the federal administration saw fit to auction off an enormous tract of Alaskan territory to big name oil companies for oil drilling (http://www.adn.com/front/story/307588.html).

If the malignant greed of the government ignores the many voices of protest and disregards the imminent peril of wildlife, what can be done? As polar ice-caps diminish, bear cubs drown. More drilling for oil in their habitat greatly increases potential for hazardous oil spills, no guarantees to protect wildlife and the rapid demise of one of the world's fierce and majestic animals.

I wonder what parents will tell their children a few years hence when asked, "What did you do to help the polar bears?" Will we be able to say we resolved to drive our cars less, we used public transport, we actively worked to advance more eco-friendly fuel options, we refused to buy from environmental terrorists?

Our failure to be respectful stewards of this most precious and beautiful earth will not be easily forgiven by our offspring. And if they indeed survive, they inherit a desolate, ravaged planet, testimony only to our arrogance and self-absorption.

Doing nothing is criminal and complicit in the mindless voraciousness and disrespect for the sanctity of life that characterizes the current U.S. leadership.

I'm not sure who the author is but I like the Code. I trust that whomever wrote it will appreciate it being diseminated freely.

 

About the artist - Sean de Haast

The smell of rain is like mercy bestowed.

Gathering clouds in the hot summer African afternoon, growing darker, bigger -

a mounting black-blue mass that threatens with increasing grumblings and erratic flashes.

The sun is obliterated and the sky hangs low under the weight of what seems to be an eternal anger. This anger, growling louder, unleashes intermittent jagged shocks of electric light that speak with a deafening crack, slamming the dry and dusty earth. With increasing intensity lightning rips and thunders follows as an animal fury is unleashed.

And then - the first darkened splatter on the dirt, then another and more - the ground begins to steam ... until, with a frenetic percussion, droplets begin to plop, pelt, patter and pour. A torrent roars down, trickles grow into streams becoming rivulets that rush into trench-like dongas, swelling and gushing. The ground sighs relief.

Everything about Africa is embodied in a rainstorm: violent opposites, terror, joy. Childhood and early adulthood in Africa was an experience in these opposites; some nightmarish, others blissful, all abundantly rich.

Artist Statement

Our everyday mythologies reveal so little about who we are and why we are. Unlike ancient stories where divine and mortal characters played out dramas that explained the general and specific peculiarities to which we are all subject, today we create narratives that, because of their individuality, seem obscure to others. And yet there are threads to all our tales that weave us together in sometimes surprising ways.

Making art using fragments, layers, ephemera and mixed media allows me to address themes that we may or may not share. In doing so I aspire to create imagery that evokes the strangely beautiful and beautifully strange parts of ourselves.

 

 A SIMPLE ONE-DAY FAST - On this one-day fast you will only be drinking the Stanley Burroughs' Master Cleanse Lemonade, herbal teas, some olive oil and taking a coffee retention enema.

PREPARATION:

Choose a day when you resolve to do low-impact activity and allow for rest and moderate exercise. This will probably mean a weekend day, allowing you to prepare on the Friday (buying the produce you need and cutting back on the obstacles to the fast), fast with focus on Saturday, resume gradually on Sunday and begin fresh on Monday.

At least one day before the fast, try to cut back on refined sugars, intoxicants such as tobacco, alcohol or coffee and refined or processed foods. This means no white sugar, no pastries, very little bread, nothing canned, no fast food, no restaurant food. Try also to cut back on dairy and animal products.

You will need:

a) For the Master Cleanse Lemonade -

Lemons or limes (enough for at least 8 Tablespoonfuls)

100% pure maple syrup (at least 8 Tablespoonfuls ), honey is not suitable.

Cayenne pepper (1/4 teaspoonful)

Spring or steam distilled water (24 oz),

b) For the coffee retention enema -

Organic coffee (6 heaping Tablespoonfuls)

An enema bag/bulb

c) Herbal tea such as chamomile, catnip, fenugreek,

d) Expeller cold-pressed olive oil (2 Tablespoonfuls).

DIRECTIONS:

MASTER CLEANSE LEMONADE

Combine the lemon juice, water, maple syrup and gradually add cayenne. Adjust slightly according to taste. It should be pleasant, somewhat bitter, not too sweet and with a little heat. Drink liberally throughout the day. Store the remainder in the fridge but try to drink this at room temperature. What you don't consume on your fast day can be drunk on the second day as you gradually introduce solid food.

COFFEE RETENTION ENEMA

Brew a strong pot of coffee. Allow to cool till lukewarm. Use a pint and store the other in the fridge. Administer the enema after the morning's bowel movement. If you cannot retain much at first, try a smaller amount.

Lie on your right side for about 10 minutes, then flip to your left side for 10 minutes.

A good book helps. If the pressure becomes too much, expel and administer again until you can hold it comfortably for 20 minutes.

OLIVE OIL

Drink 2 Tablespoonfuls expeller pressed olive oil twice during the day to lubricate the bowels. This can be done mid-morning and mid-afternoon.

HERBAL TEA

Drink a cup of herbal tea before bed-time.

The upcoming Olympics should be boycotted to send a clear statment to the Chinese Government that human rights abuses cannot be whitewashed or ignored. My opinion is not based in any anti-Chinese sentiment. No nation is perfect, least of all the one that has exemplified, over the past few years; violent insurgency, illegal warfare, war profiteering, illegal surveillance of its own citizens, detaining and torture of foreigners, corruption in high places and exploitation of natural resources.

China has, very rapidly, become a major economic force, with all its attendant environmental distress - following the example of western countries, notably the United States.

The Olympics, originally, was a vehicle to promote peace between nations. More recently it has become a valuable tool to increase trade, foreign investment and economic growth, as well as boosting local industries. By hosting the Olympics, the host country displays to the rest of the world a national identity and as such, is perceived by that display. Will China display its disregard for recent events in Burma? Will the Chinese authorities exhibit their disdain for Tibetan independence?
I doubt it.

By supporting an event (popularly and naively believed to be a peace statement) in a country that has undermined peace activism both within (Tiananmen Square, 1989) and outside of its borders, seems to me to be hypocrisy of the worst kind. Especially when paragons of peaceful existence (nuns and monks) have been butchered and tortured only a few hundred miles from China.

The Dalai Lama, for many years and exile because of threats to his life from the Chinese authorities, is one of the world's acknowledged spiritual leaders, whatever your faith may be. His recent award, given by the U.S. Government appears to have recognized his contribution to world peace efforts. Apparently the Chinese authorities see this gesture as a threat to international relations. Why? Because Chinese troops have, for many years, persistently harrassed, bullied, raped, tortured and shot Tibetan nuns and monks. And the Chinese Government refuses to acknowledge sovereignty or grant independance to Tibet.

When the world argued for sanctions against South Africa's Apartheid regime it was uncontested and pretty much unanimous. The voices against human rights abuses in South Africa carried some clout.

When economic expediency is contingent on the brutal supression of people who devote their lives to peace, I regret that I cannot be silent. I believe attending the 2008 China Olympics amounts to complicity in slaughter. Attendees will be supporting an economy and government that has no regard for human rights and has not shown any indication that it will condemn the actions of Myanmar military.

Why are there so few voices now?