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[jimtzu]

 

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Mutually Assured Survival Or Mutually Assured Destruction?
The Jewry is Still Out
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by Steve Bhaerman

Last year during one of my comedy performances, someone asked the Swami, ?What do you think about AIPAC??

The Swami -- being the Swami -- answered, ?AIPAC? I don?t know about AIPAC. I?m more into Deepak. And Tupac. Gimme Deepak, Tupac and a six-pack, and you can keep your AIPAC.?

Well, the audience liked the answer, but my serious side wasn?t satisfied. I?d been hearing disparaging remarks about AIPAC, which stands for American Israel Public Affairs Committee, but I had dismissed them as fringy, anti-semitic fulminations. The more I?ve read since then, however, the more I realize that this organization -- supported by many well-meaning Jewish people because it is ?pro-Israel? -- is really a neocon front that hardly represents the majority of the Jewish people, let alone the people of Israel.

Just as George Bush and company have tried to pull the ?you?re either with us or against us? wool over our eyes, AIPAC and its posse define anti-semitism as any questioning of Israeli?s policies no matter how questionable. They?ve tried to silence non-Jewish critics with the anti-semitic smear, and Jewish ones by calling them ?self-hating Jews.? As a Jewish American, I have come to the sad and disturbing conclusion that AIPAC is why we?re still in Iraq and why we are now set to attack Iran. You?ve only to look at the news story about the recent AIPAC conference and the unenthusiastic response Nancy Pelosi received for not being sufficiently pro-war. Opening our eyes to AIPAC?s power and influence makes it easier to understand why Congressional Democrats backed off of their stand to make an attack on Iran contingent on the approval of Congress.

As the world seems to be hurtling toward that self-fulfilling prophecy called ?armageddon,? the forces of fear and destruction seem to be polarizing to either side, each desperately trying to make sure that their evildoers will be able to out evil-do the evildoers on the other side. I like to consider myself a realist. As the old saying goes, ?Just because you?re paranoid doesn?t mean there isn?t someone following you.? So -- just because our Middle East policies are fear-driven, greed-driven, misguided, obsolete and dangerous -- doesn?t mean that there aren?t toxic Islamic forces hell-bent on the destruction of Israel.

Try to imagine what it must feel like to know that the enemy that has vowed to destroy you has the power to launch weapons of mass destruction. Feel that, and you can empathize with civilians in Israel -- and Iran.

For in their fear for their own lives and destruction, many Israelis feel resigned to preemptively doing the same to the Iranians. Same old ?us or them.?
 

From M.A.D. to Madder
For nearly 45 years, the Cold War was kept on ice because of an eerie Strangelovian concept called ?Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD).? With both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. overarmed to teeth, if any one side pushed the button, both sides would assuredly perish. Whether it was that delicate balance of power and fear or some other form of divine grace, no button was pushed and we are still here to be grateful.

But there is no such balance of power today. As the last superpower standing after the fall of the Soviet Union, the United States has super-abused its superpowers. Instead of following the advice of former Senator Gary Hart and treating terrorist cells like a criminal gang instead of a military force, we have squandered any good will we might have had left and have shown the entire world that we?re not in the Middle East to keep the peace, we?re there to keep the pieces. Of course, this is not the intent of the majority of Americans, nor is it the intent of the majority of Israelis. However with the neocons in control of both countries -- and with AIPAC successfully muzzling most dissent against Israeli policies, or marginalizing it as ?anti-semitic? -- our two countries together are drawing the battle lines for an insane and unnecessary world war that will lead to countless deaths, not to mention irreparable ecologic harm.

Here?s how the real balance of power stacks up. On one side, we have the ?kill or be killed,? ?dominate or be dominated? world view, the one that has persisted for thousands of years and brought the world to the brink of destruction. Everything about this side sounds rational at first hearing because we humans habitually associate ?normal? with ?sane.? But rationality has been replaced with rationalization, which goes something like this: The world is a bad place. It?s always been that way, and always will be. We have to protect ourselves. We sincerely regret any unnecessary deaths -- of course, we will only do ?surgical strikes? designed not to harm civilians, and besides those people hate us anyway.

Under this umbrella of self-protection, any violation of human rights, human decency, rule of law and morality is permitted as long as it can be rationalized as a ?necessary evil.? Even better if it can be done in secret and can be officially denied. That way, there can be the illusion of democracy, justice and living by spiritual principles. Of course anything built on a foundation of lies is destined to crumble and that accounts for the disheartenment both in America and Israel. The ?self-protection? clause also means you can buddy up with ?allies? who violate the very essence of who you are and who you believe yourself to be.

Check out this audio recording featuring Rev. John Hagee?s speech at this spring?s AIPAC conference. In fact, check out all the speeches, but particularly Rev. Hagee?s whose intolerant beliefs are now tolerable because he supports Israel and in fact has asserted that the Book of Esther predicts the very attack on Iran that is soon to be launched. But hey, this is about self-preservation so it really doesn?t matter which devils you sleep with, as long as they?re on your side now.

That?s one world view, the one that is considered ?mainstream? in our society, despite any ?naive? moral objections the rest of us may have.

There?s a second world view, however, the same one put forth by spiritual teachers from Buddha to Jesus, and is at the bottom of every religion once the bullshit is boiled away. That world view insists that there is such a thing as a common humanity, and we are all in it together. It seems to be contrary to the ?evidence,? because if you look at human history -- well, it?s more like inhuman history. However, when you consider how this evidence has been spun and is being spun, and how war is used to justify more war, it?s easier to see how 80% to 90% of us get manipulated by a small group of manipulators who know how to press the buttons marked ?fear? ?survival? ?patriotism? and ?tribal loyalty.?

This alternative world view that we?re all in it together is the foundation of mutually-assured survival rather than the deadly alternative. It also reflects the heart essence of Judaism, Tikkun Olam -- the healing of the world. This notion of bringing healing to this world is in direct contradiction of Rev. Hagee, who subscribes to the ?We?re going to heaven and everyone else can go to hell? insanity.

Which brings us -- finally -- to the purpose of this email. My friend Diane Perlman, a political psychologist and activist has formed a new organization, JAIPAC (Jewish Analysts Investigating Peace and Conflict), and has written a compelling letter under the title: The New Pro-Israel, Mutually Assured Survival. There are indeed real problems and real conflicts in the Middle East, and Diane turns her wisdom and experience towards alternative ways of addressing them -- instead of doing what we?ve always done and being surprised when things are like they?ve always been, only worse. Please read and circulate this letter.

 

Can We Stop the Ticking Toxin in Time?
Reports from Soviet intelligence say that the United States plans to bomb Iran on April 6th, less than ten days from now. Was the information purposely released to give the Iranian government one more chance to drop the program? Was it released by the Soviets to alert the world? Is it a bluff? We don?t know. We do know that this Administration is in deep trouble and has demonstrated that it will do anything -- anything -- to promote its own survival. An escalation of the state of war could empower them to declare a martial law state of ?emergency.? It would be risky for them, but then again their ass is just about grass anyway.

The purpose of prediction isn?t panic, but prevention. I contend that had the voting fraud story not broken through the ?soundless barrier? via RFK, Jr.?s Rolling Stone article last summer, people wouldn?t have been aware of it, and the election results would have been different. Say what you will about the worminess of the Democratic Party, Congressional investigations are now going forward that will necessitate impeachment. So I am putting this email out in the hopes of averting the possibility of the Iran attack.

I am hoping that Jewish people of conscience allow themselves to lift the lid on AIPAC and ask themselves if AIPAC represents their true values. Here is a link to the upcoming issue of New York Review of Books where George Soros -- a key Democratic Party funder of Jewish heritage -- takes on AIPAC. I wish there was some kind of concerted action that would make a difference in preempting this preemptive war. Perhaps the field of awakening will be enough, perhaps it won?t. Maybe there needs to be a letter-writing -- real mail, not email -- campaign to key members of Congress. Perhaps we need to follow the lead of former army Colonel Ann Wright who has urged the military to ?refuse to drop bombs? if ordered to in Iran. The influence of the military cannot be underestimated at this time, particularly when we consider the loss of support for the current war on the part of troops in the field, not to mention the extraordinary editorials in all the official military publications the day before Election Day calling for Donald Rumsfeld?s resignation.

