Seal...Love's Divine...

...For me Seal is one of the greatest singers in the world. He has a unique ability to express the spirit in music. This just shows what a human being can do. I would like to dedicate this song to all the creative people I know, with special wishes and love to Lzi, Manon, Soma and Suzi. Although we have never met I also send my love to Sonia, a great warrior in the cause of humanity.

Aad's cookies...famous the world over...

...with only organic ingredients. Today I've decided to turn my life into a virtual lifestyle magazine. Brought to you by Ceridwen Media, our muse's infotainment conglomerate. Inspired by Flann O'Brien and comic books the idea is to make some internet space with a common thread...

Queen teases Bush...news collage...

...Making a collage of the news, just for fun. Would America be independent if we'd sent the Queen in 1776?

Geolocation...

de Peper vegan cultural kitchen
...just the place for coffee. The icon gets around.

Voici Lzi Royal!...

More of Manon's MacBook Mama...

...I can already tell that this is going to run and run. A creative obsession that mixes metaphors that nobody has mixed before, and puns without mercy. I wanna be a cult hero! (Badge by Suzisuperglue)

Suzi Superglue's Ceridwen Media logo brooch...

Aad's Santa with Nepali dancer's mask...

...The weather in Amsterdan is so hot at the moment that Santa's feet are beginning to melt. He is a candle that Aad found in the Jordaan area of the city one evening. As our new mascot he will need looking after if he is not to be a victim of global warming!

Vote Royal!...

...Tomorrow's presidential first round election in France is crucial, not just for the French, but also for the rest of Europe. With far right, right, centre and left candidates we can only hope that the fiasco of the last election that saw a run off between Chirac and Le Pen, that was a shock to the whole country, will not be repeated. Which is why I hope that the French choose Ségolène Royal. The country needs a clear choice of options and Royal, as a woman and a socialist, is the only candidate capable of preventing France from lurching further to the right. Bayrou is too centrist, Sarkozy too much like Blair and as for Le Pen je ne dis rien! So, mes amis, if you please, vote for Royal, for France and for Europe.

Suzi Superglue...

...is now a blogger! See her jewellery at 24 Carrots. Suzi works with natural materials to create unique works of art as well as this pink cosy.

Santa checks the buds...

...which are flowering but still have some weeks to go!

Murphy's law...

...I have loads of meetings today. I just read my biorythms and this is what they said: "Today your intellectual level is 22%: you may lose concentration. Your physical level is 99%: you can use your energy however you wish.
Your emotional level is 27%: today it is advisable to postpone every discussion, even with friends!" Wish me luck!

A tribute to Kurt Vonnnegut...

...who has just died at the age of 84 in New York. Vonnegut was a unique man, a great writer who was one of the icons of the counter culture, and someone whose ideas had a great influence on me personally. Once I visited Slaughterhouse Five in Dresden, where Vonnegut was kept prisoner during the fire bombing of that city. The novel was the first of his that I read.
His solid belief in freedom and humanity and his vision will be sorely missed.

Amsterdam hofje...

...a beautiful courtyard in the Zeeburgerkade docks area of the city. I just love the blue and white. The architecture of this city is fascinating.

Please send chocolate...

...preferably this MM organic dark one. Found it in "de Belly" organic foodstore in the Nieuwe Lelie Straat in the Jordaan, Amsterdam. Aad's little red Santa is my new mascot.

Dunja in Navdanya in India...

...sends this report on her work there so far.
" I'm staying at Navdanya(which means 9 crops), a biodiverse organic farm focused on seed saving. The seed bank has hundreds of different seeds from all around India, which they preserve and share with farmers in order to make sure that agro-biodiversity is not lost (what's left from it). Through the movement and the network, Navdanya also ensures that seeds stay in farmers' hands and that both seeds and diversity are protected from corporate grip/control. Coz here, seed literally means life and the situation shows that monoculture and hybrid/GM seeds have created a 'suicide economy' as Vandana calls it (150 000 farmers have committed suicide, and the number is getting higher.. )

Navdanya was set up by Vandana on a degraded land in 1992 and until now it had a significant impact on agriculture in the region and throughout India. In fact, this state, called Uttaranchal, declared itself organic. About 10 years ago, most of the farmers used chemicals and now most of them are organic, and even though not every single farmer is organic, the local government targets toward 100% organic economy.

The farm is located in a lush Doom valley and the Himalayas start exactly here. The higher you go the more untouched agriculture you find. The valley is famous for its basmati rice, and they say that the best basmati is grown right here. The farm consists of a huge area where they grow hundreds of varieties every year (rice, wheat, veggies, herbs. spices, etc.). Last few days I spent in a chamomile field, picking flowers (a nice thing to do when there is some breeze). We (volunteers) do (a lot of) weeding, harvesting, seed collecting and storing, we take care of veg garden, etc.

It's a pleasure to be part of and stay at Navdanya but there are things that I don't get…Of course, life here has its own pace and logic that I was expecting to find. However, unfortunately, the project reflects the broader structure of Indian society: skewed power relationships and hierarchies, which seem to be the very base of the Indian culture. And there is a creepy master/slave touch to it, which is not quite how I would imagine a sustainable community or a collective. Anyway, that's how things are around here. Nevertheless, Navdanya is doing a wonderful work in the given context.

Concerning my research, it's going really well. Although it's difficult to organize things, I'm getting enough support and soon I'll visit different farmers' communities up in the Himalayas. I'm looking forward to that because it's getting too hot here. Beside an excellent library at the farm, I'm also free to use Vandana's personal library - pretty much all I need at this stage of research…Maybe you remember that in my research I'm trying to look at what is the best way for small farmers to deal with climate change. The effects of the change are clearly visible, precipitation and temperature patterns as well as the seasons are changing... However, people here and Navdanya know how to deal with it. Basically, climate change is not the problem. Food production is undermined by environmental degradation, destruction of different ecosystems, flaws in planning and development policies, free trade and multinationals.

At the moment, Navdanya is focusing on promoting biodiverse organic farming and ensuring that there is a market for the produce of small organic farmers. Once they go organic and manage to sell their products, several problems are tackled – food security, income and sustainable use of natural resources. Biodiverse organic farming goes on and directly contributes to water, soil and forest conservation - essential in dealing with different issues, including climate change. Of course organic farming will not solve all the problems and there are many things that need to be changed on different levels, but it's the first step.

What's interesting for my research is that Vandana is writing a book about climate change and planning to launch a campaign: biodiversity for climate change. And that's exactly what I'll be writing about in my paper, which makes things easier I guess. I met her and she really is a shining star of the movement in India.

In general I do 'enjoy' being here. It's interesting and fun to travel around but I also find it difficult because I get bugged and, moreover, it's emotionally heavy to be confronted with slums, caste system, starved dogs, streets covered in garbage, plastic eating cows, and elephants and camels in the middle of terrible traffic jams. It's sad and depressing. Especially in the beginning….but now, although it may sound weird - I'm getting used to it.
I also find it annoying to have to think about what I wear, etc. The farm is in a rural settings and people are very traditional and women are supposed to behave in a certain way… bollox! And yes, there is a big difference between men and women here, while most of men are annoying, women are beautiful, warm and bright.

Anyway, I'm far away from dirty cities and enlightenment seeking tourists."

Wanna celebrate your 1000th birthday?...

...Well according to Aubrey de Grey it's just an engineering problem! TED blog has all the details and Aubrey has the beard. If you think that's bananas well I got the link from greenLAgirl while reading her piece on Chiquita's gun running antics. The irony is that many of the women who work on conventional banana plantations don't live very long because of all the pesticides they inhale. But there is an alternative: EU support for St Lucia's eco bananas, that are being marketed by supermarkets such as Sainsbury's.

