its been awhile since i posted here. i must explain myself a bit. you see, i think puerto rico is wonderful, but the society on it is ridiculous. it seems people who live here are so very caught up in appearances that nothing gets done.
but at least we're consistent. every 15th and 30th (when government employees get paid) there will be enormous amounts of traffic jams. you see, although it is 2003, the government here doesn't use direct deposit. so every government employee, roughly 40 percent of the population, makes sure to go to work to pick up their paycheck. on an average day, the government can expect a 20 to 40 percecnt absentee rate (this rate is based upon my observations). also, it doesn't matter what time you go to anywhere, expect to find a line. go to the grocery store at two in the morning, and the one cash register will be 10 people deep. as for the roads, they will always have potholes. and yes, the women are all beautiful.
so to those living in the north, bracing for the incoming harsh winter, know this. seasons teach discipline. the allegory of the ants and the grasshopper doesn't stick so much when's there's never a winter to worry about. my island is always green, and there's always abundance. however, we are destroying the caribbean with pollution and disregard for nature and green space. if this choas of a society continues, there will be no beauty left, just a dead sea. so, to those in the north (those to the south already have their share of problems!), please read more! please be informed about the happenings of the world, and no, knowing when your favorite artists' new album is due out does not count. you must be critical and analytical otherwise people will deceived you. the people to the north, you consume an unhealthy amount of resources. you live in the land of plenty and hence do not think to question. but you must learn this basic quality of existence for even the plenty will become the sparse and desolate one day.
may all thats good be protected, and may any mother's love be cherished, and may no eve be made to suffer.
men, we are being led like dumb animals. we must focus on eve (i cannot think of a better word for females that doesn't include a masculine word). we must redefine all in terms of mother love. the lord is mother. why would a father figure be appropiate? even jesus did not need a father, only a mother.
eve is the image of creation for they only create life, not man.
adam is not the focus, but creation, eve is.
may eve be blessed.
anyhow, thats my sum on the situation here in puerto rico. men are being greedy and forgetting about what matters. we are given the opportunity to lead and we lead wrong. and soon eve will be duped into leading wrong also. you see after thousands of years of submission, eve has been taught that man was free. but truly man has had a blinded freedom. we must inform eve of this.
let us live in peace. no war, no hate, no judging.
in the words of bob marley, one love.
Puerto Rico Points of Interest
Thursday, September 18, 2003
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
listen, perhaps someone out there is interested in helping the animals in puerto rico. there's so many dogs, cats, horses, and other animals that mistreated and abused here in puerto rico. perhaps someone out there is willing to help who can. efforts to feed and provide shelter for homeless pets of puerto rico is underway. if you want to contribute monetary contributions please email me!
Friday, August 29, 2003
another thing.... all these viruses, do not pay attention. my inkling is that Microsoft is geering up to war against the world. they own a large stake in the IT empire. they will not give it up.. this worm blaster virus was a clever way of using their operating system to have all the cpu's report back to microsoft. report what? report pirated microsoft software.
oh, but why care? because recently another industry has started legal actions against people using their copyrighted material. that is the recording industry. in a bold move, this industry is actually targeting single consumers and suing them. if this sets a precedent other industries shall follow....
and thus comes in microsoft. using technology microsoft will be able to track down pirated versions of their software. beware governments, beware small and large businesses. all that copied microsoft software will cost you alot in legal fees and settlements...
oh, but why care? because recently another industry has started legal actions against people using their copyrighted material. that is the recording industry. in a bold move, this industry is actually targeting single consumers and suing them. if this sets a precedent other industries shall follow....
and thus comes in microsoft. using technology microsoft will be able to track down pirated versions of their software. beware governments, beware small and large businesses. all that copied microsoft software will cost you alot in legal fees and settlements...
it seems that my island is no more than a territory of the United States of North America. You know, those fifty states that united in currency and a federal government not too long ago... anyhow, Colin Powell reaffirmed my beliefs that a Puerto Rican is simply a possession of the fedearl government. Why say this? Simply because I have no rights on the land I was born on. That is I can not vote for representational in Congress, I do not have any say in federal affairs, yet I am subject to a draft, to federal laws, and my island's interest are determined by an outside government.
so why not call this what it is? this is an occupation. why an occupation? because this island is a small concentration of an unique culture that is not shared by the United States of North America. we are outsiders and in fact are owned by a foreign force.
so what to do? i am not sure. all i can say is that i will seek a voice for myself. i will seek to be counted and represented so that i may voice an opinion on the state of affairs here in on the island of enchantment......
take care all of you beautiful net surfers....
so why not call this what it is? this is an occupation. why an occupation? because this island is a small concentration of an unique culture that is not shared by the United States of North America. we are outsiders and in fact are owned by a foreign force.
so what to do? i am not sure. all i can say is that i will seek a voice for myself. i will seek to be counted and represented so that i may voice an opinion on the state of affairs here in on the island of enchantment......
take care all of you beautiful net surfers....
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
To all my internet earthlings:
Internet Bill of Rights
1) The internet is an earth library open to all earthlings.
2) The internet is a global effort by earthlings to unite in a common purpose and vision and hence belongs to no one country, state, government, or any other earthling authority.
3) All earthlings should have access to the internet.
4) The global library, the internet, is open and free to all.
5) Listening, viewing, and experiencing anything on the internet is a cultural and education right for all earthlings.
6) The internet is an educational tool for all earthlings and can not be restricted in use.
7) No earthling can be placed in prison for accessing or sharing ideas and information over the global library.
8) Business can only use the internet to sell to earthlings, not to police earthlings' use of the internet.
9) Distribution of an earthling's ideas obtained thru the internet for financial gain is not acceptable behavior on the internet, but however, spreading the ideas and work of an earthling over the internet is not prohibited because all creation is the right of all creation.
10) All creation can be made into digital information, including the DNA genome, the Mona Lisa, the Milky Way Galaxy, and so on. Therefore all creation can be copyrighted to a creator, hence no earthling can claim a right over ideas, thoughts, art, education, or anything in digital form.
These are the rights of earthlings. These truths we hold self-evident. One love, one people, one earth.....
Internet Bill of Rights
1) The internet is an earth library open to all earthlings.
2) The internet is a global effort by earthlings to unite in a common purpose and vision and hence belongs to no one country, state, government, or any other earthling authority.
3) All earthlings should have access to the internet.
4) The global library, the internet, is open and free to all.
5) Listening, viewing, and experiencing anything on the internet is a cultural and education right for all earthlings.
6) The internet is an educational tool for all earthlings and can not be restricted in use.
7) No earthling can be placed in prison for accessing or sharing ideas and information over the global library.
8) Business can only use the internet to sell to earthlings, not to police earthlings' use of the internet.
9) Distribution of an earthling's ideas obtained thru the internet for financial gain is not acceptable behavior on the internet, but however, spreading the ideas and work of an earthling over the internet is not prohibited because all creation is the right of all creation.
10) All creation can be made into digital information, including the DNA genome, the Mona Lisa, the Milky Way Galaxy, and so on. Therefore all creation can be copyrighted to a creator, hence no earthling can claim a right over ideas, thoughts, art, education, or anything in digital form.
These are the rights of earthlings. These truths we hold self-evident. One love, one people, one earth.....
Monday, July 07, 2003
This article from bbc.com shows the fruitless powers of my little island...
Death penalty case stirs Puerto Rico
By BBC's Stephen Gibbs
A murder trial in the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico is prompting protests over the extent of United States federal influence on the American territory. US prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the case, although capital punishment is banned by the island's constitution. The trial involves a gruesome murder. The two defendants are accused of kidnapping a grocer as he left his store in the island's capital, San Juan, one night in 1998. They demanded $1m ransom, but when they found the police were investigating the case they are alleged to have shot the man, hacked his body to bits and left the pieces strewn along a roadside.
What has alarmed Puerto Ricans is not just the details of the case itself, but the fact that it has prompted an attempt by the US Government to impose the death penalty on their island. Puerto Rico - a self-governing commonwealth of the US - banned capital punishment in 1929. But American prosecutors have successfully argued that this case is serious enough to enable federal law to be applied. The decision appears to be opposed by the majority of Puerto Ricans. Religious and community organisations have vowed to fight it to the very end, describing capital punishment as an affront to their culture.
But US prosecutors seem unmoved, even giving details of where the two men will die if successfully convicted. They would be transferred to a prison in the US state of Indiana and killed by lethal injection.
Death penalty case stirs Puerto Rico
By BBC's Stephen Gibbs
A murder trial in the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico is prompting protests over the extent of United States federal influence on the American territory. US prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the case, although capital punishment is banned by the island's constitution. The trial involves a gruesome murder. The two defendants are accused of kidnapping a grocer as he left his store in the island's capital, San Juan, one night in 1998. They demanded $1m ransom, but when they found the police were investigating the case they are alleged to have shot the man, hacked his body to bits and left the pieces strewn along a roadside.
What has alarmed Puerto Ricans is not just the details of the case itself, but the fact that it has prompted an attempt by the US Government to impose the death penalty on their island. Puerto Rico - a self-governing commonwealth of the US - banned capital punishment in 1929. But American prosecutors have successfully argued that this case is serious enough to enable federal law to be applied. The decision appears to be opposed by the majority of Puerto Ricans. Religious and community organisations have vowed to fight it to the very end, describing capital punishment as an affront to their culture.
But US prosecutors seem unmoved, even giving details of where the two men will die if successfully convicted. They would be transferred to a prison in the US state of Indiana and killed by lethal injection.
Friday, June 27, 2003
Study: Pot Doesn't Cause Permanent Brain Damage
Fri Jun 27,12:18 AM ET
By Deena Beasley
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Smoking marijuana will certainly affect perception, but it does not cause permanent brain damage, researchers from the University of California at San Diego said on Friday in a study.