When I was a kid, one of the things that made me proudest of my heritage was the willingness of Jews to be a stand for the rights of all, not just Jewish people. You may remember that two of those three civil rights workers killed in Mississippi in 1964 were Jewish, but what you may not know is that the NAACP was co-founded by Joel Elias Spingarn, a Jew. These days, the cry of ?never again? no longer means never again a holocaust for anyone, but ?never again for the Jews.? This is an understandable nationalist sentiment, but it contradicts the spiritual foundation of Judaism.

This is a hugely challenging time for all peoples. How much easier it would be for a Messiah to come down and declare himself ?the only Universal Law south of the Pleiedes,? or for the nasty machinations of empire to work their nastiness without our ever having to know about it. How much easier for us to immerse ourselves in reality TV so we don?t have to engage reality, or insist we ?create our own reality? without coming to grips with the reality we all share.

As with every religion, there comes a time when we have to distinguish between the spiritual essence, and the distortion being used to keep the powers that be in power in power. Or, as some wit once said, ?Spirituality is our relationship with the Divine. Religion is crowd control.? I hope this article and the connected links provide plenty of cognitive dissonance for both Jews and non-Jews alike. Which do we choose -- mutually assured survival, or mutually assured destruction? Given the delicate balance of life on earth at this point, the zero-sum game of ?me or you? may end up as a big zero for all humanity and an F in works and plays well with others.

P.S. I expect lots of letters telling me I?m a self-hating Jew (with plenty of evidence of how Israel is absolutely right and justified), and other letters accusing me of being a zionist (including tons of evidence of how Jews have been responsible for any and all evil since the beginning of history). Please spare me these. I?ve read plenty on both sides already. Please DO send me any links to organizations and actions designed to preempt the preemptive strike on Iran. These will be sent to this list later this week. Meanwhile, pray for healing even if you?re an atheist. As Swami says, ?Who cares whether you believe in God? What really matters is, do you believe in Good??

 

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Swami's Quick Links
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Contact Information
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http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewPrint&articleId=11541

http://www.aipac.org/about_AIPAC/Learn_About_AIPAC/2841.asp

http://www.consciouspolitics.org/

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10432334/was_the_2004_election_stolen

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021307B.shtml

http://patriotsquestion911.com/#About

[jimtzu]

 

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A Preemptive Peace Strike?
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Dear Friends,

I received a lot of good feedback on the piece I sent out the other day on Mutually Assured Survival. I did get one letter saying that I was giving aid and comfort to the enemies of Israel, and another expressing concern that I used the word ?toxic? to describe Muslims resisting western rule, but in general the response was positive. Both Jews and non-Jews alike expressed relief that we might now be able to have an open conversation about AIPAC and whether they do indeed represent what is best for Israel, America, the Middle East and the world.

The other feedback I received is that if indeed an attack is planned, we need to do whatever we can to preempt the preemptive attack. Someone volunteered to put up a website and coordinate a world wide massive prayer / meditation for April 5th, next Thursday. Having read as much as I have recently about ?the field,? I am convinced that the power of the group mind focused coherently on a positive thought cannot be underestimated. And what I said in the last e-mail, about the ?Belief in Good? being more important than the ?Belief in God? still stands. Anyone with good intentions can participate.

We have not come up with a particular prayer, although we are open to something simple and universal. We realize that innocent individuals throughout the Middle East have very real concerns for their lives and homes, and our intention should be -- as Buddha used to say -- ?the happiness of all beings.? Under a live and let live credo, this might indeed be possible.

In addition to working on the ?invisible,? let?s consider how we can have an impact on the ?visible? as well. Please consider these questions, and feel free to submit responses:

1. What are our political leverage points? If we were to contact anyone or any organization(s) via email, phone call, snail mail, who would that be?

2. The media has ignored the ?possible attack on Iran? story. How can we make this a news story that cannot be ignored before it happens?

3. Which religious organizations are most likely to support a prayer / meditation, and notify their membership?

4. Who in Congress can millions of us contact who will take a public stand in Congress itself?

5. Any other ideas for a preemptive peace strike?

Finally, here are some further thoughts to spur your imagination.
 

From Children of God to Adults of God
OR
Maybe Jesus and Einstein Were BOTH Right
The simple foundation for the ?preemptive peace strike? is the ?we?re all in this together? world view, that has the foundation in every spiritual path -- some form of the Golden Rule. To paraphrase Alan Watts, it?s time for we humans to stop worshipping the finger and notice where it?s pointing. As Swami says, ?Time for children of God to become adults of God.? It?s time for us as a species to stop playing stupid and realize that undertruthing each religion is the same code for successful behavior, whether you call it the law of karma or the Golden Rule: Treat others as you wish to be treated yourself. Interestingly, that prescription is now being confirmed by quantum physics and cellular biology.

Quantum physics tells us that everything is related, that what we perceive as cause and effect is really a network of relationships. However, we still seem to be stuck in ?Newtonian politics,? where we respond to all problems with an equal and opposite reaction. We?re still operating in a ?force-based? world view, instead of the relationship-based one that is operating on a more fundamental level.

Meanwhile, if we look at the 50 trillion cell community under our skin we find that every participating cell is supported with universal health care and full employment. There?s truly no cell left behind. ?Currency,? in the form of ATP, flows first and foremost to those cells doing the most important job for the whole system. So while no working cell has to worry about where its next shipment of ATP is coming from, the dispersal of energy is based on whole-system thinking. Each organ has a job, and the organs tend not to fight with each other or withhold information out of fear or spite. Rarely if ever do you see the liver invading the pancreas to claim the Islets of Langerhans as its own.

The point being ... our human body is a cooperative network of cells with a worthy purpose -- to create ?thrival? in the whole system, and benefit from that thrival themselves. When bliss courses through the body, every cell feels it. The other point being that we have now reached a population and activity threshold on this planet where in order to thrive (or even survive), we need to evolve to a more efficient level of organization. Understanding that each of us is a sentient, conscious ?cell? in humanity and the body of the organism called ?earth,? is the gateway to creating a new relationship with each other and our world.

Whether we cite science or religion, it doesn?t matter. They?re both talking about the same thing. Whether we call it sanity, coherence, health, thrival, love -- it doesn?t matter. ?Do you believe in God?? is the wrong question. The question that leads us down the path to love and functionality is, ?Do you believe in Good??

It seems to me that America?s Founding Fathers have been misinterpreted both by the religionists and the atheists. The religionists have insisted that America was founded as a ?Christian nation,? and the expression of that Christianity has to look a certain way. The atheists or humanists have focused on ?separation of church and state? to mean that religious expression has no place in public life. Having recently read extensively about the spiritual views of Franklin, Jefferson and Washington in particular, what they really meant to establish as a foundation was the essence at the foundation of all religious expression. We can call this ?the Golden Rule? and / or ?the belief in Good.?

So ... to get back to our foundation, the foundation for preemptive peace strike are these three principles:

1. We?re all in this together.
2. Treat others as you wish to be treated.
3. Good exists, and we are here to express that good every day.

We may modify those, but that?s the spiritual foundation for what we are doing. As far as I know, there is no existing political movement that has adopted that kind of universal spiritual stand without being attached to some religion or a specific form of religious expression. Thus, we encompass the belief in God, and the belief in Good.

The other thing is, we must broadcast a positive, proactive, connecting message from this strong foundation. That foundation is what -- when the fear and manipulation is removed -- we all have in common. It?s the foundation the manipulators have tried to keep us away from by reinforcing our differences. We must constantly reaffirm our connections, even as we expose inconvenient truths.

In our communications, let?s replace ?my fear? with ?my concern.? Fear is fuel for the dominator. Concern is clear-sighted awareness, unpolluted by the incoherence caused by fearful reaction. We want to build our preemptive peace movement on the foundation of love, not fear. We are putting forth this call, this message, this movement because we love life, we love the world, we love other humans -- not because we fear the consequences of war. This is an important distinction. We may feel fear -- that?s normal -- but to magnetize the imagination of the world, we must come from love. This is probably the most important contextual shift we can make in ourselves and encourage in others.

