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Forums - The lounge
Subject: Parallel universe stuff
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Original Message 1/1 03-Mar-05 @ 11:24 AM - Parallel universe stuff
TURN ON COMPUTER // TUNE IN TO FREED SPIRIT OF INTERNET
// TAKE OVER!
I found what I was reading in the UP! shocking, and shed many a tear last night, couldn't believe what i was reading. Alan O'Rourke, Ireland.
UP! NOTES TO GOD, WRITTEN BY CHILDREN -- Dear GOD: Instead of letting people die and having to make new ones, why don't you just keep the ones you have? ~~Johnny
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u cant understand the world without innerstanding yourself
UP! 225// march 2, 2005
la- la- la- lap-toppling da system!
u cant innerstand yourself without understanding the world
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contents
p.02 ive (finally?) decided i HATE tony blair
- fraser
p.04 Hariri Killed To Make a 'Clean Break'
p.06 Ecstasy Trials For Combat Stress//FEEDBACK
p.08 The Kids Are All Smoking MaryJane! Now It Looks Like The Oldies Should Be Attit Too!
p.09 RIGHT WING CONSERVATIVES SPEAK UP! As Things Fall Apart, Lie and Lie Again // Nothing to Fear But Bush Himself
p.11 STONEHENGE FOREVER//FEEDBACK
p.15 The Community Land Trust Movement
p.17 Black Shirts//FEEDBACK musicians go nuts!
p.18 DENTISTRY//FEEDBACK a national scandal?
UP!
Kerry/Edwards File More Ohio Election Motions
http://forum.truthout.org/blog/story/2005/2/24/183243/756
UP! NOTES TO GOD, WRITTEN BY CHILDREN -- Dear GOD: Are You really invisible or is it just a trick? ~~Lucy
The Hospital Plague:
SUPERSTEPHS KILLING 100 PEOPLE
EVERY WEEK IN BRITISH HOSPITALS!
DOCTORS ACCUSED OF COVER-UP!
955 cases are shown on death certificates, but the true number is nearly 5000 a year !!! Dr Mark Enright, Bath University. [Daily Mirror, Feb 25.]
UP!
`When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. And, as an older man, I tried to change my family.
Now, as an old man, I realise the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realise that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family, and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could, indeed, have changed the world.' Unknown monk, 1100AD.
UP! NOTES TO GOD, WRITTEN BY CHILDREN -- Dear GOD: Did You mean for the giraffe to look like that or was it an accident? ~~Norma
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ive (finally?) decided i HATE tony blair.
NOT because hes such an actor and spins all his arguments, i expect no more from a current politician and hes only the best at it.
no, what i HATE about tony blair is his picture of the world, or, rather, that he truly believes in that picture. tony blair truly believes in what hes doing. tony blair truly believes it was the right thing to go to war, and he truly believes that all the lying was for the best in the long run. hes NOT lying when he says he truly believed the weapons existed. and hes NOT lying when he says he truly believes that it was all for the good anyway.
tony blair truly believes in the american way forward (as opposed to the european social model, say). he truly believes that western civilisation is in a class above anything else around, both in terms of morality and consciousness of the facts of life. he truly believes that we must help the rest of the world to be like us, and part of our system, and truly believes that such would be a more or less unmitigated good for them. he truly believes that corporations are inevitable and essential. he truly believes that science is mankinds best hope (in opposition, say, to seeing that its equally our greatest threat, like everything else he truly believes in).
in short, he truly believes in the capitalist system of competition from cradle to grave and that that brings out the best in people. and, whether he ever had any socialist leanings or not, he now truly believes that the class system is here for the rest of his lifetime and hes gonna be up there.
i HATE him and the picture of life he truly believes in. if only he would ONCE stop and take a good look instead of rushing off to the gym to force his body to do what his head truly believes is good for it.
like with any fundamentalist or true believer, the very unquestioning is what does the damage, sails him over the complexities, makes him overlook the asymmetrical fallout, ignore the hydra heads hes causing with every initiative, and urges him onwards with his faith unshaken or unquestioned.
as david icke so astutely said, way back when tony blair was being generally accused of having no convictions and following every pollster, he is very very dangerous precisely because he truly believes in the powers that be. making him, as icke pointed out, the perfect tool of those shadowy zillionaires (or Bilderberger at least) who try to run our world for us (or against us).
tony blairs character gives unquestioning deference to the current powers whatever they happen to be. he never questions that they might have been quite different 20 years from now or even 20 years before or a hundred, he doesnt have doubts because he sincerely and unquestioningly and truly believes that our side has always been, if not right, then at least better than anything else available at the time. any time.
whether george bush convinced him, or more likely encouraged him to believe in the very dodgy things he actually did secretly always unquestionably believe in, is actually immaterial. tony blair is a very dangerous man, and is having a very bad effect on poltics, encouraging all the worst aspects of the politicians below him its amazing how few have actually spotted it. and we can only hope that nothing Huge comes up because he will charge in there again, you can trust tony on that!
and when george starts (as he already has) taking us deeper into chaos and disaster, tony blair will back him again. be truly believes God is on His Side whatever the action is just as long as he truly believes in it! (thats how he thinks).
UP!
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TEXT JOCKEY // TJ PHRASER (Fraser Clark) & THE MEDIA EVOLUTION
MIXING THE TRACTS LIVE ON THE KEYBOARD
@ A MEDIA-MEME RATE OF 160 IPP *
* Ideas Per Paragraph
TO SUBSCRIBE SOMEONE, WRITE I wanna get UP! TO fraser@parallel-youniversity.com
TO UNSUBSCRIBE, HIT REPLY WITH REMOVE IN THE SUBJECT BOX
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A MONTH AGO MOST PEOPLE NEVER HEARD OF SYRIAN FORCES IN LEBANON
SUDDENLY EVERYONE IN THE WEST SEES SYRIA AS A DEMON.
CAN PEOPLE REEEEALLY BE SO STUPID?!
NO, BUT THEYRE UP! AGAINST A HUGELY CONTROLLED MASS MEDIA
Hariri Killed To Make a 'Clean Break'
Executive Intelligence Review, Feb 25.
by Muriel Mirak-Weissbach
The assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, in Beirut on St Valentines Day, was a carefully planned and executed act, geared to trigger a chain reaction of events in the region that would conform with the long-standing policy of the neo-conservative junta running Washington.
To understand the why of the assassination - although the who remains unclear - one must look back at now-Vice President Dick Cheneys 1996 policy paper prepared by his neo-con task force of Richard Perle, Doug Feith, David and Meyrav Wurmser, et al. "Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm" outlined a scenario whereby the 1993 Oslo Accords would be torn to shreds, and, first Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Hezbollah, and Iran, would be targeted for military assault and political destabilisation.
It flatly stated that Israel should engage "Hezbollah, Syria, and Iran, as the principal agents of aggression in Lebanon, including by
- striking Syrian military targets in Lebanon
- establishing the precedent that Syrian territory is not immune to attacks emanating from Lebanon by Israeli proxy forces
- should that prove insufficient, striking at select targets in Syria proper."
Furthermore, it said, Israel should divert "Syria's attention by using Lebanese opposition elements to destabilise Syrian control of Lebanon."
>> all those people on the street in Lebanon with their brand new expensive looking flags.
The paper also called for focusing on "removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq...."
The outcome of the regional convulsions provoked by the "Clean Break" doctrine, was to be a new Middle East, with Israel hegemonic in the region, presiding over a series of newly balkanised states, run by puppet regimes. The Bush Administration has recently restated its intention to pick off these governments, dubbed "outposts of tyranny," one by one. The order in which they were to be hit was assumed to start with Iran. Instead, Syria was moved into first place.
The reason? According to one regional expert, if Iran were attacked militarily by the US or Israel, the Islamic Republic would respond asymmetrically, unleashing allied and sympathetic Shi'ite forces in the Persian Gulf and in Lebanon: Hezbollah's capabilities to target Israel could be effectively deployed. Thus, the source said, the need to eliminate the Lebanese-based Shi'ite Hezbollah as a factor, and at the same time neutralise Syria, before moving against Tehran.
The stage for the immediate destabilisation was set diplomatically by UN Resolution 1559, presented last September by the U.S. and France together, and at the forefront of recent discussions between Secretary of State Condolezza Rice and French President Jacques Chirac. The Resolution demands the termination of the Syrian presence in Lebanon (estimated to be 15,000 troops) and the disarming of the Hezbollah. Instead of mounting an Israeli assault directly on Syria - which would have provoked an international outcry - a flanking operation was launched, with a terrorist act that would trigger mass forces on the ground to move against the Syrian presence.
Thus, the assassination of Hariri.
http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2005/3208hariri_killed.html
>> i even have a slow witted friend who thinks america is trying to help in the middle east! i wont name him to save him embarrassment.
UP!
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the UP! is a global edutainment round-up, broadcast weekly to =[13,461]=
Alternative// Activist// Zippy// Trance// New Age// Peace folks
recommended to the Parallel YOUniversity// Megatripolis Dance Dept as
"showing signs of life".
Since recipients forward it widely to their own lists & sites,
we conservatively estimate 50,000+ direct recipients.
A further 40,000 read it on the YOUniversity's site.
And, because of its 'mix' of 'specialist' & 'general' content,
it's increasingly being posted on a variety of sites worldwide,
making an estimated total weekly readership of =[275,000]=
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I know I'm exceptionally dumb, but I thought the whole point of cyberspace was that it's a total anarchy. This website is in actual fact the Independent Anarchist State of Fraser where one is permitted to discuss any topic under the sun, rant total garbage from a virtual soapbox, call oneself by any name one chooses, espouse any halfwit cause for just the time it takes to write it down, or even, just be laid back and keep one's opinions to oneself.
What more could you wish for?
Jerry, Paris from the GroupMind Discussion Board.
UP! NOTES TO GOD, WRITTEN BY CHILDREN -- Dear GOD: I read the Bible. What does "beget" mean? Nobody will tell me. ~~Love, Alison
oh my............. i hope the website is not out of date, is the warp experience really running again???????? that was the most enchanting experience of my life to date to have the opportunity to glimpse those magical happenings in such a wonderful atmosphere and company again would be a dream come true!!
is it true?
love,
Chris, London.
>> r u sitting down, chris? the web site is out of date. by several years
UP!
INDIGO WORLD
Just discovered the idea of indigo children maybe 2-3 weeks ago when someone said my son (5, diagnosed severe autism) seemed like an indigo child. So I looked into it... and actually from the characteristics, he seems to me to be more a crystal. He can barely SAY a word, but he talks to trees, to plants (at 3 he was in charge or taking care of my mother in law's orchid and violet collection!), and he has this skill his therapists say seems like he was born with an internal GPS system.
When he wants to get somewhere and doesn't know the way, he gets down on one knee, puts his palm flat on the ground and gets this far off look on his face. Then he gets up and without looking at signs, buildings, landmarks... heads straight for where he wants to go.
I've even tried taking him to places he's not familiar with... and he knows his way back (or his way to McDonalds). He has these psychic like episodes (and communicating with me mentally so I always know what he wants/what's in his head even if he can't speak) like indigo kids but he's not at all ADHD or violent. He's gentle, caring cooperative, and affectionate. You can see it in his eyes... people are always commenting on them."
Mary, a 30 yr old mom/artist/writer from NY.
UP! NOTES TO GOD, WRITTEN BY CHILDREN -- Dear GOD: Thank you for the baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy. ~~Joyce
Ecstasy Trials For Combat Stress//FEEDBACK
I've been following this story with some interest, however I do wish you'd do a piece on responsible drug taking.
The quote you chose: "Dr Mithoefer said the MDMA helped people discuss traumatic situations without triggering anxiety , and your subsequent comments: ">>u heard it! the doctor says take this E itll help to you look at your fears with equanimity" try to make it seem all so effortless and simple.
>> not quite fair. yes, i talk positively about the magnificent potential of these allies and even how i doubt the world can change itself in time without their application, but i dont TRY to downplay the dangers. i assume that people hear all the problems daily. yes? whats needed, in fact, is MORE WARNINGS about what will go on happening to the world without them!
