Raven's Rainbow Realm~ "If You are Not Outraged, You are NOT Paying Attention!" This is a Place to Challenge our Sterotypical Thinking and Learn Tolerance! Namaste is our Anthem! “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead
What are tags? You can give your posts a "tag", which is like a keyword. Tags help you find content which has something in common. You can assign as many tags as you wish to each post.
We are at a pivotal moment in American democracy. The persistent and sustained reliance on falsehoods as the basis of policy, even in the face of evidence to the contrary, has reached levels that were previously unimaginable. It's too easy and too partisan to simply place the blame on the policies of President George W. Bush. We are all responsible for the decisions our country makes.
Reasoned, focused discourse is vital to our democracy to ensure a well-informed citizenry. But this is difficult in an environment in which we are experiencing a new pattern of serial obsessions that periodically take over the airwaves for weeks at a time--from the O.J. Simpson and Michael Jackson trials to Paris Hilton and Anna Nicole Smith.
Never has it been more vital for us to face the reality of our long-term challenges, from the climate crisis to the war in Iraq to the deficits and health and social welfare. Today, reason is under assault by forces using sophisticated techniques such as propaganda, psychology, and electronic mass media. Yet, democracy's advocates are beginning to use their own sophisticated techniques: the Internet, online organizing, blogs, and wikis. Although the challenges we face are great, I am more confident than ever before that democracy will prevail and that the American people are rising to the challenge of reinvigorating self-government. It is my great hope that those who read my book will choose to become part of a new movement to rekindle the true spirit of America. http://www.amazon.com/Assault-Reason-Al-Gore/dp/1594201226
Many of you may already know about this--I just heard about it in a email from Deepak Chopra--
People in Haiti are eating mud cakes to stay alive...I know food prices here have soared, but people please--people around the world are starving--in places that didnt know food shortages of these porpotions before. This war has to end and we have got to make some major changes in the way we live our lives. There is no more saying--everythings ok and the climate is fine and we can just keep going the way we always have. Yes this is a "wake up rant"...we need to WAKE UP!!!
For months, people in Haiti have been going hungry. The recent rises, particularly in the price of rice, have tipped people over the edge. They are having to eat mud cakes, known as Teh, to help quiet their excruciating hunger pangs. Starvation is the main cause for doing so, although Pica, which occurs sometimes with iron deficiency anaemia, may also be present in the Haitian population.
Food riots in Haiti caused the deaths of five people about a fortnight ago, including a UN peacekeeper, and forced the country's prime minister out of office. No country has escaped the effects of escalating wheat and rice prices. The poor nations like Haiti have been hardest hit. The country is in terrible turmoil because Haiti is forced to buy imported food staples which are getting more expensive by the month.
Mud Cake Preparation in Haiti
Many of the Haiti people have turned to eating mud cakes. They first strain the mud to remove stones in it, put some mixture of vegetables and then they let it dry under the sun. Though this mud cake is rich in calcium, eating it on a regular basis is not good for their health according to the health specialists. At present, this is the food being eaten by the poorest people in the hemisphere.
Decline of The US Dollar
The decline of the US dollar has affected many countries and Haiti is one of the most affected ones. The increased price of fuel and food has led to most -- if not all -- of the products being sold in Haiti, to have inflated prices too. Haiti is already poor and it is getting poorer and poorer as it can afford to buy less and less of food and fuel on the world markets.
Haiti's history is terribly sad. Christopher Columbus discovered it in 1492, and soon after, Europeans completely killed the indigenous population, in one of the worst genocides ever. Then it was repopulated, primarily by African slaves and Irish Indentured Servants. Most Haitians are descendants of those slaves, who overthrew their French masters in the Haitian Revolution in 1804. Unfortunately this did not end neo-colonial intervention...
How do you feel about this adverse developments in Haiti? Imagine having to eat mud cakes to cope with hunger. It makes the soul tremble...
