactions. Whereas a reactive person is often affected by their environment and will find external sources to blame for their behavior, for example if the weather is good they are in a good mood but if the weather is bad it affects their attitude and so the weather is to blame for their bad mood.
However what most people forget is that between the stimulus and your response is your freedom to choose your response, and one of the most important things you choose are your words. The language you use is an effective indication of how you see yourself and if you use proactive language such as ‘I can’ or ‘I will’ you are starting with a more positive attitude than a reactive person who uses language like ‘I can’t’ or ‘I have to’ or ‘if only…’
How to be proactive for effective frugality:
  • Take the first step. You cannot take control of your finances until you make the commitment to do so because the more you ignore the situation the worse it will get. Instead take a long hard look at your finances and your budget, your debts, income and expenses and understand where your money is going and where you can budget better.
  • Tell people. Using proactive language to vocalize your goal of being more frugal and more financially responsible not only helps you crystallize your goal but can also help you avoid the peer pressure which can make budgeting and frugality hard. If you explain to your friends and family how you are trying to live a more frugal lifestyle then they are less likely to pressure you into one more round of drinks at the pub or dinner out, again.
  • Listen. Listen to yourself and listen to the reasons you give each time you make a purchase outside of your budget or decide not to put those spare funds into your savings account. Taking the time to stop and listen to the reasons you give yourself for spending more than you earn will give you the opportunity to hear just how shallow many of those reasons are, and can stop you from making purchases which can impede your goal of effective frugality.

Habit Two: Begin with the End in Mind

Those who are effective in achieving their goals are able to envisage their end result despite the obstacles. Highly effective people adhere to this habit based on the principle that all things are created twice, there is the first mental creation and then the second physical creation, and the physical creation follows the mental creation in the same way as the building follows its blueprints.
If you don’t visualize what you want out of life then you are at risk of other people and external circumstances influencing your life because you are not influencing it yourself. Instead begin every day and every task with a clear vision of where you want to go and how you’re going to get there and make that vision a reality with your proactive skills from habit one.
How to visualize effective frugality:
  • Define your goal. There are many ways to live a frugal lifestyle and you need to decide on how frugal you want to be. Do you want to be debt free, do you want to build a savings account balance of a certain value or do you want to be able to live on one income in a two income household?
  • Decide how you’re going to get there. This will again draw on your budget, but you also need to be aware of the obstacles which are standing in your way. These may be literal obstacles such as credit card debts, or they may be obstacles you have identified in your behavior; for example are you spending $10 every day on junk food on your way home from work because you’re starving when you could be packing a two dollar muesli bar or a low GI lunch to keep you going until dinner. Or do you find that when you go shopping with your sister she always helps you justify a frivolous purchase when you could leave your credit card at home.

Habit Three: Put First Things First

Knowing why you are doing something is an effective motivator in helping you take the mental creation and transform that into an actual physical creation of your goal. Therefore ask yourself which are the things you find most valuable and worthy to you. When you put these things first you will be organizing and managing your time around your personal priorities to make them a reality.
However for many people it is hard to say no but this is exactly the skill you have to learn to be able to keep your goals as your first priority. While we have all of these time-saving devices and we are told we can have it all if we just achieve that elusive work-life balance in reality having it all is really about prioritizing which it is most important to you to have, and then doing that properly.
How to put effective frugality first:
  • Recognize the effects of your finances. You may not dedicate as much time as you should to managing your finances and practicing frugal principles because you feel there is always something more important to be doing, whether it is work, taking the kids to soccer practice or getting ready for dinner with the girls. However if your finances are not under control and you are regularly spending more than you earn then this is having a negative impact on every other aspect of your life from your work to your family to your friends. Therefore you need to recognize that being frugal is your first priority.
  • Just say no. It is easy to spend more than your budgeted amount each month when you are worried about missing out on a dinner with friends, feel as though you have to cater a birthday party for your son and 50 of his closest friends or you can’t possibly wear the same suit you wore last year to a work conference. However if you recognize that you don’t have to take on everything and that it is all right to say no then you will find you are more in control of your spending and your budget.

