In Praise Of Cow Dung

In Praise of Cowdung
By Vandana Shiva ZNet Sustainer Program November 20, 2002
In India we worship cow dung as Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Gobur-dhan puja is literally the worship of gobur(cowdung) dhan (wealth).
Cow dung is worshipped because it is the source ofrenewal of soil fertility and hence the sustainability of humansociety. The cow has been made sacred in India because it is a keystonespecies for agro-ecosystems -- it is key to the sustainability ofagriculture.


Here in the Willamette valley, which has a lot of fertile river bottom land, the big money crop is grass seed, and it has replaced a lot of the small farms that were throughout the valley. Large co-operatives and money interests, have bought up many of the small farms, and removed the fences and hedge rows, creating grass crops of sometimes hundreds of acres. These crops require that there is absolutely no weed seed in with the grass seed, so a lot ofherbacide and pestitide is used on them. This along with there being no hedge rows for wildlife to hide in, has impacted the environment. The Oregon state bird, The Western Meadowlark, is now rarely seen, allthough years ago they were prolific here.


Seedsaving and Seedsavers' Resources

DEMOCRAT'S ATTACK BUSH'S POLICIES

WASHINGTON, March 28 — Seeking to capitalize on President Bush's troubles overseas, leading Democrats in Congress are unveiling a broad attack this week on the administration's security policies at home and overseas along with a set of proposals intended to demonstrate that they have a credible alternative.

Rumsfeld Surrenders: The QDR dashes his dreams of military transformation

By Fred Kaplan
Slate, 03 February 2006

If Donald Rumsfeld were more likable, he might be a tragic figure. Consider the Quadrennial Defense Review, a 90-page document that the Pentagon issued today. Rumsfeld has lived for this moment these last two years. Amid the scandal of Abu Ghraib and the disastrous lack of planning for the war in Iraq, he has resisted calls for his resignation in order to solidify what he sees as his "legacy"—the "transformation" of the U.S. military, which he hoped the QDR would embody and galvanize. And yet the document, in its finished form, is a muddle at best, an assortment of interesting ideas with no scheme for translating them into reality.

Israel's Ehud Olmert @ Center Stage

Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert led the centrist Kadima party, only four months after it was founded by Ariel Sharon, to victory in March's general election

Changing mindset
Indeed, Mr Olmert has proved difficult to pigeonhole, with a wife and children whose politics are far to the left of his own.
Olmert was seen as Ariel Sharon's right-hand man
Gradually, his ideas began to drift from the traditional viewpoint of the Israeli right wing - he opposed both the 1978 Camp David accords with Egypt and the 1993 Oslo agreement with the Palestinians - and in doing so, reflected a change in the mindset of the wider Israeli population.
A key member of Mr Sharon's government, he talked of the need for Israel to make painful choices in order to preserve its Jewish and democratic character - by giving up Palestinian lands in Gaza and the West Bank.
"He was one of the first in our political camp who spoke of the need to reach a compromise with the Palestinians that would include a partition of the land, giving them a part of the land we believe is ours and they believe is theirs," said Mr Meridor.
Last summer, Mr Olmert's plans became reality as Jewish settlers were forcibly removed from the Gaza Strip.
The decision provoked ire from many Likud MPs and Mr Sharon finally left the party in November to found Kadima. Mr Olmert soon followed.
When Mr Sharon suffered a stroke on 4 January, Mr Olmert took over the leadership of both the government and party.

Demography was the motivation for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's withdrawal of troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip last year and Kadima's election pledge to make future "territorial compromises" in the West Bank.
The idea is rejected by the former ruling party, Likud, which Mr Sharon was forced to split from to set up Kadima in November 2005.
But when Mr Sharon was incapacitated by a stroke in January he had not fully spelled out Kadima's intentions, so this job has fallen to his close advisers and his deputy, Ehud Olmert.

KARL ROVE SPILLS THE BEANS

Karl Rove, Deputy White House Chief of Staff and special adviser to President George W. Bush, has recently been providing information to special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald in the ongoing CIA leak investigation, sources close to the investigation say.