What you didn't report was the flip side of this, here's a quote from Rick Doblin, the founder and head of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, which funds the Harvard research:
"Some people who take ecstasy in clubs break through emotional barriers to memories of childhood or other abuse. Deliberately suppressing these feelings if they feel unable to talk about them with their friends at the time can then make the situation worse. "
Good sources:
http://www.maps.org/mdma/
http://www.drugpolicy.org
Ok if you're lucky then you find a 'friend,' but you and i both know clubbing/festivals and the like, it doesn't always work like that. There are also 'predators' out there looking for the doped up for whatever twisted reason. Not many thankfully, but enough to not take a cavalier attitude.
>> what youre really saying is that ITS A DISGRACE AND AN ONGOING TRAGIC SCANDAL that properly equipped and manned consciousness labs are not only unavailable theyre actually ILLEGAL!
of course i take your general point, scott, course i do. but please see mine: young people get so many fears plied to them that i hate to add to them. and, on the whole, you dont have to be SO lucky to find a friend
i hear what u say about predators but the only ones ive personally noticed were those christians whom michael eavis allowed into Glastonbury some years back, and they were found predating on young trippers with insinuations about the Devil and inviting them back to their big marquee for some spiritual teaching.
i know rick doblin, quote him in ALLIES From the Great Apes to Hemp Farms on Mars but, as ive said to him more than once, hes chosen the role of responsible scientist etc. (and thank god cos someone has to do it!) but that aint my role nor one id ever choose. when u start emitting a climate of fear around drugs youve really bought into the fear-making yourself, and u can start playing fears game. the ancient allies (and the new ones too) are not FEARSOME, but they ARE Powerful, and (now i say it) THEY DEMAND FULL RESPECT. hear that everyone? approach them with total respect.
Now here's what I think is a good example of responsible drug use. In one of the Ayahuasca ceremonies I took part in (amazon region) was a 13 year old girl whod reached 'age' and so her father had taken her along, now she and everyone else at that ceremony had a 'minder' who remained sober to watch over them (I'm glad mine was there 'cos i wanted to wander off into the jungle with the little people).
>> a good minder should have gone with you. nothing wrong AT ALL with looking for the little people. indeed it sounds to me like maybe they were calling you and thats what you should have done. but your point is brilliant: Minders On The National Health!
OK, so on the party path you may not be able to have a sober minder, but at least make people think about watching out for each other and having a 'buddy' to specifically watch for, and a meeting spot if you get lost, and all the useful things that help make tripping so much fun. I remember my first (LSD) trip back when i was a teen (20 years ago alas) and I was very pleased to have good friends around who stuck with me through it. You must remember its an awesome experience for the first time.
>> actually i would NEVER advise first time acid tripping in any club! u need to do that safe at home with or without a good friend or guide, but one handy on the phone.
So anyway don't think i'm a detractor of drug use, since the age of about 13 and still now I think (certain) drugs are fantastic, it's just if you've seen the dark-side of trip land (and im sure you have) it's good to warn others to play safe and enjoy. Do you really know who reads the UP!? I'm sure you wouldn't want any Karmic muck ups by encouraging people to take drugs in the wrong setting would you.
>> i dont encourage anyone to do anything. i present information and ideas and my opinions and listeners make of it what they will or are ready for. a frank, well researched Opinion. id LOVE to publish a How To Do Drugs Safely if youre up to writing it (and it sounds like u r ) but, uno, scott, it would probably be illegal to publish it how about that?! :D
OK, next up, vis-à-vis the 'were humans always violent' question that i've commented on in previous UP!s, you've done it again haven't you:
"What the world needs most in the long run (for it is trying to change international habits that have had at least 5,000 years to take root -"
>> much longer. it goes back to when they first turned away from mushroom worship.
Ok, there may (and probly has been) a select group of humans who were 'enlightened' and do not use violence as a means of dispute settling, but the archaeological evidence is quite clear that the majority of humans have used weapons since our thumbs opposed our fingers.
>> its totally an assumption actually. and i dont see how it could ever be settled. obviously humans have been here a lot longer than any weapons we have found, right? the rest is assumption and may always remain so. certainly i remember publishing a big piece in the UP! (anyone remember the no?) where we covered the oldest city ever explored AND THEY FOUND TOTAL ABSENCE OF ANY KIND OF WALLS OR ANY FORTIFICATIONS.
One can only hope (and i believe this to be the fact) that this % slowly becomes a bigger % of the whole and one day (if we last that long) will be the norm and the majority, then we can get back to living the life I love (like whole villages taking San Pedro Cactus trips together in Peru/Ecuador).
>>absolutely! our only argument is that i claim we were always like that before bush-type gorillas turned away from worship of the allies and started to bully us all into their game. and one of the proofs of this is that ALL civilisations weve explored that existed before we exploded all over the planet, were shamanic like u describe in peru.
Hope it's sunny wherever you are today.
>> even better! its snowing!
Keep on the good work.
scandi-scott, UK.
>> and please keep telling me if u feel am wandering off the Path
UP! NOTES TO GOD, WRITTEN BY CHILDREN -- Dear GOD: My brother told me about being born but it doesn't sound right. They're just kidding, aren't they? ~~Marsha
The Kids Are All Smoking MaryJane!
Now It Looks Like The Old Should Be Attit Too!
The active ingredient in marijuana may stall decline from Alzheimer's disease, according to research by Madrid's Complutense University and the Cajal Institute, published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
Scientists showed that a synthetic version of the compound may reduce inflammation associated with Alzheimer's and thus help to prevent mental decline.
They hope the cannabinoid may be used to developed new drug therapies.
>> are we all watching this? they are slowly and inexorably PRIVATISING our sacred herb!
The scientists first compared the brain tissue of patients who died from Alzheimer's disease with that of healthy people whod died at a similar age, looking closely at brain cell receptors to which cannabinoids bind, allowing their effects to be felt.
They also studied structures called microglia, which activate the brain's immune response. Microglia collect near the plaque deposits associated with Alzheimer's and, when active, cause inflammation.
The researchers found a dramatically reduced functioning of cannabinoid receptors in diseased brain tissue. This was an indication that patients had lost the capacity to experience cannabinoids' protective effects.
>> if im reading this right, theyre saying the poor sods had lost their natural ability to get high and thats what made their brains waste away.
The next step was to test the effect of cannabinoids on rats injected with the amyloid protein that forms Alzheimer's plaques.
>> doesnt seem such an inevitable logical step to me. torturing animals is probably worse for your brain than not taking maryjane J
Those animals given a dose of a cannabinoid performed much better in tests of their mental functioning. The presence of amyloid protein in the rats' brains activated immune cells.
However, rats that also received the cannabinoid showed no sign of microglia activation.
Using cell cultures, the researchers confirmed that cannabinoids counteracted the activation of microglia and thus reduced inflammation.
"These findings that cannabinoids work both to prevent inflammation and to protect the brain may set the stage for their use as a therapeutic approach for Alzheimer's disease." Dr Maria de Ceballos, a Researcher.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4286435.stm
UP!
SAT MARCH 5 Small World Party
at the beautiful and ever friendly Unity Works, 25 White Post Lane, Hackney Wick, E9. 7pm til dawn (beside Hackney Wick Station, or buses 26, 52 and 30). £7/£5.
Twelve hours of life, magic, music and laughter project to combine the legendary magic of the summer festival late night sessions and the celebratory spirit of our all night parties.
Starts with communal magic hat meal, then some fine acoustic artists to enthral, bands to drive you wild, and an open mike session to finish // interspersed with dj sets by Pony with an eclectic mix of live and studio recordings from Small World artists, dirty funk, upbeat latin, ska and mad jazz.
The Magic Number - 30's Jazz Brighton style // Kanya-Kora - Mandinka Roots // highly syncopated and lively Senegalese master musicians // Carrie Tree - Truly pan-dimensional beauty // Bela Emerson - haunting and beautiful electric cello and looped soundscapes // Spacegirl - A pleasure to finally give a platform for this inspired wordsmith // Shinri - Out there, leftfield rap from a true stage diva // Open mike session
Cosmic Cauldron Cafe, Chillout space, Walkabout shenanigans, BYO Alcohol
UP!
Skrufff-E
A good source for stories on clubs, electronic music, the war on drugs, occasional politics and/or gay cockroaches is Jonty Skrufffs weekly e-zine Skrufff-E.
Subscribe at
http://www.skrufff.com
UP! NOTES TO GOD, WRITTEN BY CHILDREN -- Dear GOD: Please send me a pony. I never asked for anything before. You can look it up. ~~Bruce
WEVE HAD CHRISTIAN LEADERS SPEAKING UP
HERES WHAT RIGHT WING CONSERVATIVES ARE SAYING
As Things Fall Apart, Lie and Lie Again
Nothing to Fear But Bush Himself
Paul Craig Roberts, (a right wing conservative, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration, Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page, and Contributing Editor of National Review.)
Suppose you are the party responsible for invading a country under totally false pretences. Suppose you had totally unrealistic expectations about the consequences of your gratuitous aggression.
What do you do when, instead of being greeted with flowers, you find your army is tied down by insurgents and you have no face-saving way to get out of the morass? If you are the moronic Bush administration, you blame someone else.
Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Rice, Cheney and Bush blame Syria and Iran for the troubles they brought upon themselves. The Iraqi insurgency, say the Five Morons, is the fault of Syria and Iran.
"Partly it's[the insurgency, a function of what the Syrians and the Iranians are doing." Thats Rumsfeld excusing his dismal failures in Iraq.
You see, the facts that
- the US invaded Iraq on false pretences
- killed and maimed tens of thousands of Iraqis
- shot down women and children in the streets
- blew up Iraqis' homes, hospitals and mosques
- cut Iraqis off from vital services such as water and electricity
- destroyed the institutions of civil society
- left half the population without means of livelihood
- filled Saddams prisons with people picked up off the streets and then tortured and humiliated them for fun and games
are not facts that explain why there is an insurgency. These facts are just descriptions of collateral damage associated with America "bringing democracy to Iraq."
The insurgency, according to the Five Morons, is because Iraq and Iran won't close their borders, thus letting in "terrorists" who are responsible for the insurgency. Some might think that this accusation is an example of the pot calling the kettle black, coming as it does from the US, a country that has not only proven itself incapable of closing its own borders but also has demonstrated no respect whatsoever for the borders of other countries.
The Bush administration, which already held the world record as the most deluded government in history, has now taken denial to unprecedented highs by blaming Syria and Iran for its "Iraqi problem." Why didn't Americans realize that it is dangerous to put a buffoon in charge of the US government who hasn't a clue about the world around him, what he is doing, or the consequences of his actions?
Why is Secretary of State Rice trying to set Iran up for UN sanctions -- which the US can manipulate to justify invading another Muslim country -- when the US has proven to the world that it cannot occupy Baghdad, much less Iraq?
Are Iran and Syria going to quake in their boots after witnessing the success of a few thousand insurgents in tying down 8 US divisions? The bulk of the US force in Iraq is engaged in protecting its own bases and supply lines. It was all the generals could do to scrape up 10,000 Marines for their pointless assault on Fallujah.
What is the point of the Bush administration's bellicosity when it has been conclusively demonstrated that the US has insufficient troops to successfully occupy Iraq, much less Syria and Iran? The American people should be scared to death that they have put in power such deluded
people.
Are Americans going to fall for the same set of WMD lies a second time? Are Americans going to deliver up their sons, and perhaps daughters as well, to be drafted and sent to the Middle East to be killed and maimed for no American cause?
The US Treasury is empty. The once "almighty" dollar is tottering. The US military is stretched to the breaking point. Former allies look askance at America. Hatred of America has reached an all time high.
The Bush administration must bring its policies in line with its means before it leads our country into greater disaster. The Bush administration and its deluded sycophants must stop poking fun at "reality-based" experts and listen to a reality-based message.
There is no possibility of the US imposing its will on the Muslim world. By its behaviour the Bush administration is confirming Osama bin Laden's propaganda and breeding more terrorists. Much better to address the causes of Muslim discontent
>> now whos been saying this from day one?
America's enabling of the Israeli government's mistreatment and dispossession of the Palestinians, and America's export of "culture" that glorifies the sexual promiscuity of women.
>> forget that, Paul. its gotta be pay-back time to the arabs, flood them with relief for the 50 year american tsunami on them!
