Some Say Hawks are Sacred Birds~

Thank you Cindy! I have always loved hawks of all kinds. Now, because I live close to the sea, I hear ospreys in the morning-tho often it is actually blue jays pretending to be ospreys to scare the other birds; -)
Bobby Lake-Thom’s book “Spirits of the Earth” agrees with your intuition on hawks, listing them as protectors and extremely good and reassuring signs.

Cindy Knoke

Visionaries, carrying messages from the spirit world.

I think they are protectors.

watching over me from up high.

Sometimes a thrill, they let me get close!

But quickly they fly.

Protecting the earth,

from the sky!
Cheers to you from the sacred Protectors~

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August 5, 2014
by ohnwentsya Leave a comment

Common Dreams Highlights 5 August, 2014

News & Views | 08.05.14

Featured…

‘Massive Environmental Disaster’ in Canada as Toxic Tailing Pond Floods Waterways
http://commondreams.org/news/2014/08/05/massive-environmental-disaster-canada-toxic-tailing-pond-floods-waterways

Headlines…

Classified Documents Show US Government’s Flawed “Secret Terrorist-Tracking System”
http://commondreams.org/news/2014/08/05/classified-documents-show-us-governments-flawed-secret-terrorist-tracking-system

Obama Administration Redactions on Torture Report Render It ‘Impossible to Understand’
http://commondreams.org/news/2014/08/05/obama-administration-redactions-torture-report-render-it-impossible-understand

“Mission Accomplished”: Israel Withdraws Troops After Nearly 1,900 Killed in Gaza
http://commondreams.org/news/2014/08/05/mission-accomplished-israel-withdraws-troops-after-nearly-1900-killed-gaza

UK Minister Resigns Over Government’s ‘Morally Indefensible’ Gaza Policy
http://commondreams.org/news/2014/08/05/uk-minister-resigns-over-governments-morally-indefensible-gaza-policy

Outrage in Colorado over Fracking Betrayal of Top Democrats
http://commondreams.org/news/2014/08/05/outrage-colorado-over-fracking-betrayal-top-democrats

Market Basket Workers, Customers Join in ‘Unprecedented’ Uprising Against Corporate Greed
http://commondreams.org/news/2014/08/05/market-basket-workers-customers-join-unprecedented-uprising-against-corporate-greed

and more…

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Views…

A View from Gaza: We Have Lost So Many That We Love
http://commondreams.org/views/2014/08/05/view-gaza-we-have-lost-so-many-we-love

Don’t Be Fooled: Banks Still Too Big to Fail
http://commondreams.org/views/2014/08/05/dont-be-fooled-banks-still-too-big-fail

Shell’s Shame in Nigeria Continues
http://commondreams.org/views/2014/08/05/shells-shame-nigeria-continues

WTO Impasse: Who is Looking Out for the Public Good?
http://commondreams.org/views/2014/08/05/wto-impasse-who-looking-out-public-good

Why National Security Has Nothing to Do With Security
http://commondreams.org/views/2014/08/05/why-national-security-has-nothing-do-security

When Meet The Press Meets a Palestinian
http://commondreams.org/views/2014/08/05/when-meet-press-meets-palestinian

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Newswire…

Dam Line 9: Occupation of Line 9 Construction Site Begins
http://commondreams.org/newswire/2014/08/05/occupation-line-9-construction-site-begins

Council of Canadians: Recent B.C. Toxic Waste Spill Alarming, But Unfortunately Not Surprising
http://commondreams.org/newswire/2014/08/05/recent-bc-toxic-waste-spill-alarming-unfortunately-not-surprising

Physicians for a National Health Program: For-Profit Home Care Agencies Cost Medicare Billions Extra, Yet Provide Worse Care: Health Affairs Study
http://commondreams.org/newswire/2014/08/05/profit-home-care-agencies-cost-medicare-billions-extra-yet-provide-worse-care

and more…

August 5, 2014
by ohnwentsya Leave a comment

Truthout Daily Digest Monday, 4 August 2014

Mexico: Electoral Reform Threatens the Self-Determination of Indigenous Peoples

Renata Bessi and Santiago Navarro F.: The political-electoral reform recently approved by Mexico’s National Congress is a step backward for indigenous towns in Mexico. It does not recognize the legitimacy of their traditional electoral procedures, nor does it guarantee their self-determination.

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Israel and Palestine Can Never Be Secure Until Both Are Secure

Michael Nagler, Truthout: When Israelis and Palestinians understand that their own security depends on the security of the other, there will be no more room for violence. Awareness needs to be built of those delivering this message.

Read the Article

The Inside Baseball of Football Players’ Right to Unionize at Northwestern

Ellen Dannin, Truthout: Big Ten football is a big moneymaker, and its players have organized a union to protect themselves and give themselves a fair share of the money their hard work produces.

Read the Article

Latest G-7 Declaration Against Russia Over Ukraine Heightens War Threat in Eastern Europe

Roger Annis, Truthout: The G-7 statement expressing concern over the “ongoing threat” by the Russian government to the “territorial integrity” of Ukraine is a coded demand that the Russian government police the autonomy movement and pressure it to surrender.