Interestingly, there is a powerful scientific foundation for Jesus?s prescription to ?love thine enemy.? Dr. Leonard Laskow -- who I met and interviewed last month up in Ashland -- is the author of a book called ?Healing With Love.? He?s an obstetrician and surgeon who had an epiphany years ago, and turned from his allopathic practice to psychiatry and hands on healing. One of the experiments he did ?after hours? at Stanford involved cancer cells. He found that when he beamed love and acceptance of their right to exist, these cancer cells shrunk in size and influence. He didn?t ask them to stop existing, just to not grow, and they complied. (I will have more to say about his work in my book with Bruce Lipton and in future Notes) This brings up a curious question: If you can ?negotiate? with cancer cells through love and respect, what are the implications for terrorists or other ?sociopathogens??

One final thought about evolution. It is not a ?top down? process of force, but rather a bottom up process of ?emergence.? We individuals are the key participants in this next stage of human and planetary evolution. This is one chance right now to create breakthrough and move love and functionality forward.
 

[jimtzu]

Death By Medicine: Do We Have a Choice?
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By Steve Bhaerman
It?s official. The leading cause of death in America is not heart disease, not cancer -- but medicine itself!

A new book co-authored by nutritionist Gary Null called -- appropriately enough -- Death by Medicine claims that over 700,000 Americans die each year as a result of medical treatment. A study by the Nutrition Institute of America attributes over 783,000 deaths a year to ?iatrogenic? causes -- induced inadvertently by medical treatment or diagnostic procedures. In 2001, in comparison, just under 700,000 Americans died from heart disease and 550,000 died of cancer.

According to a Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) article by Dr. Barbara Starfield published in 2000, the United States ranks 12th out of thirteen industrialized countries when judged by sixteen health status indicators. Japan, Sweden and Canada (the country health privateers attack as having ?socialized medicine?) rank one, two and three respectively. In 1990, the United States ranked 24th out of thirty-eight developed countries in infant mortality, with a rate of 9.2 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Meanwhile, in 2004 the United States spent $ 1.9 trillion on health care -- 16% of our GDP. Maybe that old saying ?you get what you pay for? needs to be modified slightly to ?you get what you pay for, and sometimes a whole lot less.?

But that isn?t even the bad news, folks.

Many of you reading this already are wary of ?Newtonian medicine,? where every symptom must be attacked with an equal and opposite force-- so you avail yourselves of alternatives. Chances are you?re among the more than one third of American adults who are using some form of Complementary or Alternative Medicine (CAM). If certain forces have their way, however, that won?t be for long.

Let me say here that I just finished writing the section of my Spontaneous Evolution book with Bruce Lipton called ?Institutionalized Insanity,? which is about how false, dysfunctional and obsolete beliefs express themselves in society?s institutions. One of the chapters in that section is called ?The Unhealthy Care System.? Even sprinkled with a little humor, it?s not a cheerful read. But as Swami has said, ?The truth shall upset you free.?

One of the few downsides in being among those who value the Golden Rule over the rule of gold is that we tend to ?misunderestimate? the dark powers. In our desire not to ?go there,? we may not notice it when ?there? comes ?here.?

I am quoting here from a communiqu? by the Health Solutions Network asking us to take preemptive action in order to head off what can essentially make practicing alternative medicine illegal. Here is the note from Dr. Rima Laibow:

The US FDA is at it again. They have been notorious for decades for their biased attacks and uneven handling of natural, non-drug/surgery/radiation based health options. This time, though, they are playing for keeps.

The goal is simple: through a "Guidance" about the regulation of "CAM" (which they conveniently define as "Complementary and Alternative MEDICINE" the FDA hopes to serve the interests of Big Pharma by eliminating all CAM practices and products. ALL of them.

Here's how this deadly game is played:

1. By using the term "Medicine" rather than "Modality" for CAM practices, the FDA sets the stage so that anyone who is not a licensed physician is breaking the law by using these modalities since they are therefore 'practicing medicine without a license'.

2. By using the term "treatment" rather than "therapy", the FDA limits those who can perform these practices to licensed physicians and, again, anyone who is not a licensed physician is breaking the law by using these modalities since only licensed practitioners can treat. So people using these modalities are therefore 'practicing medicine without a license'.

3. By using the terms "Medicine" and "treatment" instead of "Modalities" and "therapy", all substances, including vitamins, minerals, herbs, co-factors, etc., automatically become untested drugs since they are being used to prevent, treat, mitigate or cure disease states. Such use can only legally take place with FDA approved drugs.

 

Here's How We Protect CAM Practices, Practitioners and Products
Numbers. Sheer volume of response. Nothing more and nothing less. NOW is the time to act. Our window of opportunity slams shut on April 30, 2007.

http://tinyurl.com/2u7ghc

That is the link which allows you to send a comment directly to the FDA about their deadly "Guidance.? Will it matter? Yes, if millions of people respond. So I am asking you to take this "viral".

Here is what you need to do NOW if you value your freedom:

1. Click on the link below and add your name to the letter. When you click "Send" it will be electronically delivered to the FDA docket site and posted.

2. Write a brief note (or copy the information in this email) including this link , http://tinyurl.com/2u7ghc , and mail it to every one you can. In your email please:


Include everyone you know and tell them that their freedom to choose their own health modalities and options is under serious attack.
Send the same email to the the companies which make the vitamins, minerals and herbs you use and ask them to send it out to their entire mailing list.
Impress upon the people you contact that we are facing a virulent and highly organized assault on ALL natural products and procedures because they do not feed the pharmaceutical coffers and that their help is crucial.
Include a link to the Natural Solutions Foundation website (www.HealthFreedomUSA.org ). Ask them to become familiar with the site in order to lend their support to the health freedom battle which threatens their right to make their own health choices.

If you have ever thought about taking action to protect your health freedom, NOW is the time to do it.

If you have never thought about taking action, now is the time to think about it and do it.
5,000,000
That's our goal. Two weeks, five million comments to the FDA, all asserting our fundamental right to control our own health.
Can we do it? It's up to you.
Here's the link:
http://tinyurl.com/2u7ghc

The future of natural health and health freedom is literally in our hands!
Yours in health and freedom,
Rima E. Laibow, MD
Medical Director
Natural Solutions Foundation
http://www.healthfreedomusa.org

Apologies if the tone of that note was ?alarming,? but I guess the purpose of an alarm to wake people up. So ... don?t hit ?snooze? ... do something.

As you contemplate taking action and what action to take, I offer two stories. The first story you may be familiar with. It is the story of Kitty Genovese, the Queens woman who was murdered some forty years ago while 38 neighbors watched from their apartment windows. While this story has been used to illustrate the careless uncaringness of modern society, there?s a little more to the story than we think. According to Malcolm Gladwell?s account in The Tipping Point, the real reason why no one took action was precisely because so many people were watching. Each expected that someone else would report the crime.

Let?s not make that mistake. Let?s make sure everyone -- all fifty or sixty million of us who avail ourselves of alternative medicine -- report the crime before it happens.

The second story is about a picnic I attended about twenty years ago. A group of us were trying to play volleyball, but a rambunctious and persistent little Shelty dog kept ?herding? children onto the volleyball court. What was ?cute? the first two times, became increasingly ?uncute? the fifth, sixth and seventh time. Finally I had an idea. I instructed everyone that the next time the dog herded the kids on to the field, we -- all twelve or so of us trying to play volleyball -- would turn as one and chase the dog. Sure enough, next time we did just that, and you?ve never seen a more confused herding dog. He kept looking back as we chased him, and I?m sure the thought going through his little doggie head was, ?No! No! No! They can?t be herding me, I have to be herding them!?

This turning of the tables worked, and that was the last time the dog disrupted our game. So now it is our turn to turn the tables. We have to gather all our numbers and all our momentum to chase this ?bad dog? of an idea so far off the field that it forgets where the field is.