It does not serve America for Bush to impose Ariel Sharon's agenda on the Middle East. Bush's insane policy is producing rising anger that endangers Israel and America's puppet governments in Egypt, Jordan, and Pakistan along with the Saudi regime. Ironically, this is recognized by Egypt's Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah, who was unable to refrain from pointing out that Bush has managed to create a Shi'ite crescent from Iran to Lebanon.
What, King Abdullah wonders, will be the next unintended consequence of the moronic administration that the American people in their superior wisdom and virtue have seen fit to empower in Washington. "If our aim is to win against terrorism, we can't afford more instability in the area," warned the king prior to the ill-fated US invasion of Iraq. "It's the potential Armageddon of Iraq that worries all of us."
It should worry Americans, too.
UP! NOTES TO GOD, WRITTEN BY CHILDREN -- Dear GOD: I think the stapler is one of your greatest inventions. ~~Ruth
Moksha The In-Between Us
Crossover North European Folk tunes and Dirty Urban Dub, drawing on future and past, embracing the Urban Jungle and Ancient Fairyland, with oodles and oodles of celtic wildness.
Transcendance, of opposition, rising above the differences to see the bigger picture.... Moksha in fact. Moksha is Liberation.
'The forest would sing to us, and although it has disappeared, the ancient music in the branches and on the wind remaine... and these cities, our nests, were built upon the echoes. We still heard the timeless dancing melodies above the growling, buzzing beast. We were infused with both.'
"Pagan Dread, Fiddly Dub and Arabian Bluegrass from spacey instrumentals to pretty danceable floor-shakers!" The Source.
"RECORD OF THE WEEK. With music continuing to overlap, intertwine and evolve into new and unexplored forms, perhaps its never been a better time to create, distribute and enjoy the bewildering array of new and invigorating music. Of course, with the limited exposure available and the existing vice-like grip of the multinationals, it's quite difficult to hear much of this stuff. But dig deep and you'll be rewarded. One such band worth the effort are Moksha, made up of former members of Brighton bands including Mutagen, Pan and The Wild Turkey Brothers and featuring the inestimable duo of Ben Paley and Tab Hunter among their ranks, playing fiddle, clarinet, guitars and given the technical makeover by Tone Def. Deep Dub is fused with hallucinogenic folk to bewitching effect." The Latest.
http://www.mokshaproductions.com
UP! NOTES TO GOD, WRITTEN BY CHILDREN -- Dear GOD: I bet it is very hard for You to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it. ~~Nan
STONEHENGE FOREVER//FEEDBACK
thank you so so so much for dismembering that 'druid' character 'wiseowl' (hehe), he kinda missed the point somewhere down the line.... all that talk of 'sacred' and 'drug taking' in the same paragraph and he still didn't figure the link?! you said you saw him as an 'ally', i'm not so sure, a fascist in a white sheet is still a fascist in my books. I was reminded of the seagulls from 'Finding Nemo', but this time all standing around the stones:-
"mine"
"mine"
"MINE"
oh, and the last time i checked, the glastonbury stones looked alright and they get a great deal 'heavier' treatment. stay off the grass don't climb on stones do what i tell you.
At any given time in any given society there are 3 distinct types
1 - bastards - they who own.
2 - sheep - they who sleep.
3 - wreckers - they who woke up owning nothing.
>> and Evolutionaries - they who woke up owning nothing, grokked the situation, and dedicated themselves to living high spiritual lives while working/playing to accelerate societys evolution to the next phase in which theyre already living.
Anyway i want to be a mini-bonobo human living a super speeded up life!
scott farrant, UK.
up!
>> I find this deeply offensive! What on earth is he talking about?!! Is a white robe a uniform now?
> well, yes, actually.
No more so than the distinctive costume that marks out new agers and other people with an alternative lifestyle.
>> thats a bit of an overstatement wouldnt u say?
> i thot this would bring out a few 'druids' from under the stones can i ask u one question? r u a dentist?
No- but if you know a good one on the NHS, can I have his name please? LOL!
>> see under DENTISTRY
> why do i ask? because when am talking to people like willy i usually describe u so-called druids as "a bunch middle class accountants & dentists". be honest, am i right?
Not the ones I know - unless Arthur's taken up dentistry! But I'm always suspicious of such rampant reverse-snobbery - methinks you may protest too much?!
>> its not that, honest. ive just learned in my bones that when any revolution gets to the crunch the middle class yuppy element cop out and automatically support the queen.
>> What act of the druids (individually or jointly) is he intent on resisting?
I'd still like to know!
>> it has become impossible to hold any kind of ceremony in the stones that night as the centre of the circle is generally monopolised by a large group of squatters for a drunken drumming party and no-one else can squeeze in. So if anyone should feel aggrieved it's the druids! But in fact, we simply hold our ceremonies some other place or some other time, and accept that for us, Stonehenge at Solstice is no longer a sacred space.
> definitions of sacred required here.
'henged'-around - not necessarily physically. A sphere of space of any size with a positively-charged spiritual atmosphere which is cleared for ritual use.
>> exchange his glass bottle for a plastic one
> now THATS a good idea. would the druids be prepared to practise such humility to protect the sacred spot? or r u content to just show up in your dentists cars , do your thing with the blessing of the state which kills iraqis daily, and drive home to watch yourselves on tv?
True Druids, who can be judged by their actions, not how loud their mouths are, do these things on a daily basis. If I could find a dentist, I doubt he'd lend me his car, and I don't watch tv. But these fashionable digs at druids don't bother me too much.
>> fashionable, huh? inneresting way to see it.
The accusation that DRUIDS BLESS THE STATE DOES!! Most of us have marched and protested against Tony Blair, George Bush and their unholy alliance, as well as supporting protests such as the Greenham women, the Dongas tribe and the Newbury by-pass. You probably didn't notice - not all druids leap at tv cameras shouting 'Look at me- I'm a Druid!'
>> get down from on top of one of the Trilithons,
> oh the stones can handle it.
No they can't - the last one fell in 1956. However this may have been their way of handling it, in which case I suppose you might prefer to be the one on top who caused it rather than the poor buggers underneath!
>> not to pour lager on the stones or some such reasonable request!
>> am not aware that mead damages the stones.
Any chemical damages the surface of the stones, including wax and alcohol. It also kills off the lichen which although a lowly lifeform deserve better and are very rare, only occurring on the sarsens of Salisbury Plain.
> its not the bluddy stones that are sacred, its the ancient forcefield around them from the millennia of shamanic celebrations thatve gone on there thats sacred.
I agree - but not every drunken bum is a shaman and not every celebration that has a drum or two in it is shamanic. You may think druids are phoney. I think much the same of so-called shamans. I know only one or two who truly walk between the worlds - the rest just get swept uncontrollably away by drugs and booze.
>> u r making them opposites when, in reality, the drunken drummer are wannabe shamans whove lost their way. i dont like them either but i try and see them more as people who at least are TRYING to break out of the present consensual reality.
There are numbers of those who turn up on solstice at Stonehenge who really don't give a shit for the stones or the place - to them it's just an excuse to get pissed and put the finger up to anyone in authority, or anyone who disagrees with their self-given right to get rat-arsed.
>> not many turn up at the stones. u have to make an effort to get there. they may treat the event as more of a social ting, or a party ting. the truth is its all part of it. but i do agree that we dont want the out-of-its to dominate.
> its those very urban types who MOST need the touch of pagan revelry that the stones encapsulate.
Yes they do - but most just settle for the revelry and leave the Paganism out of it.
>> revelry is a large part of paganism.
They think Pagan is a way of saying they don't belong to organised religion and can do their own thing, but I don't see much reverence for the Gods in drinking to excess and puking in the place you claim to hold sacred.
> i suggest you forget whatever Druid Introductory Course youve paid for and realise that Stonehenge represents an ancient deepgreen shamanic lifestyle that a quick car ride and a little careening in clean white sheets scarcely touches.
I've been studying druidry for nearly thirty years and I'm still learning. And I've learned that Stonehenge represents no such thing. It represents the labour, wealth and dedication over many years of those who built it, who were neither druid nor shaman, and who designed it to align to the sun and stars to mark important seasons in the work of their community.
>> under-and inner-standing weather patterns is a basic skill of any shaman. i note that they werent druid
I doubt they would recognise anything that any of us do in the stones as part of their original purpose. The 'deepgreen shamanic lifestyle' to which you are referring is represented by the free festivals which used to be held near the stones and as long as there was a festival and it was free, I doubt most people would care where it was. PS You're welcome to come and try one of our little ceremonies in 'clean white sheets' anytime, Fraser! You might even like it!
>> i think u are quite wrong about all that. i think, after being shocked by our urban mazes, theyd recognise it instantly and feel right at home, and would have at the stonehenge free festi.
> hope this is not sounding too negative since obviously you druids are closer to being our allies than the vast majority of those other SUN© worshippers
You better believe it! Stop knocking druids out of prejudice! Come and meet some!
Wiseowl /|\
>> hey, very nice! i vastly underestimated you. thanks for being more than big enuff not to get riled by some of my cracks
up!
Hi Fraser,
Someone subscribed me to the UP! recently and how glad I am - it's excellent.
A few thoughts on Stonehenge:
Not all Druids are 'a bunch of middle class accountants and dentists'. The Druids at Stonehenge come in many forms. These include:
- The Ancient Druid Order, who may well fit your bill these days, but who were the original agitators for solstice access after the first fence was raised around Stonehenge in 1901.
- The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, founded in 1964 after a schism in the Ancient Druid Order, who abandoned Stonehenge on a point of principle after members of the public were prevented by the authorities from attending the solstice in the early 1960s.
>> the original donor having stipulated full public access.
A number of newer Orders, whose founders were part of the Stonehenge Free Festivals' vast congregation, and who campaigned for open access to Stonehenge after the festival was brutally suppressed at the Battle of the Beanfield in 1985,
>> which i always refer to as the Beanfield Massacre a more accurate description, despite how half a dozen hardened mushy & special brew nuts might have told it in the pub that night
in particular Arthur Pendragon's Loyal Arthurian Warband, the Secular Order and the Glastonbury Order.
For a detailed account of Stonehenge's social history, including the Druids, the free festivals, the Battle of the Beanfield, the exclusion zone, and allied themes including the underground rave scene, the road protest movement and the significance of Avebury, readers of UP! may like to check out my book Stonehenge: Celebration and Subversion, published last year and described by John Hodge of SchNEWS as 'the best bit of modern British social history I've seen': www.hoap.co.uk/alternative.htm
All the best,
Andy Worthington, London
up!
Farewell, Stonehenge of the Mind,
Another Cloud of Glory Left Behind
"There once was a Fayre that was fair and free "
"By thy long grey hair and mushrheumy eye, why therefore stoppeth thou me?"
"Oh, don't turn your back, I was once your pal in the days of the Stonehenge Festival.
And he was my bro' and she was my sis, every Solstice.
Listen.
When their satellite spies, in drag disguise,
announced to their killers in PC99 disguise:
Convoy! Convoy!
Then, oh boy, what joy on some cops' faces.
'Stern laws must be strongly backed!'
yelled a voice from the skies.
Soft heads should be neatly cracked.
Spill out the Enemy Within, you guys,
upon this Has-Bean Field!'
Then that Riot of Christians overran
the peaceful, far-from-perfect Pagan caravan
Of hustlers and shamans and pots and pans,
kids and dogs, Princes and Frogs,
Tipis, bendovers, gypsy rovers, hippies, outlaws, divine flaws,
Visions and faints and unwashed saints, babies and bells and exotic smells,
Love songs and battle cries, hot knives, fags and tribal flags,
And goddesses with glittering eyes.
Seeking to Re-Connect with God
is just another bust to the Special Squad.
So, Thought Police and New Age Lovers
underground and under-covers,
Shout at the stars, blame it on Mars, or drown it in bars. It won't get you far as
Those slaves of the Moon
have banished the longest day.
Perhaps it's the price you pay
for being born too soon?
Yes, they've taken it all away, and every newspaper say
it's true: STONES ARE BAD FOR YOU.
Oh, thankye, thankye, Mrs Thaatchi,
the poor, loveless wretch, she's
returned me my Poet's voice - now a shout
and given me something to rage about:
HATE IS THE '80s!
fraser clark, wotever year it was
up!
re. l'affaire ken. i was tempted to write a scathing letter to the jewish board of deputies. bloody zionists! the poison at the heart of the land of israel. nothing wrong with israel, or the jews, i love em! but those zionists need putting in a space ship and firing into space, one way. now theres an image for u!
as regards ken... it is still possible to 'love' him... right or wrong. correck or not, he still seems to be.. 'our ken.'
brian x, shepherds bush, london.