"The findings were kind of a surprise. One might have expected to see more impairment of higher mental function," said Dr. Igor Grant, a UCSD professor of psychiatry and the study's lead author. Other illegal drugs, or even alcohol, can cause brain damage. His team analyzed data from 15 previously published, controlled studies into the impact of long-term, recreational cannabis use on the neurocognitive ability of adults. The studies tested the mental functions of routine pot smokers, but not while they were actually high, Grant said. The results, published in the July issue of the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, show that marijuana has only a marginally harmful long-term effect on learning and memory. No effect at all was seen on other functions, including reaction time, attention, language, reasoning ability, and perceptual and motor skills.
Grant said the findings are particularly significant amid questions about marijuana's long-term toxicity now that several states are considering whether to make it available as a medicinal drug. In California, growing marijuana for medical purposes is legal under a voter-approved law. The UCSD analysis of studies involving 704 long-term cannabis users and 484 nonusers was sponsored by a state-supported program that oversees research into the use of cannabis to treat certain diseases. Anecdotal evidence has shown that marijuana can help ease pain in patients with diseases like multiple sclerosis or prevent severe nausea in cancer patients, but the effects have yet to be proven in controlled studies, Grant said. The UCSD research team said the problems observed in learning and forgetting suggest that long-term marijuana use results in selective memory defects, but said the impact was of a very small magnitude. "If we barely find this tiny effect in long-term heavy users of cannabis, then we are unlikely to see deleterious side effects in individuals who receive cannabis for a short time in a medical setting," Grant said.
In addition, he noted that heavy marijuana users often abuse other drugs, such as alcohol and amphetamines, which also might have long-term neurological effects. Some of the research studies used in the analysis were limited by the numbers of subjects or insufficient information about factors like exposure to other drugs or whether participants suffered from conditions like depression or personality disorders. "If it turned out that new studies find that cannabis is helpful in treating some medical conditions, this enables us to see a marginal level of safety," Grant said.
Fri Jun 27,12:18 AM ET
By Deena Beasley
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Smoking marijuana will certainly affect perception, but it does not cause permanent brain damage, researchers from the University of California at San Diego said on Friday in a study.
"The findings were kind of a surprise. One might have expected to see more impairment of higher mental function," said Dr. Igor Grant, a UCSD professor of psychiatry and the study's lead author. Other illegal drugs, or even alcohol, can cause brain damage. His team analyzed data from 15 previously published, controlled studies into the impact of long-term, recreational cannabis use on the neurocognitive ability of adults. The studies tested the mental functions of routine pot smokers, but not while they were actually high, Grant said. The results, published in the July issue of the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, show that marijuana has only a marginally harmful long-term effect on learning and memory. No effect at all was seen on other functions, including reaction time, attention, language, reasoning ability, and perceptual and motor skills.
Grant said the findings are particularly significant amid questions about marijuana's long-term toxicity now that several states are considering whether to make it available as a medicinal drug. In California, growing marijuana for medical purposes is legal under a voter-approved law. The UCSD analysis of studies involving 704 long-term cannabis users and 484 nonusers was sponsored by a state-supported program that oversees research into the use of cannabis to treat certain diseases. Anecdotal evidence has shown that marijuana can help ease pain in patients with diseases like multiple sclerosis or prevent severe nausea in cancer patients, but the effects have yet to be proven in controlled studies, Grant said. The UCSD research team said the problems observed in learning and forgetting suggest that long-term marijuana use results in selective memory defects, but said the impact was of a very small magnitude. "If we barely find this tiny effect in long-term heavy users of cannabis, then we are unlikely to see deleterious side effects in individuals who receive cannabis for a short time in a medical setting," Grant said.
In addition, he noted that heavy marijuana users often abuse other drugs, such as alcohol and amphetamines, which also might have long-term neurological effects. Some of the research studies used in the analysis were limited by the numbers of subjects or insufficient information about factors like exposure to other drugs or whether participants suffered from conditions like depression or personality disorders. "If it turned out that new studies find that cannabis is helpful in treating some medical conditions, this enables us to see a marginal level of safety," Grant said.
Friday, June 20, 2003
Girl weds dog to break 'evil spell'
A nine-year-old tribal girl in eastern India has married a stray dog as part of a ritual to ward off an "evil spell" on her, Indian newspapers have reported.
The girl, Karnamoni Handsa, had to be married quickly because she had a tooth rooted to her upper gum, which is considered a bad omen by her Santhal tribe in the remote village of Khanyhan, about 60 kilometres (37 miles) from Calcutta.
"Members of the village jury asked us to get her married to a dog or to face the bad omen," the girl's father was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
The tribe elders said the marriage would not affect the girl's life, and that she would be free to marry again later and did not need to divorce the dog.
"It will not spoil her future. We will marry her off to eligible bachelor when she grows up," the girl's mother told AFP.
'No regret'
The wedding - which took place on 11 June - was attended by more than 100 guests, who danced to the beating of drums and drank home-made liquor.
"I have no regret in marrying the dog Bacchan. I am fond of the dog who moves around our locality," the girl told the AFP.
"Bacchan is a stray dog who survives on left-overs. I will take care of the dog," she added.
Indian newspapers reported that local police officials had ordered an inquiry into the incident.
The Santhals - most of whom are sharecroppers - are a large tribe living in the states of West Bengal and neighbouring Bihar and Jharkhand.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/3004930.stm
Published: 2003/06/19 17:50:36 GMT
© BBC MMIII
Thursday, May 29, 2003
Reasons for America to listen to France and not England...
1)They (France) made the Statue of Liberty.
2)They (France) call them French Fries, not CHIPS. What the hell is a CHIP!?
3)France call up with a really good sounding name for a threesome...
4)French people don't burn and destroy cities after losing a football (soccer) game.
5)We (USA) revolted against England, not France, about 200 years ago....
6)France is closer to Amersteramm than England.
7)They (France) actually fought the Nazis on their homeland (well half of the country).
8)They (France) sold us half of the country (USA) for really really really cheap (see Lousianna Purchase).
9)French chicks are hot, English chicks are Posh.
10)VIVA LA FRANCE sounds better than LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!
1)They (France) made the Statue of Liberty.
2)They (France) call them French Fries, not CHIPS. What the hell is a CHIP!?
3)France call up with a really good sounding name for a threesome...
4)French people don't burn and destroy cities after losing a football (soccer) game.
5)We (USA) revolted against England, not France, about 200 years ago....
6)France is closer to Amersteramm than England.
7)They (France) actually fought the Nazis on their homeland (well half of the country).
8)They (France) sold us half of the country (USA) for really really really cheap (see Lousianna Purchase).
9)French chicks are hot, English chicks are Posh.
10)VIVA LA FRANCE sounds better than LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!
from Yahoo news....
Also, I happened to be reading a book, to be published in June, that put that spy story in a different historical context. "The Illusion of Victory: America in World War I," by Thomas Fleming, a smart popular historian who learned his politics the same place I did. It is an astonishing book, particularly if you know little or nothing about that war to end all wars.
I did not know, for instance, that the German government placed advertisements in New York newspapers warning passengers not to board the British luxury liner Lusitania. The ads said the ship was secretly carrying ammunition and weaponry to England, and that German U-boats, the super-weapons of the time, were going to try to sink it -- which they did on May 17, 1915. More than 1,100 people, including 128 Americans, died, and more than 5,000 cases of ammunition blew up or ended up on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
This, according to Fleming, is what it was like at home after the United States entered the war in 1917:
Sen. Hiram Johnson of California led the fight to kill a one-paragraph clause in an omnibus appropriations bill that would have given the White House and Department of War the power to censor all newspapers in the country.
"Patriots" in Milwaukee used machine guns to stop patrons from seeing the German play "Wilhelm Tell."
Lutheran schools and churches were raided and searched for pro-German material; former president Theodore Roosevelt called for a ban on teaching the German language in schools.
In Lansing, Mich., a man named Powell was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for complaining about pressure to buy war bonds; the mayor of Lansing was sent to jail for contempt of court when he rose to defend Powell.
At least 100 conscientious objectors, especially socialist political leaders, were sentenced to 10 to 30 years in federal penitentiaries; Mennonites were sent into empty fields and pursued by motorcyclists until they collapsed.
Labor leader Eugene Debs, who supported the war, was sentenced to 10 years in jail for attacking "superpatriots."
Citizens Protective League vigilantes loaded 1,200 union miners and dissidents into railroad cars and dropped them in New Mexico deserts -- "a lesson that the whole of America would do well to copy," said a Los Angeles Times editorial.
The general counsel of the U.S. Post Office, William H. Lamar, closed several magazines, including The Nation, denouncing them for "pro-Germanism, pacifism and highbrowism."
The Saturday Evening Post called on America to get rid of German-Americans and Irish-Americans, "the scum of the melting pot."
Robert Goldstein, director of "Spirit of '76," a film that depicted 18th-century atrocities by British soldiers during the American revolution, was arrested and sentenced to prison for 10 years.
Baseball fans at an exhibition game in Texas cheered Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers when he slid into second base spikes high and then pummeled the bleeding second baseman, Buck Herzog of the New York Giants, yelling, "German! German!"
Morris Ryskind was expelled from Columbia Journalism School for making fun of the school's president, Nicholas Murray Butler, who fired any faculty who spoke against the war. He went to Hollywood and wrote movies for the Marx Brothers.
We seem to have come a long way, or at least the government is a lot less crazy. Or maybe we talk less now and have better listening devices.
Also, I happened to be reading a book, to be published in June, that put that spy story in a different historical context. "The Illusion of Victory: America in World War I," by Thomas Fleming, a smart popular historian who learned his politics the same place I did. It is an astonishing book, particularly if you know little or nothing about that war to end all wars.
I did not know, for instance, that the German government placed advertisements in New York newspapers warning passengers not to board the British luxury liner Lusitania. The ads said the ship was secretly carrying ammunition and weaponry to England, and that German U-boats, the super-weapons of the time, were going to try to sink it -- which they did on May 17, 1915. More than 1,100 people, including 128 Americans, died, and more than 5,000 cases of ammunition blew up or ended up on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
This, according to Fleming, is what it was like at home after the United States entered the war in 1917:
Sen. Hiram Johnson of California led the fight to kill a one-paragraph clause in an omnibus appropriations bill that would have given the White House and Department of War the power to censor all newspapers in the country.