 
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/healthfreedomusa/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=7185

[henry]

excellent jimtzu. i feel hopeless facing this juggernaut. years ago i had a brief visit with sen. rockefeller and asked him if he knew our neighbor patch adams. yes he did. i still get a christmas card from his family... ...henry

[marianthi]

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) are getting attacked in various countries. In the U.K around 3 years ago I had heard that the sale of ?supplements?, herbal tablets and such was going to be practically banned.  I don?t know what?s happened since then but I feel that signatures crying out for the survival of CAM are not enough.  Every branch of CAM needs more evidence than the reports of the patients it has improved by: blood test, scans, cardiograms etc. and all the arsenal that orthodox medicine bows to.  I know that there are some of these studies around, but not enough.  There are orthodox doctors using alternative healing and getting good results, but not enough. 

And don?t we know that there ARE some in the CAM field that are an embarssment?  Their tall claims for the effectiveness of their method and why it works come through with support that is superficial or out of the land of Oz.  I?m tempted to point fingers at specific cases since through the mid 70?s until now I?ve met, been treated by, quite a smogasbord of ?healers? but I?ll let sleeping dogs lie. Some of us hope that true healers are not forced into the underground or get burned at legislative stakes yet, again, I can?t see how protesting against that is enough.  Proving what we do, how and why it works - in the language of orthodox medicine - is one way to go.  May it happen soon enough or may we all meet in secret caves lit in candlelight to do our healing.  And come to think of it, why not the second option? A regression of that sort might give us a richer and truer life.

Marianthi.

[Michael]

Wow thinks for posting those Jim.  I followed the links in the last one and found this vid:

<a href="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-5266884912495233634" target="_blank">http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-5266884912495233634</a>

This is some surreal scary shit.

[jimtzu]

hey michael...  i'll have to check that clip out.  google has some great stuff available that you can't find anywhere's else.

it must be a busy time out on the trail.  the swami is back already with another smoke signal, as usual with his biting sense of humor.  the truth not only hurts, but it can set you free....

 

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Bringing Down the House of Lies
The Final "Leg" of the Journey
April 16, 2007
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by Steve Bhaerman

Apologies in advance for sending such a long piece. There's research and details that I felt work better as part of the text than a hyperlink.

It's a bit of a mixed feeling to realize that millions and millions of people who didn't get this distinction two, four or six years ago now understand that the "political' issues we now face aren't about right and left, they're about right and wrong. On one hand, what took you so long? On the other, thank God and welcome aboard.

Although the media has downplayed it -- it doesn't fit with the general stupidization program of creating a lot of heat but very little light -- more and more actual conservatives and even members of the religious right are coming to see the Bush-Cheney regime as a rogue administration and a thin cover for criminal enterprise. Such right wing stalwarts as former Georgia Rep. Bob Barr and Richard Viguerie (one of the architects of the far right wing) have formed an organization to protect our civil liberties from our own government. Chuck Baldwin, an associate of Jerry Falwell, has become an open advocate of impeachment and writes a very articulate column. These folks are far bolder than the Democrats in this regard, and they will play a key role when impeachment happens -- and it will.

Now some of you reading this who have a deeper spiritual understanding of love, forgiveness and the ways in which we do indeed create our own reality might be wondering "Gee, this whole impeachment thing seems pretty 'anti'. Shouldn't we be focusing on what we want instead of what we don't want?"

Indeed, the point can be made that the failure of the Democrats in 2004 -- aside from the minor issue of voting fraud in Ohio and Florida -- had to do with John Kerry's approach of "Vote for me, I'm not as bad as George Bush," and failure to articulate any compelling positive vision. However, the real issue goes much deeper.
 

Ending The American Hostage Crisis
It has nothing to do with loving or hating George Bush, whose policies have educated and awakened more Americans than all of the "progressive" leaders combined. It does have to do with what we need to recognize as the American Hostage Crisis. The American people -- and particularly our soldiers in Iraq -- are being held hostage by a ruthless criminal cadre (this is not hyperbolic invective; the definition of "criminal" is "one who commits crimes"). The people up until now have been blackmailed into supporting a war of choice with the cynical cry, "Support our troops." As if our troops sent themselves over there and now we have to rescue them.

The people of America are now at a crossroads that will determine whether the world continues hurtling down the highway to hell, or whether we change course in the direction of our true human potential, what Swami calls "humanifest destiny." I say the world because if the United States honors the intentions of our founders and accepts the evolutionary role of genuine self-governance, the entire world will cheer -- and breathe a sigh of relief. Under the guise of true moral authority, we will be able to isolate the sociopathogens in the world and deal with them as criminals instead of what we're doing now -- killing the people the criminal elements are holding hostage, and creating new converts for the criminals.

There is something positive to be built, but it cannot be built on a foundation of lies. That is why the so-called "surge" or any other policy to "stay the course" in Iraq will not succeed. The entire structure -- why we're there, what's been happening since we got there, what our future intentions are -- all lies. Those troops we are "supporting" are being sent in as surrogate targets for George Bush and the American empire, an empire that isn't even ours but belongs to a slew of multinational corporations that could care less whether America lives or dies. That's what American soldiers are discovering, sadly, that their most ardent "supporters" at home have been unwilling to face. Until now.

America's next step -- and only step -- that can take us forward is to bring the Bush-Cheney regime to justice. This isn't about vengeance, it isn't about punishment. It's about truth. That element that has been so lacking in our political environment that it has caused a spiritual, psychological and political heartsickness in the heartland. This basic lack of integrity -- that even those who overtly believe the lies still feel deep down in their guts -- is why we have the Don Imuses and the Ann Coulters. Those are the people who keep us occupied with weapons of mass-distraction, who help us aim our rage at the wrong targets.

Their brand of free speech is what Caroline Casey calls a "toxic mimic" of the real thing. The freedom of speech and freedom of press the American revolutionaries risked life and fortune for wasn't so our "commonest" of commentators could sling invectives like "faggots" and "nappy-headed ho's" but to empower citizens by letting them know what's going on. In this regard, the record of our so-called "free press" is dismal, if not traitorous. Try initiating a real conversation about the unanswered questions and unquestioned answers regarding 9/11. There you will find a stone wall of silence, or loud screaming to drown out the truth. While up until now, very few have wanted to "go there," more and more people are awakening to the tragic truth that "there" has already come "here."

 

Cutting the Legs Out From Under Their Story
Just over two years ago, after what many of us realized was a stolen election (with Barbara Boxer the lone Senator to stand and raise the issue), I wrote a piece about the wall of lies. In the midst of the frustration and despair that many of us felt, I predicted the wall of lies would crumble. It wasn't a difficult prediction to make. In these times when the veil is being lifted everywhere, the "irony curtain" is no exception.

I wrote that the illegitimate "legitimacy" of the Bush-Cheney regime rested on a three-legged stool. The first leg was the belief they were fairly elected in 2000 and 2004. The second was the Iraq War and the reluctance of people to "change horse's asses in the middle of an extreme." The third was 9/11, and the official account of what happened that day.

At this writing, one leg is completely gone and another is severely splintered. More than two thirds of Americans now see the Iraq War as an unmitigated disaster, and a large portion of our armed forces are demoralized and angry. It is now being termed "an unpopular war," a phrase that begs the question, "And when exactly was the last 'popular war'?" Wait a minute ... I think I have it. The last popular war was the Battle of the Groups at the Brooklyn Fox Theater ... Dion and the Belmonts vs. the Drifters. I think it was 1960.

As for the legitimacy of the "elections", that issue broke through the soundless barrier a year ago when RFK, Jr. published his article in Rolling Stone. Timing is everything, and the timing of that article coincided with a general "upwising." Having seen mounting evidence of lying, cheating and stealing on the part of Rove and company, a critical mass of Americans (or at least Democrats) were able to accept the inconvenient likelihood that the Republicans cheated to win the election too. This awakened awareness and the voter mobilization that followed helped the Democrats win control of both Houses of Congress, despite any shenanigans. As lame as you may think the Democrats are, this was the first important step of restoring the balance of power and the rule of law. I contend it could not have happened without the widespread awareness that the Republicans were getting set to steal elections again.