The White House was ordered to turn over all emails by then-White House Counsel and current Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in 2003, after the Administration received word the Justice Department had launched an investigation into the CIA outing. According to newspaper reports, Gonzales waited twelve hours to inform White House staff after he had received an order from the Justice Department to surrender materials relating to the case.
In a January letter to Libby's defense team, Fitzgerald expressed concern that some emails might be missing.
"Some e-mails might be missing because the White House's archiving system had failed," he said.
Sources say that the missing emails, which surfaced only a month later were not really "missing." Rather, they had been deleted by White House staff. Fitzgerald may have been aware of this at the time of his January letter when he cited the missing emails.

Quadrennial Defense Review

WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- The strategic significance for Asia of the nuclear cooperation deal signed with India last week in New Delhi by U.S. President George W. Bush was underlined Saturday by the announcement that China`s military budget for the coming year will rise by almost 15 percent
The new Chinese budget comes after the publication last month of the Pentagon`s Quadrennial Defense Review, which described the new priorities of the U.S. military as preparing to conduct a 'long war' against terrorists worldwide, to improve homeland security capabilities, and to prepare for possible confrontation with China as an emerging superpower rival.

As angry rioters across the Muslim world continue to express their outrage at the despicable cartoon depiction of Prophet Muhammad in several European newspapers, the US Department of Defense released what it calls the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), which is mandated every four years by the Congress and is an important document outlining how the US will deal with major security challenges in the future. Interestingly, the document opens with the words: “The US is a nation engaged in what will be a long war” and differs from the 2001 review in that it calls for US forces to be able to “operate around the globe” and not only in Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia as the previous review had suggested.

The review marks a clear shift from the Pentagon’s traditional emphasis on conventional warfare techniques against nation states and concentrates on defeating “terrorist” networks, countering nuclear, chemical, and biological threats, and dissuading rising powers such as Russia, India, and China from becoming adversaries. It stipulates an expansion in clandestine operations performed by US Special Operations Forces (SOF) which should “have the capacity to operate in dozens of countries simultaneously,” operate in “politically sensitive environments,” and deploy for longer periods to foment relationships with foreign military and security forces.

AT AT ATTAT ATATT

In addition, US Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, explained his country’s defense posture at a speech at the 42nd Munich Conference on Security Policylaying out his country’s military and political agenda for the upcoming years. Rumsfeld took a conciliatory tone towards Europe and urged unity in the face of “terrorism” and weapons proliferation. More controversial, however, were his comments in which he accused Iran of being the worst sponsor of terrorism and denied that his country’s invasion of Iraq was a catalyst for “terrorism”. Instead, Rumsfeld accused the “terrorists” of using Iraq as a base for training and recruitment operations as part of what he suggests is an overall Islamist scheme aiming at the establishment of an Islamic caliphate. The Munich Conference on Security Policy represents the security equivalent of the Davos-based World Economic Forum, and is an important annual venue where representatives of the international security community exchange views on the development of transatlantic relations as well as European and global security. Prior to the conference, there were doubts that Rumsfeld would attend the conference due to the fact that the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights had filed a lawsuit with German federal prosecutors in November 2005 charging that US officials, including Rumsfeld, were responsible for war crimes and acts of torture.

CANADIAN DRUGS COMING OVER THE BORDER

Homeland Security has been doing an awesome job tracking down and confiscating suspicious packages...after all, they've caught 13,000 boxes of Canadian drugs coming over the border!

~IMMIGRATION RIGHTS~

Size of L.A. March Surprises Authorities

Anonymous:
The 23rd Qualm

George Bush is my shepherd; I dwell in want.

He maketh logs to be cut in national forests.

He leadeth trucks into still wilderness.

He restoreth my fears.

He leadeth me in the paths of international disgrace for his ego’s sake.

Yea, though I walk in the valley of pollution and war, I will find no exit, for thou art in office.

Thy tax cuts for the rich, and thy media control, they discomfort me.

Thou preparest an agenda of deception in the presence of thy religion.