"Patriots" in Milwaukee used machine guns to stop patrons from seeing the German play "Wilhelm Tell."
Lutheran schools and churches were raided and searched for pro-German material; former president Theodore Roosevelt called for a ban on teaching the German language in schools.
In Lansing, Mich., a man named Powell was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for complaining about pressure to buy war bonds; the mayor of Lansing was sent to jail for contempt of court when he rose to defend Powell.
At least 100 conscientious objectors, especially socialist political leaders, were sentenced to 10 to 30 years in federal penitentiaries; Mennonites were sent into empty fields and pursued by motorcyclists until they collapsed.
Labor leader Eugene Debs, who supported the war, was sentenced to 10 years in jail for attacking "superpatriots."
Citizens Protective League vigilantes loaded 1,200 union miners and dissidents into railroad cars and dropped them in New Mexico deserts -- "a lesson that the whole of America would do well to copy," said a Los Angeles Times editorial.
The general counsel of the U.S. Post Office, William H. Lamar, closed several magazines, including The Nation, denouncing them for "pro-Germanism, pacifism and highbrowism."
The Saturday Evening Post called on America to get rid of German-Americans and Irish-Americans, "the scum of the melting pot."
Robert Goldstein, director of "Spirit of '76," a film that depicted 18th-century atrocities by British soldiers during the American revolution, was arrested and sentenced to prison for 10 years.
Baseball fans at an exhibition game in Texas cheered Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers when he slid into second base spikes high and then pummeled the bleeding second baseman, Buck Herzog of the New York Giants, yelling, "German! German!"
Morris Ryskind was expelled from Columbia Journalism School for making fun of the school's president, Nicholas Murray Butler, who fired any faculty who spoke against the war. He went to Hollywood and wrote movies for the Marx Brothers.
We seem to have come a long way, or at least the government is a lot less crazy. Or maybe we talk less now and have better listening devices.
Friday, May 23, 2003
Load of Hay Produces Marijuana
Thu May 22, 4:57 AM ET Add AP - Feature Stories to My Yahoo!
BENTONVILLE, Ark. - A load of hay brought from Kansas produced lots of new grass in a Benton County pasture when seeds sprouted, but the grass wasn't the kind the farmer wanted. Benton County sheriff's Deputy Tom Brewster said Tuesday the farmer reported to the sheriff's office late last week that he found marijuana growing on his property. On Monday, deputies went to the farm south of Centerton and found 126 marijuana plants ranging from 3 inches to 3 feet tall, Brewster said. Brewster said neither the farmer's name nor the location of the farm would be released, as the farmer did not want to be identified. According to Brewster, the plants were growing in a random manner in an area where the farmer had kept bales of hay. He said an investigation found the farmer had purchased a large quantity of hay from a place in Kansas and had been feeding it to his cattle over the winter.
Apparently, someone had been growing marijuana in the field where the hay was cut and the marijuana and its seeds ended up in the bales, he said. Over time, the seeds fell out of the hay and sprouted new plants. Monday's seizure of the 126 plants resulted in no charges to either the farmer or the cows, Brewster said.
Thu May 22, 4:57 AM ET Add AP - Feature Stories to My Yahoo!
BENTONVILLE, Ark. - A load of hay brought from Kansas produced lots of new grass in a Benton County pasture when seeds sprouted, but the grass wasn't the kind the farmer wanted. Benton County sheriff's Deputy Tom Brewster said Tuesday the farmer reported to the sheriff's office late last week that he found marijuana growing on his property. On Monday, deputies went to the farm south of Centerton and found 126 marijuana plants ranging from 3 inches to 3 feet tall, Brewster said. Brewster said neither the farmer's name nor the location of the farm would be released, as the farmer did not want to be identified. According to Brewster, the plants were growing in a random manner in an area where the farmer had kept bales of hay. He said an investigation found the farmer had purchased a large quantity of hay from a place in Kansas and had been feeding it to his cattle over the winter.
Apparently, someone had been growing marijuana in the field where the hay was cut and the marijuana and its seeds ended up in the bales, he said. Over time, the seeds fell out of the hay and sprouted new plants. Monday's seizure of the 126 plants resulted in no charges to either the farmer or the cows, Brewster said.
Thursday, May 22, 2003
Wednesday, May 21, 2003
from bbc.com------------
Australia to test medical cannabis.
Australia's most populous state has announced plans to legalise the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes. The authorities in New South Wales say they will launch a four-year trial to see if the banned plant can alleviate chronic pain. Under the proposal, patients will be able to gain access to the drug through the state's health department. A number of countries, including the Netherlands and Canada, have laws approving the medicinal use of cannabis. Eight US states have taken similar steps - although the use of the drug remains illegal under federal law. New South Wales Premier Bob Carr said trials for the pain-relieving properties of cannabis would include strict safeguards.
People convicted of an illicit drug offence, on parole, under 18 years of age, or pregnant will not be able to register as a user, he told the state parliament in Sydney. "Patients must be able to show that conventional treatment will not relieve their suffering," he said. Mr Carr called the plan a "compassionate scheme". "It's directed at people like the 62-year-old man with bowel cancer ... (who) uses cannabis to relieve pain and to beat the nausea that stops him from eating," Mr Carr said.
Sufferers of a number of ailments, including multiple sclerosis, have said cannabis eases their pain. Legislation authorising the trials is expected to pass through the New South Wales parliament later this year. The main opposition leader in the state, John Brogden, has indicated his support for the trial.
Australia to test medical cannabis.
Australia's most populous state has announced plans to legalise the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes. The authorities in New South Wales say they will launch a four-year trial to see if the banned plant can alleviate chronic pain. Under the proposal, patients will be able to gain access to the drug through the state's health department. A number of countries, including the Netherlands and Canada, have laws approving the medicinal use of cannabis. Eight US states have taken similar steps - although the use of the drug remains illegal under federal law. New South Wales Premier Bob Carr said trials for the pain-relieving properties of cannabis would include strict safeguards.
People convicted of an illicit drug offence, on parole, under 18 years of age, or pregnant will not be able to register as a user, he told the state parliament in Sydney. "Patients must be able to show that conventional treatment will not relieve their suffering," he said. Mr Carr called the plan a "compassionate scheme". "It's directed at people like the 62-year-old man with bowel cancer ... (who) uses cannabis to relieve pain and to beat the nausea that stops him from eating," Mr Carr said.
Sufferers of a number of ailments, including multiple sclerosis, have said cannabis eases their pain. Legislation authorising the trials is expected to pass through the New South Wales parliament later this year. The main opposition leader in the state, John Brogden, has indicated his support for the trial.
Wednesday, May 14, 2003
seriously, it isn't funny anymore!!!! how can we bring the extinction of animals and plants and not be worried about it!!??!! now dolphins and whales are only being given 10 (ten) years of existance!! no more hate, no more war, no mor destruction. let women rule, let women do good and men, let's just stay out of the way and help.
anyhow, read about this whale of a story.
anyhow, read about this whale of a story.
check out this story!! just in case you can't, read the following to see what it's about!
from bbc.com news----------
'High-rise' housing for South Africa
Houses made from cannabis are far stronger and cheaper than conventional buildings, says South African innovator Andre du Plessis. He sees this as the solution to the housing problem in South Africa, where millions of people live in shanty towns. Since he started advocating the "dope houses", some South Africans have been joking that if one caught fire, people would run towards the burning building, rather than away. But Mr du Plessis told the BBC Network Africa programme that if one of the houses did catch fire, it would not give off any "class C or D noxious fumes". So he says people would have no reason to steal lumps out of the houses to smoke.
The fibre from the cannabis plant, which used to be used to make ropes, would be mixed with lime and sand. "It looks like cement - a brownish, greyish hue," he said, adding that it would not smell of cannabis. Although Mr du Plessis says the cannabis cement is six times stronger and six times cheaper than normal cement, the South African Government is not interested in his idea. He says he has 30 or 40 letters from different government departments saying "Thanks, but no thanks". "It's quite frustrating when you're suggesting something that can only aid South Africa. I'm not doing this for any personal gain."
from bbc.com news----------
'High-rise' housing for South Africa
Houses made from cannabis are far stronger and cheaper than conventional buildings, says South African innovator Andre du Plessis. He sees this as the solution to the housing problem in South Africa, where millions of people live in shanty towns. Since he started advocating the "dope houses", some South Africans have been joking that if one caught fire, people would run towards the burning building, rather than away. But Mr du Plessis told the BBC Network Africa programme that if one of the houses did catch fire, it would not give off any "class C or D noxious fumes". So he says people would have no reason to steal lumps out of the houses to smoke.
The fibre from the cannabis plant, which used to be used to make ropes, would be mixed with lime and sand. "It looks like cement - a brownish, greyish hue," he said, adding that it would not smell of cannabis. Although Mr du Plessis says the cannabis cement is six times stronger and six times cheaper than normal cement, the South African Government is not interested in his idea. He says he has 30 or 40 letters from different government departments saying "Thanks, but no thanks". "It's quite frustrating when you're suggesting something that can only aid South Africa. I'm not doing this for any personal gain."
Monday, May 12, 2003
as i sit on this tiny island i see alot of things that do not make sense, but every so i see something in the world that is lively and makes sense! Go Canada!!!!!
from yahoo news--------
World - Canada
Canada Plans to Cut Pot Use by Cutting Penalties
Fri May 9, 4:32 PM ET
By Randall Palmer
OTTAWA (Reuters) - It may sound counterintuitive, but Canadian Justice Minister Martin Cauchon believes that by decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana he will actually cut its use.
