Life

I don’t know if it’s the yoga, brain wave vibrations, or this time of year, but I just can’t seem to summon a tizzy. I watched all the punditry back-to-back on Sunday as usual, but I’d already had three hours or so of digging in the dirt by then. While all hell is near breaking lose with Kim Jung Ill testing nuclear devices every other day, swine flu spreading locally and the global economic meltdown steadily claiming more jobs and lives, I’m dizzygiddy like Poppy in Happy Go Lucky. Yes, I realize that gloom looms and disaster’s near, but I’m more concerned with whether the Ajugas are going to get enough or too much sun there?

GM filed for bankruptcy as anticipated--

GM said Monday that it will shutter 17 factories and parts centers by the end of 2011, including seven factories in Michigan and plants in Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee, and cut an additional 5,000 salaried jobs. The closures will reduce GM's U.S. facilities to 33 from 47 by 2012. Between 18,000 and 20,000 workers will be affected by the shutdowns, Tim Lee, GM's vice president of North America Manufacturing, said during a conference call Monday. Employment reduction will be done according to terms in the UAW agreement And interestingly, the Feds are not taking over GM’s pension plans; but, aside from that, I cannot wait to have the scent of lavender wafting through my bedroom window; will it really form a nice hedge?

I used to question the logic of those simultaneously pro-life (against abortion) and yet pro-death (i.e., the death penalty). Maybe a similar question could be posed regarding being an “abortionist” and also being an usher at church; or, being anti-abortion, but pro-murdering doctors at church.

A few years ago, on a flight back home, the airplane circled over BWI, waiting for the calm after the storm in order to land. I chose to be dazzled by nature’s fireworks displayed through the window; a better than birds-eye view of lightning bolt extravaganzas in the near distance. My pumpkin was scared. I hoped he’d be calmed by my lack of fear and tried to get him to share in my fascination. It was a tall order for a 12 year old.
But YOU know, right? All we’ve got is THIS, right here, right now. You gotta make the most of it, because who knows what comes next, or whether anything will.

Rest in Peace Dr. Tiller, passengers and crew of Air France flight 447.

The Veteran
Dorothy Parker
When I was young and bold and strong,
Oh, right was right, and wrong was wrong!
My plume on high, my flag unfurled,
I rode away to right the world.
"Come out, you dogs, and fight!" said I,
And wept there was but once to die.

But I am old; and good and bad
Are woven in a crazy plaid.
I sit and say, "The world is so;
And he is wise who lets it go.
A battle lost, a battle won-
The difference is small, my son."

Inertia rides and riddles me;
The which is called Philosophy.

MtnGrl
AWOP Contributor
Author of MtnGrl Musing Blog

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Peace Y'all

Sweet Meat

I've struggled with meat for years. So much so that I was a vegetarian eater for several years and even a vegan for a short period of time. Initially, it was due to my concern over the standard of living of food animals as well as environmental factors. When I got married, I discovered that it was difficult to cook separate meals and I greatly relaxed my meatless dining habits only to be told in the early 2000s that I could no longer give blood due to potential exposure to variant Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease (vCJD) (aka Mad Cow Disease). Guidelines state that you may not give blood if:

You were a member of the of the U.S. military, a civilian military employee, or a dependent of a member of the U.S. military who spent a total time of 6 months on or associated with a military base in any of the following areas during the specified time frames

* From 1980 through 1990 - Belgium, the Netherlands (Holland), or Germany

You spent (visited or lived) a cumulative time of 5 years or more from January 1, 1980, to present, in any combination of country(ies) in Europe, including

* in the UK from 1980 through 1996 as listed in above
* on or associated with military bases as described above, and
* in other countries in Europe as listed below:

o Germany

-American Red Cross

I lived in Germany from 1981 to 1992, guess I got the message, I can not give blood because I may have eaten some bad meat. Not only did this news irritate me but once again I was repulsed by meat. After more investigation though I became more disgusted with the practices that allowed a disease like vCJD to spread. You see, large production farms, always looking to save a buck, decided to grind up the waste bits of farm animals and use it as food to feed other farm animals such as cows. That this was not banned at the outset is absolutely disgusting. What freaking moron thought of this practice, probably the same stupid fat f*ck who decided to grain cattle to "fatten" them up so that they can be ready for slaughter faster and make more fat f*cks. What's wrong with feeding an animal their natural diet? We could save ourselves so much by just feeding our feed animals the things that they are naturally made to eat. For cows, it's this green stuff that grows out of the ground. Stuff like grass, alfalfa, hay...Stuff that makes naturally lean beef.

Graining cattle is appalling and it's taken me years to get that through my spouses cranium but guess what, one taste of our own naturally fed beef and he's hooked. Graining cattle is force-feeding so that a cow can fatten up for slaughter in six months as opposed to the 2-4 years of normal growth to slaughter size. Corn-fed beef is also bad for you and I.

After the news that I could not give blood I absolutely refused to purchase beef from our local grocery stores, instead opting to travel to the nearest Whole Foods Market, about an hour away, to ensure that I could get grass-fed, hormone free beef for my family. Now, I'm practically spoiled, my beef is in my backyard, eating what they like to eat and generally looking pretty damn happy.