Thou anointest my head with foreign oil.

My health insurance runneth out.

Surely megalomania and false patriotism shall follow me all the days of thy term.

And my jobless child shall dwell in my basement forever .

Amen

PHOTO-OP'S~IRAQ~& FOX NEW'S

FOX NEWS

'Operation Swarmer' Air Assault Launched in Iraq
Thursday, March 16, 2006

Coalition forces launched the largest air assault in Iraq since U.S. forces invaded that country in 2003, the U.S. military confirmed Thursday.
Coalition forces have dubbed the assault Operation Swarmerwhich is an operation consisting of about 1,500 soldiers in all, including the Iraqi Army's 1st Brigade, 4th Division, the 101st Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team and the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade.

The assault is a combination of air and ground operations involving more than 200 tactical vehicles and more than 50 aircraft also participated in the operation.

The difference between Thursday's operation and the "shock and awe" campaign launched by U.S. forces when they first invaded Iraq is that the strikes launched three years ago were primarily by air. Thursday's airborne assault, on the other hand, allowed the largest insertion of coalition forces into enemy strongholds on the ground.


What really happened?

Posted Friday, Mar. 17, 2006
Four Black Hawk helicopters landed in a wheat field and dropped off a television crew, three photographers, three print reporters and three Iraqi government officials right into the middle of Operation Swarmer. ,Iraqi soldiers in newly painted humvees green and red Iraqi flags stenciled on the tailgates, had just finished searching the farm populated by a half-dozen skinny cows and a woman kneading freshly risen dough and slapping it to the walls of a mud oven

HELEN THOMAS

At the press conference yesterday, George finally recognised her after snubbing her for three years. I guess that she had caught him a bit off guard, when she asked how he could stand on a platform that was based on both religious and political beliefs, so he simply didn't answer the question, and discontinued a tradition of many years, that always let Helen ask the first question at the White House press conferences...
So...Acting like this whole thing is a game, George says...

Helen. After that brilliant performance at the Grid Iron, I am -- (laughter.
And Helen says...
Q You're going to be sorry. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: Well, then, let me take it back. (Laughter.)
~
Anyhoo...Helen Thomas, the "Grand Old Lady" of White House conferences since the Kennedy administrations,
has fielded a question, which should be addressed. In case you didn't hear the entire question...it was...
~

Q I'd like to ask you, Mr. President, your decision to invade Iraq has caused the deaths of thousands of Americans and Iraqis, wounds of Americans and Iraqis for a lifetime. Every reason given, publicly at least, has turned out not to be true. My question is, why did you really want to go to war? From the moment you stepped into the White House, from your Cabinet -- your Cabinet officers, intelligence people, and so forth -- what was your real reason? You have said it wasn't oil - quest for oil, it hasn't been Israel, or anything else. What was it?
~

Well...George did it again. He didn't answer the question. his reply was that ...No president wants war. The truth is that the Neoconservatives were planning on going into Iraq before 911. Helen who is 85 years old knows that, and George W Bush knows that.
Bush also tried to say that Iraq provided safe haven for Al Qaeda, and Helen had to correct him...
~
Part of that meant to make sure that we didn't allow people to provide safe haven to an enemy. And that's why I went into Iraq -- hold on for a second --

Q They didn't do anything to you, or to our country.

THE PRESIDENT: Look -- excuse me for a second, please. Excuse me for a second. They did. The Taliban provided safe haven for al Qaeda. That's where al Qaeda trained --

Q I'm talking about Iraq --

THE PRESIDENT: Helen, excuse me. That's where -- Afghanistan provided safe haven for al Qaeda. That's where they trained. That's where they plotted. That's where they planned the attacks that killed thousands of innocent Americans.
~
George also said that we worked with the world, when in truth ...we went in unilaterally, on what George Galloway so aptly described it, on a lie.
~
I also saw a threat in Iraq. I was hoping to solve this problem diplomatically. That's why I went to the Security Council; that's why it was important to pass 1441, which was unanimously passed. And the world said, disarm, disclose, or face serious consequences --

Q -- go to war --

THE PRESIDENT: -- and therefore, we worked with the world, we worked to make sure that Saddam Hussein heard the message of the world. And when he chose to deny inspectors, when he chose not to disclose, then I had the difficult decision to make to remove him. And we did, and the world is safer for it.