Cauchon told Reuters in an interview on Friday that current criminal sanctions are being applied so rarely and unevenly that reducing the penalties and then enforcing them should result in a more effective deterrent. "The system is broken. It doesn't work. We have to fix it and we have to be realistic in fixing it," Cauchon said. "It's 2003 and we realize that the existing legislation hasn't been effective, and more and more people are using cannabis."
Despite concerns expressed by the Bush administration, the Canadian government is looking at changing criminal penalties for marijuana possession, possibly to a system in which users would just get a ticket. Cauchon stresses that marijuana would remain illegal, and that criminal penalties would continue to apply to possession of larger amounts and to traffickers. He has pledged to deliver legislation to Parliament by mid June, though it was quite possible it would be introduced as early as next week. "We're not doing that do be soft on drugs, but to be more efficient, more effective," said the minister, who comes from Quebec, one of Canada's most liberal provinces. "It is in order to make sure that we will send a strong message to the effect that the use of drugs -- to be more precise, we're talking about cannabis -- in Canada is illegal and harmful as well for our society."
Currently about 100,000 of Canada's 30 million people use pot on a daily basis, he said.
"We don't really enforce the existing legislation. When we do enforce the legislation we don't do it on a uniform basis across Canada," he said. "For example, if you get caught with 5 or 10 grams (a fraction of an ounce) in downtown Toronto, you're probably going to get nothing but a verbal warning," he added. "If you get caught in a small village somewhere in Canada, probably there's a chance that you'll be charged and tried, with a summary conviction, and end up with a criminal judgement against you."
A House of Commons committee in December recommended ending criminal penalties for people cultivating or possessing amounts less than 30 grams (one ounce), and it took issue with the idea that marijuana is a gateway to harder drugs. But that idea is precisely the position of the Bush administration, which has warned of a possible clampdown at the border with Canada if possession is decriminalized, even if that means world's richest trading relationship suffers as a result.
Cauchon described the plan briefly to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites) this week at a Paris meeting of justice ministers of the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations. Asked what Ashcroft's reaction was, Cauchon said: "It was OK. It was what you would expect." Cauchon said he would not expect a U.S. backlash. "Not at all, because I believe that with that new policy we will be going in the right direction," he said.
from yahoo news--------
World - Canada
Canada Plans to Cut Pot Use by Cutting Penalties
Fri May 9, 4:32 PM ET
By Randall Palmer
OTTAWA (Reuters) - It may sound counterintuitive, but Canadian Justice Minister Martin Cauchon believes that by decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana he will actually cut its use.
Cauchon told Reuters in an interview on Friday that current criminal sanctions are being applied so rarely and unevenly that reducing the penalties and then enforcing them should result in a more effective deterrent. "The system is broken. It doesn't work. We have to fix it and we have to be realistic in fixing it," Cauchon said. "It's 2003 and we realize that the existing legislation hasn't been effective, and more and more people are using cannabis."
Despite concerns expressed by the Bush administration, the Canadian government is looking at changing criminal penalties for marijuana possession, possibly to a system in which users would just get a ticket. Cauchon stresses that marijuana would remain illegal, and that criminal penalties would continue to apply to possession of larger amounts and to traffickers. He has pledged to deliver legislation to Parliament by mid June, though it was quite possible it would be introduced as early as next week. "We're not doing that do be soft on drugs, but to be more efficient, more effective," said the minister, who comes from Quebec, one of Canada's most liberal provinces. "It is in order to make sure that we will send a strong message to the effect that the use of drugs -- to be more precise, we're talking about cannabis -- in Canada is illegal and harmful as well for our society."
Currently about 100,000 of Canada's 30 million people use pot on a daily basis, he said.
"We don't really enforce the existing legislation. When we do enforce the legislation we don't do it on a uniform basis across Canada," he said. "For example, if you get caught with 5 or 10 grams (a fraction of an ounce) in downtown Toronto, you're probably going to get nothing but a verbal warning," he added. "If you get caught in a small village somewhere in Canada, probably there's a chance that you'll be charged and tried, with a summary conviction, and end up with a criminal judgement against you."
A House of Commons committee in December recommended ending criminal penalties for people cultivating or possessing amounts less than 30 grams (one ounce), and it took issue with the idea that marijuana is a gateway to harder drugs. But that idea is precisely the position of the Bush administration, which has warned of a possible clampdown at the border with Canada if possession is decriminalized, even if that means world's richest trading relationship suffers as a result.
Cauchon described the plan briefly to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites) this week at a Paris meeting of justice ministers of the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations. Asked what Ashcroft's reaction was, Cauchon said: "It was OK. It was what you would expect." Cauchon said he would not expect a U.S. backlash. "Not at all, because I believe that with that new policy we will be going in the right direction," he said.
Friday, May 09, 2003
FROM BBC.COM----
An Iraqi web logger knocked offline by the war in Iraq has resurfaced. ......
Salam Pax became well-known among web users in the opening weeks of the Iraq conflict for his web log. The web log stopped being updated on 24 March as the war approached Baghdad and electrical power and telephone lines were knocked out. But even throughout the days when he could not get his words on to the internet, the man behind Dear Raed has been recording his thoughts and this week managed to get them on to the web.
"War sucks big time. Don't let yourself ever be talked into having one waged in the name of your freedom," reads one of the most recent entries.
Salam himself had a close encounter with edgy US troops in which he had to talk himself out of trouble. In early April Salam wrote: "At the moment the US/UK are not winning any battle to 'win the heart and mind' of this individual. No matter which way this will go my life will end up more difficult."
As the Americans entered the city, the conflict came much closer as Fedayeen fighters took to hiding in residential areas as a cover for their attacks on US troops. Salam said the result was usually many dead Iraqi civilians when Fedayeen sniper fire or a missile attack was answered by an overwhelming response by US soldiers.
Since the conflict ended, life in Baghdad has not got any easier and Salam laments the damage that the bombing has done which has only been continued by looters.
Looters are apparently now stealing number plates off cars so they can use them on another vehicle that has been stolen and has no registration plate of its own. Using a number plate, albeit stolen, hides the fact that the vehicle bearing it has also been stolen. "To see your city destroyed before your own eyes is not a pain that can be described and put to words," he wrote, "the American Government is getting as many curses as the Iraqi. Somehow when the bombs start dropping or you hear the sound of machine guns at the end of your street you don't think about your 'imminent liberation' anymore," he wrote.
An Iraqi web logger knocked offline by the war in Iraq has resurfaced. ......
Salam Pax became well-known among web users in the opening weeks of the Iraq conflict for his web log. The web log stopped being updated on 24 March as the war approached Baghdad and electrical power and telephone lines were knocked out. But even throughout the days when he could not get his words on to the internet, the man behind Dear Raed has been recording his thoughts and this week managed to get them on to the web.
"War sucks big time. Don't let yourself ever be talked into having one waged in the name of your freedom," reads one of the most recent entries.
Salam himself had a close encounter with edgy US troops in which he had to talk himself out of trouble. In early April Salam wrote: "At the moment the US/UK are not winning any battle to 'win the heart and mind' of this individual. No matter which way this will go my life will end up more difficult."
As the Americans entered the city, the conflict came much closer as Fedayeen fighters took to hiding in residential areas as a cover for their attacks on US troops. Salam said the result was usually many dead Iraqi civilians when Fedayeen sniper fire or a missile attack was answered by an overwhelming response by US soldiers.
Since the conflict ended, life in Baghdad has not got any easier and Salam laments the damage that the bombing has done which has only been continued by looters.
Looters are apparently now stealing number plates off cars so they can use them on another vehicle that has been stolen and has no registration plate of its own. Using a number plate, albeit stolen, hides the fact that the vehicle bearing it has also been stolen. "To see your city destroyed before your own eyes is not a pain that can be described and put to words," he wrote, "the American Government is getting as many curses as the Iraqi. Somehow when the bombs start dropping or you hear the sound of machine guns at the end of your street you don't think about your 'imminent liberation' anymore," he wrote.
Thursday, May 08, 2003
just a little bit on my islander perspective, but perhaps i'm biased since i'm from paradise... but wouldn't it seem more productive to take something like a bad habit and make it something useful for society? for example, let's say someone is smoking something they shouldn't, let's just say they are smoking pot, then why not just give them community service instead of jail time? are they really hurting anyone? and why not let them grow it if they show a continued use of it despite fines and community service. i mean that way we could take money out of "evil drug dealers" and just let people manage their own bad habits.
food for thought... by the way, the internet is freedom. it's a library of the world, it is not a business portal or commerce tool.
one last thing, last night i got an email from mother god... she says that people should stop arguing about copy rights and patents because soon she'll sue for the illegal use of creation. she said that it took her eons to make something as simple as DNA, which is a clever set of instructions that she painstakedly coded so few people could copy her, but alas humans went and broke her coding and now they are coping her work. she said to remind the world that DNA is copyrighted and patented for another 20 dimensions of existance, and seeing as i don't even know what that means, i'm sure it's a really long time!
so that's right, you're property of mother god. she made you and owns the rights on you and your consequencial work. so stop being stupid and arguing about copyrights and patents because it all belongs to her.
lots of love to all things and especially to mothers, since they truly are the image of mother god, for remember, although Jesus did not have a father in this existance, he always had a mother. so this mother's day, if you find that you were born without a mother, then give thanks and praise to mother god, for she found a way to create you anyhow. love to mothers and women. let love rule!!!
food for thought... by the way, the internet is freedom. it's a library of the world, it is not a business portal or commerce tool.
one last thing, last night i got an email from mother god... she says that people should stop arguing about copy rights and patents because soon she'll sue for the illegal use of creation. she said that it took her eons to make something as simple as DNA, which is a clever set of instructions that she painstakedly coded so few people could copy her, but alas humans went and broke her coding and now they are coping her work. she said to remind the world that DNA is copyrighted and patented for another 20 dimensions of existance, and seeing as i don't even know what that means, i'm sure it's a really long time!
so that's right, you're property of mother god. she made you and owns the rights on you and your consequencial work. so stop being stupid and arguing about copyrights and patents because it all belongs to her.
lots of love to all things and especially to mothers, since they truly are the image of mother god, for remember, although Jesus did not have a father in this existance, he always had a mother. so this mother's day, if you find that you were born without a mother, then give thanks and praise to mother god, for she found a way to create you anyhow. love to mothers and women. let love rule!!!
let's cheer for Canada! okay, read the following and you may see why.....
from yahoo news....