Habit Four: Think Win-Win

Growing up most of us are taught to base our self-worth on comparisons to others and competition against our peers. We think we can only succeed if someone else has failed and if you win then that must mean I lose, and that there is only so much pie to go around and if you get a big piece then I’m going to be missing out. When you think like this you are always going to feel like you’re missing out on something and that’s not fair is it? As a result many of us retaliate and take the pie before someone else can take it from us.
Thinking in a win-win mindset allows you to see mutual benefits from all of your interactions and as a result you will see that when you share the pie it tastes even better. If you are able to approach conflicts and problems with a win-win attitude then by showing integrity and standing up for your true feelings and values allows you to express your ideas and feelings with courage while having consideration for the feelings and ideas of others. When you focus on an abundance mentality you are able to see that there is enough for everyone and you can see that balancing your confidence with empathy you can achieve your goals while helping others achieve theirs.
How to create frugal win-win situations:
  • Recognize that you don’t always know the full story. As you aim to implement frugal principles and stick to a budget you may often find yourself thinking ‘it’s not fair’. It’s not fair that they get to go out to dinner it’s not fair that they get a new car it’s not fair that they get to go on holiday and I don’t. However take the time to realize that you are only seeing a small part of the finances of your friends and family who seem to ‘have it all’ and that even though your best friend is taking the European holiday which was your dream or your brother is buying a sports car before you are, if you manage your finances frugally you will get there too and there will still be plenty of holiday destinations and plenty of fast cars when you do.
  • Understand the difference between possessions and net worth. While your friends and family may seem to have a fuller lifestyle because their house is bigger or their car is newer you need to consider how much debt they are hiding behind those possessions. True wealth is not measured in possessions but in assets and when the value of your assets is greater than the amount you owe in mortgages, car loans and credit card debts then you have a strong net worth and are truly wealthy and in aiming to live a more effectively frugal lifestyle you will be able to achieve true wealth rather than just a life full of stuff.

Habit Five: Communication

Communication is often the desire to be heard and understood and most people will listen with the intention to reply to what you’re saying rather than to understand what you have said. However to effectively communicate you need to first understand and then be understood because if you communicate with the sole intention of being understood you can find that you ignore what others are saying and miss their meaning entirely.
How listening can help you be effectively frugal:
  • You are not the only person in your life. Chances are you are married, in a relationship, have children or all of the above. As a result you are not the only person being affected by your decision to live a more frugal lifestyle and to be effective in your goal of frugality you need to be able to listen to and understand the goals and behaviors of the other people in your life. For example consider how effective your frugality would be if you were taking packed lunches to work and avoiding the afternoon coffee run but your partner was still going shopping in their lunch break; instead of living a more frugal lifestyle you are just ending up with more stuff.
  • Understand the goals and needs of others. While it is important to explain your desire to live more frugal lifestyle, it is also important that you understand the goals and needs of your family so that you can find a way to be more frugal without them having to give up all of the things which are most important to them and you can’t know what those things are unless you listen.

Habit Six: Synergize

Interactions and teamwork are some of the most important ways you can learn new skills and more effective behaviors. To synergize is the habit of creative cooperation where you work as a team to find new solutions to existing problems. Synergy is not something which just happens but is a process where you need to bring all of your personal experiences and expertise to the table to enable more effective results than you would have been able to achieve individually – the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
When you have genuine interactions with people you are able to gain new insights and see new approaches to your problems which you would not have otherwise thought of.
How to synergize for effective frugality:
  • Look for new ways. In a society which has become so good at consumerism you have probably already realized that you need to find new ways of doing just about everything to be frugal. It is easy to buy your lunch every day but it is more frugal to take a packed lunch. It is easy to drive to work but it is more frugal to catch the train. It is easy to buy a new cocktail dress but it is more frugal to make one.
  • Surround yourself with other frugal people. To be successful surround yourself with people who are where you want to be and whether you join online forums on frugal living websites or strike up a friendship with the woman who runs your local op shop you will be able to share ideas and learn from others to be successful.