Q Thank you, sir. Secretary Rumsfeld -- (laughter.)

Q Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: You're welcome. (Laughter.) I didn't really regret it. I kind of semi-regretted it. (Laughter.)

Q -- have a debate.

THE PRESIDENT: That's right. Anyway, your performance at the Grid Iron was just brilliant -- unlike Holland's, was a little weak, but -- (laughter.)

Sorry.

~
I stand in defence of Helen Thomas. An 85 year old senior reporter, who fielded questions that weren't answered by a long shot....

ONE MORE TIME~IRAQI FREEDOM & WAR ON TERROR

President Discusses War on Terror and Operation Iraqi Freedom
Dubyas here to tell us that everything is allright, in spite of the way it looks. He's walking that walk and talking that talk. He could be neck deep in horse manure, while he talks about the benifits of the Colorado Hot Springs. We've heard it from Rummy...We've heard it from Cheney...Now you are hearing it from Dubya...Everything is all right. Never mind that we mislead you, or that we didn't exactly tell you the truth, look at the results. A free Iraq with democracy in place. We're protecting you from terrorism, so whatever you do...Don't question what, why, or how we do things, because that would send the wrong signal to our enemies.

God bless the troops

Enemies...I thought we were told that this is a war on terror? Are there any apologies for the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi casualties. Are there any apologies for the people who are sick from depleted uranium poisoning. We have questions allright...but mainly about who... "who is the enemy"?

President Welcomes NATO Secretary General to the White House The Oval Office

March 20, 2006 Last Updated 11:37 a.m. (EST)

In Focus: Global Diplomacy

PRESIDENT BUSH: Fine-looking crowd we've attracted here, fine-looking crowd.

I watched the video, and there was only Bush and the Nato Secretary General. There were no shots of the audience or any applause?

President Remarks on Third Anniversary of Beginning of Iraq Liberation

President George W. Bush delivers a statement after his arrival on the South Lawn, Sunday, March 19, 2006.

THE PRESIDENT: This morning I had a phone call with our ambassador to Iraq. And the ambassador informed me of the progress that the Iraqis are making in forming a unity government. I encouraged the Iraqi leaders to continue to work hard to get this government up and running. The Iraqi people voted for democracy last December; 75 percent of the eligible citizens went to the polls to vote. Now the Iraqi leaders are working together to enact a government that reflects the will of the people. I'm encouraged by the progress. The ambassador was encouraged by it.
Today, as well, marks the third anniversary of the beginning of the liberation of Iraq. And it's a time to reflect. And this morning, our reflections were upon the sacrifices of the men and women who wear our uniform. Ours is an amazing nation where thousands have volunteered to serve our country. They volunteered to -- many volunteered after 9/11, knowing full well that their time in the military could put them in harm's way. So, on this third anniversary, the beginning of the liberation of Iraq, I think all Americans should offer thanks to the men and women who wear the uniform, and their families who support them. We are implementing a strategy that will lead to victory in Iraq. And a victory in Iraq will make this country more secure, and will help lay the foundation of peace for generations to come.
My God continue to bless our troops in harm's way. Thank you

Wow...Just spectacular...I wonder if Helen Thomas was there, and if she was, If George would answer her questions...just for once.

AND NOW WE'RE PUTTING TOGETHER A GOVERNMENT?

WASHINGTON, March 19, 2000
They wrote a constitution, one of the best constitutions in that part of the world. They held a referendum on it last October, and last December had turnout of about 78 percent in terms of the election. And now we're putting together a government, which they'll have formed up here shortly.

What on earth is Cheney saying here? Is this a slip of the tounge, or is this truelly the Neoconservative agenda? I thought that the Iraqi's were putting together their own government. Cheney seems to be saying that the Bush administration is putting it together, and that the Iraquis will have it formed up shortly.