Top Stories - USA TODAY
U.S., Canada clash on pot laws
Donna Leinwand USA TODAY
The Bush administration is hinting that it could make it more difficult for Canadian goods to get into this country if Canada's Parliament moves ahead with a proposal to drop criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana.
The proposal, part of an effort to overhaul Canada's anti-drug policies, essentially would treat most marijuana smokers there the same as people who get misdemeanor traffic tickets. Violators would be ticketed and would have to pay a small fine, but they no longer would face jail time.
Canada's plan isn't that unusual: 12 U.S. states and most of the 15 nations in the European Union (news - web sites) have eased penalties on first-time offenders in recent years. That's a reflection of how many governments have grown weary of pursuing individual marijuana users.
from yahoo news....
Top Stories - USA TODAY
U.S., Canada clash on pot laws
Donna Leinwand USA TODAY
The Bush administration is hinting that it could make it more difficult for Canadian goods to get into this country if Canada's Parliament moves ahead with a proposal to drop criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana.
The proposal, part of an effort to overhaul Canada's anti-drug policies, essentially would treat most marijuana smokers there the same as people who get misdemeanor traffic tickets. Violators would be ticketed and would have to pay a small fine, but they no longer would face jail time.
Canada's plan isn't that unusual: 12 U.S. states and most of the 15 nations in the European Union (news - web sites) have eased penalties on first-time offenders in recent years. That's a reflection of how many governments have grown weary of pursuing individual marijuana users.
Friday, May 02, 2003
for my bestest friend Amanda, who has an eye condition that makes her legally blind......
from BBC.com-----------
It was a darkish room, candelit only, and I vaguely remembered steps on the way to the kitchen. I'd better explain. I have an eye condition called RP retinitus pigmentosa and am officially registered blind. I can't read any more and I can't see anything in much detail, but I'm pretty mobile. The trick was to get to the kitchen without anyone offering to help. Fortunately, a guest was giving a jump-by-jump account of her last visit to Badminton and no-one noticed my escape.
Someone had beaten me to it.
I could just make out a silhouette topped with dreadlocks and something glinting, probably an earring, by the window. I could definitely smell hash. The voice was rich, friendly and unmistakably Caribbean. 'Join the party', he said and handed me the remains of a roll-up.
I'm not a regular cannabis user. I learnt to smoke it when I was sent by this paper to Amsterdam to cover the first international conference to debate the legalisation of pot some 20 years ago. My student children occasionally bring it home and I sometimes share a joint to be sociable, but it has marginally less effect on me than a large malt whisky.
The Battersea roll-up was something else. Even before I exhaled, I could feel something was happening. I took another drag. The silhouette by the window was no longer a blur. It was wearing a pale blue denim jacket with metal studs arranged in a diamond pattern on the sleeve.
I took another drag and counted the studs. There were 16. The next inhalation revealed an Arran sweater under the jacket with alternate rows of cable stitch and blackberry stitch. I know about knitting. My Dublin landlady knitted all the time, but I haven't seen a stitch, plain, purl or blackberry, in detail for decades.
This was incredible and I wanted to tell my companions so, but somehow I couldn't seem to get my tongue around the words. I knew I was smiling, a silly loose-lipped smile, and he was smiling too, showing shiny white teeth...eight, to be exact, with a gap on the left.
I couldn't stop counting things. I counted the mugs on the dresser, which were very red, and the flowers on the sides of the mugs, which were very green with white centres, and the number of tiles on the floor. For someone who can no longer read Tube station signs and once went to lunch at the Savoy wearing odd shoes - same style, different colours. This was a whole new world. Only trouble was, I couldn't stand up. Sightless or legless, it's a tough choice.
The next time I saw my consultant, Professor Bird at Moorfields, I told him about it. He didn't seem surprised. He remembered a letter in Nature magazine six years ago about Jamaican fishermen smoking ganja to improve their night vision. Apparently, an opthalmic research fellow from the University of the West Indies had gone out one night with a boatload of stoned fishermen, and confirmed that, in pitch darkness, they had piloted their flimsy craft through treacherously rough, rock-ridden seas.
In America, continued Professor Bird, it is not unusual for opthalmic consultants to prescribe cannabis for glaucoma. There was a case recently of an American student being stopped at Heathrow with a pouchful of hash. 'But it's on prescription from my doctor,' he protested. Pull the other one, said Heathrow Customs.
Professor Bird offered the services of a colleague, Dr Fred Fitzke, over at the Institute of Opthamology, who would test my vision before and after a joint to see precisely what improvement there was. I would have to bring my own dope.
Clearly, it wasn't just any old weed I had had in my friends' Battersea kitchen.
'It must have been Skunk, mum,' advised the youngest daughter. 'Ordinary Thai doesn't have that effect. Was it very green with sort of sparkly bits in it?' I couldn't remember. All I remembered about that evening in Battersea was the sudden clarity with which I could see everything, as if someone had switched on a 150-watt light bulb in a candlelit room.
I've done some research into Skunk. The best stuff comes from Amsterdam and was originally called Fourways because it was developed from four different kinds of cannabis: Sinsemilla, Hindikush and two common varieties of Thai.
It isn't grown in earth like ordinary hash. It's grown hydroponically with regular liquid feeds. They're so keen on Skunk in Amsterdam, they now have an annual Growers' Cup to find the best variety. Best, in Dutch terms, means potent but still allowing you to work. You don't fall over or smile silly, lopsided smiles. That's obviously the kind I need.
This year's Growers' Cup winner was called Khali Mist, beating Snow White, winner for the past two years. There's also Super Skunk, Blue Grass, AK47, Bubblegum and many more. The English brand of Snow White is generally agreed to be the most potent. The only problem is the price. Skunk costs twice as much as ordinary weed, £25 for an eighth of an ounce instead of the usual tenner. But then you get what you pay for. It contains five times as much of the buzz-giving substance THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) that you smoke it for.
Whether it will ever be prescribed here on the National Health Service depends very much on what the new drugs law reform commission comes up with, I suppose. Certainly, there are hospices which allow patients to smoke dope to relieve those parts which even the strongest morphine doses cannot reach.
For my birthday, my daughter sent me a box containing, according to the label, three months' supply of those new disposable contact lenses. Some kind of joke. I haven't worn contacts for years. Wrap-around glasses with dark red milk-bottle lenses to keep out the light are my trademark.
It was a long box. Inside, carefully wrapped in silver foil, was a joint the size of a Monte Cristo cigar. It didn't say Khali Mist, but I expect that's what it is.
Unfortunately, Dr Fitzke was in Cambridge last week attending an opthalmic conference, so I couldn't make an appointment for my Skunk test. But, at least I've got the business to take with me when he returns. It promises to be an interesting session. I'll let you know how it goes."
from BBC.com-----------
It was a darkish room, candelit only, and I vaguely remembered steps on the way to the kitchen. I'd better explain. I have an eye condition called RP retinitus pigmentosa and am officially registered blind. I can't read any more and I can't see anything in much detail, but I'm pretty mobile. The trick was to get to the kitchen without anyone offering to help. Fortunately, a guest was giving a jump-by-jump account of her last visit to Badminton and no-one noticed my escape.
Someone had beaten me to it.
I could just make out a silhouette topped with dreadlocks and something glinting, probably an earring, by the window. I could definitely smell hash. The voice was rich, friendly and unmistakably Caribbean. 'Join the party', he said and handed me the remains of a roll-up.
I'm not a regular cannabis user. I learnt to smoke it when I was sent by this paper to Amsterdam to cover the first international conference to debate the legalisation of pot some 20 years ago. My student children occasionally bring it home and I sometimes share a joint to be sociable, but it has marginally less effect on me than a large malt whisky.
The Battersea roll-up was something else. Even before I exhaled, I could feel something was happening. I took another drag. The silhouette by the window was no longer a blur. It was wearing a pale blue denim jacket with metal studs arranged in a diamond pattern on the sleeve.
I took another drag and counted the studs. There were 16. The next inhalation revealed an Arran sweater under the jacket with alternate rows of cable stitch and blackberry stitch. I know about knitting. My Dublin landlady knitted all the time, but I haven't seen a stitch, plain, purl or blackberry, in detail for decades.
This was incredible and I wanted to tell my companions so, but somehow I couldn't seem to get my tongue around the words. I knew I was smiling, a silly loose-lipped smile, and he was smiling too, showing shiny white teeth...eight, to be exact, with a gap on the left.
I couldn't stop counting things. I counted the mugs on the dresser, which were very red, and the flowers on the sides of the mugs, which were very green with white centres, and the number of tiles on the floor. For someone who can no longer read Tube station signs and once went to lunch at the Savoy wearing odd shoes - same style, different colours. This was a whole new world. Only trouble was, I couldn't stand up. Sightless or legless, it's a tough choice.
The next time I saw my consultant, Professor Bird at Moorfields, I told him about it. He didn't seem surprised. He remembered a letter in Nature magazine six years ago about Jamaican fishermen smoking ganja to improve their night vision. Apparently, an opthalmic research fellow from the University of the West Indies had gone out one night with a boatload of stoned fishermen, and confirmed that, in pitch darkness, they had piloted their flimsy craft through treacherously rough, rock-ridden seas.
In America, continued Professor Bird, it is not unusual for opthalmic consultants to prescribe cannabis for glaucoma. There was a case recently of an American student being stopped at Heathrow with a pouchful of hash. 'But it's on prescription from my doctor,' he protested. Pull the other one, said Heathrow Customs.