Social Objects...

...is a project to "develop tools and practices that would make the consumption of locally-produced and second-hand objects socially attractive on the web." It sounds like a great idea, using the web at a grassroots level. Thanks to Hobby Princess for the link to Doors of Perception. The project uses a free product code service called Thinglink, which is an open standard and service that anybody can use. Sounds like a great way to recycle.

Egypt and blogging...

...It is just over one month since blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil Soliman, 22, was the first Egyptian blogger to stand trial for views expressed on the internet. He has been sentenced to four years in prison. He is a secular critic of religion. There is a campaign to release him that uses his blogging nameKareem Amer.

Escaping Flatland...

...with Lza's three dimensional internet workshop. Bon voyage!

Internet censorship...

..."Getting stuck with a Scandinavian version of Google is seen as a small
price to pay by those trying to hide their digital traces and
circumvent censorship on the net.

'I've a button in Firefox [the web browser] I click and my [data]
packets go off encrypted to a network of volunteers and private
computers around the world,' says Danny O'Brien, international
outreach co-ordinator at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a
digital rights pressure group.

'I get randomly routed through one of them and when I go to Google it
might talk to me in Swedish, but this is a way of getting round these
national [blocking] filters.'" reports Chris Nuttall
in San Francisco for the Financial
Times. Tor is
one tool that can cover your tracks. Welsh may even be better than
Swedish, or how about Latin or Sanscrit? My Latin master used to send
telegrams (those were the days!) in Latin and had to explain to the
Post Office that Latin is not a code but a language. The Post Office
did not allow secret codes in telegrams at the time.

"The
goal of onion routing (OR) is to protect the privacy of the sender and
recipient of a message, while also providing protection for message
content as it traverses a network. Onion routing accomplishes this
according to the principle of Chaum's mix cascades: messages travel from
source to destination via a sequence of proxies ("onion routers"),
which re-route messages in an unpredictable path. To prevent an
adversary from eavesdropping on message content, messages are encrypted
between routers. The advantage of onion routing (and mix cascades in
general) is that it is not necessary to trust each cooperating router;
if one or more routers are compromised, anonymous communication can
still be achieved. This is because each router in an OR network accepts
messages, re-encrypts them, and transmits to another onion router. An
attacker with the ability to monitor every onion router in a network
might be able to trace the path of a message through the network, but
an attacker with more limited capabilities will have difficulty even if
he or she controls one or more onion routers on the message's path."
says the Wikipedia. There are many bloggers who could do with some of these tools in countries such as China, Egypt and Pakistan, so pass the word please.

More silliness...

...from Britain's mainstream media ("The great global warming swindle"
from Channel 4, where else?) who are trying to tell us that the sun dunnit and good old Homo sapiens had nothing to do with climate change. Svensmark, a Danish space scientist, has a pet theory for cosmic ray influence on climate change. What is it about the Danes? Old Forkbeard's been doing too much Amanita
again! Get a life, television. The old scientific
mechanistic model, took so long to wake up to climate change because it
was far too busy trying to make cosmic ray guns. Now we are moving to a
more dynamic Weltanschauung and slowly becoming
aware that our ancestors were not so stupid after all. Thanks to Gentleman
Hobbes for this piece of silliness.

All the silliness you need to know...

...and I always wanted to know more about these guys. "Since its launch two years ago, Uncyclopedia, an addictive parody of Wikipedia, has grown into one of the largest Wikia-hosted wikis. In this interview with net , co-founder and college student Jonathan Huang reveals what it’s all about...If you print it out, it’s great for wrapping fish or lining your birdcage."

Happy St David's Day...

...to all the people of Wales at home and overseas.

Ffenestr siop Quality Food, archfarchnad fawr yn Comox Ynys Vancouver, i ddathlu Gwyl Ddewi (Idris a Linda Hughes).

Smile...with Tony and Barbra...

...two singers I love. Joy, the aim of life. This has been a Mercury retrograde of reflection. I awake in a light, silly mood of indica dreams. We create our world, as it creates us.

Cut and paste with Pipes...

...Newsfeeds have been around for a while. Now Yahoo has a new project called Pipes that "is an interactive feed aggregator and manipulator. Using Pipes, you can create feeds that are more powerful, useful and relevant." For example you can create simple mashups of tech sites and clone and custom other Pipes. It is a GUI-based interface for building applications that aggregate RSS feeds and other services, to create and publish Web-based apps from various sources. The site works by letting users "pipe" information from different sources and then set up rules for how that content should be modified (e.g. filtering).

One planet=$10,000...going, going, gone!...

...as scientists are offered cash to discredit the IPCC report on global warming by Exxon/Bush think tank, this video shows how they do it. Would you buy a second hand iPod from George W. Bush?

The Bill...

...or Yates of the Yard. When it's time to go it's time to go. In British politics this can come rather abrubtly. I give Tony Blair one month max, unless he can organise a massive coverup, and they can cost an arm and a leg when time and friends are running out.

Tibetan monk on long distance pilgrimage...

...prostrating his way over one year and eight months at the rate of six kilometres a day. Sherab Gyaltsen is on his way to the Buddhist pilgrimage centre of Bodh Gaya where according to tradition the Buddha reached enlightenment under a peepul tree. This extreme endurance test is part of the traditional Tibetan Buddhist path of purification. In sixteen days Sherab's journey will be complete.

Cosmic DNA...by Gaffer R...

Never give up. Never surrender.

Why didn't they create all of the DNA? Well, I suppose it's because
the premise of the hypothesis is that those Galactic Tourists didn't
start from zero, but rather, upon finding some "primitive" life form(s) on
the beach, decided to take a dip in the gene pool. Was it an in-vitro
affair, or was it merely an impromptu holiday romance?

Did they expect us to find out? Who knows. There is that Immaculate
Conception story wots been making the rounds for 2000 years. Nobody's solved
that one yet. It does rather feel like a Cosmic Jerry Springer Show. Today's
Eternal Topic, "Who my baby daddy?"
Perhaps we need to ask the mice?

Crossword puzzle? If so, it's one of those with all of the squares, but none
of the clues!

Vulcans? If it was, then they must have been here for a long, long time.
Vulcans only get amorous once every seven years, don'tchya know!
Ponfar...how logical is that?

Since it appears that resistance was indeed futile, if it was the Borg then
they were definitely fertile. At least it wasn't the Tribbles. And thank Dog
it wasn't the Vogons!!!! Then again, after attending more than my fair share
of autonomous-anarchist-activist-subcultural performances, I wouldn't be a
bit surprised if it weren't the Vogons after all! Holy Xenu, Batman! Oh
wait, that's from another fairy-tale!

I have problems with apostrophes, too. Seems that the key only works after
much viscious tapping. One must be firm in these matters.

Albert Swine? He always was such a pig...or was it a prig? Anal probes, you
say? First people need to get over their anal/cranial inversion afflictions!
Talk about stretching...
Make it so, Number 1.

-- GafferR

"Kyrill"...the big picture...

...as the hurricane in Holland kills three.

Laplace's demon...

...an environmental ethic for a dyslexic demon et tout le monde...

Spinozaville...