UP!
The Land Question
&
The Community Land Trust Movement
"We abuse the land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect." Aldo Leopold, 1949.
If our goal is to create vibrant local economies and the local institutions that support them, what is the role of land in such economies? Robert Swann, founder of the E. F. Schumacher Society, argued that land should not be treated as a commodity that is bought and sold but rather should be held in trust by the regional community, and access to land should be via social contract not market forces. To implement his ideas, Bob shaped the Community Land Trust movement that began in 1967.
A Community Land Trust is a form of common land ownership with a charter based on the principles of sustainable and ecologically sound stewardship and use. The central principle of the Community Land Trust is that homes, barns, fences, gardens, and all things done with or on the land should be owned by the individuals creating them, but the land itself - a limited community resource - should be owned by the community as a whole.
A Community Land Trust takes land off the speculative market and places it in a regional, membership-based, nonprofit corporation. The decentralist Ralph Borsodi, a mentor of Bob Swann, called land speculation "legal robbery." Henry George, the 19th century American economist, pointed to this ability to derive "unearned increment" from the land as the major economic cause of the increasing discrepancy between rich and poor. In his book "Progress and Poverty," George shows how the ability to monopolise land, which all people need access to for housing and earning a living, can create an illusion of progress. At the same time the rising
rents, which build prosperity for a few, lead to increased poverty for others.
Since the public at large creates the value in land because of a need to use it, it is the public at large that is being "robbed" when an individual is allowed to pocket the unearned increment. Borsodi distinguished what was created with human effort from what was naturally given as a common inheritance, and he suggested that land as well as natural resources should be held in trust for the common good.
Practicalities
The Community Land Trust's primary function is to buy or accept gifts of land and lease it back to members under a 99-year lease that is inheritable and automatically renewable. Through the 99-year land lease, the trust removes land from the speculative market and facilitates multiple uses such as affordable housing, agriculture, and open-space preservation. Part of this process is to determine - in conjunction with land use planners, local government, and the community at large - the most appropriate use or uses for a given parcel of land, be it a wildlife refuge, a group of houses, a managed woodlot, a commercial development, or vegetables grown for the local market.
As Bob Swann pointed out, "A Community Land Trust can be used as a holding mechanism for all sizes and tracts of land. Some tracts may be large enough to build entire new towns (large or small) or simply be used as farms or as conservation tracts. Because large segments of land are held as a unit, the trust can utilise the greatest flexibility in planning, taking account of the ecological and social characteristics of the entire region."
The legal framework for Community Land Trusts is well established, providing a way for concerned citizens, working together, to create solutions to the problem of the high cost of land for affordable housing, farming, and local businesses in their region.
Since 1980 the E. F. Schumacher Society has assisted Community Land Trust initiatives around the country, including the Community Land Trust in the Southern Berkshires. As part of this process, Schumacher staff members have developed a how-to handbook for Community Land Trust organizers. It contains background materials and model legal documents used in the innovative community partnership to save Indian Line Farm, the first Community Supported Agriculture farm in the US, and in the creation of Forest Row, a neighbourhood of 18 homes clustered in a mix of multiple and single units on 21 acres in Great Barrington. The E. F. Schumacher Society's office and Library are located on a third site held by the Community Land Trust in the Southern Berkshires on the slopes of Jug End Mountain.
You can access this handbook at
http://www.smallisbeautiful.org/frameset_land.html
These documents should be reviewed by a lawyer in your own region before using, but they serve as an important blueprint for action.
UP! NOTES TO GOD, WRITTEN BY CHILDREN -- Dear GOD: Maybe Cain and Abel would not kill each other so much if they had their own rooms. It worked with my brother. ~~Larry
Black Shirts//FEEDBACK
Thee best rock 'n' roll is created by messed up teens (show me a teen that isn't) and as such has all the requisite lame-assed rebellion and taboo transgressing voodoo attached. For the vast majority of these bands, being on stage is Carnival; like joy-riding or Vodka and Red-Bull. It doesn't mean all that much.
We all know you don't invoke and invite the DARK (as opposed to last year's models; The Darkness), unless you're death-tripping and/or a plank. But cut the kidz some slack man!
As for U2 being good for the planet, on the contrary, they are more than beneficial for their manager's Coke habit. Doom-Brain. Was it a millionaire who said 'Imagine no Possessions?'.
Listen to Sonny Boy Williamson-Live-and puke up yer spine---
andrew copeman, Thee Copeman-Gated Community
up!
Guys, sorry to disappoint you both, but rocknroll never stopped, and nor did its predecessor, rhythm'n'blues,
>> and sinatra shit and elvis. everything nowadays persists indefinitely and u will definitely see punk grannies but that dont mean its relevant anymore.
and neither have any of the many children that followed. If you were listening in the wrong way and to the wrong things, what can I say? You missed it!
It's about fun, entertainment - what is cool right now.
>> some of that, yeah, but music, like any real Art, is mainly about raising consciousness and community spirit. most of it, as u say, never rises above entertainment.
The rest is complete bullshit, and you can take that from someone who is in the music business, and is a composer, lyricist, arranger, producer, guitarist, bassist, synth player, midi programmer, disk jockey once.
>> actually someone so involved in the music business might be the LAST person id take the word of last time i did that i was ripped off for about £10,000. am sure you are not like that, but defending a bunch of sociopaths whove turned music into a commercial commodity in slip packs is not a good ad for u.
Maybe the only way you can feel it is if you are part of it. To an extent, the rest of you are merely spectators.
>> other way round actually.
If you have a better idea, then do it. That's what the rest of us in the game have to do. Either that, or face the fact you have no imagination.
If I criticise, it's because I know how a certain thing could have been done a whole lot better. If I listen, I can't afford to have any preconceptions or biases, because this in part is what my job depends on. I bet I'm far, far more open than either of you.
>> the problem with the music business is that its far TOO open but to all the wrong shit.
Could you judge the performance of an orchestra on a piece of classical music? Or judge the worth of some jazz music from some far-off place by people you'd never heard of? Do you need somebody to tell you what you should be listening to?
You might not know this, but musicians are a sort of 'masonry'. There are certain things you have to say, certain gestures... It's a club. If you're not a musician, you won't understand this. If you are, it's all a question of pecking order and... musician stuff! We live in a world where it's OK to play reggae today and death metal tomorrow. Where we know it's about imagination (that and the guy with the TALENT that's gonna send this whole thing into orbit... ).
>> look, jerry, Music was stolen from the people by Tin Pan Alley and was in the hands of the Music Masonry and the Singer Songwriters Cult who would play their game until Rave came along. what did Rave do? it put the Music back in the feet of the People. we dont need any more balladeers. we need War Dances, community participation. the ballads come later when the revolutions been won.
You have to have been there. That godawful song I couldn't find the lyric for... It sounded great before you mixed it... You are not seriously gonna play those bongos (piano accordion, tin whistle...) on this track... I will make them bleed from the ears... this BC Rich goes straight from the pre-amp to the mix-desk... (devastation!!!)... these fuckheads will never share a stage with us... kill..kill....exterminate...exterminate...
Get real, guys! You have been looking at the fine print and missed the essential message.
Jerry - Brescia, Italy
>> more like youve spent too long reading the small print in music business contracts but never mind, like ken says, YOURE getting paid for it!
up!
Like the structure of AMIRAQA, Frase, just that its a bit too close to Jamiroquai, who are quite inoffensive, really.
Keep up the good work,
uk.
UP! NOTES TO GOD, WRITTEN BY CHILDREN -- Dear GOD: I didn't think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset you made on Tuesday. That was cool. ~~Sara
DENTISTRY//FEEDBACK
Hi Fraser,
Thanks for raising the subject of dentistry, a subject very close to my heart (and even closer to my mouth) since I had the misfortune to have my two front teeth knocked out 20 years ago. As a result of the gradual deterioration of the neighbouring teeth, I have had the misfortune to need the services of a couple of dozen different dentists since the event, and spent far more time in the dentists chair than most.
These relationships have usually been extremely brief, because of the low level of competence and high level of greed demonstrated by most of the dentists I have seen, coupled with an insufferable arrogance and lack of concern for or interest in the patient.
Most noteworthy included the dentist who smoked while fixing my teeth, the guy who forgot why I was there and started a different course of treatment halfway through, the one who chatted pleasantly to me oblivious to the damage she was doing to my mouth while I bled and screamed in pain, and the one who threw me out when I started to question why he was taking (and charging me for) so many X-rays.
A few years back I was extremely lucky to find a dentist whos good at what he does and actually cares. Funnily enough, hes Irish.
>> whys that funny? is there a joke i dont know? anything is better than an ozzy thats for sure!
did u hear about the irishman who went into a library and loudly ordered fish and chips? when the lady librarian replied in a hushed voice This is a library, sir , he whispered back to her: Oh sorry. then, lowering his voice even further, and cupping his mouth (dental connection see?!) he whispered: Could I have some fish and chips now please?
He has resolutely resisted all the temptations to leave the NHS, and works at an unbelievable rate so he can get through maximum patients to make cheaper dentistry available to maximum people. He consults me about my treatment, tells me exactly what hes doing and actively works to reduce the cost of the treatment. I dont know how he makes a living on what he charges. And he sings Irish folk songs while he works.
Recently I have turned my sights overseas after discovering I need dental implants, which my dentist admitted he didnt know how to do (how many other dentists would have read it up in a book and given it a go?). Several other British dentists told me Id need a bone transplant to have implants because a lot of bone has been lost in the whole palaver. I was quoted £6000 for the job.
A dental service in Budapest (http://www.kreativdent.co.uk/ ) quoted me £2500, INCLUDING ARRANGING HOTELS FOR ME, PICKING ME UP AT THE AIRPORT, AND GIVING ME A 3-DAY TRAVEL PASS. The work wasnt done by a dentist whod been on a day course in implantology, as it would be in the UK, but by a professional implantologist working out of the main Budapest hospital who also lectures in implantology at the university. The level of equipment and patient care was exceptional. They decided, unfortunately, they couldnt do the work, but they gave me a lift back to the airport, all the X-rays theyd taken - and didnt charge me a penny!
Im now having the work done in Italy (http://www.digiulio.co.uk), where its not only cheaper than the UK (tho not as cheap as Budapest), but the works being done through a technique pioneered over 30 years specialist experience by the team there, in a 3-storey purpose-built dental hospital. The dentists were truly professional, treated me like a human being, and even had a bit of a joke and a laugh with me, despite the language difficulties.
Whats been peculiarly inneresting has been the reaction of Brits to the news that Im getting my treatment abroad. Those with severe tooth problems have wished me luck, everyone else thinks Im mad! The misplaced arrogance of the British, thinking were best at everything! Even my doctor wondered if they werent a bunch of cowboys, as if Italy was a 3rd-world country or something!
Most amusing of all, after my son in his excitement at one of his presents accidentally head-butted the temporary crown from my mouth I had to visit my local health centres emergency service over Xmas. The dentist there got all huffy when he heard I was going to Milan for the treatment. He assured me there were plenty of competent implantologists in the UK, and that they even did bone grafts in his surgery, where it was almost routine . Meanwhile he couldnt find the proper cement to stick the crown back in, then bodged it with temporary filling mixture which didnt fit and fell out again a half hour later. Apparently he saw no irony about doing such a crap job in the same session he was lecturing me on the superiority of British dentistry!
I think Ill be trusting any major dental work to foreign dentists for some time to come now, and I would urge anyone with major problems to do the same.
Muzz, Southampton
>> how far can we take this in a serious magazine, eh?
what do u call major, muzz? me, i gave up dentists 5 years ago, deciding to keep my stumps and harden them up till i can chew on them. well, slowly the old fillings fell out till there were only the 4 remaining walls, most of which fell out etc. but i learned to chew with them fine, and i had 5 full teeth at the front so my smile was intact more or less. then a couple of small fillings fell out of the back of those front teeth and, after not bothering with it for a year, i decided to go have them filled in case it was encouraging decay. the bluddy dentist drilled a huge hole at the back and 2 days later that cracked. i went back and he drilled that out and refilled it and 3 days after that i was chewing (big muesli admittedly) and the tooth came right out! so now i have a huge gap in my front top smile with 2 fine teeth on each side of it. if id stayed away from dentists i coulda had that perfect smile another 5 or 10 years! but now he has me by the short roots!
so all i need is for that gap to be filled in some way and maybe another false tooth beside the front 5 so i can smile more broadly. is that major? now my dentist is pretty much telling me he cant do anything without pulling out all my little roots and stubs (which long ago stopped bothering me, i think all that drilling had been upsetting my mouth ecology, honest i do)
suggestions? have been calling the dental universities to see if they have the latest techniques..