Professor Bird offered the services of a colleague, Dr Fred Fitzke, over at the Institute of Opthamology, who would test my vision before and after a joint to see precisely what improvement there was. I would have to bring my own dope.
Clearly, it wasn't just any old weed I had had in my friends' Battersea kitchen.
'It must have been Skunk, mum,' advised the youngest daughter. 'Ordinary Thai doesn't have that effect. Was it very green with sort of sparkly bits in it?' I couldn't remember. All I remembered about that evening in Battersea was the sudden clarity with which I could see everything, as if someone had switched on a 150-watt light bulb in a candlelit room.
I've done some research into Skunk. The best stuff comes from Amsterdam and was originally called Fourways because it was developed from four different kinds of cannabis: Sinsemilla, Hindikush and two common varieties of Thai.
It isn't grown in earth like ordinary hash. It's grown hydroponically with regular liquid feeds. They're so keen on Skunk in Amsterdam, they now have an annual Growers' Cup to find the best variety. Best, in Dutch terms, means potent but still allowing you to work. You don't fall over or smile silly, lopsided smiles. That's obviously the kind I need.
This year's Growers' Cup winner was called Khali Mist, beating Snow White, winner for the past two years. There's also Super Skunk, Blue Grass, AK47, Bubblegum and many more. The English brand of Snow White is generally agreed to be the most potent. The only problem is the price. Skunk costs twice as much as ordinary weed, £25 for an eighth of an ounce instead of the usual tenner. But then you get what you pay for. It contains five times as much of the buzz-giving substance THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) that you smoke it for.
Whether it will ever be prescribed here on the National Health Service depends very much on what the new drugs law reform commission comes up with, I suppose. Certainly, there are hospices which allow patients to smoke dope to relieve those parts which even the strongest morphine doses cannot reach.
For my birthday, my daughter sent me a box containing, according to the label, three months' supply of those new disposable contact lenses. Some kind of joke. I haven't worn contacts for years. Wrap-around glasses with dark red milk-bottle lenses to keep out the light are my trademark.
It was a long box. Inside, carefully wrapped in silver foil, was a joint the size of a Monte Cristo cigar. It didn't say Khali Mist, but I expect that's what it is.
Unfortunately, Dr Fitzke was in Cambridge last week attending an opthalmic conference, so I couldn't make an appointment for my Skunk test. But, at least I've got the business to take with me when he returns. It promises to be an interesting session. I'll let you know how it goes."
from BBC.com -----
There is scientific evidence to suggest that cannabis may be useful in treating a wide range of conditions.
And wide-scale trials testing the safety and efficacy of cannabis extracts are currently underway in the UK and elsewhere.
For instance, cannabis appears to be able to help reduce the side effects of chemotherapy treatment given to cancer patients.
The drugs used to treat cancer are among the most powerful, and most toxic, chemicals used in medicine. They produce unpleasant side effects, such as days or weeks of vomiting and nausea after each treatment.
Cannabis is an ant emetic, a drug that relieves nausea and allows patients to eat and live normally.
Extracts also seem to benefit patients suffering from multiple sclerosis, stopping muscle spasms, and reducing tremors.
In the USA, the Food and Drug Administration has approved the oral use of dronabinol, a cannabis derivative, for people with Aids.
There is evidence that cannabis may stimulate the appetites of Aids patients with wasting disease.
It may also help relieve the pain of menstrual cramps and childbirth.
Campaigners claim the drug is useful in treating depression and other mood disorders.
Cannabis analogues have been shown to prevent seizures in epileptic patients when given in combination with prescription drugs.
The drug can also help in the treatment of patients suffering from glaucoma, one of the commonest causes of blindness, by reducing fluid pressure in the eye.
Claims have also been made for its use in treating asthma, strokes, Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease, alcoholism and insomnia.
There is scientific evidence to suggest that cannabis may be useful in treating a wide range of conditions.
And wide-scale trials testing the safety and efficacy of cannabis extracts are currently underway in the UK and elsewhere.
For instance, cannabis appears to be able to help reduce the side effects of chemotherapy treatment given to cancer patients.
The drugs used to treat cancer are among the most powerful, and most toxic, chemicals used in medicine. They produce unpleasant side effects, such as days or weeks of vomiting and nausea after each treatment.
Cannabis is an ant emetic, a drug that relieves nausea and allows patients to eat and live normally.
Extracts also seem to benefit patients suffering from multiple sclerosis, stopping muscle spasms, and reducing tremors.
In the USA, the Food and Drug Administration has approved the oral use of dronabinol, a cannabis derivative, for people with Aids.
There is evidence that cannabis may stimulate the appetites of Aids patients with wasting disease.
It may also help relieve the pain of menstrual cramps and childbirth.
Campaigners claim the drug is useful in treating depression and other mood disorders.
Cannabis analogues have been shown to prevent seizures in epileptic patients when given in combination with prescription drugs.
The drug can also help in the treatment of patients suffering from glaucoma, one of the commonest causes of blindness, by reducing fluid pressure in the eye.
Claims have also been made for its use in treating asthma, strokes, Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease, alcoholism and insomnia.
read this green article! why is it that we continue to neglect the fact that alcohol kills too? how bout drunk driving and alcoholism? yet we allow that. so why not give people freedom of choosing their lifestyles. besides, not everyone smokes "joints" when consuming cannabis. how about studying the intake when consuming cannabis thru a glass water pipe using a hot air gun or otherwise known as a vaporizer? and also, what about the benefits of less stress? or the benefits of higher metabolism and a healthy and kinder outlook on life and natural living? i am sick and tired of people classifying a plant by the use of a very small percentage. not all users of this plant are the same and some people can be very discipline and clean and healthy. jah love! may the lord take care of all kind and peaceful people. no war, no hate, no violence.
Thursday, May 01, 2003
grandparents are the coolest. they provide love and support that the youth lack in the world. grandparents are pillars of love and support and just thinking of them cheers people up. its like candy canes in christmas, they are just cheery. so thank you grandparents of the world and i hope you all live comfortable and happy lives. and by the war, vote no for war. let us not kill anymore and let us endorse education for everyone, everyone's grandchildren.
here's to my favorite president in my short lifetime, Mr. President Clinton!!!-----------
Clinton: More Nations Should Rebuild Iraq
Wed Apr 30, 7:54 PM ET
MEXICO CITY - Former President Bill Clinton (news - web sites) said Wednesday the United States needs to involve more countries in rebuilding Iraq (news - web sites) and that the United Nations (news - web sites) should not be weakened in the process.
Clinton spoke at a political conference in Mexico City, where he also met with President Vicente Fox (news - web sites) at the presidential residence.
"What's done is done," Clinton said, referring to the war in Iraq.
"We cannot let this be a precedent for weakening the U.N.," he said. "We have to have honest inspections for chemical and biological weapons, and we need to have a sensible attempt to involve the world in building a democratic Iraq."
Clinton also said a key postwar step would be to restart peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
The world "can only hope and pray that President Bush (news - web sites) is right, and that it (Iraq) will him extra leverage in resolving the conflict," he said.
"It's only a question of how many people they are willing to see die before they reach the inevitable agreement," he added, "but it will come."
Clinton was in the Mexico capital to participate in "21st Century Mexico" a political and economic forum presented by Mexico's dominant telecommunications company, Telefonos de Mexico, or Telmex.
Clinton: More Nations Should Rebuild Iraq
Wed Apr 30, 7:54 PM ET
MEXICO CITY - Former President Bill Clinton (news - web sites) said Wednesday the United States needs to involve more countries in rebuilding Iraq (news - web sites) and that the United Nations (news - web sites) should not be weakened in the process.
Clinton spoke at a political conference in Mexico City, where he also met with President Vicente Fox (news - web sites) at the presidential residence.
"What's done is done," Clinton said, referring to the war in Iraq.
"We cannot let this be a precedent for weakening the U.N.," he said. "We have to have honest inspections for chemical and biological weapons, and we need to have a sensible attempt to involve the world in building a democratic Iraq."
Clinton also said a key postwar step would be to restart peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
The world "can only hope and pray that President Bush (news - web sites) is right, and that it (Iraq) will him extra leverage in resolving the conflict," he said.
"It's only a question of how many people they are willing to see die before they reach the inevitable agreement," he added, "but it will come."
Clinton was in the Mexico capital to participate in "21st Century Mexico" a political and economic forum presented by Mexico's dominant telecommunications company, Telefonos de Mexico, or Telmex.
Well I guess this is some good news for my little island. But still, I wish we were given our rights as citizens or given the right to be our own nation. We are still a territory and not self-ruling. For example, once a native islander from Puerto Rico wished to renounce their American citizenship and only have Puerto Rican citizenship. However the Sumpreme Court ruled that since Puerto Rico is a territory of the USA there was no such thing as a Puerto Rican citizenship and anyone renouncing their American citizenship would be a foreigner and not able to legally reside in a USA territory. So if I am born in Puerto Rico and I wish to only be Puerto Rican I would have to do it from a kayak floating somewhere in the Caribbean because otherwise the Inmigration Service would haul me off to Mexico or something!!!
so you think humans are the top of the animal world? perhaps not, perhaps we are the lowest. it seems to me that all other animals can live with what the lord gave them and nothing else. it is only humans who need to destroy and consume all the environment around them. anyhow, now that we see that mice make maps and fish can feel pain, how about baboons that mourn and protest injustice?
Wednesday, April 30, 2003
I love music! And the internet is great for it provides all sorts of music to me! But alas, people with money would rather have me pay to listen to music when I could just listen to it and be left alone. Technology has moved and left the idea of copyrighted music in the shadows of its history. That is music is no longer held in a container or a tape or a CD. No, music is now free and can not be contained. It flows throughout the world in the forms of 0's and 1's and this digital flow of music can not be stopped. So to my friends, thank you for backing up my music and I will always offer my help in backing up your music. So here's to disaster recovery and making sure music lives through any act of terrorism, natural diaster, or any unforseen accident. For not only will my music be on my computer, but it will exist on computers everywhere. Thank you my friends for this security of knowing my music, the world's music, will live on forever.