...My son is Cardiff born and Cardiff bred. So when he's gone will he be Cardiff dead? Ask the Cheshire cat and go down the rabbit hole. They say that Nomen ist omen so I decided that if Spinoza is right and Deus sive natura then I should be able to google deus and get the answer. I must add that I am tring this Turing test on Soma's Apple with a bladder full of H2O and philosopher's stones. Mushroom urine is considered divine by shamans as it is the ultimate Darwinist Turing test. So what defines you? Where you are born, where you will die or what goes on in between? In Sanskrit lalita( the dance) is sacred and as Lalita sahasranama is a sahasranama (a thousand names) of Lalita Devi or the Divine Mother, in the form of God's Power or Shakti,The goddess of bliss, an epithet for Parvati, entomologically "Lalita" means "She Who Plays" . The practitioner of tantra is free to choose his or her deity and essentially to personify it and give it passion. The dark matter. The Gothic, messy stuff that leaves a mess on the bedsheets in the morning. For me the deity is feminine and has a compassionate face. I call her Tara, which in Sanskrit means star and in its root also means tree. Tara or Arya Tara, also known as Jetsun Dolma in Tibetan, is a female Buddha typically associated with Buddhist tantra practice as preserved in Tibetan Buddhism. She is the "mother of liberation", and represents the virtues of success in work and achievements. Tara is a tantric deity whose practice is used by practitioners of Vajrayana to develop certain inner qualities and understand outer, inner and secret teachings about compassion and emptiness. So for me god is a woman, a star and a tree. Dea sive natura. She has a sister called Kali. She's the Gothic messy one who is a bitch when she wants to be. She is a proud lioness who defends her cubs, which of course she has to as the lion is a proud predator who will kill the cubs that are not his.

As Darwin rightly says, "This...is one long argument, it may be convenient to the reader to have the leading facts and inferences briefly recapitulated.
That many and grave objections may be advanced against the theory of descent with modification through natural selection, I do not deny. I have endeavoured to give to them their full force. Nothing at first can appear more difficult to believe than that the more complex organs and instincts should have been perfected not by means superior to, though a"...and this was the moment when Apple or some ISP failed the Turing test as the computer crashed along with the rest of the Darwin quote and everything I wrote in the last few hours. I feel like T.E. Lawrence at Reading Station. So thanks for the memory, or in this case as Alan Watts would say the forgettory! ...

"That many and grave objections may be advanced against the theory of descent with modification through natural selection, I do not deny. I have endeavoured to give to them their full force. Nothing at first can appear more difficult to believe than that the more complex organs and instincts should have been perfected not by means superior to, though analogous with, human reason, but by the accumulation of innumerable slight variations, each good for the individual possessor. Nevertheless, this difficulty, though appearing to our imagination insuperably great, cannot be considered real if we admit the following propositions, namely, -- that gradations in the perfection of any organ or instinct, which we may consider, either do now exist or could have existed, each good of its kind, -- that all organs and instincts are, in ever so slight a degree, variable, -- and, lastly, that there is a struggle for existence leading to the preservation of each profitable deviation of structure or instinct. The truth of these propositions cannot, I think, be disputed." concluded Darwin and from where I'm sitting in Amsterdam this Sunday after this minor creative meltdown I must confess he does have a point. Natural selection has opted for Plan B...the human memory bank.

As for Spinoza? He was driven away from the city of his birth because of his beliefs and went to live in Den Haag (the Hague) where he died on the 21st of February, 1677. Like my son he was a Sagittarian. Spinoza argued (at least according to Wikipedia) that God and Nature were two names for the same reality, namely the single substance (meaning "to stand beneath" rather than "matter") that underlies the universe and of which all lesser "entities" are actually modes or modifications. The argument for this single substance runs as follows:
Substance exists and cannot be dependent on anything else for its existence.
No two substances can share the same nature or attribute.
Proof: Two distinct substances can be differentiated either by some difference in their natures or by the some difference in one of their alterable states of being. If they have different natures, then the original proposition is granted and the proof is complete. If, however, they are distinguished only by their states of being, then, considering the substances in themselves, there is no difference between the substances and they are identical. "That is, there cannot be several such substances but only one." [2]
A substance can only be caused by something similar to itself (something that shares its attribute).
Substance cannot be caused.
Proof: Something can only be caused by something which is similar to itself, in other words something that shares its attribute. But according to premise 2, no two substances can share an attribute. Therefore substance cannot be caused.
Substance is infinite.
Proof: If substance were not infinite, it would be finite and limited by something. But to be limited by something is to be dependent on it. However, substance cannot be dependent on anything else (premise 1), therefore substance is infinite.
Conclusion: There can only be one substance.
Proof: If there were two infinite substances, they would limit each other. But this would act as a restraint, and they would be dependent on each other. But they cannot be dependent on each other (premise 1), therefore there cannot be two substances,
For Spinoza, as for Einstein Gott wuerfelt nicht so even if Nietzsche is right and Gott ist tot what you see is what you get. The original draft (Plan A) got silly and funny at this point somewhere but it is now daylight and the Gothic mood is fading. Dracula must return to bed and the undead are in photophobic shock. Et moi? Je ne sais pas. Je crois, mais la connaissance est perdu. Rudolf Steiner a réalisé la synthèse entre l'empirisme et le rationalisme en mettant à jour le rôle primordial de l'activité de la pensée. Le penser permet d'associer une perception (externe ou interne) à un concept, pour arriver à la connaissance de l'objet. Il résout ainsi l'opposition fondamentale entre le moi et le monde en montrant le lien qui se fait entre ces deux pôles dans la conscience humaine. Nonsense, gibberish? Ask Rigmor. The underground train to TraLaLaLaLand is standing on Platform 42. Does something in the Amsterdanm air attract rationalists? After all the Dutch claim that god made the earth but the Dutch made Holland. In Wales we say that you can take the boy out of Wales but you can't take Wales out of the boy. As I am typing this I'm talking to Gene on a mobile phone. He is in a psychiatric prison where he has been for the last ten months (sic) having been diagnosed with schizophrenia. It seems that the doctors in Spinozaville have not heard that this a diagnosis that the medical profession does not agree upon.

" In his book Schizophrenia - The Sacred Symbol of Psychiatry, psychiatry professor Thomas S. Szasz, M.D., says "There is, in short, no such thing as schizophrenia" (Syracuse University Press, 1988, p. 191). In the Epilogue of their book Schizophrenia - Medical Diagnosis or Moral Verdict?, Theodore R. Sarbin, Ph.D., a psychology professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz who spent three years working in mental hospitals, and James C. Mancuso, Ph.D., a psychology professor at the State University of New York at Albany, say: "We have come to the end of our journey. Among other things, we have tried to establish that the schizophrenia model of unwanted conduct lacks credibility. The analysis directs us ineluctably to the conclusion that schizophrenia is a myth" (Pergamon Press, 1980, p. 221). In his book Against Therapy, published in 1988, Jeffrey Masson, Ph.D., a psychoanalyst, says "There is a heightened awareness of the dangers inherent in labeling somebody with a disease category like schizophrenia, and many people are beginning to realize that there is no such entity" (Atheneum, p. 2). Rather than being a bona-fide disease, so-called schizophrenia is a nonspecific category which includes almost everything a human being can do, think, or feel that is greatly disliked by other people or by the so-called schizophrenics themselves. There are few so-called mental illnesses that have not at one time or another been called schizophrenia. Because schizophrenia is a term that covers just about everything a person can think or do which people greatly dislike, it is hard to define objectively. Typically, definitions of schizophrenia are vague or inconsistent with each other." says Lawrence Stevens, J.D. of Antipsychiatry.org

Medicine like evolution is one long argument. It won't be over till the fat lady sings...and the gaffer's disconnected her so, like it or not, we are in for the long haul. Am I a determinist? Categorically no. When I was younger I used to work for the City Farm in Cardiff and I will never forget what the boss said when (in 1973) I asked her how we could save the planet she replied, "We have to get the science right." I have spent most of my life since trying to do just that. If I have any expertise it is in critical care on the edge of life and death. I also know a fair bit about Diabetes mellitus and stroke therapy and rehabilitation and my last professional post was in oncology, mostly breast and lung cancer. We were a hospice in all but name and part of the Universitaet Tuebingen's teaching hospital. So I do know something about fate and human dignity. Born free yet everywhere in chains. La condition humaine.