WASHINGTON, March 19, 2000
(CBS) Vice President Cheney joined Face The Nation to discuss the war in Iraq three years after the U.S.-led invasionhttp://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/26/ftn/main1346210.shtml

CBS Bob Shieffer exposes a Boehner

I say there...That's a bit of a Beaut...Should I fetch the mistress?

No...Fetch me my baggy tweeds...I'll smuggle this one into the village.


Boehner's Travels
WASHINGTON, Mar. 19, 2006--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(CBS) Weekly commentary by CBS Evening News anchor and Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer.
When the big congressional bribery scandal broke and it looked like the chief briber, Jack Abramoff, was going to name names, members of Congress raced to call for reform.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert called for banning all congressional travel, gifts and meals paid for by others. Amen, cried Democrats and Republicans alike.
But then the Dubai port deal caught the public's attention and reform slid off the front burner and now right off the stove.
John Boehner, the Republican's new majority leader said, whoa, the Speaker has gone too far with this reform stuff. Friday we found out why.
The Center for Public Integrity said if you add up the days Boehner spent over the past five years on trips paid for by others, it comes to six full months AND he took 45 trips on corporate jets.
Be assured that Boehner would tell you what they all tell you. These gifts had NO effect on how he voted. But here's my question, Mr. Boehner: Do you really believe anyone would buy you a plane ticket -- or even a bus ticket -- if you were not in Congress? Do you really believe they would keep laying out all that money if they didn't think they were getting something in return?
Congress is drowning in a sea of corruption but has become so used to it, members can't see what they've done wrong.
Here's what I see from the shoreline. People are fed up. If Congress doesn't clean up this mess, a lot of them are going to get beat. But even then, I wonder if they'll understand why.

Is Dubya Is Getting Too Big For His Breeches?

Yep...George has been way too deep in the muck from day one. It all started before he ran for president, and also before he ran for governor of Texas. He was the fortunate son of George Harry Walker Bush, who had ties with the Carlyle group etc. etc. So...George junior was gifted with education at Harvard...A cushy position in the Air National Guard...A business in the oil industry "Arbusto Oil"...
that was in partnership with Osama Bin Laden's brother Salem Bin Laden re: arbusto translates to shrub in Spanish. Anyhoo...he wasn't a success in any of these endeavors. His election to the governership of Texas can be directly attributed to the shady manipulations of Karl Rove, who is still controlling Bush's political machine, in spite of being next on the list for inditement on the Valery Plame affair. Dubya had to lie to get into office, and his lies have been compounding ever since. The biggest lie was probably that there are "weapons of mass destruction", which was parroted by virtually every one of the Neocon's in their quest to go to war with Iraq. And unbelievably, he is still trying to rationalise this war which nobody wanted, except for the Neocon's, who went to extraordinary lengths to make it happen.
Republicans say Bush's arrogance is his downfall


Democrats,Republicans,Liberals, Progressives, WE The People call for accountability

Prescription Drug Plan

Bush & Company have come up with a prescription drug plan for those of us that are on medicare. I have tried to wade through the pages of this plan, but I find it difficult to understand. I don't feel so bad though, as I was reading today that the pharmacist's themselves are having a hard time interpreting it. They are now charging full price to many people, because they don't know how to enterpret the plan. WALMART is gettin in on the act, but I don't do business with them, as they are part of what I consider to be the problem. The big drug companies, as we know have the most lobbiest's in congress of any business, and don't have to compete with other companies untill their patent runs out. What we pay for the drug is not a fair price, but a price that includes pay-offs to senators and congressmen, money that is donated to put more Republicans in office, lobbiest's hidden fees, and even legal fees to the crooked lobbiest's that have been prosecuted. Yep!...We're paying for it all by the drugs we're hooked on. When the patent runs out on these expensive drugs, another company can then manufacture them for a fraction of the cost as a generic drug.
Walmart is a story in itself, but I'm sure that you have heard about it. Anyhoo...they are gonna figure this whole mess out for us so we can buy the best plan, and they can sell us our drugs. Drugs that we used to buy from our local pharmacist at the local drug store that went out of business in our town.
Want to Learn More About the New Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage?
If you own any property, unless it is worthless, forget about it. Believe me, from what I can see, it pays to be a renter. I guess that when Dubya says that we should be an ownership society, that it was another one of his sick jokes, or just another lie, that he won't have to be accountable for. After all...he's protecting us from terrorist's! How could we expect him to be truthfull and responsible for everything that he promises? Oh...For The Good Old Day's...