Tuesday, April 29, 2003
Friday, April 25, 2003
from www.bbc.com ----
As I am constantly travelling through the city using public transport, I witness daily stress levels and political currents, quite aside from countless conversations had with French citizens from many social strata.
To this day I have been astounded by the lucidity with which Parisians have dealt with insults and attacks from an American press which seems to be projecting its own fears of judgement by the international community through the designation of an easy scapegoat rather than self-analysis.
Colonial pain
Since the conquest of Algiers in 1830, the French people's history of colonisation in the Orient has taught them many, often painful, lessons.
Hence the bewilderment here that the American government would react so violently to the French opposition to any military action in Iraq.
The French remember Algeria and the decades of compromise in a finally failed attempt to prepare this country for integration into the Republic.
When my friend's relatives finally arrived, they were overwhelmed by the warmth and helpfulness accorded them by every Frenchman encountered during their visit.
They also agreed that the war, and the 'pitiful' collapse of Baghdad were nothing compared to the struggle ahead, for which the experience and pragmatism of the French shall be sorely needed.
As they were themselves part of a group, I was able to gather varying opinions, but there seemed to be a general consensus on two important points.
First, Americans are bombarded with misinformation through the media, specifically geared to discreetly manipulate their outlook on world events.
Scepticism
Those who make a real effort to inform themselves find their trust in the American government's political and military strategy severely questioned.
They begin to understand how foreign countries look at their purported altruism with a very sceptical eye: business interests are usually not far behind and often end up costing lives.
France has been a leading opponent of military action
Second, regardless of any supposed or real threat posed by a country, we are certainly confronted by the best-travelled series of weapons of mass destruction in modern history!
As a 'preventive' war in the 21st century, this precedent now permits any country that feels truly threatened to take care of its neighbour without the accord of any international body of law.
The simple idea that France should be 'punished' for its position has been rejected by every American I have spoken with as 'perverse and anti-democratic'.
Indeed what democracy would be possible without an opposition?
But the beauty and hope of what democracy is can only evolve when the American government realises that the world is not divided into good and evil, but every shading in a constant movement between the two.
The only step to enlightenment and reason can be made by letting go of fear, which only succeeds temporarily as an instrument of control.
A great admirer of France himself, Thomas Jefferson spoke of an 'informed electorate' as the true base of a 'healthy democracy' - we would all do well to heed him.
Vive l'Amérique-Vive la France!
As I am constantly travelling through the city using public transport, I witness daily stress levels and political currents, quite aside from countless conversations had with French citizens from many social strata.
To this day I have been astounded by the lucidity with which Parisians have dealt with insults and attacks from an American press which seems to be projecting its own fears of judgement by the international community through the designation of an easy scapegoat rather than self-analysis.
Colonial pain
Since the conquest of Algiers in 1830, the French people's history of colonisation in the Orient has taught them many, often painful, lessons.
Hence the bewilderment here that the American government would react so violently to the French opposition to any military action in Iraq.
The French remember Algeria and the decades of compromise in a finally failed attempt to prepare this country for integration into the Republic.
When my friend's relatives finally arrived, they were overwhelmed by the warmth and helpfulness accorded them by every Frenchman encountered during their visit.
They also agreed that the war, and the 'pitiful' collapse of Baghdad were nothing compared to the struggle ahead, for which the experience and pragmatism of the French shall be sorely needed.
As they were themselves part of a group, I was able to gather varying opinions, but there seemed to be a general consensus on two important points.
First, Americans are bombarded with misinformation through the media, specifically geared to discreetly manipulate their outlook on world events.
Scepticism
Those who make a real effort to inform themselves find their trust in the American government's political and military strategy severely questioned.
They begin to understand how foreign countries look at their purported altruism with a very sceptical eye: business interests are usually not far behind and often end up costing lives.
France has been a leading opponent of military action
Second, regardless of any supposed or real threat posed by a country, we are certainly confronted by the best-travelled series of weapons of mass destruction in modern history!
As a 'preventive' war in the 21st century, this precedent now permits any country that feels truly threatened to take care of its neighbour without the accord of any international body of law.
The simple idea that France should be 'punished' for its position has been rejected by every American I have spoken with as 'perverse and anti-democratic'.
Indeed what democracy would be possible without an opposition?
But the beauty and hope of what democracy is can only evolve when the American government realises that the world is not divided into good and evil, but every shading in a constant movement between the two.
The only step to enlightenment and reason can be made by letting go of fear, which only succeeds temporarily as an instrument of control.
A great admirer of France himself, Thomas Jefferson spoke of an 'informed electorate' as the true base of a 'healthy democracy' - we would all do well to heed him.
Vive l'Amérique-Vive la France!
from www.bbc.com ---
The US, it is argued, will act in the 21st Century as Great Britain did in the 19th Century, and that is in its own interests.
The guns of the Royal Navy have given way to the precision guided weapons of the US Air Force.
US actions have already divided the Western allies and have called into question the future of the UN and Nato.
But sentiment hostile to American policy unites quite a range of political forces from left-wing to right-wing.
The former US President Bill Clinton reflected some of the unease, even among Americans.
"Our paradigm now seems to be: Something terrible happened to us on 11 September and that gives us the right to interpret all future events in a way that everyone else in the world must agree with," he said in a speech.
"And if they don't, they can go straight to hell."
Then there is the third point of view.
It was summed up by the British writer Timothy Garton Ash, champion of freedom for Eastern Europe during the Cold War.
"America is on probation," is how he put it.
"America can still prove, by what it does over the next few years in the Middle East, that it was right in what it did during this last month of war."
But the third point of view is still waiting to be convinced.
It is not ideologically for or against the use of American power but looks at the results.
What it does know is that there is this power, and that it is the new reality.
The US, it is argued, will act in the 21st Century as Great Britain did in the 19th Century, and that is in its own interests.
The guns of the Royal Navy have given way to the precision guided weapons of the US Air Force.
US actions have already divided the Western allies and have called into question the future of the UN and Nato.
But sentiment hostile to American policy unites quite a range of political forces from left-wing to right-wing.
The former US President Bill Clinton reflected some of the unease, even among Americans.
"Our paradigm now seems to be: Something terrible happened to us on 11 September and that gives us the right to interpret all future events in a way that everyone else in the world must agree with," he said in a speech.
"And if they don't, they can go straight to hell."
Then there is the third point of view.
It was summed up by the British writer Timothy Garton Ash, champion of freedom for Eastern Europe during the Cold War.
"America is on probation," is how he put it.
"America can still prove, by what it does over the next few years in the Middle East, that it was right in what it did during this last month of war."
But the third point of view is still waiting to be convinced.
It is not ideologically for or against the use of American power but looks at the results.
What it does know is that there is this power, and that it is the new reality.
"Thoughts on a long journey"
Tom Griffiths:
"I often wonder how future generations will remember us; as the pioneer's of the technological century - breaking boundaries in science and discovery - or a part of history they would rather forget, war torn and primitive.
“I feel it’s going to be a very long journey of evolution and learning before we reach some kind of harmony, we are after all the new species on the planet."
Tom Griffiths:
"I often wonder how future generations will remember us; as the pioneer's of the technological century - breaking boundaries in science and discovery - or a part of history they would rather forget, war torn and primitive.
“I feel it’s going to be a very long journey of evolution and learning before we reach some kind of harmony, we are after all the new species on the planet."
Thursday, April 24, 2003
this one is to the world. listen to what i've learned from living in caribbean. there's no need for violence. all god, all jah is good. think of this, all things were created by love and a mother. this is good. because of this love the tropics and the caribbean are beautiful! so why not give up on judging and only focus on the personal mission of doing good? this is what we need to mimic in terms of being like christ or like the buddha or like mohammud. lets be good. lets be grateful and give thanks and praise to the lord. let us not follow those who judge others and deem them bad, or evil. let us fill our lives with joy and thoughts of good.
i guess i think this is important because then maybe we can live in the future i dream of.... you see for me the future holds a world of dreamers, lovers, and thinkers. you see in the future the very fabrics of existance have been unraveled and even light can be created. so then where is the value in things? the value lies in creating, in moving, in imagination. for anyone in the future has access to materials for even molecules can be created by sheer thought!
but wait, perhaps this future is too far within reach, but couldn't we at least dream of a world with no more boundaries? i dream of world that parallels the internet. on the internet all i need to know is an address or screenname and then i can find what i'm looking for. there's no countries to yahoo, there's no boundaries to google. simply there's free access to a virtual world of information and resources.
imagine music artist being called music artist! now the news speaks of "recording artists" and the money they lose to MP3 downloads and services like napster. i say, hello, record your own music and realease it for free. then perhaps someone could provide a tracking service of where people want to see artist and provide venue access. for example, why not let the Philadelphia Tweeter Center use its website to see who and what artists people in their area want to see. that's where artist can make a living, a living free of managers and recording labels, a life of choice and freedom.
imagine a world of living technologies, where your clothes are organic organisms that shape and contour to you and change texture and color. imagine the threads of organic material expanding and shifting to provide more heat or being more open to cool you off....
imagine a world where people can live the life they want. where technology is free and open and people, not corporations or empires, are the focus of research and improvements. let us unite and give our creativity to each other to promote good and kindness. let us mimic god or jah or enlightenment in this sense. end the hate, end the evil, end the judging. let us imagine.
i guess i think this is important because then maybe we can live in the future i dream of.... you see for me the future holds a world of dreamers, lovers, and thinkers. you see in the future the very fabrics of existance have been unraveled and even light can be created. so then where is the value in things? the value lies in creating, in moving, in imagination. for anyone in the future has access to materials for even molecules can be created by sheer thought!
but wait, perhaps this future is too far within reach, but couldn't we at least dream of a world with no more boundaries? i dream of world that parallels the internet. on the internet all i need to know is an address or screenname and then i can find what i'm looking for. there's no countries to yahoo, there's no boundaries to google. simply there's free access to a virtual world of information and resources.
imagine music artist being called music artist! now the news speaks of "recording artists" and the money they lose to MP3 downloads and services like napster. i say, hello, record your own music and realease it for free. then perhaps someone could provide a tracking service of where people want to see artist and provide venue access. for example, why not let the Philadelphia Tweeter Center use its website to see who and what artists people in their area want to see. that's where artist can make a living, a living free of managers and recording labels, a life of choice and freedom.
imagine a world of living technologies, where your clothes are organic organisms that shape and contour to you and change texture and color. imagine the threads of organic material expanding and shifting to provide more heat or being more open to cool you off....
imagine a world where people can live the life they want. where technology is free and open and people, not corporations or empires, are the focus of research and improvements. let us unite and give our creativity to each other to promote good and kindness. let us mimic god or jah or enlightenment in this sense. end the hate, end the evil, end the judging. let us imagine.