Read the Article

Overcoming Continuous Nuclear Dangers and Japan Prime Minister Abe’s Unconstitutional Coup

Joseph Gerson, Truthout: Despite the dangers of a nuclear war by great powers on display in Ukraine, the political coup in Japan that has shredded its Constitution, and the nuclear powers’ apparent lack of commitment to disarmament, progress on abolishing nuclear weapons is being made.

Read the Article

The United States’ Farm-Grown Terrorism

The Daily Take Team, The Thom Hartmann Program: Meat producers and sellers across the country need to say “no” to more superbugs. No animals on factory farms should ever be given antibiotics, unless diagnosed as sick by a veterinarian. We have a right to eat food that’s not going to kill us.

Read the Article

Dean Baker | Inflation Hawks: The Job Killers at the Fed

Dean Baker, Truthout: Many in the financial industry couldn’t care less about unemployment. They don’t want to risk any inflation that could erode the value of their wealth. Their voices are being heard at the top levels of the Fed.

Read the Article

Rania Khalek | Israel Uses Palestinians as Human Shields but US Lawmakers Condemn Hamas

Rania Khalek, Electronic Intifada: Both houses of the US Congress are considering a resolution that condemns Hamas for using human shields despite not having any evidence to prove Hamas is employing this tactic.

Read the Article

Taking a Bite Out of Overtime Abuse

Jenny Brown, Labor Notes: UPS, with its growing package business, isn’t refusing to hire because it’s hurting. On the contrary, business is booming. Like other chronic overtime abusers, such as lucrative television production companies and Verizon, with its fat franchise agreements, UPS does it because it can.

Read the Article

Indigenous Seed Savers Gather in the Andes, Agree to Fight Climate Change With Biodiversity

Erin Sagen, YES! Magazine: As climate change makes it more difficult to practice agriculture in their ancestral homelands, indigenous communities are exchanging seeds in hopes of finding the hardiest varieties.

Read the Article

On the News With Thom Hartmann: Lawmakers, Lobbyists Are Conspiring Against Clean Energy, and More

In today‘s On the News segment: Lawmakers and lobbyists are conspiring against clean energy; according to a new study, man’s best friend gets jealous of other dogs that divert their owners’ attention; Greenpeace wants LEGO to break up with Shell Oil; and more.

Watch the Video and Read the Transcript

Tom Engelhardt | The Rise to Power of the National Security State

Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch: For the “Fourth Branch,” this remains the age of impunity. Hidden in a veil of secrecy, bolstered by secret law and secret courts, surrounded by its chosen corporations and politicians, its power to define policy and act as it sees fit in the name of American safety is visibly on the rise.

Read the Article

BuzzFlash

Global Warming Caused by the Transportation Sector Could Devastate It

Mark Karlin, BuzzFlash at Truthout: As the worldwide transportation industry seeks to maximize profits, it may be racing toward its own demise.

Read the BuzzFlash Commentary

A Toxic Algae Scare Has Left 500,000 People in Ohio Without Drinking Water

Read the Article at Vox

Some Facts That Poverty-Deniers Don’t Want to Hear

Read the Article at BuzzFlash

In the Ebola Ward

Read the Article at The New Yorker

John Oliver on Corporate-Sponsored News

Watch the Video at HBO

Did Texas Execute an Innocent Man?

Read the Article at The Washington Post

The Meltdown of the Anti-Immigration Minuteman Militia

Read the Article at Mother Jones

Everyone I Know Is Brokenhearted

Read the Article at Zen Archery

August 5, 2014
by ohnwentsya Leave a comment

A short update on the Gathering

Thank you Aisha! It’s so good to read tgese positive, uplifting descriptions of what is happening now. Especially when so many of us physically and in day to day experience are feeling and experiencing still so much difficulty and limitation. I love these reminders that what is apparent in any given moment is not all that is, that often what we see really us not what we will get, or be.

aisha north

As a new day dawns, we can once again congratulate you all on a job well done, for what you managed to complete during this latest installment of your communal get-together was nothing short of impressive. You see, these communal efforts all tie together like giant pieces of a puzzle, so everything you have accomplished before has laid the foundation for what was now put into place. And so, what has taken you many months to fulfill, will now finally come into fruition. For this last installment so far was indeed a major one, as this time, all of the cogs and all of the gears that you have previously installed were finally pushed into motion by your combined efforts, and for this, we cannot thank you enough.

We are aware that for many, our words will seem to be repetitious, but let us just say that they can in…

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August 5, 2014
by ohnwentsya Leave a comment

Who Is Really Vladimir Putin? This May Surprise You!