Big Brother & Google

Well...Bush & Co. is getting their nose into the information gatherer of the internet, in spite of the wishes of "We The People". George W Bush has allready broke the law on wire tapping, and thumbed his nose at the Constitution. Now he wants access to the information stored in the servers of the premier search engine for the internet. Not a good idea at all...Mainly because the Neocons run a business for the wealthy, not a government for the people. I for one do not want big business to know anything about my private life. I get enough spam, junk mail, and telephone solicitations allready. Also...we must consider that GOOGLE is global in scope, so should remain confidential to be an unbiased information source...

DUBAI AND THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ

The Strait of
Hormuz (تنگه هرمز in Persian) is a narrow, strategically important stretch of ocean between the Gulf of Oman in the southeast and the Persian Gulf in the southwest. On the north coast is Iran (Persia) and on the south coast is the United Arab Emirates and an exclave of Oman.

The strait at its narrowistis 21 miles wide [1], having two 1 mile wide channels for marine traffic separated by a 2 mile wide buffer zone [2], and is the only sea passage to the open ocean for large areas of the petroleum exporting Persian Gulf States.
In ancient times Hormuz was a fortress that controlled the maritime traffic through these straits, just as Dubai can do today. Iran is next on the list for US occupation, and the UAE will be the fortress that insures that the shipping of oil will not be interupted.

Intelligent worship

As a new concept of religion called "INTELLIGENT WORSHIP" the liberals have introduced the possibility of evolution being an important part of religion. This will even things out throughout the country, with religion in the schools, and science in the churches, much to the dismay of the neoconservative administration. George W Bush is calling for an investigation of the Grand Canyon to prove that it is relatively new, and is the result of intelligent design, while Pat Roberts, republican senator from Kansas,
back-peddles from his statements about Hugo Chavez and Arial Sharon', as he attempts to rationalise the outing of Chavez using scientific logic, and come up with a scientific theory as to why Sharon' had a stroke.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SAVING DEMOCRACY

If a player sliding into home plate reached into his pocket and handed the umpire $1000 before he made the call, what would we call that? A bribe. And if a lawyer handed a judge $1000 before he issued a ruling, what do we call that? A bribe. But when a lobbyist or CEO sidles up to a member of Congress at a fundraiser or in a skybox and hands him a check for $1000, what do we call that? A campaign contribution

BILL MOYERS

BUSH PLANNING TO PROSECUTE JOURNALISTS

The publisher of the Capitol Hill Blue recieved a letter from the FBI demanding information about the web site. This information was sent by a friend, and reminds us that Bush&Co. must be held accountable for breaking the law. Not only is he getting away with wiretaps, but but he is using his ill gotten "Political Capitol" to assault anybody who disagrees with the Neoconservative agenda.

BUSH DECLARES WAR ON FREEDOM

The publisher had his attorney reply to the letter with the following...

THIS EVEN HAS RUMMY CONFUSED

ANOTHER ARTICAL FROM THE LONE STAR ICONOCLAST

ZZZzzz...

This from a small newspaper from Dubya's own home town. Amazingly, there seems to be no spin or bias toward the Neoconservative agenda. In fact, this small town publication reflects the views of intelligent and caring Americans, and has a Texas sense of humour, to fill any Liberal or Progressive with delight...

CRAWFORD TEXAS

~FOR NEOCONSERVATIVES ONLY~

~FAUX NEWS~

Fox News: Iraq Civil War “Made Up By The Media?”