UP!
Hello,
This is not an unsubscribe request, but i have got to say that until yesterday you were really annoying me, and then i read one of your emails and went to some of the links, particularly the ones about the guy in Iraq reporting from the ground. Brought it all home. I've never been an activist type cos i haven't the head for politics, but those articles really hit home cos they are about people, and that means a whole lot more. Found it shocking, and shed many a tear last night, couldn't believe what i was reading.
Thanks for that; what one does beyond that, i dont know...
Keep up the good work!
Bless,
Alan O'Rourke, Ireland.
Reporting from Ireland (the new Americanised Version)
>> its letters like this which make it all worthwhile to moi! in terms of what u can do, alan, start sending the info to other friends and contacts who should know about what theyre paying for.
UP!
a l l g o o d t h i n g s c o m e t o a n e n d
which don't justify nuttin'
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// TAKE OVER!
I found what I was reading in the UP! shocking, and shed many a tear last night, couldn't believe what i was reading. Alan O'Rourke, Ireland.
UP! NOTES TO GOD, WRITTEN BY CHILDREN -- Dear GOD: Instead of letting people die and having to make new ones, why don't you just keep the ones you have? ~~Johnny
(\o/)(\o/)(\o/)(\o/)(\o/)(\o/)
u cant understand the world without innerstanding yourself
UP! 225// march 2, 2005
la- la- la- lap-toppling da system!
u cant innerstand yourself without understanding the world
(\o/)(\o/)(\o/)(\o/)(\o/)(\o/)
contents
p.02 ive (finally?) decided i HATE tony blair
- fraserp.04 Hariri Killed To Make a 'Clean Break'
p.06 Ecstasy Trials For Combat Stress//FEEDBACK
p.08 The Kids Are All Smoking MaryJane! Now It Looks Like The Oldies Should Be Attit Too!
p.09 RIGHT WING CONSERVATIVES SPEAK UP! As Things Fall Apart, Lie and Lie Again // Nothing to Fear But Bush Himself
p.11 STONEHENGE FOREVER//FEEDBACK
p.15 The Community Land Trust Movement
p.17 Black Shirts//FEEDBACK musicians go nuts!
p.18 DENTISTRY//FEEDBACK a national scandal?
UP!
Kerry/Edwards File More Ohio Election Motions
http://forum.truthout.org/blog/story/2005/2/24/183243/756
UP! NOTES TO GOD, WRITTEN BY CHILDREN -- Dear GOD: Are You really invisible or is it just a trick? ~~Lucy
The Hospital Plague:
SUPERSTEPHS KILLING 100 PEOPLE
EVERY WEEK IN BRITISH HOSPITALS!
DOCTORS ACCUSED OF COVER-UP!
955 cases are shown on death certificates, but the true number is nearly 5000 a year !!! Dr Mark Enright, Bath University. [Daily Mirror, Feb 25.]
UP!
`When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. And, as an older man, I tried to change my family.
Now, as an old man, I realise the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realise that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family, and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could, indeed, have changed the world.' Unknown monk, 1100AD.
UP! NOTES TO GOD, WRITTEN BY CHILDREN -- Dear GOD: Did You mean for the giraffe to look like that or was it an accident? ~~Norma
\)))))((/
__,,,,_ {ô¿ô}_,,,,__
ive (finally?) decided i HATE tony blair.
NOT because hes such an actor and spins all his arguments, i expect no more from a current politician and hes only the best at it.
no, what i HATE about tony blair is his picture of the world, or, rather, that he truly believes in that picture. tony blair truly believes in what hes doing. tony blair truly believes it was the right thing to go to war, and he truly believes that all the lying was for the best in the long run. hes NOT lying when he says he truly believed the weapons existed. and hes NOT lying when he says he truly believes that it was all for the good anyway.
tony blair truly believes in the american way forward (as opposed to the european social model, say). he truly believes that western civilisation is in a class above anything else around, both in terms of morality and consciousness of the facts of life. he truly believes that we must help the rest of the world to be like us, and part of our system, and truly believes that such would be a more or less unmitigated good for them. he truly believes that corporations are inevitable and essential. he truly believes that science is mankinds best hope (in opposition, say, to seeing that its equally our greatest threat, like everything else he truly believes in).
in short, he truly believes in the capitalist system of competition from cradle to grave and that that brings out the best in people. and, whether he ever had any socialist leanings or not, he now truly believes that the class system is here for the rest of his lifetime and hes gonna be up there.
i HATE him and the picture of life he truly believes in. if only he would ONCE stop and take a good look instead of rushing off to the gym to force his body to do what his head truly believes is good for it.
like with any fundamentalist or true believer, the very unquestioning is what does the damage, sails him over the complexities, makes him overlook the asymmetrical fallout, ignore the hydra heads hes causing with every initiative, and urges him onwards with his faith unshaken or unquestioned.
as david icke so astutely said, way back when tony blair was being generally accused of having no convictions and following every pollster, he is very very dangerous precisely because he truly believes in the powers that be. making him, as icke pointed out, the perfect tool of those shadowy zillionaires (or Bilderberger at least) who try to run our world for us (or against us).
tony blairs character gives unquestioning deference to the current powers whatever they happen to be. he never questions that they might have been quite different 20 years from now or even 20 years before or a hundred, he doesnt have doubts because he sincerely and unquestioningly and truly believes that our side has always been, if not right, then at least better than anything else available at the time. any time.
whether george bush convinced him, or more likely encouraged him to believe in the very dodgy things he actually did secretly always unquestionably believe in, is actually immaterial. tony blair is a very dangerous man, and is having a very bad effect on poltics, encouraging all the worst aspects of the politicians below him its amazing how few have actually spotted it. and we can only hope that nothing Huge comes up because he will charge in there again, you can trust tony on that!
and when george starts (as he already has) taking us deeper into chaos and disaster, tony blair will back him again. be truly believes God is on His Side whatever the action is just as long as he truly believes in it! (thats how he thinks).
UP!
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TEXT JOCKEY // TJ PHRASER (Fraser Clark) & THE MEDIA EVOLUTION
MIXING THE TRACTS LIVE ON THE KEYBOARD
@ A MEDIA-MEME RATE OF 160 IPP *
* Ideas Per Paragraph
TO SUBSCRIBE SOMEONE, WRITE I wanna get UP! TO fraser@parallel-youniversity.com
TO UNSUBSCRIBE, HIT REPLY WITH REMOVE IN THE SUBJECT BOX
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A MONTH AGO MOST PEOPLE NEVER HEARD OF SYRIAN FORCES IN LEBANON
SUDDENLY EVERYONE IN THE WEST SEES SYRIA AS A DEMON.
CAN PEOPLE REEEEALLY BE SO STUPID?!
NO, BUT THEYRE UP! AGAINST A HUGELY CONTROLLED MASS MEDIA
Hariri Killed To Make a 'Clean Break'
Executive Intelligence Review, Feb 25.
by Muriel Mirak-Weissbach
The assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, in Beirut on St Valentines Day, was a carefully planned and executed act, geared to trigger a chain reaction of events in the region that would conform with the long-standing policy of the neo-conservative junta running Washington.
To understand the why of the assassination - although the who remains unclear - one must look back at now-Vice President Dick Cheneys 1996 policy paper prepared by his neo-con task force of Richard Perle, Doug Feith, David and Meyrav Wurmser, et al. "Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm" outlined a scenario whereby the 1993 Oslo Accords would be torn to shreds, and, first Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Hezbollah, and Iran, would be targeted for military assault and political destabilisation.
It flatly stated that Israel should engage "Hezbollah, Syria, and Iran, as the principal agents of aggression in Lebanon, including by
- striking Syrian military targets in Lebanon
- establishing the precedent that Syrian territory is not immune to attacks emanating from Lebanon by Israeli proxy forces
- should that prove insufficient, striking at select targets in Syria proper."
Furthermore, it said, Israel should divert "Syria's attention by using Lebanese opposition elements to destabilise Syrian control of Lebanon."
>> all those people on the street in Lebanon with their brand new expensive looking flags.
The paper also called for focusing on "removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq...."
The outcome of the regional convulsions provoked by the "Clean Break" doctrine, was to be a new Middle East, with Israel hegemonic in the region, presiding over a series of newly balkanised states, run by puppet regimes. The Bush Administration has recently restated its intention to pick off these governments, dubbed "outposts of tyranny," one by one. The order in which they were to be hit was assumed to start with Iran. Instead, Syria was moved into first place.
The reason? According to one regional expert, if Iran were attacked militarily by the US or Israel, the Islamic Republic would respond asymmetrically, unleashing allied and sympathetic Shi'ite forces in the Persian Gulf and in Lebanon: Hezbollah's capabilities to target Israel could be effectively deployed. Thus, the source said, the need to eliminate the Lebanese-based Shi'ite Hezbollah as a factor, and at the same time neutralise Syria, before moving against Tehran.
The stage for the immediate destabilisation was set diplomatically by UN Resolution 1559, presented last September by the U.S. and France together, and at the forefront of recent discussions between Secretary of State Condolezza Rice and French President Jacques Chirac. The Resolution demands the termination of the Syrian presence in Lebanon (estimated to be 15,000 troops) and the disarming of the Hezbollah. Instead of mounting an Israeli assault directly on Syria - which would have provoked an international outcry - a flanking operation was launched, with a terrorist act that would trigger mass forces on the ground to move against the Syrian presence.
Thus, the assassination of Hariri.
http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2005/3208hariri_killed.html
>> i even have a slow witted friend who thinks america is trying to help in the middle east! i wont name him to save him embarrassment.
UP!
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the UP! is a global edutainment round-up, broadcast weekly to =[13,461]=
Alternative// Activist// Zippy// Trance// New Age// Peace folks
recommended to the Parallel YOUniversity// Megatripolis Dance Dept as
"showing signs of life".
Since recipients forward it widely to their own lists & sites,
we conservatively estimate 50,000+ direct recipients.
A further 40,000 read it on the YOUniversity's site.
And, because of its 'mix' of 'specialist' & 'general' content,
it's increasingly being posted on a variety of sites worldwide,
making an estimated total weekly readership of =[275,000]=
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I know I'm exceptionally dumb, but I thought the whole point of cyberspace was that it's a total anarchy. This website is in actual fact the Independent Anarchist State of Fraser where one is permitted to discuss any topic under the sun, rant total garbage from a virtual soapbox, call oneself by any name one chooses, espouse any halfwit cause for just the time it takes to write it down, or even, just be laid back and keep one's opinions to oneself.
What more could you wish for?
Jerry, Paris from the GroupMind Discussion Board.
UP! NOTES TO GOD, WRITTEN BY CHILDREN -- Dear GOD: I read the Bible. What does "beget" mean? Nobody will tell me. ~~Love, Alison
oh my............. i hope the website is not out of date, is the warp experience really running again???????? that was the most enchanting experience of my life to date to have the opportunity to glimpse those magical happenings in such a wonderful atmosphere and company again would be a dream come true!!
is it true?
love,
Chris, London.
>> r u sitting down, chris? the web site is out of date. by several years
UP!
INDIGO WORLD
Just discovered the idea of indigo children maybe 2-3 weeks ago when someone said my son (5, diagnosed severe autism) seemed like an indigo child. So I looked into it... and actually from the characteristics, he seems to me to be more a crystal. He can barely SAY a word, but he talks to trees, to plants (at 3 he was in charge or taking care of my mother in law's orchid and violet collection!), and he has this skill his therapists say seems like he was born with an internal GPS system.
When he wants to get somewhere and doesn't know the way, he gets down on one knee, puts his palm flat on the ground and gets this far off look on his face. Then he gets up and without looking at signs, buildings, landmarks... heads straight for where he wants to go.