Thank you Lada! I trusted my “gut feeling” or instinct that Putin was a good man despite the cartoon caricatures he was portrayed with in U.S. media. I’m so grateful for your insights and clear reporting so others can see how deeply corrupt and “yellow” the majority of our media have become. I strongly believe that despite appearances both Putin and Obama are good men who intend to further global peace and an end to the oligarchs corrupt control of our planet. Because they are both intelligent and capable of “playing along” with the powers that were in order to accomplish their long term goals, I have greater confidence in our collective future.
They are playing the chess game from Harry Potter only much larger and with higher stakes, and against opponents who habitually lie and cheat. Luckily, they seem to share Harry and Hermione’s level of intellect, courage and backing by magical unseen forces;-)

Futurist Trendcast

As the anti-Russian howling and barking of the American MSM and politicians gets more and more deafening, as the anti-Russian sanctions get more and more audacious and the vilifying of Russia and Putin goes into an overdrive, perhaps there are other voices out there as well. The presstitutes of the Western MSM won’t give the podium to these voices, furtively pretending they don’t exist. Even some of the so-called alternative media in the US is anti-Russian, or is timidly shying away from the subject.

But different voices, although quiet, do exist. Is this proof that perhaps there are some healthy and honest forces still left in the USA? Below are recollections of those Americans who actually met Putin well before his rise, during the turbulent and disastrous 1990s. Who is really Vladimir Putin? What you’ll read below may surprise you!

Thank you – Spasibo –to Paul Plane of The Plane…

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August 5, 2014
by ohnwentsya Leave a comment

Truthout Daily Digest Sunday, 3 August 2014

Noam Chomsky | Nightmare in Gaza

Noam Chomsky, Truthout: Amid all the horrors unfolding in the latest Israeli offensive in Gaza, Israel’s goal is simple: quiet-for-quiet, a return to the norm. For Gaza, the norm is a miserable existence under a cruel and destructive siege that Israel administers to permit bare survival but nothing more.

Read the Article

Guns in the Mental Health Clinic: Not Therapeutic

Anne Skomorkowsky, Truthout: The tragic case of a psychiatrist firing a gun to protect himself and others from a patient who had just shot a caseworker to death illuminates the unrealistic expectation that psychiatric care can prevent violent crime.

Read the Article

On Roboethics and the Robotic Human

Fred Guerin, Truthout: Instead of trying to come up with an algorithm that captures the essence of independent thought, wisdom or ethical judgment in robots, let’s preserve and encourage such thinking in ourselves.

Read the Article

Fracking the Farm: Scientists Worry About Chemical Exposure to Livestock and Agriculture

Roger Drouin, Truthout: Recent early studies by public health and veterinarian scientists are confirming there is cause for concern when it comes to fracking’s potential impact on farm crops and animals.

Read the Article

The United States Has Excelled in Illegal Goods and Smuggling People Since Its Founding

Peter Andreas, Oxford University Press: The history of the United States is a battle over smuggling, from evading tariffs and embargoes to violating prohibitions and immigration controls.

Read the Excerpt

Truthout Interviews Featuring Bethania Palma Markus on Migrants and Corporate Exploitation

Ted Asregadoo, Truthout: Bethania Palma Markus talks with Ted Asregadoo about the spike in borderland deaths among migrants and corporate exploitation of migrant groups in detention centers.

Watch the Video

A Promising but Precarious New Normal for the Young and Undocumented

Diana Anahi Torres-Valverde, Foreign Policy In Focus: A two-year-old executive order has helped thousands of undocumented young people plan for their future, but their plans could be erased with the stroke of a pen.

Read the Article

Paid Sick Day Campaigns Gain Traction as ALEC Allies Push Back

Brendan Fischer, PRWatch: As the paid sick day movement has gained momentum, its opponents – particularly those in the restaurant industry – have tried to thwart it. The paid sick day obstruction effort can largely be traced back to ALEC.

Read the Article

US Loses Track of Weapons Shipped to Afghanistan

James Arkin, Center for Public Integrity: Three separate systems are used to track the arms sent to Afghanistan, but they are riddled with errors and not linked.

Read the Article

Why the US and Britain Lost Russia in 2014

John A. Taylor, Truthout: Unscrupulous politicians play on the fearful anger of white males in the US and Britain and use arguments about democracy and human rights to make political theater. Russia provides them with their current opportunity for political theater in Ukraine.

Read the Article

This week in Speakout:

Marah Alwadia provides eyewitness testimony to the Shujaia massacre in Gaza; David Palumbo-Liu discusses the massive global protest against Israel’s military assault on Gaza; undocumented immigrant José Ángel N. makes a passionate plea for immigration reform in an open letter to President Obama; David Krause deconstructs San Francisco Mayor Scott Wiener’s so-called “Clean, Green and Safe” initiative; Mike LaSusa analyzes Argentina’s default at the hands of “vulture funds”; Patricia W. Hall “follows the money” to see who is really benefiting from charter schools; the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity write an open letter urging Obama to be transparent on information from the shoot-down of the Malaysian airliner over Ukraine; Susan Sered criticizes the US for failing to sign on to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities; Dr. Marc Gopin suggests we can change our reality by breaking nasty neural habits; economists urge Congress to mitigate the fallout from the Argentinian default in an open letter from the Center for Economic Policy Research; and more.

Read the Articles