Habit Seven: Sharpen the Saw

You are the greatest asset you have on your journey to achieving the lifestyle you want and so you need to look after yourself physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. When you take time to renew yourself in all four areas of your life you are creating growth and change which allow you to continue with the previous six habits you have mastered, which still need to be maintained to achieve success.
How to frugally renew yourself:
  • Physically. By eating better you will feel better and if you start your own vegetable patch for example you will be able to save at the supermarket and will be eating better at the same time. Exercising keeps you fit and healthy and it doesn’t cost you anything to go for a walk or bike ride or even skip rope in the backyard. To rest your body you don’t need to go to a day spa you can simply slide into the tub at home and relax.
  • Emotionally. Interacting socially with others allows you to make meaningful connections and this can come back to a conversation with the woman at the op shop or even scheduling in coffee and a chat with your mum once a week.
  • Mentally. Exercising and expanding your mind through learning, reading, writing and teaching can be done frugally at your local library or even by volunteering at a school or retirement home to teach others a skill you may be taking for granted.
  • Spiritually. Spending time close to nature to expand your spiritual self through meditation, music, art or prayer can be done frugally by taking a quiet moment to center yourself and empty your mind before you go to bed or going for a bush walk and being grateful for the beauty of nature surrounding you.
Frugality does not mean having to give up all the luxuries and things which make you happy because if you go through developing habits 1 to 6 without spending the time to renew yourself this is how you burn out, and frugality is something you want to develop and maintain for the long-term and with these seven habits you can be a highly frugal person.

Alban is a personal finance writer. He offer money savings tips and helps people to compare home loans online.

Posted by asd Thursday, January 13, 2011 0 comments

And you will find down to earth information about  Forests and what you can do to become involved; This taster comes from their website but there is so much more there to discover and enjoy ... head for  http://www.iucn.org/

(To see more outstanding photos , head for the IUCN flickr gallery)

Bring back lost and degraded forests, says IUCN

Preliminary analysis shows that an estimated 1.5 billion hectares of the world’s lost and degraded forests, an area almost the size of Russia, could be restored. This is the result of the latest global research, which now needs to be expanded at a national
 Potential areas for reforestation. Yellow and orange "protective" areas indicate where patches of forest could be used around waterways and fields to protect them.l level to identify specific on the ground opportunities, says IUCN. 

“Until recently scant attention has been paid to the world’s degraded forests,” says Stewart Maginnis, Director of Environment and Development at IUCN. “Now is the time to recognise the potential of restored forests to deliver the double benefit of removing CO2 from the atmosphere and helping lift people out of poverty. However, there’s no 'one size fits all' solution - each forest landscape is unique and needs its own individual restoration strategy.”
The analysis reveals that Africa and Asia hold the greatest promise, each with about 500 million hectares of forest landscapes offering opportunities for forest restoration, according to IUCN.
The new analysis from the World Resources Institute, South Dakota University and IUCN, carried out for the Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration (GPFLR) comes a month ahead of the launch of the UN’s International Year of Forests.
“Restoring the world’s lost and degraded forests is possible,” says Carole Saint Laurent, IUCN’s Senior Forest Policy Advisor. “Countries as diverse as China, Ghana, Mexico, India, the United Kingdom, the United States and many others have already embarked on ambitious forest restoration programmes.”
Spokespeople:
To download the full report got to: http://www.wri.org/restoring-forests
For more information or to set up interviews , please contact:
  • Borjana Pervan, IUCN Media Relations Officer, t +41 798574072, e borjana.pervan@iucn.org
  • On site: Brian Thomson, IUCN Media Relations Manager, t+41 797218326, e brian.thomson@iucn.org
  • Daniel Shaw, IUCN Forest Communications Officer, t+41 22999168, e daniel.shaw@iucn.org
About IUCN
IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges.
IUCN works on biodiversity, climate change, energy, human livelihoods and greening the world economy by supporting scientific research, managing field projects all over the world, and bringing governments, NGOs, the UN and companies together to develop policy, laws and best practice.
www.iucn.org

Posted by asd Tuesday, January 11, 2011 0 comments

URGENCE POUR LES ABEILLES -- AGISSEZ MAINTENANT!