That's Honeymoon above, she's the boss (maybe it's the horns! or that she's bigger than our little Gelbvieh girls, Black Betty and Black Berry). You should see them running to us when we come up to the fence with a treat, yesterday it was dandelions that I pulled up from the yard. They are social animals and have not only provided my family with safe meat but are fun to be near and help us teach our child about responsibility.

So, what brought all of this on today?

The recall of 96,000 pounds of ground beef due to E. coli 0157:H7 contamination last night. The product was packaged on March 10th and the first illness was reported on May 13th, resulting in the recall on May 21st. E. coli is naturally found in intestines, so in the most basic sense, the beef in question is contaminated with fecal matter which is not exactly unusual in meat processing plants. That's why they want you to cook your meat to a certain temperature, and especially be wary of ground meat, because any contamination has been mixed into the meat instead of just resting on the outside.

View the recalled products here. You'll note that the products in question are USDA inspected but keep in mind only a small percentage is ever actually inspected. Read all about meat processing and inspection at Sustainable Table.

Bottom line, if you do eat meat please think about where your meat comes from, it could save your life. If you live nearby, I'll serve you naturally fed Scottish Highland beef and you won't even be able to stomach mass-produced beef again!

Sidhe, The Wandering Elf
AWOP Contributor
Author of Musings of a Wandering Elf Blog

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Peace Y'all

BlogBlast For Peace: How A Movement Began

It's been called everything from a cyberspace revolution to organic to a waste of time. To some it is a phenomenon. To many, a bloggers day to connect and represent. To others just an ordinary spot on the calendar. But to all who blogged for peace - it is a voice for change.

To me it is a passion.

In October 2006, I wrote an article on my blog semi-venting about the state of our world and pondering how I could do anything about it. North Korea's testing of nuclear weapons caught the attention of the world and on the same day a small plane flew into a New York apartment building stirring memories of terror. The news was unsettling. Frightful. Sobering. So I threw out a challenge to my handful of readers that perhaps, if we all wrote our names across our world and loudly, oh so loudly, proclaimed "Dona nobis pacem" (translated from the Latin "Grant Us Peace") that maybe, just maybe, we could see change, at least in our own little spheres. I asked that we post it on the same day with the same title in a display of unity. In less than sixty days, hundreds of bloggers had done just that. Before I could wrap my brain around it, little blue peace globes began spinning out of control across the blogosphere. I found them everywhere. It was amazing! From cat bloggers, dog bloggers, gerbils, birds, moms, dads, rockers, preachers, soldiers, mothers, gay, straight, liberal and conservative. The Peace Globe Movement aka BlogBlast For Peace began.

Our sixth launch takes flight

November 5, 2009.

Will you be there?

Today there are forty-six countries participating and thousands of blog posts about the movement and its influence. Wait a minute. Movement? Me? You? We? We started a movement? How? And more importantly, why? People wrote to me, "I never thought I had a voice until now."

I kept hearing that over and over. And this -

"There is a roof over my head, food in my

refrigerator- and in my belly... For me, life is good, and full of fun and

games. For some people, none of life is fun and games.....On November 5th a call for peace will rise from the blogosphere. I plan to show my gratitude for my

life and privileges I deem common place, by asking that those privileges become

common place the world over." (Quilldancer)

Luxor The Cat purred, “I always picture us linked together by our individual globes, our heartfelt wishes spreading out over the blogosphere in a wave of love and light and hope for the future."

Ambitiously naive? Hardly.

Not even for a cat.

I began to read, one at a time, the carefully crafted posts, marveling at the creativity and individuality sprawled on the simple blue graphic - the pithy and the poignant - humbled by the pure intent behind the words. A wish for peace. I was so moved I found myself weeping at my computer. From Zimbabwe, Scotland, United Arab Emirates, Spain, Bolivia, South Africa, California.....they all had something to say about peace; what it meant to them personally, what it means in their part of the globe, and what it means to us collectively.

Suddenly my blog neighbor half a world away moved into my neighborhood. Blog communities globally melded. We were a sight to behold. For one day our hearts bled passionate words of hope - all over the world.

Our language and circumstance strikingly different, our yearning for peace the same.

Indeed. A movement began. It is my privilege to represent the peace bloggers.

One blogger in Canada wrote, “.....if social connections exist and what we write has power, why can’t a group of people posting a similar graphic calling for peace - whatever the word peace means to you - wield similar power?"

I no longer doubt it. Voices of peace can't war. We launched, quite literally, a revolution of words. Stealth. Steady. Marking our world with a promise.

And oh.so.loud.

I have changed since the beginning of Dona Nobis Pacem in the blogosphere. I am changing still. Revolution? Of the kindest kind. It is a turning. An attitude shift. A metamorphosis. An evolution – one in which the power of our words manifests intrinsic change and expands our compassion for and understanding of people everywhere, dictates a respect for diversity, and calls me – and my neighbors – to a place of peace.

This is the hope I have for myself. It is my hope for you.

The voices of our time matter.

Won't you add yours to the growing number of peace bloggers?

Click here to find out how

Mimi Lenox
AWOP Contributor
Author of Mimi Writes Blog


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Peace Y'all