This posting is for Manon, a fine Dutch philosopher and student of Spinoza. I hope my Damasio tip will be of help to her in the search for a determinist ethic. Tonight I met a guy from Den Haag and we drank the mushroom tea together. Arno brought much needed synchronicity to this meagre attempt at self organisation. Lzi inspired as always, and Dunja cooked a divine meal, as always. I am at the end of the day an optimist, a dysfunctional Pangloss in this, the best of all possible worlds. But I do believe it is time for us to appreciate our garden, this creation and all its wonder and I agree with E.O. Wilson. "The moment has come to stress that there is a dangerous trap in sociobiology, one which can be avoided only by constant vigilance. The trap is the naturalistic fallacy of ethics which uncritically concludes that what is, should be. The ‘what is’ in human nature is to a large extent the heritage of a Pleistocene hunter-gatherer existence. When any genetic bias is demonstrated, it cannot be used to justify a continuing practice in present and future societies." You have been warned Caveat emptor!

Copyright Leighton Cooke (2007)

Paradox by Amsteractive...burning trees...

...After a few technical hitches our first Amsteractive short film is up on the net. It is about the tradition of burning the Christmas trees on the Museumplein on January 7 and asks a simple question. At a time of climate change and worries over carbon emissions does this send out the right message? Would it not make more sense to plant the trees somewhere or at least to use them as biofuel?

Joe at audiophobia did a great editing job. Richard as usual was the superglue that held the thread of the project together when the technology let us down. It is amazing how many hours work go into a three minute film. Thanks to everyone who helped.

No sweat!...

...Sweatfree.org (Pakistan. Artist: Janet Essley. Photo: Paul Woolery}
Cool site against sweatshops.

Amsteractive...

...fills the confused space created by my Blogger beta double ID. A local blog for local people. The first few Amsteractive days have been fun but the clock is the wrong way round and my caffene level is at an all time high. The Amsteractive team have been great and I also want to thank Lzi for the impetus to get the idea up and running. Community is at the centre of this project and as Amsterdam is a small world city, people tend to get to know each other over time. I think all the bicycles help. Getting around is more sociable here with cycle paths everywhere. I've really got to love this city with its quirky way of doing things. An Amsterdammer is always an individual and the city is always ready to surprise you. A small note to visitors though. The cycle lanes are for bicycles not for standing on to take pictures, unless you want to learn some useful Dutch slang. If you have any Amsterdam news or projects please email us at amsteractive@gmail.com

OT 301 Amsterdammer of the Year?...

...read more...

Radio Lzi on Amsteractive...

...new blog on Amsterdam alternative events.

Decentralised energy...

...Greenpeace

Should Google be worried?...

...Search Wikia

Can you still smoke it?...

...As they find a 2,800 year old mummy buried with a bag of marijuana leaves in China reprts the "People's Daily"."From his outfit and the marijuana leaves, which have been confirmed by international specialists to be ingredients for narcotic, we assume the man had been a shaman and had been between 40 and 50 years old when he died," said Li, a noted historian in Xinjiang.

So this is Christmas...

...John Lennon, the FBI etc...read more...

Santa's melting runway...

Starbucks is not a green company...

...as their despicable treatment of the coffee growers of Ethiopia shows. Read more...

Gould plays Bach...

...The Goldberg Variations are probably my favourite piece of music. I discovered them a little later in life than most of the classical pieces I love. Last Saturday I also managed to try another classic, a Pommard 2002, (Demeter organic) from Christine and Didier Montchovet who have been making superb organic wine in Burgundy since 1984. Beautifully balanced and elegant this is a wine for that very special romantic dinner. I'm grateful to Johan Kunst, who was at de Belly organic store on the Nieuwe Lelie Straat, for introducing me to this treat. Johan runs Vin Bio in Brummen. (Tel: +31 (0)6-42326143)

Occam's razor...

...and Le Monde Diplomatique on conspiracy theories.
"The conspiracy virus is not new. Let me recall. The Russians couldn’t possibly have built an A-bomb without Commie traitors. Hitler was a victim of treachery, otherwise he couldn’t have been defeated by the Red Army marching across eastern Europe and half Germany. JFK couldn’t have been shot by Lee Harvey Oswald, it had to be the CIA. There is no end to examples seeking to prove that Russians, Arabs, Viet Cong, Japanese, whoever, couldn’t possibly match the brilliance and cunning of secret cabals of white Christians." writes Alexander Cockburn. I agree.

All green and beta...

...as all my blogs are now beta. Confused? Me too. But it will sort itself out over time. When I tried to change the first time it didn't work out as planned so everything ended up double. Now comes the reduction process. Wish me luck.

Final lone mass demo in 2006...

...is on December 20 in Parliament Square and if your are in London and want to take part then you have to apply for permission from the police by the 14th. Rachel has all the details on her blog. Santa himself will also be applying tomorrow at Charing Cross police station. As Rachel says, "By applying to protest as an individual about anything you like - silly or serious - and doing so, as a lone individual - together - simulataneously - with other lone protesters - and by applying en masse to protest as individuals - you draw attention to the crapness of the law. Whilst obeying the letter of it.
It is 100% legal, it is making a serious point in a satirical way and it is great fun. One day you will tell your grandchildren you were there, I promise."

MacRumors founder interviewed regarding the iPhone

...This should put the cat amongst the pidgeons. What will Nokia do in January? The mobile world is changing rapidly and there are enough Apple fans out there to make the iPhone a success.

Kevin Rose iPhone leak diggnation digg...

...Pastamas is coming or will it be there for Easter?

Keith Jarrett Solo Concert...

...in Tokyo, 1984.

Times past, times to come...

...At 3.30am on January 6, 1990 I received the news that my mother had just died in hospital. We had seen each other the night before and she was at peace and ready to leave. We all lose someone we love sometime. The end of a relationship, a death, or the breakdown of a friendship or marriage. Yet time heals and nature repairs the wounds. New loves come and new friends enter our lives. I have been blessed to know some very fine women and this music, that I listened to on that morning nearly seventeen years ago is dedicated to them. A small handful of women philosophers, scientists and activists who have brought the joy of Ceridwen's muse into my life.

Murgles face extinction...

...as a tornado hits London...

Political uncorrectness sweeps over Holland...

...as the Dyslexic Satanists get more confused and the rest of the world clogs up with greenwash...read more...

Gould plays Beethoven...

...and reminds me of my first cat, Susie, who was wise and warm and my first contact with the spirit. Tonight I celebrated with a very good friend who has just passed her masters exam. We went to a party and then we drank a beer in a little brown cafe and talked of science, nature and the future. It was a most magical evening.

Convergence is the new buzz word...

...Read more...

Soma lecture at Cannabis Cup 2005

Soma talks about organic cannabis and sings a song with his granddaughter, Lexis.

Bloggers san frontières...

...Read more...

Stern on Paxman...climate change is for real...