So here we are. The "leg" called the Iraq War is gone. The "leg" called "these people were elected legitimately" is badly compromised. And yet, like the mad monk Rasputin, Bush and Cheney are still standing behind their stone wall. Subpoenas notwithstanding, they've entrenched and have no intention of giving in one iota. Because as soon as they do, the avalanche of revelations will cause their downfall. How long can this holding pattern go on? It can definitely go on indefinitely. Unless we as a nation allow the 9/11 story to break through the soundless barrier. When this leg gets chopped off, Bush and Cheney will be gone.

More importantly, the truth will be revealed so that we can collectively "face the music" and set a new course. Never has any nation been in this position. Nazi Germany was forced to face their heart of darkness only by military defeat. Soviet Russia collapsed under the weight of its own unworkability. But now, for the "land of the free" to finally earn that name and claim our true inheritance, we must face what is perhaps the most profound betrayal in our 200 year history.

 

[jimtzu]

the swami wasn't kidding... big post.. to big for one on these here pages...

and now.. for the rest of the story:

A Straussian Waltz Down a Slippery Slope
Although we would like to believe that the principles that guided America's founding fathers are still in operation, the sad truth is that the principles of truth, justice and transparency have been overridden by a new operating system called "neo-conservatism" which is neither "neo" nor conservative. The "neocon" is actually a very old con called "the end justifies the means." And that brings us to Leo Strauss, the man considered the "founding father" of neoconservatism.

Leo Strauss, who was born in Germany and who taught at the University of Chicago from 1949-69, brought Machiavelli into the machine age. He unabashedly believed in manipulation and deception, all of which he deemed necessary to rule the unruly masses. According to Shadia Drury, author of Leo Strauss and the American Right, Strauss believed that "those who are fit to rule are those who realize there is no morality and there is only one natural right -- the right of the superior to rule over the inferior."

Strauss was a strong believer in religion -- as a way of imposing "moral law" on the populace, who would otherwise be out of control. He would have agreed with Marx that religion was the "opiate of the masses," only he had no qualms about being a drug dealer. The rulers, of course, didn't have to live by the rules of religion. Says Ronald Bailey, science correspondent for Reason magazine: "Neoconservatives are pro-religion even though they themselves may not be believers."

In the tradition of Thomas Hobbes, Strauss believed humans are inherently evil and need strong external control -- and an external enemy. As he once wrote, "Because mankind is intrinsically wicked, he has to be governed. Such governance can only be established, however, when men are united -- and they can only be united against other people."

According to Drury, Strauss believed that "if no external threat exists, one has to be manufactured." Interestingly enough, Strauss's neocon disciples William Kristol, Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle (along with Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld) helped found a think tank called the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) in the 1990s. A PNAC document, Rebuilding America's Defenses has been a guiding force for the Bush-Cheney White House. According to PNAC, the only way to assure America's safety in the 21st century is by being the only superpower on the block, what they referred to as Pax Americana. Of course, since the Iraq War many around the world are calling it a "Pox Americana."

Perhaps the most telling quote in the Rebuilding America's Defenses document refers to needing a "catastrophic and catalyzing event -- like a new Pearl Harbor" to mobilize the masses for this undertaking (pun intended). The neocons insist this was an innocuous quote taken out of context. However, when seen in the context of Leo Strauss's core beliefs, it's easy to make the connection and see the 9/11 attacks as the "catalyzing event" that launched the so-called "war on terror." In fact, author and theologian David Ray Griffin called his sober account debunking the official 9/11 story The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions about the Bush Administration and 9/11. Whether or not the attacks were an "inside job," they were certainly used in classic Straussian fashion to create national unity and control through perpetual war.

Griffin, a well-respected mainstream theologian who has written and edited 30 books, contends that the official 9/11 story has been given the "halo of religious mythology." Like the infallibility of the Pope in the Church or the primacy of matter in scientific materialism, questioning the official 9/11 story is taboo. Consequently, most people fail to see the red flags that are literally in plain sight:

√ The official story was in place within 48 hours of the event, before any investigation was undertaken.

√ The official "remedy," the so-called Patriot Act (a 342-page document that many legislators signed without reading), appeared as if by magic and was ratified in an atmosphere of panic -- right on the heels of Democratic legislators receiving packets of deadly anthrax, a crime that has never been "solved."

√ No satisfactory explanation has ever been given as to how and why the world's most sophisticated air defense system "stood down" in the most deadly attacks ever on American soil. And no one was held accountable.

√ Transcripts of testimony released at the insistence of 9/11 families -- from firefighters, police and eyewitnesses -- mention over and over again a "series of explosions" and the towers coming down in their tracks, "just like a planned demolition."

√ When there finally was an investigation, only testimony supporting the official version of the story was allowed. Imagine, if you will, a court case where there was no conflicting evidence ... case closed.

 

Time to Face Our Own Not-Seeism
The fact that these blatant contradictions have never been officially addressed stands as stark testimony as to how well weapons of mass-distraction have been used to keep the official story in place. Yes, the mass media has been complicit in failing to present an alternative view, and in marginalizing anyone suggesting otherwise as a "conspiracy nut." But it goes far deeper than that. The persistent "invisible belief" in America's intrinsic goodness makes it incomprehensible that the government in the "land of the free" would perpetrate something that horrendous against its own citizens. Like the Germans who heard about the death camps and were told it was "American propaganda," most Americans won't question the official story because the horrendous implications are too awful to contemplate. But the "Not See" era is about to end.

I'm going to apologize in advance for using a distasteful metaphor that many of you will find repugnant. But since this is the image that keeps coming to mind, I'm going to have to risk it. Think back when you were in college. You were at a party and had a little too much to drink. You're feeling wobbly and a bit nauseous. You are on the teeter-totter of a decision -- to throw up or not to throw up. Throwing up. Ugh. You don't want to do it, it's disgusting. But then you realize, you have to do it. It is something the body is telling you to do, and you also know that when you've expelled the mess you will feel so much better.

That is where our body politic is today. We've literally had it up to here. But we've been reluctant to expel the toxins for all to see. Last year at this time, I had contracted to write a story on David Ray Griffin called Unquestioned Answers: A Non-Conspiracy Theorist Takes Aim at the Official 9/11 Story for a local mainstream publication. In the six weeks from the time the editor reluctantly okayed the story until the time I handed it in, she had undergone a change of mind. She told me, "I have come to believe the American government did indeed have something to do with the attacks, and the very thought of it makes me sick to my stomach."

Having to swallow what we've been asked to swallow over the past several years, purging might be the very best cure. So now the question is, what to do and how to do it?

There seem to be two approaches to the 9/11 issue. One involves jumping into the details of the mystery itself and trying to figure out specifically what happened. The problem here is what has already occurred -- squabbling about the details, one group of believers in one conspiracy theory accusing another of spreading disinformation.

The other approach is the one I took with the David Ray Griffin article I published last year. Focus on stepping outside the official story, removing its "halo" and asking if indeed, it is the likeliest story. Here's why. No amount of "evidence" will convince anybody unless they are open to the possibility of the premise. The breakthrough will occur when a critical mass of people begin to put it together for themselves.

What opened me to a premise I was -- like David Ray Griffin -- initially closed to was reading about the "false flag" operations done by NATO during the Cold War and those like Operation Northwoods that was proposed but not initiated here (you can read brief accounts about those in the above-linked article on David Ray Griffin). When I combined this information with the realization I'd already come to -- that Bush, Cheney, Rove & Company were capable of anything they could get away with -- I had bridged the gap.

 

Time to Cut Off the Tale That's Been Wagging the Dog
What we face right now is perhaps the greatest opportunity for freedom yet experienced in America. It is an invitation to become "political adults" and step outside the puppet show called electoral politics and take a look at the inner workings behind the "irony curtain." It is here -- and only here -- that transformational change can take place. It's as big a step as our Founding Fathers made "eleven score and eleven" years ago by declaring themselves sovereign and government a servant.