Signez la pétition


Au Ministre Français de l'Agriculture M. Le Maire et au Président de la Commission Européenne M. Barroso:

Nous vous appelons à interdire immédiatement l'utilisation des pesticides néonicotinoïdes jusqu'à ce que et seulement si de nouvelles études scientifiques indépendantes prouvent leur innocuité. Le déclin catastrophique des populations d'abeilles pourrait mettre toute notre chaîne alimentaire en danger. Si vous agissez dès maintenant et avec précaution, nous pourrons éviter l'extinction des abeilles.
 
Déjà membre d’Avaaz ?
Indiquez votre courriel et cliquez sur 'Envoyez'.

Vous allez etre dirigé vers une page blanche d'avaaz.org ce qui signifie que votre nom est bien enregistré
En cas de difficulté cliquez sur ce lien:
http://www.avaaz.org/fr/france_save_the_bees?fp

Première visite? Merci de remplir le formulaire ci-dessous.

Avaaz protégera vos informations personnelles  et vous tiendra au courant de cette action et d'autres campagnes similaires.
589,356 ont signé la pétition en France et dans le monde. au moment de faire cet article
Aidez-nous à atteindre
le Million afin de presenter la petition directement a l'UE !

Des milliards d'abeilles sont en train de mourir en silence, ce qui met en danger nos cultures et notre alimentation. Et une interdiction généralisée d'un groupe de pesticides toxiques pourrait éviter l'extinction des abeilles.

Mais la France, sous la pression des puissantes industries chimiques, vient de renouveler l'autorisation d'un de ces pesticides
Pour sauver les abeilles, et alors que le débat fait rage pour répondre à cette crise, nous devons faire changer la position de notre gouvernement.  
C'est notre responsabilité en tant que citoyen d'un pays démocratique de signaler notre refus absolu de cet usage et abus de confiance envers chacun d'entre nous- Ces pesticides ne sont pas sans effets ! Ils TUENT , non seulement les abeilles mais notre mode de vie - Alors REAGISSONS

Envoyons un appel gigantesque au gouvernement français, très influent sur la politique agricole européenne, pour faire interdire ces produits chimiques et sauver nos abeilles et notre alimentation. Signez la pétition urgente, et faites la suivre à tous, nous la remettrons au Ministre français de l'agriculture Bruno Le Maire et aux décideurs européens:

Une Démocratie implique la participation de ses membres pour faire connaître leurs avis ! 

..

Posted by asd 0 comments

Wow! Over the weekend half a million of us have signed to save bees. Let's get to a million for the ban -- sign now, then send this to everyone

Dear friends,




Bees are dying off worldwide and our entire food chain is in peril. Scientists blame toxic pesticides and four European governments have already banned them. If we get the US and the EU to join the ban, other governments across the world could follow, and save bees from extinction. Sign the petition and forward this urgent appeal:
Silently, billions of bees are dying off and our entire food chain is in danger. Bees don't just make honey, they are a giant, humble workforce, pollinating 90% of the plants we grow.

Multiple scientific studies blame one group of toxic pesticides for their rapid demise, and some bee populations are recovering in countries where these products have been banned. But powerful chemical companies are lobbying hard to keep selling these poisons. Our best chance to save bees now is to push the US and EU to join the ban -- their action is critical and will have a ripple effect on the rest of the world.