I've even tried taking him to places he's not familiar with... and he knows his way back (or his way to McDonalds
). He has these psychic like episodes (and communicating with me mentally so I always know what he wants/what's in his head even if he can't speak) like indigo kids but he's not at all ADHD or violent. He's gentle, caring cooperative, and affectionate. You can see it in his eyes... people are always commenting on them."Mary, a 30 yr old mom/artist/writer from NY.
UP! NOTES TO GOD, WRITTEN BY CHILDREN -- Dear GOD: Thank you for the baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy. ~~Joyce
Ecstasy Trials For Combat Stress//FEEDBACK
I've been following this story with some interest, however I do wish you'd do a piece on responsible drug taking.
The quote you chose: "Dr Mithoefer said the MDMA helped people discuss traumatic situations without triggering anxiety , and your subsequent comments: ">>u heard it! the doctor says take this E itll help to you look at your fears with equanimity" try to make it seem all so effortless and simple.
>> not quite fair. yes, i talk positively about the magnificent potential of these allies and even how i doubt the world can change itself in time without their application, but i dont TRY to downplay the dangers. i assume that people hear all the problems daily. yes? whats needed, in fact, is MORE WARNINGS about what will go on happening to the world without them!
What you didn't report was the flip side of this, here's a quote from Rick Doblin, the founder and head of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, which funds the Harvard research:
"Some people who take ecstasy in clubs break through emotional barriers to memories of childhood or other abuse. Deliberately suppressing these feelings if they feel unable to talk about them with their friends at the time can then make the situation worse. "
Good sources:
http://www.maps.org/mdma/
http://www.drugpolicy.org
Ok if you're lucky then you find a 'friend,' but you and i both know clubbing/festivals and the like, it doesn't always work like that. There are also 'predators' out there looking for the doped up for whatever twisted reason. Not many thankfully, but enough to not take a cavalier attitude.
>> what youre really saying is that ITS A DISGRACE AND AN ONGOING TRAGIC SCANDAL that properly equipped and manned consciousness labs are not only unavailable theyre actually ILLEGAL!
of course i take your general point, scott, course i do. but please see mine: young people get so many fears plied to them that i hate to add to them. and, on the whole, you dont have to be SO lucky to find a friend
i hear what u say about predators but the only ones ive personally noticed were those christians whom michael eavis allowed into Glastonbury some years back, and they were found predating on young trippers with insinuations about the Devil and inviting them back to their big marquee for some spiritual teaching.
i know rick doblin, quote him in ALLIES From the Great Apes to Hemp Farms on Mars but, as ive said to him more than once, hes chosen the role of responsible scientist etc. (and thank god cos someone has to do it!) but that aint my role nor one id ever choose. when u start emitting a climate of fear around drugs youve really bought into the fear-making yourself, and u can start playing fears game. the ancient allies (and the new ones too) are not FEARSOME, but they ARE Powerful, and (now i say it) THEY DEMAND FULL RESPECT. hear that everyone? approach them with total respect.
Now here's what I think is a good example of responsible drug use. In one of the Ayahuasca ceremonies I took part in (amazon region) was a 13 year old girl whod reached 'age' and so her father had taken her along, now she and everyone else at that ceremony had a 'minder' who remained sober to watch over them (I'm glad mine was there 'cos i wanted to wander off into the jungle with the little people).
>> a good minder should have gone with you. nothing wrong AT ALL with looking for the little people. indeed it sounds to me like maybe they were calling you and thats what you should have done. but your point is brilliant: Minders On The National Health!
OK, so on the party path you may not be able to have a sober minder, but at least make people think about watching out for each other and having a 'buddy' to specifically watch for, and a meeting spot if you get lost, and all the useful things that help make tripping so much fun. I remember my first (LSD) trip back when i was a teen (20 years ago alas
) and I was very pleased to have good friends around who stuck with me through it. You must remember its an awesome experience for the first time.>> actually i would NEVER advise first time acid tripping in any club! u need to do that safe at home with or without a good friend or guide, but one handy on the phone.
So anyway don't think i'm a detractor of drug use, since the age of about 13 and still now I think (certain) drugs are fantastic, it's just if you've seen the dark-side of trip land (and im sure you have) it's good to warn others to play safe and enjoy. Do you really know who reads the UP!? I'm sure you wouldn't want any Karmic muck ups by encouraging people to take drugs in the wrong setting would you.
>> i dont encourage anyone to do anything. i present information and ideas and my opinions and listeners make of it what they will or are ready for. a frank, well researched Opinion. id LOVE to publish a How To Do Drugs Safely if youre up to writing it (and it sounds like u r ) but, uno, scott, it would probably be illegal to publish it how about that?! :D
OK, next up, vis-à-vis the 'were humans always violent' question that i've commented on in previous UP!s, you've done it again haven't you:
"What the world needs most in the long run (for it is trying to change international habits that have had at least 5,000 years to take root -"
>> much longer. it goes back to when they first turned away from mushroom worship.
Ok, there may (and probly has been) a select group of humans who were 'enlightened' and do not use violence as a means of dispute settling, but the archaeological evidence is quite clear that the majority of humans have used weapons since our thumbs opposed our fingers.
>> its totally an assumption actually. and i dont see how it could ever be settled. obviously humans have been here a lot longer than any weapons we have found, right? the rest is assumption and may always remain so. certainly i remember publishing a big piece in the UP! (anyone remember the no?) where we covered the oldest city ever explored AND THEY FOUND TOTAL ABSENCE OF ANY KIND OF WALLS OR ANY FORTIFICATIONS.
One can only hope (and i believe this to be the fact) that this % slowly becomes a bigger % of the whole and one day (if we last that long) will be the norm and the majority, then we can get back to living the life I love (like whole villages taking San Pedro Cactus trips together in Peru/Ecuador).
>>absolutely! our only argument is that i claim we were always like that before bush-type gorillas turned away from worship of the allies and started to bully us all into their game. and one of the proofs of this is that ALL civilisations weve explored that existed before we exploded all over the planet, were shamanic like u describe in peru.
Hope it's sunny wherever you are today.
>> even better! its snowing!
Keep on the good work.
scandi-scott, UK.
>> and please keep telling me if u feel am wandering off the Path
UP! NOTES TO GOD, WRITTEN BY CHILDREN -- Dear GOD: My brother told me about being born but it doesn't sound right. They're just kidding, aren't they? ~~Marsha
The Kids Are All Smoking MaryJane!
Now It Looks Like The Old Should Be Attit Too!
The active ingredient in marijuana may stall decline from Alzheimer's disease, according to research by Madrid's Complutense University and the Cajal Institute, published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
Scientists showed that a synthetic version of the compound may reduce inflammation associated with Alzheimer's and thus help to prevent mental decline.
They hope the cannabinoid may be used to developed new drug therapies.
>> are we all watching this? they are slowly and inexorably PRIVATISING our sacred herb!
The scientists first compared the brain tissue of patients who died from Alzheimer's disease with that of healthy people whod died at a similar age, looking closely at brain cell receptors to which cannabinoids bind, allowing their effects to be felt.
They also studied structures called microglia, which activate the brain's immune response. Microglia collect near the plaque deposits associated with Alzheimer's and, when active, cause inflammation.
The researchers found a dramatically reduced functioning of cannabinoid receptors in diseased brain tissue. This was an indication that patients had lost the capacity to experience cannabinoids' protective effects.
>> if im reading this right, theyre saying the poor sods had lost their natural ability to get high and thats what made their brains waste away.
The next step was to test the effect of cannabinoids on rats injected with the amyloid protein that forms Alzheimer's plaques.
>> doesnt seem such an inevitable logical step to me. torturing animals is probably worse for your brain than not taking maryjane J
Those animals given a dose of a cannabinoid performed much better in tests of their mental functioning. The presence of amyloid protein in the rats' brains activated immune cells.
However, rats that also received the cannabinoid showed no sign of microglia activation.
Using cell cultures, the researchers confirmed that cannabinoids counteracted the activation of microglia and thus reduced inflammation.
"These findings that cannabinoids work both to prevent inflammation and to protect the brain may set the stage for their use as a therapeutic approach for Alzheimer's disease." Dr Maria de Ceballos, a Researcher.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4286435.stm
UP!
SAT MARCH 5 Small World Party
at the beautiful and ever friendly Unity Works, 25 White Post Lane, Hackney Wick, E9. 7pm til dawn (beside Hackney Wick Station, or buses 26, 52 and 30). £7/£5.
Twelve hours of life, magic, music and laughter project to combine the legendary magic of the summer festival late night sessions and the celebratory spirit of our all night parties.
Starts with communal magic hat meal, then some fine acoustic artists to enthral, bands to drive you wild, and an open mike session to finish // interspersed with dj sets by Pony with an eclectic mix of live and studio recordings from Small World artists, dirty funk, upbeat latin, ska and mad jazz.
The Magic Number - 30's Jazz Brighton style // Kanya-Kora - Mandinka Roots // highly syncopated and lively Senegalese master musicians // Carrie Tree - Truly pan-dimensional beauty // Bela Emerson - haunting and beautiful electric cello and looped soundscapes // Spacegirl - A pleasure to finally give a platform for this inspired wordsmith // Shinri - Out there, leftfield rap from a true stage diva // Open mike session
Cosmic Cauldron Cafe, Chillout space, Walkabout shenanigans, BYO Alcohol
UP!
Skrufff-E
A good source for stories on clubs, electronic music, the war on drugs, occasional politics and/or gay cockroaches is Jonty Skrufffs weekly e-zine Skrufff-E.
Subscribe at
http://www.skrufff.com
UP! NOTES TO GOD, WRITTEN BY CHILDREN -- Dear GOD: Please send me a pony. I never asked for anything before. You can look it up. ~~Bruce
WEVE HAD CHRISTIAN LEADERS SPEAKING UP
HERES WHAT RIGHT WING CONSERVATIVES ARE SAYING
As Things Fall Apart, Lie and Lie Again
Nothing to Fear But Bush Himself
Paul Craig Roberts, (a right wing conservative, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration, Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page, and Contributing Editor of National Review.)
Suppose you are the party responsible for invading a country under totally false pretences. Suppose you had totally unrealistic expectations about the consequences of your gratuitous aggression.
What do you do when, instead of being greeted with flowers, you find your army is tied down by insurgents and you have no face-saving way to get out of the morass? If you are the moronic Bush administration, you blame someone else.
Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Rice, Cheney and Bush blame Syria and Iran for the troubles they brought upon themselves. The Iraqi insurgency, say the Five Morons, is the fault of Syria and Iran.
"Partly it's[the insurgency, a function of what the Syrians and the Iranians are doing." Thats Rumsfeld excusing his dismal failures in Iraq.
You see, the facts that
- the US invaded Iraq on false pretences
- killed and maimed tens of thousands of Iraqis
- shot down women and children in the streets
- blew up Iraqis' homes, hospitals and mosques
- cut Iraqis off from vital services such as water and electricity
- destroyed the institutions of civil society
- left half the population without means of livelihood
- filled Saddams prisons with people picked up off the streets and then tortured and humiliated them for fun and games
are not facts that explain why there is an insurgency. These facts are just descriptions of collateral damage associated with America "bringing democracy to Iraq."
The insurgency, according to the Five Morons, is because Iraq and Iran won't close their borders, thus letting in "terrorists" who are responsible for the insurgency. Some might think that this accusation is an example of the pot calling the kettle black, coming as it does from the US, a country that has not only proven itself incapable of closing its own borders but also has demonstrated no respect whatsoever for the borders of other countries.
The Bush administration, which already held the world record as the most deluded government in history, has now taken denial to unprecedented highs by blaming Syria and Iran for its "Iraqi problem." Why didn't Americans realize that it is dangerous to put a buffoon in charge of the US government who hasn't a clue about the world around him, what he is doing, or the consequences of his actions?
Why is Secretary of State Rice trying to set Iran up for UN sanctions -- which the US can manipulate to justify invading another Muslim country -- when the US has proven to the world that it cannot occupy Baghdad, much less Iraq?
Are Iran and Syria going to quake in their boots after witnessing the success of a few thousand insurgents in tying down 8 US divisions? The bulk of the US force in Iraq is engaged in protecting its own bases and supply lines. It was all the generals could do to scrape up 10,000 Marines for their pointless assault on Fallujah.