Fon and 360 Fashion...

with thanks to Anina at 360 Fashion for the picture. Anina has been working on ecofashion with Hempworks and we spent the evening talking about fair trade, organic and natural fashion as well as the possible positive benefits of new technology as part of the solution to the environmental crisis. It was a positive exchange of ideas. The night before I was at Soma's tea which was awesome this time. I visited a sacred space that is in us all if we only look for it. The illusion of time in a living universe that is mind itself. The vision of compassion and beauty that arises out of the heart. Geshe-la has left for Paris and I wish him a safe trip back to India. There was much love around me and within me this night.

Beta...just a learning curve...

...or the shock of the new. I'm spending a quiet afternoon having fun with Blogger beta, Feedburner and HTML that works by some kind of rocket science that is beyond me. The pace of technology means we always have lots of new options but also that we (and our old hardware and software) are always catching up. Still I got there in the end. I spent the night deleting all the unwanted stuff on our recycled computer. It now boots up just a tad faster than continental drift. I would love to use Ubuntu as an OS but first I have to sort out the wireless connection. That's a geek problem way beyond my very limited technical skills so I'll need to call on one of my more nerdy technophiles to solve that one. Hi-tech trash is becoming a major waste disposal problem so this little bit of recycling is a small contribution to the solution. As flat screens are becoming more fashionable you see loads of old monitors on the street here. We should be able to set up a small community internet cafe with what we find. The idea is to offer free computers with open source and wifi and a cheap cup of organic coffee to keep the adrenalin flowing. But for now I'm off to the organic market and tonight it's mushroom teatime again.

A nice Polish lunch...

...I've been having a quiet day for a change. I had a visit from my Dutch philosopher friend and we had a nice Polish lunch. Since Oma came from Poland the catering in this establishment is much improved. We talked a lot about Spinoza and the good life. Sometimes a nice chat with a good friend and plenty of laughter is the best medicine. It has been a busy week that turned out well in the end. Many of my deepest values have been challenged of late and I've had to deal with many memories as well as cope with days full of frentic activity and crises that often drained my energy. So a nice lunch was long overdue. My Dutch friend left me with a warm glow in my heart. Must have been the fifties background music and the good food that set the mood. Joli weekend, mes amis.

Blogging for blondes...

...as one of those blogs which are, generally speaking, hostile and, generally speaking, basically see their job as every day exposing how venal, stupid, mendacious politicians are, generally speaking I've been asking myself recently why I bother. After all Rachel does the political stuff much better and I'm an exile anyway. I can only use magic mushrooms legally here in Holland now. Theoretically in London I could be given life imprisonment for what I believe in doing. It was when I read Rigmor's piece on a grumpy Christmas that the penny dropped, this time in the company of some lovely isolater hash. What matters at the end of the day? The big picture, the small picture, or some weird combination of both? At the moment our house is full. Our Polish granny turned up today with lots of homemade goodies including a lovely handknitted Norwegian pullover. We finally have the internet after trying out three computers, three separate mice and three separate keyboards in a combination that works. So I'm no longer dependent on the free internet hour I get in the public library. Tomorrow my Tibetan friend arrives so I'm looking forward to having a Geshe in the house. It's all so trippy. Amsterdam is a strange moving feast. Just when you think you've got it she pulls another rabbit out of the hat.

Calling all dyslexic Satanists...

...golb early for Christmas as Santa is on his way to chocolate lovers everywhere. Rachel says that "As the US neo-cons unravel, you'd think the time for calmer voices calling for thoughtful debate would be heard. But politicians think they can win votes and leadership elections by swinging their dicks and stamping their feet and bellowing like gorillas with the tabloids gibbering a chorus.Until we stop indulging these macho ego-displays and grow up, we'll continue to get hysteria, fear, demonisation of Muslims and the febrile atmosphere of anger, suspicion and cynicism that such an explosive atmosphere brews." so come on, boys, put away your toys and stick your dicks back in your pockets so we can all have a nice green Xmas with lots of organic fair trade chocolate and some wicked dyslexic pudding. I've had such a stressful week that I have an urgent need to be silly so tonight I'm going to drink a beer with the maddest Polish DJ I know, the Funkymonkeyman. Skol, yule and Kali ma to yall. While all Joan Armatrading fans can be "open to persuasion."

Tree protester fined 250 euros...

...in an Amsterdam court today, as Michal Grygoruk was convicted of resisting arrest after trying to prevent over 20 trees from being cut down on the Uitdammerdijk 16 in the north of Amsterdam. The spontaneous protest took place on May 2 as the demolition crew moved in on the squatted campsite to cut down all the trees probably without permission. A number of the squatters had been bribed by the owner, Successparkeren, to leave. Michal knew nothing of the bribery and has to carry the can. This is an unsafe conviction that sends out the wrong message at a time when Wangari Maathai calls on us to plant more trees not cut them down. This daily incremental carve up of nature has a terrible cummulative effect. Every day species go extinct and nature loses some more of her inventory in a piecemeal silent holocaust. These twenty odd trees are no more. Yet another loss we can ill afford, and a decent man has been criminalised for his conscience.
"The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way." (William Blake)

Planting trees makes a difference...

...says Wangari Maathai today...

Leighton in full colour beta...

...as blue is the new blue as Leighton Cooke now has a leightoncookie URL to go with the space cookies. Talking of which I'm quite spaced at the moment. Which is why it took me till Sunday to finish this post. Had a nice supper with a friend from Israel last night. Sometimes the simple things, nice pasta, Belgian beer and good coffee in the company of good friends can make all the difference. Started growing wheatgrass from spelt this last week and its doing fine. Should be ready to eat in two days.

More stuff happens...

...as the Democrats win Virginia where Republican George Allen has admitted defeat. I'm drinking wine with some Canadian friends who are packing their kit and leaving for London for a few days. I feel the time has come to mingle my biography with the big picture. Will all this change my life. I do hope so for the sake of the three children I live with. Let's hope the world will now be a safer place with a better future. My five marijuana plants are doing fine and will be put into flower tomorrow. They have been grown in excellent organic soil and given seaweed and neem oil according to Soma's best organic principles. I also now have a prescription for medical marijuana for my arthritis which is practically non existent thanks to the 'erb. It's all good. And my Tibetan lama's coming to Amsterdam to do a meditation course so if anyone's interested get in touch. What a day!

Stuff happens...

...after all "Freedom's untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things." and "Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war." and "I believe what I said yesterday. I don't know what I said, but I know what I think, and, well, I assume it's what I said." and "Well, um, you know, something's neither good nor bad but thinking makes it so, I suppose, as Shakespeare said." and "I'm not into this detail stuff. I'm more concepty." so now we know. As Donald fades into history we'll miss his grammar for sure. I'm grateful to Rachel for the link to these Donald Rumsfeld quotes. We wake up this morning to a different political landscape. The neocon scam is over and the neocon rats are deserting the sinking ship. They have stood in the way of dealing with the serious problems facing humanity and the earth for long enough. Maybe one day Rummie can be put on trial for his war crimes against the Iraqi people but for now let's just celebrate his departure and as Rigmor has a supply of bubbly we'll go back to hers.

Yet not enough say the kids...

...as "Almost two thirds of young people believe we aren't doing enough to tackle climate change, a new survey reveals today (6 November) [1]. Friends of the Earth polled 1000 young people asking them for their view on climate change as part of a Shout about climate solutions week from 6 - 10 November. This nationwide week of activity will see some 1800 schools and youth groups working on projects ranging from making mini wind turbines to carrying out their own school energy audit.

The poll of one thousand 8 - 14 year olds also found that young people are becoming increasingly concerned about the dangers of climate change, with 75 per cent saying they were worried about the impacts of climate change compared to just 60 per cent of respondents in a similar poll conducted last year. The survey also showed that over half of young people had talked about climate change with their parents and that many young people have taken action to save energy at home and at school. Fifty seven per cent said they made sure they turned their computer, stereo or TV off when not in use rather then on stand by, and 60 per cent make sure they turn the lights off when they leave a room.