We have no time to lose -- the debate is raging about what to do. This is not just about saving bees, this is about survival. Let’s build a giant global buzz calling for the EU and US to outlaw these killer chemicals and save our bees and our food. Sign the emergency petition now, and send it on to everyone and we’ll deliver it to key decision makers:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees/?vl

Bees are vital to life on earth -- every year pollinating plants and crops with an estimated $40bn value, over one third of the food supply in many countries. Without immediate action to save bees many of our favourite fruits, vegetables, and nuts could vanish from our shelves.

Recent years have seen a steep and disturbing global decline in bee populations -- some bee species are already extinct and last week we learned that some US species are at just 4% of their previous numbers. Scientists have been scrambling for answers. Some studies claim the decline may be due to a combination of factors including disease, habitat loss and toxic chemicals. But increasingly, independent research has produced strong evidence blaming neonicotinoid pesticides. France, Italy, Slovenia and even Germany, where the main manufacturer Bayer is based, have banned one of these bee killers. But, Bayer continues to export its poison across the world

This issue is now coming to the boil as major new studies have confirmed the scale of this problem. If we can get European and US decision-makers to take action, others will follow. It won’t be easy. A leaked document shows that the US Environmental Protection Agency knew about the pesticide’s dangers, but ignored them. The document says Bayer’s "highly toxic" product is a "major risk concern to non target insects [honey bees]".

We need to make our voices heard to counter Bayer’s very strong influence on policy makers and scientists in both the US and the EU where they fund the studies and sit on policy bodies. The real experts -- the beekeepers and farmers -- want these deadly pesticides prohibited until and unless we have solid, independent studies that show they are safe. Let's support them now. Sign the petition below, then forward this email:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees/?vl

We can no longer leave our delicate food chain in the hands of research run by the chemical companies and the regulators that are in their pockets. Banning this pesticide will move us closer to a world safe for ourselves and the other species we care about and depend on.

With hope,

Alex, Alice, Iain, David and all at Avaaz

MORE INFORMATION

Bee decline could be down to chemical cocktail interfering with brains
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/22/chemicals-bees-decline-major-study?INTCMP=SRCH

Bee briefing
http://www.soilassociation.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=RXLEm9WXrHk%3D&tabid=439

$15 Billion Bee Murder Mystery Deepens
http://www.businessinsider.com/colony-collapse-disorder-still-unsolved-lead-researcher-had-connections-to-bayer-2010-10

“Nicotine Bees" Population Restored With Neonicotinoids Ban
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/05/nicotine-bees-population-restored-with-neonicotinoids-ban.php

EPA memo reveals concern that pesticide causes bee deaths
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/green/detail?entry_id=79910

Beekeepers want government to pull pesticide
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/beekeepers-want-government-to-pull-pesticide-1107701.html

Bees in freefall as study shows sharp US decline
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jan/03/bumblebees-study-us-decline?INTCMP=SRCH

Pesticide industry involvement in EU risk assessment puts survival of bees at stake
http://www.corporateeurope.org/agribusiness/news/2010/11/16/pesticide-industry-future-bees

--------------


Support the Avaaz community! We're entirely funded by donations and receive no money from governments or corporations. Our dedicated team ensures even the smallest contributions go a long way -- donate here.

Posted by asd 0 comments

If only...

If only , instead of arrogantly dismissing each other mutual but distinct benefits, healers of the world could concentrate on pointing to recovery rather than filling their respective ego and material pockets...In the light of the harrassing of Dr Wakefield for his whistle blowing work on vaccines and Big CO - in this case the unimaginably lucrative market of world vaccines, and the permanent attempt to remove freedom of medical choices to the individual ( European April deadline ) one can but smile warily at the following piece.

The Lancet: Medicine's Promise Still Often Unfulfilled

Looking back on a century-old article, today's Lancet editors note that medicine's great progress has often not included some big, familiar conditions. Karen Hopkin reports.