What is the point of the Bush administration's bellicosity when it has been conclusively demonstrated that the US has insufficient troops to successfully occupy Iraq, much less Syria and Iran? The American people should be scared to death that they have put in power such deluded
people.
Are Americans going to fall for the same set of WMD lies a second time? Are Americans going to deliver up their sons, and perhaps daughters as well, to be drafted and sent to the Middle East to be killed and maimed for no American cause?
The US Treasury is empty. The once "almighty" dollar is tottering. The US military is stretched to the breaking point. Former allies look askance at America. Hatred of America has reached an all time high.
The Bush administration must bring its policies in line with its means before it leads our country into greater disaster. The Bush administration and its deluded sycophants must stop poking fun at "reality-based" experts and listen to a reality-based message.
There is no possibility of the US imposing its will on the Muslim world. By its behaviour the Bush administration is confirming Osama bin Laden's propaganda and breeding more terrorists. Much better to address the causes of Muslim discontent
>> now whos been saying this from day one?
America's enabling of the Israeli government's mistreatment and dispossession of the Palestinians, and America's export of "culture" that glorifies the sexual promiscuity of women.
>> forget that, Paul. its gotta be pay-back time to the arabs, flood them with relief for the 50 year american tsunami on them!
It does not serve America for Bush to impose Ariel Sharon's agenda on the Middle East. Bush's insane policy is producing rising anger that endangers Israel and America's puppet governments in Egypt, Jordan, and Pakistan along with the Saudi regime. Ironically, this is recognized by Egypt's Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah, who was unable to refrain from pointing out that Bush has managed to create a Shi'ite crescent from Iran to Lebanon.
What, King Abdullah wonders, will be the next unintended consequence of the moronic administration that the American people in their superior wisdom and virtue have seen fit to empower in Washington. "If our aim is to win against terrorism, we can't afford more instability in the area," warned the king prior to the ill-fated US invasion of Iraq. "It's the potential Armageddon of Iraq that worries all of us."
It should worry Americans, too.
UP! NOTES TO GOD, WRITTEN BY CHILDREN -- Dear GOD: I think the stapler is one of your greatest inventions. ~~Ruth
Moksha The In-Between Us
Crossover North European Folk tunes and Dirty Urban Dub, drawing on future and past, embracing the Urban Jungle and Ancient Fairyland, with oodles and oodles of celtic wildness.
Transcendance, of opposition, rising above the differences to see the bigger picture.... Moksha in fact. Moksha is Liberation.
'The forest would sing to us, and although it has disappeared, the ancient music in the branches and on the wind remaine... and these cities, our nests, were built upon the echoes. We still heard the timeless dancing melodies above the growling, buzzing beast. We were infused with both.'
"Pagan Dread, Fiddly Dub and Arabian Bluegrass from spacey instrumentals to pretty danceable floor-shakers!" The Source.
"RECORD OF THE WEEK. With music continuing to overlap, intertwine and evolve into new and unexplored forms, perhaps its never been a better time to create, distribute and enjoy the bewildering array of new and invigorating music. Of course, with the limited exposure available and the existing vice-like grip of the multinationals, it's quite difficult to hear much of this stuff. But dig deep and you'll be rewarded. One such band worth the effort are Moksha, made up of former members of Brighton bands including Mutagen, Pan and The Wild Turkey Brothers and featuring the inestimable duo of Ben Paley and Tab Hunter among their ranks, playing fiddle, clarinet, guitars and given the technical makeover by Tone Def. Deep Dub is fused with hallucinogenic folk to bewitching effect." The Latest.
http://www.mokshaproductions.com
UP! NOTES TO GOD, WRITTEN BY CHILDREN -- Dear GOD: I bet it is very hard for You to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it. ~~Nan
STONEHENGE FOREVER//FEEDBACK
thank you so so so much for dismembering that 'druid' character 'wiseowl' (hehe), he kinda missed the point somewhere down the line.... all that talk of 'sacred' and 'drug taking' in the same paragraph and he still didn't figure the link?! you said you saw him as an 'ally', i'm not so sure, a fascist in a white sheet is still a fascist in my books. I was reminded of the seagulls from 'Finding Nemo', but this time all standing around the stones:-
"mine"
"mine"
"MINE"
oh, and the last time i checked, the glastonbury stones looked alright and they get a great deal 'heavier' treatment. stay off the grass don't climb on stones do what i tell you.
At any given time in any given society there are 3 distinct types
1 - bastards - they who own.
2 - sheep - they who sleep.
3 - wreckers - they who woke up owning nothing.
>> and Evolutionaries - they who woke up owning nothing, grokked the situation, and dedicated themselves to living high spiritual lives while working/playing to accelerate societys evolution to the next phase in which theyre already living.
Anyway i want to be a mini-bonobo human living a super speeded up life!
scott farrant, UK.
up!
>> I find this deeply offensive! What on earth is he talking about?!! Is a white robe a uniform now?
> well, yes, actually.
No more so than the distinctive costume that marks out new agers and other people with an alternative lifestyle.
>> thats a bit of an overstatement wouldnt u say?
> i thot this would bring out a few 'druids' from under the stones
can i ask u one question? r u a dentist?No- but if you know a good one on the NHS, can I have his name please? LOL!
>> see under DENTISTRY
> why do i ask? because when am talking to people like willy i usually describe u so-called druids as "a bunch middle class accountants & dentists". be honest, am i right?
Not the ones I know - unless Arthur's taken up dentistry! But I'm always suspicious of such rampant reverse-snobbery - methinks you may protest too much?!
>> its not that, honest. ive just learned in my bones that when any revolution gets to the crunch the middle class yuppy element cop out and automatically support the queen.
>> What act of the druids (individually or jointly) is he intent on resisting?
I'd still like to know!
>> it has become impossible to hold any kind of ceremony in the stones that night as the centre of the circle is generally monopolised by a large group of squatters for a drunken drumming party and no-one else can squeeze in. So if anyone should feel aggrieved it's the druids! But in fact, we simply hold our ceremonies some other place or some other time, and accept that for us, Stonehenge at Solstice is no longer a sacred space.
> definitions of sacred required here.
'henged'-around - not necessarily physically. A sphere of space of any size with a positively-charged spiritual atmosphere which is cleared for ritual use.
>> exchange his glass bottle for a plastic one
> now THATS a good idea. would the druids be prepared to practise such humility to protect the sacred spot? or r u content to just show up in your dentists cars , do your thing with the blessing of the state which kills iraqis daily, and drive home to watch yourselves on tv?
True Druids, who can be judged by their actions, not how loud their mouths are, do these things on a daily basis. If I could find a dentist, I doubt he'd lend me his car, and I don't watch tv. But these fashionable digs at druids don't bother me too much.
>> fashionable, huh? inneresting way to see it.
The accusation that DRUIDS BLESS THE STATE DOES!! Most of us have marched and protested against Tony Blair, George Bush and their unholy alliance, as well as supporting protests such as the Greenham women, the Dongas tribe and the Newbury by-pass. You probably didn't notice - not all druids leap at tv cameras shouting 'Look at me- I'm a Druid!'
>> get down from on top of one of the Trilithons,
> oh the stones can handle it.
No they can't - the last one fell in 1956. However this may have been their way of handling it, in which case I suppose you might prefer to be the one on top who caused it rather than the poor buggers underneath!
>> not to pour lager on the stones or some such reasonable request!
>> am not aware that mead damages the stones.
Any chemical damages the surface of the stones, including wax and alcohol. It also kills off the lichen which although a lowly lifeform deserve better and are very rare, only occurring on the sarsens of Salisbury Plain.
> its not the bluddy stones that are sacred, its the ancient forcefield around them from the millennia of shamanic celebrations thatve gone on there thats sacred.
I agree - but not every drunken bum is a shaman and not every celebration that has a drum or two in it is shamanic. You may think druids are phoney. I think much the same of so-called shamans. I know only one or two who truly walk between the worlds - the rest just get swept uncontrollably away by drugs and booze.
>> u r making them opposites when, in reality, the drunken drummer are wannabe shamans whove lost their way. i dont like them either but i try and see them more as people who at least are TRYING to break out of the present consensual reality.
There are numbers of those who turn up on solstice at Stonehenge who really don't give a shit for the stones or the place - to them it's just an excuse to get pissed and put the finger up to anyone in authority, or anyone who disagrees with their self-given right to get rat-arsed.
>> not many turn up at the stones. u have to make an effort to get there. they may treat the event as more of a social ting, or a party ting. the truth is its all part of it. but i do agree that we dont want the out-of-its to dominate.
> its those very urban types who MOST need the touch of pagan revelry that the stones encapsulate.
Yes they do - but most just settle for the revelry and leave the Paganism out of it.
>> revelry is a large part of paganism.
They think Pagan is a way of saying they don't belong to organised religion and can do their own thing, but I don't see much reverence for the Gods in drinking to excess and puking in the place you claim to hold sacred.
> i suggest you forget whatever Druid Introductory Course youve paid for and realise that Stonehenge represents an ancient deepgreen shamanic lifestyle that a quick car ride and a little careening in clean white sheets scarcely touches.
I've been studying druidry for nearly thirty years and I'm still learning. And I've learned that Stonehenge represents no such thing. It represents the labour, wealth and dedication over many years of those who built it, who were neither druid nor shaman, and who designed it to align to the sun and stars to mark important seasons in the work of their community.
>> under-and inner-standing weather patterns is a basic skill of any shaman. i note that they werent druid
I doubt they would recognise anything that any of us do in the stones as part of their original purpose. The 'deepgreen shamanic lifestyle' to which you are referring is represented by the free festivals which used to be held near the stones and as long as there was a festival and it was free, I doubt most people would care where it was. PS You're welcome to come and try one of our little ceremonies in 'clean white sheets' anytime, Fraser! You might even like it!
>> i think u are quite wrong about all that. i think, after being shocked by our urban mazes, theyd recognise it instantly and feel right at home, and would have at the stonehenge free festi.
> hope this is not sounding too negative since obviously you druids are closer to being our allies than the vast majority of those other SUN© worshippers
You better believe it! Stop knocking druids out of prejudice! Come and meet some!
Wiseowl /|\
>> hey, very nice! i vastly underestimated you. thanks for being more than big enuff not to get riled by some of my cracks
up!
Hi Fraser,
Someone subscribed me to the UP! recently and how glad I am - it's excellent.
A few thoughts on Stonehenge:
Not all Druids are 'a bunch of middle class accountants and dentists'. The Druids at Stonehenge come in many forms. These include:
- The Ancient Druid Order, who may well fit your bill these days, but who were the original agitators for solstice access after the first fence was raised around Stonehenge in 1901.
- The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, founded in 1964 after a schism in the Ancient Druid Order, who abandoned Stonehenge on a point of principle after members of the public were prevented by the authorities from attending the solstice in the early 1960s.
>> the original donor having stipulated full public access.
A number of newer Orders, whose founders were part of the Stonehenge Free Festivals' vast congregation, and who campaigned for open access to Stonehenge after the festival was brutally suppressed at the Battle of the Beanfield in 1985,
>> which i always refer to as the Beanfield Massacre a more accurate description, despite how half a dozen hardened mushy & special brew nuts might have told it in the pub that night
in particular Arthur Pendragon's Loyal Arthurian Warband, the Secular Order and the Glastonbury Order.
For a detailed account of Stonehenge's social history, including the Druids, the free festivals, the Battle of the Beanfield, the exclusion zone, and allied themes including the underground rave scene, the road protest movement and the significance of Avebury, readers of UP! may like to check out my book Stonehenge: Celebration and Subversion, published last year and described by John Hodge of SchNEWS as 'the best bit of modern British social history I've seen': www.hoap.co.uk/alternative.htm
All the best,
Andy Worthington, London
up!
Farewell, Stonehenge of the Mind,
Another Cloud of Glory Left Behind
"There once was a Fayre that was fair and free "
"By thy long grey hair and mushrheumy eye, why therefore stoppeth thou me?"
"Oh, don't turn your back, I was once your pal in the days of the Stonehenge Festival.
And he was my bro' and she was my sis, every Solstice.
Listen.
When their satellite spies, in drag disguise,
announced to their killers in PC99 disguise:
Convoy! Convoy!
Then, oh boy, what joy on some cops' faces.
'Stern laws must be strongly backed!'
yelled a voice from the skies.
Soft heads should be neatly cracked.