Tuesday, April 22, 2003
hmmm.... i hope my litte island lasts for awhile. it is beautiful, but heck, look around, from the largest galaxies to the smallest particles, the universe is full of awe and wonder, but alas, i fear for it all for it seems destruction and rift is in the air. please, on this earth day, think positive thoughts and heal the world!
btw, happy birthday to everyone born on earthday!!!!
btw, happy birthday to everyone born on earthday!!!!
Wednesday, April 16, 2003
i'm so glad that my old school virginia tech actually named a building for a BLACK man! actually, the new residence hall was named for two BLACK men. one is for the first black man to attend the school and the second for the first black graduate of the school. this was just 50 years ago. wake up america! things aren't right here.
Tuesday, April 15, 2003
If anyone would like to visit my island, right now there's really good fares. For example, spending a weekend here would only cost around 250 to 280 dollars round trip for airfare. And one can stay at a numerous amount of places. Feeling like a resort? The Ritz has a great casino and spas and pools and dancing with live bands. Nightly rates vary upon availability and season. Right now expect to pay anywhere from 150 on up for a nice resort stay.
Friday, April 11, 2003
I love April. Its a good month. Lets stop the wars and killing and violence. Let's let women run the show. Men, prove your worth and step aside. Life gave us the ability to usually protect ourselves from physical harm if it comes from the female gender. Let women rule! Men, listen to me! We must not listen to the world. Man is not the center of creation. Women is. God, she only needed Mary to create her child, not a man! Every living thing has a mother, but even Jesus didn't have a Father. Men are not the central theme and right now it is man who is destroying everything with war and violence. Step aside MAN!!! Let women rule. Let love rule.
Thursday, April 03, 2003
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
Monday, March 17, 2003
Friday, March 07, 2003
Thursday, March 06, 2003
i havent' really talked to much about my island. first it's beautiful here. life teems here and is vibrant. come visit and enjoy yourself! things to do, well, aside from sight seeing and beaches, there's some hidden caribbean secrets. life a pirates cove! a real pirate's cove that was used to moor ships and stay hidden from the spanish fleet! or a glowing bay! we have 5 or so here. its marvelous and if you can take a kayak out there and get in the water. you won't believe your eyes! well, i'm always here to provide info. bye.
Wednesday, March 05, 2003
why not spend a weekend at this bed and breakfast!!! i would pay anything!! i love canada! legalize it!
so i just found out today that my friend's brother was arrested and detained in d.c. for being a suspected terrorist. this white anglosaxon was seen taking pictures near a power plant in d.c. and was arrested and questioned for two hours. also his camara and film and car were taken into custody. his name, alex, doesn't really fit into a racail profile for terrorist nor does his ethnic background. so what was it other than his picture taking that made him an enemy of the state? perhaps it was his beard. well i hope he has a better week and thinks twice of taking pictures of random things found on the streets of d.c.!
demographics to the internet? i think so. the future lies in obtaining info and the internet is key in this. if you have to navigate for the first time you're worst off than someone who is an internet veternan. again, a select is being given a headstart to something that is going to be vital in everyday life.
here's an article i found interesting. if you don't want to read it here are some highlights:
By 2020, the average water supply per person worldwide is expected be a third smaller than now.
The UN says political inaction and a lack of awareness are worsening the crisis.
The warning comes from the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP), which combines the efforts of 23 UN agencies. It is based in Unesco, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.
The programme has prepared a report, Water For People, Water For Life, for the third World Water Forum, to be held in the Japanese city of Kyoto from 16 to 23 March.
The report's chapter on agriculture says about 25,000 people die daily from hunger, with an estimated 815 million people suffering from malnutrition.
"Towards 2050, the world could enjoy access to food for all. The fact that 815m are presently ravaged by chronic undernourishment is not due to a lack of capacity to produce the required food.
There will soon be one-third less water for everyone
"It is because of global and national social, economic and political contexts that permit, and sometimes cause, unacceptable levels of poverty to perpetuate."
YOU THIRSTY?
By 2020, the average water supply per person worldwide is expected be a third smaller than now.
The UN says political inaction and a lack of awareness are worsening the crisis.
The warning comes from the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP), which combines the efforts of 23 UN agencies. It is based in Unesco, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.
The programme has prepared a report, Water For People, Water For Life, for the third World Water Forum, to be held in the Japanese city of Kyoto from 16 to 23 March.
The report's chapter on agriculture says about 25,000 people die daily from hunger, with an estimated 815 million people suffering from malnutrition.
"Towards 2050, the world could enjoy access to food for all. The fact that 815m are presently ravaged by chronic undernourishment is not due to a lack of capacity to produce the required food.
There will soon be one-third less water for everyone
"It is because of global and national social, economic and political contexts that permit, and sometimes cause, unacceptable levels of poverty to perpetuate."
YOU THIRSTY?
Tuesday, March 04, 2003
okay, so here's one everyone should like. i know i spend alot of time complaining, but i just feel the world is in a crisis. so late last nite as i tossed and turned i thought to myself, geez, at least there's mom. and then i thought, geez, at least everyone has or had a mom, even Jesus. i mean, he didnt have a father, but he had a mother. so that's my point today, let's give thanks and praises to Jah (god) for mothers. they're great, aren't they? because in times of trouble we can count on mothers to stop evil and destruction before it is too late. so this is my recommendation to the world. let's listen to the mothers around us, the women around us, the sisters around us. men, let's step aside and listen to the mothers as to what is right. let us seek honesty and harmony by remembering that we are all our mother's children. don't you see, no matter who you are you owe your life to a precious mother. and those first 42 weeks inside your mother you are only expose to love and caring, otherwise you wouldn't be alive. so let us give thanks and praises for our mother's love and let's come together as the children of mothers everywhere. i love you mom!
Monday, March 03, 2003
okay, this is for everyone who has one of those cell phones with a billion little songs for different ringers. i swear you should have an attachment that serves as an electrode that attaches somewhere sensitive say, for lack of being too descriptive and foul, your nipple. when your cell phone rings you have one ring, and one ring only, before the electrode starts zapping you with a small but noticiable current of electricity. this way you won't just leave your cell phone ring and ring so people can listen to an electronic version of mozart's 5th or the theme to happy day's beautifully remastered in 4 bit digital technology!!! argh!!!
why start a bid for puerto rico? because i seek a stronger economic world standing, then perhaps we'll have some say in what wars the world wishes to start. the caribbean is beautiful, do not destroy the world for it will also destroy the caribbean. well, i guess caribbeaners have something to say about saving the world so we might look into how we can have economic power in order to enact ideas that could save the world we live in.
today i announce an auction for puerto rico. i figure i could be the first to do this so i get to administor a slight 10 percent fee on the auction that will be used for charity. but think of it, could not canada use a "territory" in the caribbean to eventually open an economic corridor into latin and south america? or even brazil or mexico could use puerto rico as a "commonwealth" to leverage their industry into the usa market. or how bout japan? couldn't they use a caribbean "associated free state" to serve as a midpoint for their strong technological and car industry? maybe the EU could use an island to introduce their currency into the south and north american markets? well, any country interested in bidding for puerto rico should publish their proposal on some cool and nifty named website like "www.coolstuff4pr.com". well, you all get the drift. oh, and don't think the usa isn't invited to bid either. this isn't a political movement, simply an economic venture into maximizing my island's worth. thank you.
another monday in paradise. the good thing about mondays is my walk into work is safe for no one ever gets up on time on mondays. everyone is usually half an hour late. well the weekend had wonderful weather and i'm feeling good. but wait till friday, i'm sure i'll be feeling a little crazier then...
Friday, February 28, 2003
this is for my non fellow islanders... things to improve in paradise: first: we need high speed internet! why can't i get cable modem! thanks for nothing adelphia! second: do not ship down here anything. i mean it, it'll get lost. you want it overnite, get on a plane and bring it yourself! third: legalize it. i'm on a beach, make it legal. you know what i'm talking about.... fourth: less cars (see previous entry) fifth: i want bridges from here to every other island. if not, there should be flights between each island. okay, that's it for today.
okay, this one is for my fellow islanders. what's up with your driving? i walk to and from work and i almost die everyday! and when i drive its madness! why do we take the time to always shake hands, say hello and good afternoon, when right after that we get into our cars and we become crazed jackasses! chil out, you're in puerto rico! enjoy paradise. you know how many people would love to live no more than half a hour from the beach? and not to mention its the caribbean sea! and while i'm fuming, be nicer to dogs and pets in general. why do we have such fancy cars that we drive like maniacs in while there's homeless dogs and cats starving right next to us?
i wouldn't mind if puerto rico was colony of canada. why not? they're cool up there and its a country the opposite of a caribbean island in geography. we're sunny and warm, they're cold. besides, at least that country is open to being bilingual since a bilingual population actually lives there. besides, its time for a change. 400 years of spain, 100 years of america, let's give canada a shot!
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