We do this by educating ourselves and taking heart that so many people are awakening a new field of understanding now. There are many sites but here is a good one to start with because it offers a surprising list of well-known people in all areas of endeavor who question the official tale that has been wagging the dog for the past five years. Another excellent educational site is Mark Robinowitz's Oil Empire site because he offers some very sharp distinctions for sniffing out the truth when there are many different stories.

Finally, we must address this undressing of the cloak of secrecy with healing intent. In other words, we must be able not just to picture but to "feel" what it will feel like to no longer have to fear our own government. We must allow ourselves to see those inside the military, government and intelligence services who have not been "ethically-cleansed" coming forward with the missing pieces of the true story. We must begin now to create a "container" for truth, reconciliation and healing.

Every indication is that there are individuals at all levels of government and influence who are waiting only for a critical mass of Americans to be able to "hold" the true story. Once there is a "listening" for the truth, the truth will out. We encourage the truth through our own courage, and by speaking about politics outside the box as matter-of-factly as the media speaks about politics inside the box.

The simple secret to bringing down the wall of lies is this. When enough people see through the wall, it will cease to exist.

May "Good" bless us all.

 

[jimtzu]

here are a few links that didn't seem to get hyperlinked in the piece...

http://www.raidersnewsnetwork.com/chuck-baldwin.php

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2007/cbarchive_20070309.html

http://www.serendipity.li/impeachment.htm#articles

http://www.palgrave-usa.com/catalog/product.aspx?isbn=0312217838

http://www.alternet.org/story/15935

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_for_the_New_American_Century

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3249.htm

http://bohemian.com/bohemian/06.14.06/david-ray-griffin-0624.html

http://www.interlinkbooks.com/BooksN/New_Pearl_Harbor.html

http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20060118104223192

http://www.patriotsquestion911.com/

http://www.oilempire.us/

whewwwwww.....

[jimtzu]

michael, here's a companion pdf to go along with the video you posted on the Codex and nurients.  http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/docs/nutricide.pdf

it is pretty scary stuff and ties in with the movie on google about the Rothschilds and the rest of the powers that be.

[jimtzu]

just a few words from Beyondananda (steve bhaerman)

Inspiration From "The Flip"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Friends,
At a time when negativity is out-picturing everywhere and more and more of us are coming to the realization that we have outgrown our old paradigm, we are more in need than ever of stories that point us towards emergent evolution. Because these negative pictures are so vivid and in our face, the best nourishment and spiritual fortification is anything that brings to life our most positive visions.

I want to tell you about a powerful new book called The Flip by Jared Rosen and David Rippe. It presents how humankind stands at an important crossroad. One way leads to an upside down world of chaos, anxiety and fear; the other toward a Right Side Up world of mindful living, harmony and balance. The Flip reveals that tens of millions of people have already made the choice to embrace the right-side up world. As a result, a stunning change is underway: a major transformational shift from a broken, outmoded paradigm where the natural world has been sacrificed for convenience to an interconnected world where millions of people value a holistic lifestyle of natural products, sustainable business and spiritual transcendence.

This is a book that dialogues with some of the most innovative change makers on the planet including people like Oscar Arias (President Of Costa Rica), Peter Senge, Candace Pert, Ed Begley Jr., Nell Newman and a slew of bestselling authors such as Byron Katie, Gary Zukav and Christiane Northrup. This is a book that Patricia Aburdene (best-selling author of the Megatrends books) calls a "blueprint for the 21st century". Visit their site and get a copy for you and a friend! www.TheFlip.net

As the Swami says, "If we flip in, we won't need to flip out."

May the FARCE Be With You,

Steve Bhaerman

http://www.wakeuplaughing.com/

Read Swami's 2007 State of the Universe Address

To read more about The Flip and additional interviews from other luminaries, experts and bestselling authors, please visit www.theflip.net
http://www.theflip.net/

[Michael]

I thought his latest installment was rather amusing:

 Swami Beyondananda on the Law of Attraction
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Swami:

I keep hearing about this Law of Attraction, but it doesn't seem to work for me. Every time I am attracted to someone, they end up being attracted to someone else. And money? Forget about it. The more I affirm, the less I seem to have. I've tried meditation, I've tried affirmations, I've read books and attended seminars but somehow the Universe doesn't seem to be getting my messages. Swami, am I missing something?

Erna Liddle,
Lexington, Kentucky

(the Swami answers):
Dear Erna:

You came to the right Swami with this question, because I had the same experience years ago. As a young seeker, I found myself unemployed and without money. Today, I refer to that time as my "Baroque Period" -- you know, so Baroque I was Haydn from the landlord. Anyway, I knew with certainty that all I needed was to harness the power of the mind, and my needs and desires would be fulfilled. One Friday, I received a notice from the utilities company that on Monday, they would come to turn off my electricity for not paying. And so I began my intensive affirmation process that a large check I was expecting would indeed arrive by Monday. With each affirmation, I felt more confident and certain.

Sure enough, on Monday the doorbell rang. It was a huge Czechoslovakian guy who said, "I'm here to shut off your electricity." And so I learned a valuable spiritual lesson. If you want the Universe to do your bidding, you have to spell it out.

But I really learned about the Law of Attraction when I did my apprenticeship in Texas as a sacred cowpoke with the legendary master of meditation and outdoor cooking, Baba Q. Every Sunday, at his ranch the I'm OK You're OK Corral, we would have an attractor-pull where we would practice pure animal magnetism. I became a champ, and believe me, it's quite a feeling walking around with a hundred or so gophers (and an occasional armadillo) stuck to you.

It was during that time (which I now refer to as my Gopher Baroque Period) that I learned something that might be of help to you. The entire problem with affirmations is that we use them to ask for what we don't have because if we already had it, we wouldn't be asking for it, would we? The problem is, that in doing the affirmation, we are first and foremost affirming we don't have something. That is the thought we are broadcasting, and the Universe dutifully sends us more of the same. That is how the Law of Attraction becomes the Law of Repulsion.

So how do you trick the Universe into giving you something you don't already have? By fully feeling that you already have it. That's right. The key to fulfillment is full-feelment. And in solving this tricky problem, I inadvertently found the secret to health, wealth, relaxation and release of worry once and for all. After years of trying to live in the now, I decided to get ahead of the game. I bought a condo in a future of my choice, and I've been living there happily waiting for the world to catch up.

[jimtzu]

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Tower of Babble
June 15, 2007
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
by Steve Bhaerman

Having spent two weeks in Europe now with four more weeks to go, I see many contrasts between here and the U.S.A. As we flew into Frankfurt, then Paris and then Vienna we saw green fields and thick forests right up to the outskirts of the city. On a bus ride through Slovenia on the way from Croatia to Italy, we saw vast expanses of land not "for" anything, but just "there."

In Vienna, everyone takes public transit, not just the poor folks with no alternative. As one our new friends told us, "I have the luxury of not owning an automobile." There seems to be little of the age segregation that we find in the States. Old people hobble along through the streets where they might well have spent their youth. In Venice, even dogs have a particular European "attitude." On leashes or walking free, they make their way through the narrow streets going about their business, unmindful of the crowds and seeming to crave no attention.

But perhaps the biggest contrast -- and the one most relevant to the challenges we face in America -- is the news. CNN Worldwide and CNN America broadcast two different stories. While America is fed "babblum" about the latest narcissistic misadventures of Paris Hilton, the same CNN shows Europeans the demonstrations at the G8 meetings. While the U.S. media prattles about which of the Presidential candidates is doing a better job manipulating public opinion, CNN World is doing features about peak oil and climate change. The American media shows talking heads rationalizing the latest surge in Iraq. CNN World shows dead Iraqi civilians.

First question: Are you outraged by this? Second question: If not, why not?

My sad conclusion is this: The one major difference between Soviet Russia and America today is Russian citizens knew Pravda was lying to them. The free press our Founding Fathers fought for as necessary for an informed citizenry has been replaced with a Tower of Babble.
 

CNN ... NBC ... ABC ...
It's All "See B.S." Now
Here is a riddle: What is it that is everywhere all around us, and yet cannot be spoken? The answer? Bull----. I write it that way because some servers will block any email that contains that word. Now if that isn't bull---, I don't know what is. We are swimming in it, no we are drowning in it, and the word cannot be uttered. A few years ago, when the TV series NYPD Blue was nearing its end, they were allowed one "bull---" per episode. I enjoyed watching the show each week, curious how they would spend their thin ration.