January often gets people thinking about what they’ve accomplished over the past 12 months. This year, it got the editors of the medical journal The Lancet to ponder how far health care has come over the past century, and where it continues to fall short. [A new year in medicine]

A hundred years ago, Squire Sprigge, then editor of The Lancet, penned a piece entitled "The Promise of 1911". The current editors thought they’d review this clinical score card to see how far we’ve come.

Sadly, a lot of the problems Sprigge outlined still plague us today. The old editorial frets about the “demon of tuberculosis” and diarrheal diseases in Africa, conditions we have yet to exorcise. It also argues for legislation against “charlatans and quacks,” an issue that apparently arose long before the advent of infomercials.

The need to improve medical education, the role of the press in reporting science news, and the danger of medical tourism—they were all discussed in this century-old article that today’s editors could have run as-is after modernizing the font. Instead they simply conclude that, “Between 1911 and 2011 there is much for medicine to be proud of—and also to be humble about.”
—Karen Hopkin

Posted by asd Friday, January 7, 2011 0 comments

Regardless to where one believes oneself to stand, the discussions around the ancient Mayan Calendars ( and other major civilisations) highlight some strong common denominators- Perhaps rather than arrogant stupidity in pretending to brush everything related to this topic under the hocus pocus brush, we could well take the essence of those ideas in our end of year closing thoughts and remember that reality is not always as obvious as it appears

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL 



In Steep Uphill Climb to 2012, Carlos Barrios' message shares that "...the dark power of the declining Fourth World cannot be destroyed or overpowered... That is the wrong strategy. The dark can only be transformed when confronted with simplicity and open-heartedness. This is what leads to fusion, a key concept for the World of the Fifth Sun.
Mr. Barrios (shown on the left) said the emerging era of the Fifth Sun will call attention to a much-overlooked element. Whereas the four traditional elements of earth, air, fire and water have dominated various epochs in the past, there will be a fifth element to reckon with in the time of the Fifth Sun: ether. Ether is a medium. It permeates all space and transmits waves of energy in a wide range of frequencies, from cell phones to human auras. What is "ethereal" is related to the regions beyond earth: the heavens.
As Mr. Barrios shared: We live in a world of energy. An important task at this time is to learn to sense or see the energy of everyone and everything: people, plants, animals. This becomes increasingly important as we draw close to the World of the Fifth Sun, for it is associated with the element ether - the realm where energy lives and weaves."

In ancient cosmology, ether is understood as the fifth element that filled all space beyond the sphere of the moon, constituting the substance of the stars and planets!
Maya Elder Hunbatz Men shares: "...as humanity awakes to the spirit in all matter, I have absolute hope that we will begin to live and work in a sacred way again. We did not come this far through the burden of time and space to end it in this way. We are here to be victorious. We are here to witness and participate in the great celebration.
"It is funny humanity as a whole feels that we have no impact on this reality. How can we believe so little of ourselves that we feel we are just blowing in the wind, as if by accident, just witnessing or being a victim of this reality. The big issues we face today on Mother Earth are directly related to our lack of self-esteem. Isn't it funny that clearing up old self-esteem issues could save the Planet! Think about it! We need to realize, honor and respect our creative force and realize we are creators. We hold this reality together. We are the keepers of the Earth. When we truly honor ourselves and our awesome creative power we will again live in a sacred way where we honor all life. When we honor all life the essence/spirit of all living things will manifest.
"Humanity is waking up, and in this important year we are riding the crest of a very big wave. We are living on the edge. We are living between worlds. How we live, the choices we make, the sensitivities we develop, and our love and honor for all life will see us through."
Hunbatz Men, (shown above) along with the Grand Maya Itza Council, has declared their response to the upcoming 2012 synchronization is to activate 52 sacred sites around the planet. As they said: "Every Full Moon we are going to make a spiritual journey to every one of the sacred sites on the list, starting our first ceremony on November 13, 2008, and continuing that way until carrying out the last ceremony on December 28, 2012..."

Posted by asd Friday, December 31, 2010 0 comments

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