Shout about climate solutions week offers teachers and youth leaders a fun and engaging way of exploring the issue of climate change, and how to tackle it with young people. As part of the week schools and youth groups also have the chance to win a wind turbine worth over £1500." according to Friends of the Earth.

America says enough is enough to Bush...

...as the Democrats win control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 12 years. After one of the most sleazy, dirty and expensive campaigns ever the American people have given the thumbs down to the war in Iraq and the corruption endemic in Congress. Now we wait for Virginia and Montana to see if Bush loses the Senate as well. The most stupid and ignorant President in modern times is now the lamest of lame ducks. There is also a touch of irony in the closing down of the Iraq auditors as the extent of the corruption and mismanagement of the over $18 billion reconstruction programme emerges. Iraq is falling apart and not even hanging Saddam could save George this time around. As I took the kids to school this morning I felt as if the world was given space to breathe. This is just the beginning of a new era when humanity realises the extent the problems we are are facing with the world's climate. At least the Bush era is coming to an end and for all its faults American democracy has delivered what the world desperately needs. Blair must be feeling lonely this morninig as his buddy in the White House is no longer the biggest kid on the block. Perhaps Arnie has a job for him.

Planting trees in Klobikau...

...is all the rage at the moment as the former East German town becomes the recipient of British carbon sinners largesse. Udo Wurzel, 60, is the mayor of Mücheln, a small city in the Geisel valley south of the eastern German city of Halle, which is framed by an abandoned brown coal open-cast mine and the 100-meter (328-foot) Klobikau slag heap. When he came into office in 1990, just after German reunification, he knew that the first thing he had to do was to plant trees, "to clean up the air that we were breathing." Now we all want to do it even Massive Attack. It's a start. Flying less would also be good (take a note Al Gore, who likes to use private jets). It was funny watching Blair and Brown greenwashing themselves at the Royal Society the other day, in the company of Sir Nicolas Stern. The Stern Report has produced much hot air in the media. What is now needed is action and lifestyle changes. How about cheap trains and bicycle lanes, Mr Blair? What about banning the incandesent light bulb? Let's also join Udo and plant some trees too, but not use that as an excuse to do nothing else.

Climate change bad for business...

...so the suits are getting worried. The Stern review calls for a new global deal to curb carbon emissions. Funny but as long as global warming was a problem only for anoraks nobody was concerned. With 4x4's all the fashion and cheap flights for all who would care about rising sea levels in Bangladesh or drought in Africa? We are so used to the idea that climate change is going to happen sometime in the future when our children will have to pick up the tab that we fail to realise this is happening right now. This year wheat harvests failed because of drought and prices are expected to rise as a result. So stock up on pasta if you are a hamster. Even the humble global kiwi is guilty of emitting too much carbon on its way to our supermarket shelves. With a possible global economic downturn of 5% to 20% if we do nothing the economic case is now in line with the ecological imperative. So what's stopping us? Maybe we could make a start by flying less.

Earth spirit...

"Navdanya means nine crops that represent India's collective source of food security. The main aim of the Navdanya biodiversity conservation programme is to support local farmers, rescue and conserve crops and plants that are being pushed to extinction and make them available through direct marketing.
Navdanya is actively involved in the rejuvenation of indigenous knowledge and culture. It has created awareness on the hazards of genetic negineering, defended people's knowledge from biopiracy and food rights in the face of globalisation.
It has its own seed bank and organic farm spread over an ares of 20 acres in Uttranchal, north India."
It is modernity that separates spirit and matter to the detriment of the former. When we touch the earth we touch the spirit. Joli weekend, mes amis.

Norwegian railings...

...have now been installed on the tube so maybe the Northern Line will be less tedious as they also answer back when you sit on them.

Got another two planets, mate?...

...As Iraq, Blair and Bush go into meltdown and we all hope the Republicans get their arse whipped in the November elections a report out today shows that Britain will soon need the resources of three planet Earths to maintain its current levels of consumption according to the WWF as "in 2003, the most recent year for which figures were available, demand exceeded supply by about 25%, meaning the Earth took 15 months to produce the resources that had been consumed over 12.
The group warned that the consequences of the accelerating pressure on the Earth's natural systems were "both predictable and dire", and would mean the collapse of ecosystems and the erosion of the Earth's ability to support people." What is more important? Fighting a war that is already lost or trying to change our habits so that future generations have a planet to live on? It is time for Tony Blair to move on. Maybe Arnie can give him a job in California where levels of consumption require five planet Earths. But who should replace him? Gordon Brown sounds just as bad and Cameron has a long way to go to be convincing although he does try at least to make the right noises. No, it is we the people who must decide whether or not we want a future. Each one of us has a responsibility to adopt a sustainable lifestyle so that we leave a minimal environmental footprint as we walk this Earth that is the mother of us all.

Immunology and hallucinogens...

...and the learning curve of delirium were the topic of this night's magic mushroom "trip" or rather lack of a trip. I feel very tired as if I've been fighting something. When I started my research into psychedelics three years ago I was open to whatever the path would show me. Now three years later I reach the sober conclusion that my immune system has adapted to the toxological effects of magic mushrooms. My arthritis has gone. I freak out less. I have the paradoxical reaction of the return of depression after many years absence but also the development of a more refined sensitivity known in French as tristesse that in the classic bipolar way is alternated by statess of bliss that seem to come at random. There is a lack of inner agitation and a feeling of contentment. Yet there is much work to be done. The shadow of tuberculosis has returned to my life as an outbreak in my circle of friends has caused fifteen infections. As of yet we do not know the strain. I can only hope it's not the multiple drug resistant variant. One of my best friends has been coughing up blood and presenting all the classic symptoms. Perhaps it is time to wake up to the silent epidemic on our doorstep. According to the WHO one third of the world's population are infected with TB. I am one of them. At least according to the unreliable Tine test. I hope that my immune system is learning to cope. Joli weekend, mes amis!

Quote of the day...

..."Russian is a very complicated language, sometimes it is very sensitive from the point of view of phrasing," said the Kremlin press service as Vladimir Putin said "I never would have expected it of him. He has surprised us all, we all envy him!" on Moshe Katsav, Isreal's president who could be charged with the rape and sexual harassment of several women. Wonder what Rachel thinks of this?

Eviction street party in Amsterdam...

...as a number of squats were evicted today by the riot police. The clowns were great but at one point on the Weteringschans the cops lost their sense of humour and decided to arrest them, which seemed a bit silly. I spent my lunch being chased by the riot police with their water cannons. Then we had a picnic by the cops van and watched the whole spectacle. The last action was near the Anne Franck House opposite the Westerkerk. A number of the squatters were arrested so we hope they will be let out ASAP and free the clowns, guys! Where's ya sense of humour?

Kids boogie...

...What does the discerning nine year old boogie to these days? Ray Charles of course, at least in our house. For the past couple of days we've beem treated to a spontaneous surprise dancing show every evening before bedtime, put on by our own trio of dancing girls aged six, seven and nine. Today was Ray Charles' turn to provide the groove. The downside is that I have to get up every morning at seven to take them to school but I guess that's a small price to pay. Sometimes when we are really lucky we get some chocolate with the surprise. It's all part of entering a kids world and it sure keeps me busy and leaves me less time for blogging. Hopefully some routine will set in during the coming weeks. The weather here is still very mild and all the leaves are still on the trees. Saturday is mushroom teatime again and I'm curious to see how my spirit reacts to all the changes that have been taking place. A very good friend of mine called me a romantic the other day. If that means Goethe and Beethoven then I plead guilty as charged. What have we learned stuck here in Plato's cave? Plus ça change... That the circle is a spiral dance? That we are all children deep down and the wise are those who own up to their lack of knowledge. Despair is not a sensible option nor is greed or cynicism. Wake up to the child in your eyes. And keep taking the chocolate!