So maybe our first step in our march to political adulthood is to "legalize" the word bull----. No problem can be solved without naming it, so we must first be able to name it so we can acknowledge we are being buried alive in it. The second step towards liberation is to understand why these weapons of mass distraction are being used against us.

The reason the Tower of Babble is broadcasting 24/7 is the same reason the Roman Empire in its decline offered "bread and circus," and more of the latter than the former. Americans need to be distracted from the looting and pillaging of our commonwealth -- and indeed the world's common wealth -- while the looters and pillagers enjoy a few more years of high living before the whole thing goes down the toilet. Unless ...

Unless we bring down the Towers of Babble and proclaim the American Evolution, where we the people begin to have heart-to-heart conversations across the "red-blue divide" and come front and center to face the reality: The "American Empire" is un-American. The vast majority of us don't benefit from the wealth extracted by the multinational economy. Judging by the growing gap between rich and poor in this country and the disappearing middle class, America has been re-colonized by a new self-proclaimed "King George" who represents the modern incarnation of the British East India Company.

As a first step in awakening and reeducation, I recommend a book and an article. The book is David Korten's latest, The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community.. David spoke at the recent Praxis Peace Conference in Dubrovnik, and in fact a transcript of his presentation is available for downloading here. The other is an article in the June issue of Vanity Fair comparing the decline of Rome to the current state of America. Read it.

The truth shall upset you free.

As with the Biblical Tower of Babel, the Babble is keeping the American people from finding a common language. Very rarely will the media offer a thoughtful discussion seeking common ground. Instead, there is ranting and raving, fear-mongering and intentional misunderstanding. For it would be dangerous indeed for the progressive left and the libertarian right to compare notes and find they are tossing harpoons at the same leviathan from two different directions.

The other word that cannot be uttered is "empire." Watch the Democrats dance around the truth that we're not in Iraq to keep the peace, we're there to keep the pieces. Notice that MoveOn consistently blinds itself and its constituency to the context that weaves all the individual progressive issues together: Our government is owned by an oligarchy that serves itself, and not the people. For the most part, the Democrats are owned by the same oligarchy. They just put a kinder face on it. Or, if you will, the Democrats play enabler to the Republican abusers.

Like the classic Peanuts recurring nightmare of Lucy pulling away the football each time Charlie Brown tries to kick it -- in spite of her insistence that she would never do such a thing -- the Democrats if victorious will once again send the body politic sprawling on its ass. Unless ...

Unless we the people mark the B.S. "return to sender" and let the media know "we're not buying it." Whether it involves mailing copies of publications that publish less truthful issues here than they do elsewhere back to the source, or unplugging from TV, or inundating CNN and other networks with mass protest ... nothing will change unless the voice of the people drowns out the lies emanating from the Tower of Babble.

 

The New Moral Majority
At the same time we express in no uncertain terms what we don't want, we must articulate even louder and clearer what we do want. Perhaps the passing of Jerry Falwell earlier this year signals the end of "morality" being used as a weapon for hatred, misunderstanding ... and empire. Perhaps now is the time for a New Moral Majority to proclaim principles more in keeping with the spirit and word of Jesus Christ: "We're all in this together."

Consider that what we humans do collectively would never be tolerated if done by an individual. It's as if the Ten Commandments were modified while we weren't looking: Thou shalt not kill unless done in extremely large groups. Why is that? It seems to me that the Tower of Babble has been used to separate us from the principles that 90% of us hold in common by distracting us with the 10% that keeps us apart.

Were Zogby or some other polling agency to ask the leading question, "Is it appropriate for money to be the final arbiter in America's public decisions?" probably 90% to 95% of Americans would say "of course not." And yet, that is what we have. The rule of gold overrules the Golden Rule every time. What if we had the understanding that a vast, vast majority of us want the same thing? What if a critical mass of us broke down the silly cultural divides that keep us divided and conquered, and began to create the foundation of a real "Moral Majority?"

There are those who have already declared the real American dream dead. We are, they sigh, inexorably on the road to neofeudalism disguised as Big Brother totalitarianism. Or, they see the ecologic and economic crashes coming and are already buying real estate in the next world. Or, like many progressives they hope for peace but fear their cause is hopeless.

As I am learning in writing the Spontaneous Evolution book with Bruce Lipton, new and functional structures cannot be imposed from the top down, but can only emerge from the bottom up. Like the single cell organisms bumping up against their single-cellhood billions of years ago, we humans now are at the limits of of selfish individualism. It's not that "every cell for itself" is "bad." It's just no longer workable. The new self-interest must consider what the Buddhists already know, that the self-interest of the self and the self-interest of the whole are one and the same. Individual survival is a futile goal if the species doesn't make it.

The word "religion" comes from the Latin, "re-ligare" -- to bind together and reconnect. When you look beneath the "dogma-doo" that has obscured this original meaning, religion is meant to connect us with our community, with our world and with our cosmos. The Tower of Babble has been keeping us from finding this common cause and common connection.

Another word for this common binding connection is love. "Love," says Dr. Leonard Laskow in his book Healing With Love, "is the impulse toward unity, nonseparation, wholeness. While love can take many forms, its essence is relatedness." The opposite of love, Laskow believes, isn't "hate" but separation.

In the Einsteinian universe where everything is connected, love is the "glue" that holds things together. Says Laskow, "Love is a universal pattern of resonant energy." In this sense, two or more tuning forks vibrating together are "in love" with each other, just as two or more humans can resonate in a palpable field of connectedness, joy and even ecstasy. Love, he says, "is the universal harmonic."

The Tower of Babble creates separation by keeping us in our heads -- in the divisive world of B.S. (short for "belief systems"). Love is the resonant field that reverberates in our hearts, regardless of what beliefs seem to separate us. That is the secret that will set us free, the secret the powers that be in power don't want us to discover.

The change -- if there is change -- cannot come from above. It can only come from individual "cells" choosing to listen lovingly to one another, even if they disagree. Only by resonating with and reinforcing the common harmonic of the heart can we liberate ourselves from our exile in Babble On.


 

[Robin]

Love it all, especially the typo 'jewry'.  The best hit of the day today was when Dolly Parton was made a Girl Scout.  OMG, would have to let out my Girl Scout badge sash at least 20 inches for Dolly.   

Thanks for the perspective from another part of our beautiful planet.

Love and peace to ya'll!
Robin
(that's me on the left with my friend, Lulu)

[jimtzu]

How Can It Be "Free Speech" When Only Money Talks?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Abusers, Enablers and Healing America's Political Dysfunction.
by Steve Bhaerman

"The good news is, we still have free speech in this country. Unfortunately, if you want anyone to listen, that'll cost money."
-- Swami Beyondananda

In our travels through Europe, we found one enduring and persistent impression of the United States. Whether they love us, hate us or tolerate us, most people here seem to agree that in America, money rules. As if to punctuate that point, two 5-4 rulings of the Bush Supreme Court last week indicate that we still have free speech in America -- provided it's money that's doing the talking.

The Court ruled last week that sections of the McCain-Feingold Act were unconstitutional because they sought to restrict money spent by corporations and unions on negative political ads late in the campaign. By the same narrow margin, the Court also ruled that a school was within its rights to prohibit a student from displaying a banner reading "Bong hits 4 Jesus." Regardless of how you may feel about bong hits, Jesus or the number "4" being used as shorthand for a word, this is not dangerous speech -- nothing at all like shouting "fire!" in a crowded theater.

The other decision is even more troubling. It indicates once again that in America, the noises made by money can drown out more helpful political discourse. In this latest "affront d'jour" to truth, justice and the American way (at least as our Founding Fathers saw it), we now have one more chance to see clearly and act on that clarity.

Cynics (and maybe even realists) would say that there are three kinds of people in America: Those who hate Republicans more than Democrats, those who hate Democrats more than Republicans, and those who have equal disdain for both of the "two potties." In any case, people tend to fall toward one side or another looking to find an evil lesser than the greater one. I'd like to offer a slightly different analysis that might lead us in the direction of a helpful strategy.

I begin with the assertion that we do have a two-party system consisting of the Democratic Party and the Undemocratic Party. Whatever you think of the Democrats (we'll deal with them shortly) the Republicans have given every indication that when the issue is money vs. people, they will be on the side of money every time. This, by the way, has been the enduring struggle since the founding of this nation -- between those who see liberty primarily as extending opportunity to as many people as possible, and those who see liberty as their right to make money at the expense of the whole.

The Republicans -- despite lone voices such as Rep. Ron Paul and the long-forgotten visionary ideals of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and Barry Goldwater -- are a wholly-owned subsidiary of those who already have huge amounts of money and power and want more. They have formed an unholy alliance with the American ayatollahs of the Christian right (aka, "the Grinch that stole Christianity") and together they've enabled the moneychangers to throw Jesus out of the temple and somehow still call it "Christianity."

Wither the Democrats?

My friend Rita George says that power can be abused either by using it, or by not using it. The Republicans have shown themselves to be remarkably adept at the former. Whether it involves torturing detainees or torturing the Constitution, the Republicans in power have demonstrated their willingness to do anything inside or outside the bounds of law to keep themselves and their cronies in power. While they're willing to put a happy face on totalitarianism, the most Machiavellian among them understand that when push comes to shove they and they alone must be the ones doing the pushing and shoving.

While some might say the current administration is a neocon aberration, look at any of the "electable" Republican candidates and you see a cheerleader for empire and the "re-colonization" of America by the 21st century version of the British East India Company. The notable exception of course is Ron Paul. But libertarianism, like any ideology, doesn't offer the flexibility to solve problems at the next level. And any Republican candidate will feel obliged to push the toxic, backward agenda of the religious right.

The Democrats, meanwhile, play the classic role of enabler to the Republican abuser. With the exceptions of a few Senators and Representatives willing to use the "f-word" (fascism) and the "e-word" (empire), the Democrats have failed to stand up to the abuse by failing to call it what it is. And yes, they too are subject to the same economic powers that control the Republicans. Consider that Bill Clinton and now Hillary have shown their greatest strength to be fund raising from large donors. All of these "chits" will have to be repaid when the chit hits the fan, so to speak.

I have said cynically that the Democrats provide the final resting place for progressive votes. They keep our attention diverted by the worthy but ultimately lesser issues of universal health care and women's right to choose. When you step outside the matrix to see the true dangers facing the republic, the Democrats are reminiscent of the man looking for his car keys in the parking lot instead of the bushes where he lost them because there's "more light there."

One of the characteristics of codependent enablers is denial. Like the abused wife or spouse of an alcoholic, the Democrats have been until now unwilling to face the truth -- and consequently, unable to perform the necessary "intervention." And as those who've grown up in dysfunctional families have sadly learned, you never want to depend on a codependent. Consequently, we the people must now face a third truth about abusive power. Power can be abused by denying you have it.

 

Through the habitual rituals of so-called "democracy," and through the numbing up and dumbing down perpetrated by the mass media, we the American people have forgotten the promise of our founding documents. As Jefferson and company asserted, we are not subjects of some king or dictator but sovereign citizens. We are served by our leaders -- not served up by them to predators. As sovereigns, we have -- until now -- abdicated our power to rule.
And that brings us back to the current dysfunction at the junction -- the two-party system that's no party for any of us. While it makes sense to wholeheartedly encourage taking back both political parties, the first step in the intervention of we the people is to rebalance the power by empowering the enabler to tell the truth and assert functional autonomy. This means first taking back the Democratic Party and restoring democracy, first to the party and then to America.

If the so-called leadership of this party is looking to see which way the wind is blowing, then we must be the wind. We must be so clear and so strong that the wall of lies gets blown to smithereens, and the Democratic Party can either choose to follow the leadership of the people -- or go the way of the Whigs. At this very moment, there is no comprehensive and coherent national movement to contextualize and crystalize this issue for all to see. But that movement is inevitable, given the massive awakening taking place right now. That awakening may look like disillusionment in the short run, but as Swami says, the main reason for disillusionment is illusionment.

In one of our last stops in Europe, we visited Berlin. The ostensible reason was so Trudy could visit the bust of Nefertiti at the Egyptian museum. However, we also got to see the Reichstag (the German Parliament during the Weimar Republic), and what was formerly the Berlin Wall. Each in its way represented the "karmic destiny" of Germany over a sixty year period. The Third Reich began with the Reichstag fire in 1933 -- quite likely a "false flag" operation blamed on "terrorists" that was used to justify the repression that solidified the Nazi stranglehold on the German government.

The Berlin Wall represented an imprisoned people who had to be restrained from leaving "the worker's paradise" established by the Soviet Union in East Germany. The fall of the wall symbolizes -- to my way of thinking -- the "healing" of Germany. While we may think of Germany as the stereotyped Prussian militarism, Germany also produced Goethe, Herman Hesse and the warmth of "gemutlichkeit." Germany today is wiser and humbled, and offers perhaps the greatest understanding of what we humans are capable of when we are in a state of self-serving denial.

Now it makes no sense to say George Bush is like Adolf Hitler. However, it makes all the sense in the world to understand that George Bush is OUR Hitler. He represents America's denied shadow. His administration has shattered forever America's self-proclaimed image as bringers of freedom and democracy. The veil has been lifted for those willing to look, and we see that "democracy" means no more than the freedom to exploit -- both at home and abroad.

There are those who have compared 9/11 to the Reichstag fire; even if it wasn't a "false flag" operation to create the "new Pearl Harbor" needed to mobilize Americans to fight the perpetual war the neocons desired, it was used that way. Consider that the anthrax attacks (still "unsolved" to this day) occurred just as Congress was considering the so-called Patriot Act -- a 342-page document that appeared as if by magic a month after the Twin Tower attacks. The Senate was put into such a state of panic that the act passed even though only a few of our representatives ever read it.

And the Iron Curtain can only be compared to the Irony Curtain -- the wall of B.S. perpetrated by our media to usher in a new orwellian age where repression is called freedom and the Patriot "Act" becomes a toxic substitute for patriotism. America's disease has been "not-seeism," the unwillingness to see our own shadow. To heal -- and serve as an example to the world -- we must acknowledge our own Reichstag fire and bring down our own Wall of Lies.

Whether we do it through the Democratic Party or in spite of it, it must be done and it will be done. Our Founding Fathers never meant for us to live in fear of our own government. May this be the last July 4th we mark under the shadow of tyranny.

An Afterthought ...

P.S. In anticipating an understandable response to this piece, I want to address the question, "What about the threat of what has been termed 'Islamofascism?'" My answer is this: The American body politic must acquire the ability to think and chew gum at the same time. In other words, we must be able to look "evil" in its evil eye and separate the behaviors from the individuals. We must simultaneously face the reality that there are forces in the world that are indeed bent on our destruction, and we must also be curious as to how and why those forces magnetize support.

The first step in political and spiritual maturity is to recognize how our own policies and behaviors contribute to the problem -- and take responsibility. As those in recovery understand, a sign of health is to be able to distinguish between what we can and cannot change. When we confront the evil in our own system -- from toxic abusers of power to religious fundamentalists who more closely resemble radical Islam than they do the ideals of our Founding Fathers -- we take two important steps. First, we take the healthy step of focusing on what we do have the power to change. Second, we become a living example of how political maturity works, and in doing so we offer inspiration for those in the Muslim world to choose a more spiritually mature expression of their own religion.

As we clear the toxins out of our own body politic, we can as a people find a truer unity. We can see the absurdity of the phrase "support our troops" and ask the politically mature question, "In doing what?" We can begin to ask as a nation, what are our healthy objectives in the world, and how do we best achieve those? By dealing with the criminality that has infected our own system, we become more credible law enforcers abroad. And by exposing and debunking the militaristic so-called Christians who have power far beyond their numbers in America today, who have replaced "love thy neighbor" with "we're going to heaven and everyone else can go to hell," we offer the best antidote to the Islamic brand of backward, toxic religion.