How safe are pesticides?...

...Today in the Court of Appeal in Amsterdam that question was being asked in the context of medical marijuana. Soma's case now hinges on the decision as to whether a patient has the right to alternative medicine that is free of pesticides and the adverse effects of irradiation. This case has wider implications for the organic movement as clear medical evidence was given about the risks involved in inhaling pesticides, as opposed to eating them. People working where pesticides are used could also use this case in an argument about potential risks to health. Put simply the Dutch government was allowing the distribution of medical marijuana that had high traces of pesticides to pharmacies for the use of patients suffering from chronic pain. One of the disadvantages that the grey area of marijuana cultivation presents is the difficulty of quality control. People have a right to have control over what they put in their bodies and a right to know what is in their medicine.
Marijuana.org

Start eating your planet today...

...somewhat earlier than 19 December which was when the Earth meal began in 1987. The ecological debt day is the measure of our global environmental footprint. Britain's day already fell on 16 April which shows how much the UK is consuming the world's resources. NEF says that "new calculations released today show that from now until the end of the year we will be living beyond our global environmental means. Research by the US-based Global Footprint Network in partnership with nef and Best Foot Forward reveals that as of today, humanity has used up what nature can renew this year and is now eating into its ‘ecological capital’.
Each year, the day that the global economy starts to operate with an ecological deficit is designated as ‘ecological debt day’ (known internationally as ‘overshoot day’). This marks the date that the planet’s environmental resource flow goes into the red and we begin operating on a non-existent environmental overdraft." Bon appetit!

Ganja only causes short term memory loss...

...as a new study shows that THC can prevent Alzheimer's disease. Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in California found that marijuana's active ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, can prevent the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from breaking down more effectively than commercially marketed drugs. So skin up senior citizens and enjoy a mellow old age. I find marijuana great for...um what was it?

Organic food standards at risk...

...as the demand for organic food grows and becomes more mainstream. Supermarkets are being accused of putting pressure on organic farmers to cut corners and lower standards and become more "efficient." Organic farming pioneer Lawrence Woodward said examples of "lowering standards" were the large numbers of "derogations", or get-out clauses, allowing farmers to be awarded organic licences even though they do not meet the correct standards. These include the use of conventional feed for poultry, the continued practice of slicing the beaks off chickens to prevent them mutilating each other, and the sale of organic chicken from flocks of 2,000 and more, even though the association recommendation is 500, reports today's Guardian. The Soil Association has confirmed the increase in lobbying by large supermarkets to lower standards. Many people I've spoken to have often said they do not trust the organic labels on supermarket products and feel that shops dedicated to selling only organic are more reliable. Here in Amsterdam we have a farmer's market on a Saturday at the Noordermarkt where it is possible to buy direct from the farmer. For the average consumer trust is a big issue and so it is vital to make sure that organic standards are kept. This particular case involves salmon farming but the principle applies to all foods. BSE was one of the main reasons why many people became vegetarian or decided to go organic and that crisis was a matter of trust and loss of faith. This is not the time to compromise basic principles just for profit.

Permaculture...

...Working with nature instead of against her seems like a good idea. I'm reading a lovely book called Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture by Toby Hemenway. The book describes a method of gardening and much more that works with nature and integrates land use by creating stable ecosystems that serve multiple needs such as food, fuel and clean water as well as respecting the part that all of life, including the so called "weeds" and insects or "pests", has to play in a balanced natural environment. What impressed me was the way in which a useless piece of desert was transformed into a living garden producing all the vegetables and fruit one could wish for. ThePermaculture website has some great links and the Permaculture Association is a good source of information on all aspects of this fascinating method of horticulture. This should be the future of gardening and could be one way in which many people could have a positive impact on global warming. Just finding out more about all the different things that a tree does was an eye opener. One of the principles of Hermeticism is that the Earth is alive. We need to learn to think in terms of living systems. All the billions of interconnections are what makes the living universe what it is. That is both science and magic, matter and spirit, in a down to earth practical way. Clean water. Clean air. Good food to eat. And lots of bees and butterflies. Paradise here on earth.

New beginnings...Post 101...

...The last few weeks have been very hectic and intense. For the first time in a few years I've been doing my old job of being a nurse and getting to know the Dutch psychiatric care system. Three emergencies in one week gave me a glimpse into the way things work here. When it comes to emergencies the Dutch can be far less bureaucratic than their reputation. The last mushroom tea was a very sobering and clear experience. I was left with a very deep impression of making a new start after all of my values had been challenged in recent months. I've had the seven year itch and it's left me very stratchy indeed. So what does it all mean. First of all I feel somehow physically very different, healthier and less prone to minor aches and pains. I sleep well and I eat well and get plenty of excercise and I meditate a lot. Never felt better in years. Many people around me seem to be going through intense traumas and crises yet I feel like the eye of the storm. I find myself turning more and more to the Western mystery tradition and its wisdom. The Hermetica and the Neo-Platonists in particular. We also have a great tradition of love for life and wisdom passed down from the days of Pythagoras. Perhaps we now need this wisdom more than ever as we face a global climate and energy crisis. Change begins with small things. I'm living with three young children at the moment. Interacting with them is fun and a great joy and they teach me much each day. I'm beginning to feel like a child again myself. Perhaps that's the secret. Never to grow up but instead remain in the beginner's mind where there are so many possibilities?

Putin vs. Shell...

...and Exxon. It's not just the Royal Society that's criticising Big Oil. Now Putin has joined the fray by withdrawing Shell's permit to develop the $20bn (£10bn) Sakhalin-2 energy project, because of environmental degredation. Greig Aitken, of Bankwatch, said: "Russian and international environmental organisations have, for several years, documented the same pattern of violations cited by the Russian government, as well as a range of others that all have a grim bearing on an island that depends on fishing for one third of its economy.
"If there is talk of Russia asset-grabbing as it carries out its right to, belatedly, defend its environment, it should not overshadow the asset-grabbing Shell is attempting in the form of billions of dollars of international taxpayers' money for a project it has been unable to get right for the last three years."
That the Russians are showing awareness of the environment is to be welcomed. The search for natural resources needs to take account of the consequences for the natural world, in this case among other issues the future of the Pacific Grey Whale is at stake. We also need to seriously invest in alternatives to oil. That should mean other companies than Big Oil taking the lead in the renewable energy industry. Business as usual is not an option.

Torpark...open source anonymous web browser...

...Based on Firefox, Torpark is a free web browser that allows you to surf the net anonymously. "Plug it into any internet terminal whether at home, school, or public. Run Torpark.exe and it will launch a Tor circuit connection, which creates an encrypted tunnel from your computer indirectly to a Tor exit computer, allowing you to surf the internet anonymously. How much does Torpark cost? IT'S FREE." "The Torpark tool has been created by Hacktivismo - an international coalition of hackers, human rights workers, lawyers and artists.

Torpark uses the Tor network of internet routers set up by the Electronic Frontier Foundation that already has tens of thousands of regular users.
Whenever any computer connects to the net it freely shares information about the address it is using. This is so any data it requests is sent back to the right place.
The Tor network tries to stop this information being shared in two ways. First, it encrypts traffic between a computer and the Tor network of routers - this makes it much harder to spy on the traffic and pinpoint who is doing what.
Second, the Tor network regularly changes the net address that someone appears to be browsing from - again this frustrates any attempt to pin a particular browsing session on any individual." BBC

Exxon vs. The Royal Society...

...Sonia has found out that Exxon the US oil company is being challenged by the Royal Society in London to "stop funding groups that attempt to undermine the scientific consensus on climate change.
In an unprecedented step, the Royal Society, Britain's premier scientific academy, has written to the oil giant to demand that the company withdraws support for dozens of groups that have "misrepresented the science of climate change by outright denial of the evidence".
"The scientists also strongly criticise the company's public statements on global warming, which they describe as "inaccurate and misleading". This is the first time that the Royal Society has gone so far as to write to a company and it represents the extent of the consensus of the scientific community with regard to global warming. The Society's action should be a wake-up call for those still in any doubts about the dangers of climate change denial. Those in power , both in business and in politics, have a responsibility to take heed of the scientific consensus and take the action required to ensure the future of generations to come. Does the CEO of Exxon have any children? If he does he should be worried.

Exxon and the climate change denial industry...

...They made $10 billion in three months and are major funders of skeptical research into climate change. The world's largest company by revenue seems to take little interest in the future of life on this planet. At a time when there is a growing consensus on the reality of climate change Exxon is still in the denial business. Every day something new is reported on this issue, today the BBC says that the temperature of England is rising because of human activities. George Monbiot has written a new book, "Heat," exposing the antics of Exxon.
"Among the organisations that have been funded by Exxon are such well-known websites and lobby groups as TechCentralStation, the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation. Some of those on the list have names that make them look like grassroots citizens' organisations or academic bodies: the Centre for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change, for example. One or two of them, such as the Congress of Racial Equality, are citizens' organisations or academic bodies, but the line they take on climate change is very much like that of the other sponsored groups. While all these groups are based in America, their publications are read and cited, and their staff are interviewed and quoted, all over the world.
By funding a large number of organisations, Exxon helps to create the impression that doubt about climate change is widespread. For those who do not understand that scientific findings cannot be trusted if they have not appeared in peer-reviewed journals, the names of these institutes help to suggest that serious researchers are challenging the consensus." says Monbiot. There also seems to be an unholy alliance between Big Oil and Big Tobacco on this issue as the same methods and organisations are being used to run the denial campaign. At a critical time in the past few years when urgent action was needed to mobilise public opinion and governments to accept the facts of climate change Exxon seems to have been doing its best to obstruct and decieve. That's the power of too much money in too few hands.

34 degrees...

...It was first developed in Canada. Having found out that people who fall into cold water or frozen lakes can survive longer the Canadians pioneered a new branch of intensive care medicine. I saw it in action today visiting a friend whose body is being kept at 34 degrees in an intensive care unit in Amsterdam to minimise the brain damage by slowing her metabolic rate. My professional ethics do not allow me to say much more except that her chances of survival are not very good. I wish her well.

Arctic ice shrinking fast...

...according to NASA satellite pictures. "The extent of "perennial" ice - thick ice which remains all year round - declined by 14%, losing an area the size of Pakistan or Turkey. The last few decades have seen summer ice shrink by about 0.7% per year."
The research is reported in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. As ice reflects heat back into space a planet with less ice gets warmer. Once more evidence of global warming from a reliable source should be making this issue a top priority. Yet the debate goes on as Global Warming Watch points out. Why do humans have such a hard time recognising the obvious when it is in conflict with their own selfish interests?

We interrupt this empire...

...is a San Francisco Bay Indymedia production about the protests in the financial distict after the invasion of Iraq. "A collaborative work by many of the Bay Area's independent video activists which documents the direct actions that shut down the financial district of San Francisco in the weeks following the United States' invasion of Iraq. With the audio backdrop including the live broadcasts of SF Indymedia's Enemy Combatant Radio and the SFPD's tactical communications that were picked up by police scanners, the documentary takes a look at the diverse show of resistance from the streets of San Francisco as well as providing a critique of the coporate media coverage of the war and exploring such issues as the Military Industrial Complex, attacks on civil liberties, and the United States' current imperialist drive."

Water...the universal solvent...

...was one of our topics on the radio today. Is it a human right, a common good or a commodity? I know that I drink too little of it, tending to try to survive on coffee. We live on a water planet. Global warming and climate change will probably mean that some parts of the planet will have far more of it than they bargained for, while others will have less. It is a precious resource. We should respect this ubiquitous molecule. Water Aid

9/11...I missed the first one...

...as I was staying with a friend and we did not have access to the news. I remember being in Bochum a few days later and asking my girlfriend if I'd missed anything, surrounded as I was by lots of strange images on TV. She suggested I read the newspaper. I did and had a brief but rather strange feeling I had been transported to a paralell universe. My private life in the years since has often given me the impression that it is so. So here I am in this strange topsy-turvy world having fallen down the rabbit hole into the post 9/11 universe where values are distorted and the image of death has become our mantra. Like many I yearn for the age of innocence when moderation was the key to a civilised life. Did it ever exist or is it just a fiction of my memory? After 9/11 came Madrid then 7/7 and we entered these strange Orwellian times in which there seems so little to hold on to. Yet each one of us in her way is finding a voice. We talk, we blog, we question and together we write our own history. We yearn for peace and truth. We hope. We despair. We are alive. That is our reality.

Tony Blair persona non grata...

...in Palestine after his summer holiday antics while Lebanon was burning. Seems the Palestinians have no interest in his designer swimwear. I wonder why?

Ani Di Franco...

...independent media in a time of war which features Ani.

Fair trade down on the farm...

...It's part of modern living, the expectation that you can shop till you drop 24/7. Retail therapy as a substitute for community. The Blog of Hope has done a piece on Tesco and the effect that supermarkets have on local communities.

"Supermarkets are also contributing to global deforestation and biodiversity loss by their reliance on using cheaply produced palm oil in thousands of their products. Palm oil plantations are now the major cause of rainforest clearance in Indonesia and Malaysia, threatening some of the world's richest wildlife forests and endangering native species including the orang-utan.

The criticisms are stacking up against the big supermarkets; their influence extends beyond the homogenisation of the high street and the ruination of local economies through to the detriment of animal welfare, to environmental damage, to the suppression of foreign economies and the exploitation of workers throughout the world. Their impact is truly global."

Only a recognition by the global community that it is in all our interests to support fair trade and local products can help to turn the tide of this disturbing trend. One of the ideas discussed at Ecotopia was the concept of anti-consumer education and the need to focus on quality of life rather than quantity. Humanity runs the risk of destroying itself in a consumer orgy of diminishing returns.

Miki Gonzales...

...a song about the coca leaf, the natural medicine of the Incas of Peru. Minka Wasi will be developing these themes in the coming weeks as we look into the traditions and culture of these fascinating people.

Rachel protests for free speech...

in Parliament Square along wth many other activists and people concerned about many of the draconian laws passed by the Blair junta. Maya Evans was also a victim of this stupid law. Rachel says, "New Labour wanted a Big Conversation, once. Engagement with Voters. Feedback. Dialogue between People and Government.
Well, if anyone of them, Blair's MPs, Blair's Cabinet, who were only a few hundred yards away, behind security guards and concrete bollards and bombproof glass had stepped outside, he or she could have had their dialogue, in the gentle evening sunshine, on as diverse an array of subjects as you could have desired. Cameras would have recorded it for posterity. Police would have protected them. They would have come to no harm, for we meant none.

And I'm sure there would even have been a pint for them at the Red Lion afterwards."