Spill out the Enemy Within, you guys,
upon this Has-Bean Field!'
Then that Riot of Christians overran
the peaceful, far-from-perfect Pagan caravan
Of hustlers and shamans and pots and pans,
kids and dogs, Princes and Frogs,
Tipis, bendovers, gypsy rovers, hippies, outlaws, divine flaws,
Visions and faints and unwashed saints, babies and bells and exotic smells,
Love songs and battle cries, hot knives, fags and tribal flags,
And goddesses with glittering eyes.
Seeking to Re-Connect with God
is just another bust to the Special Squad.
So, Thought Police and New Age Lovers
underground and under-covers,
Shout at the stars, blame it on Mars, or drown it in bars. It won't get you far as
Those slaves of the Moon
have banished the longest day.
Perhaps it's the price you pay
for being born too soon?
Yes, they've taken it all away, and every newspaper say
it's true: STONES ARE BAD FOR YOU.
Oh, thankye, thankye, Mrs Thaatchi,
the poor, loveless wretch, she's
returned me my Poet's voice - now a shout
and given me something to rage about:
HATE IS THE '80s!
fraser clark, wotever year it was
up!
re. l'affaire ken. i was tempted to write a scathing letter to the jewish board of deputies. bloody zionists! the poison at the heart of the land of israel. nothing wrong with israel, or the jews, i love em! but those zionists need putting in a space ship and firing into space, one way. now theres an image for u!
as regards ken... it is still possible to 'love' him... right or wrong. correck or not, he still seems to be.. 'our ken.'
brian x, shepherds bush, london.
UP!
The Land Question
&
The Community Land Trust Movement
"We abuse the land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect." Aldo Leopold, 1949.
If our goal is to create vibrant local economies and the local institutions that support them, what is the role of land in such economies? Robert Swann, founder of the E. F. Schumacher Society, argued that land should not be treated as a commodity that is bought and sold but rather should be held in trust by the regional community, and access to land should be via social contract not market forces. To implement his ideas, Bob shaped the Community Land Trust movement that began in 1967.
A Community Land Trust is a form of common land ownership with a charter based on the principles of sustainable and ecologically sound stewardship and use. The central principle of the Community Land Trust is that homes, barns, fences, gardens, and all things done with or on the land should be owned by the individuals creating them, but the land itself - a limited community resource - should be owned by the community as a whole.
A Community Land Trust takes land off the speculative market and places it in a regional, membership-based, nonprofit corporation. The decentralist Ralph Borsodi, a mentor of Bob Swann, called land speculation "legal robbery." Henry George, the 19th century American economist, pointed to this ability to derive "unearned increment" from the land as the major economic cause of the increasing discrepancy between rich and poor. In his book "Progress and Poverty," George shows how the ability to monopolise land, which all people need access to for housing and earning a living, can create an illusion of progress. At the same time the rising
rents, which build prosperity for a few, lead to increased poverty for others.
Since the public at large creates the value in land because of a need to use it, it is the public at large that is being "robbed" when an individual is allowed to pocket the unearned increment. Borsodi distinguished what was created with human effort from what was naturally given as a common inheritance, and he suggested that land as well as natural resources should be held in trust for the common good.
Practicalities
The Community Land Trust's primary function is to buy or accept gifts of land and lease it back to members under a 99-year lease that is inheritable and automatically renewable. Through the 99-year land lease, the trust removes land from the speculative market and facilitates multiple uses such as affordable housing, agriculture, and open-space preservation. Part of this process is to determine - in conjunction with land use planners, local government, and the community at large - the most appropriate use or uses for a given parcel of land, be it a wildlife refuge, a group of houses, a managed woodlot, a commercial development, or vegetables grown for the local market.
As Bob Swann pointed out, "A Community Land Trust can be used as a holding mechanism for all sizes and tracts of land. Some tracts may be large enough to build entire new towns (large or small) or simply be used as farms or as conservation tracts. Because large segments of land are held as a unit, the trust can utilise the greatest flexibility in planning, taking account of the ecological and social characteristics of the entire region."
The legal framework for Community Land Trusts is well established, providing a way for concerned citizens, working together, to create solutions to the problem of the high cost of land for affordable housing, farming, and local businesses in their region.
Since 1980 the E. F. Schumacher Society has assisted Community Land Trust initiatives around the country, including the Community Land Trust in the Southern Berkshires. As part of this process, Schumacher staff members have developed a how-to handbook for Community Land Trust organizers. It contains background materials and model legal documents used in the innovative community partnership to save Indian Line Farm, the first Community Supported Agriculture farm in the US, and in the creation of Forest Row, a neighbourhood of 18 homes clustered in a mix of multiple and single units on 21 acres in Great Barrington. The E. F. Schumacher Society's office and Library are located on a third site held by the Community Land Trust in the Southern Berkshires on the slopes of Jug End Mountain.
You can access this handbook at
http://www.smallisbeautiful.org/frameset_land.html
These documents should be reviewed by a lawyer in your own region before using, but they serve as an important blueprint for action.
UP! NOTES TO GOD, WRITTEN BY CHILDREN -- Dear GOD: Maybe Cain and Abel would not kill each other so much if they had their own rooms. It worked with my brother. ~~Larry
Black Shirts//FEEDBACK
Thee best rock 'n' roll is created by messed up teens (show me a teen that isn't) and as such has all the requisite lame-assed rebellion and taboo transgressing voodoo attached. For the vast majority of these bands, being on stage is Carnival; like joy-riding or Vodka and Red-Bull. It doesn't mean all that much.
We all know you don't invoke and invite the DARK (as opposed to last year's models; The Darkness), unless you're death-tripping and/or a plank. But cut the kidz some slack man!
As for U2 being good for the planet, on the contrary, they are more than beneficial for their manager's Coke habit. Doom-Brain. Was it a millionaire who said 'Imagine no Possessions?'.
Listen to Sonny Boy Williamson-Live-and puke up yer spine---
andrew copeman, Thee Copeman-Gated Community
up!
Guys, sorry to disappoint you both, but rocknroll never stopped, and nor did its predecessor, rhythm'n'blues,
>> and sinatra shit and elvis. everything nowadays persists indefinitely and u will definitely see punk grannies but that dont mean its relevant anymore.
and neither have any of the many children that followed. If you were listening in the wrong way and to the wrong things, what can I say? You missed it!
It's about fun, entertainment - what is cool right now.
>> some of that, yeah, but music, like any real Art, is mainly about raising consciousness and community spirit. most of it, as u say, never rises above entertainment.
The rest is complete bullshit, and you can take that from someone who is in the music business, and is a composer, lyricist, arranger, producer, guitarist, bassist, synth player, midi programmer, disk jockey once.
>> actually someone so involved in the music business might be the LAST person id take the word of
last time i did that i was ripped off for about £10,000. am sure you are not like that, but defending a bunch of sociopaths whove turned music into a commercial commodity in slip packs is not a good ad for u.Maybe the only way you can feel it is if you are part of it. To an extent, the rest of you are merely spectators.
>> other way round actually.
If you have a better idea, then do it. That's what the rest of us in the game have to do. Either that, or face the fact you have no imagination.
If I criticise, it's because I know how a certain thing could have been done a whole lot better. If I listen, I can't afford to have any preconceptions or biases, because this in part is what my job depends on. I bet I'm far, far more open than either of you.
>> the problem with the music business is that its far TOO open but to all the wrong shit.
Could you judge the performance of an orchestra on a piece of classical music? Or judge the worth of some jazz music from some far-off place by people you'd never heard of? Do you need somebody to tell you what you should be listening to?
You might not know this, but musicians are a sort of 'masonry'. There are certain things you have to say, certain gestures... It's a club. If you're not a musician, you won't understand this. If you are, it's all a question of pecking order and... musician stuff! We live in a world where it's OK to play reggae today and death metal tomorrow. Where we know it's about imagination (that and the guy with the TALENT that's gonna send this whole thing into orbit... ).
>> look, jerry, Music was stolen from the people by Tin Pan Alley and was in the hands of the Music Masonry and the Singer Songwriters Cult who would play their game until Rave came along. what did Rave do? it put the Music back in the feet of the People. we dont need any more balladeers. we need War Dances, community participation. the ballads come later when the revolutions been won.
You have to have been there. That godawful song I couldn't find the lyric for... It sounded great before you mixed it... You are not seriously gonna play those bongos (piano accordion, tin whistle...) on this track... I will make them bleed from the ears... this BC Rich goes straight from the pre-amp to the mix-desk... (devastation!!!)... these fuckheads will never share a stage with us... kill..kill....exterminate...exterminate...
Get real, guys! You have been looking at the fine print and missed the essential message.
Jerry - Brescia, Italy
>> more like youve spent too long reading the small print in music business contracts
but never mind, like ken says, YOURE getting paid for it!up!
Like the structure of AMIRAQA, Frase, just that its a bit too close to Jamiroquai, who are quite inoffensive, really.
Keep up the good work,
uk.
UP! NOTES TO GOD, WRITTEN BY CHILDREN -- Dear GOD: I didn't think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset you made on Tuesday. That was cool. ~~Sara
DENTISTRY//FEEDBACK
Hi Fraser,
Thanks for raising the subject of dentistry, a subject very close to my heart (and even closer to my mouth) since I had the misfortune to have my two front teeth knocked out 20 years ago. As a result of the gradual deterioration of the neighbouring teeth, I have had the misfortune to need the services of a couple of dozen different dentists since the event, and spent far more time in the dentists chair than most.
These relationships have usually been extremely brief, because of the low level of competence and high level of greed demonstrated by most of the dentists I have seen, coupled with an insufferable arrogance and lack of concern for or interest in the patient.
Most noteworthy included the dentist who smoked while fixing my teeth, the guy who forgot why I was there and started a different course of treatment halfway through, the one who chatted pleasantly to me oblivious to the damage she was doing to my mouth while I bled and screamed in pain, and the one who threw me out when I started to question why he was taking (and charging me for) so many X-rays.
A few years back I was extremely lucky to find a dentist whos good at what he does and actually cares. Funnily enough, hes Irish.
>> whys that funny? is there a joke i dont know? anything is better than an ozzy thats for sure!
did u hear about the irishman who went into a library and loudly ordered fish and chips? when the lady librarian replied in a hushed voice This is a library, sir , he whispered back to her: Oh sorry. then, lowering his voice even further, and cupping his mouth (dental connection see?!) he whispered: Could I have some fish and chips now please?
He has resolutely resisted all the temptations to leave the NHS, and works at an unbelievable rate so he can get through maximum patients to make cheaper dentistry available to maximum people. He consults me about my treatment, tells me exactly what hes doing and actively works to reduce the cost of the treatment. I dont know how he makes a living on what he charges. And he sings Irish folk songs while he works.
Recently I have turned my sights overseas after discovering I need dental implants, which my dentist admitted he didnt know how to do (how many other dentists would have read it up in a book and given it a go?). Several other British dentists told me Id need a bone transplant to have implants because a lot of bone has been lost in the whole palaver. I was quoted £6000 for the job.
A dental service in Budapest (http://www.kreativdent.co.uk/ ) quoted me £2500, INCLUDING ARRANGING HOTELS FOR ME, PICKING ME UP AT THE AIRPORT, AND GIVING ME A 3-DAY TRAVEL PASS. The work wasnt done by a dentist whod been on a day course in implantology, as it would be in the UK, but by a professional implantologist working out of the main Budapest hospital who also lectures in implantology at the university. The level of equipment and patient care was exceptional. They decided, unfortunately, they couldnt do the work, but they gave me a lift back to the airport, all the X-rays theyd taken - and didnt charge me a penny!
Im now having the work done in Italy (http://www.digiulio.co.uk), where its not only cheaper than the UK (tho not as cheap as Budapest), but the works being done through a technique pioneered over 30 years specialist experience by the team there, in a 3-storey purpose-built dental hospital. The dentists were truly professional, treated me like a human being, and even had a bit of a joke and a laugh with me, despite the language difficulties.
Whats been peculiarly inneresting has been the reaction of Brits to the news that Im getting my treatment abroad. Those with severe tooth problems have wished me luck, everyone else thinks Im mad! The misplaced arrogance of the British, thinking were best at everything! Even my doctor wondered if they werent a bunch of cowboys, as if Italy was a 3rd-world country or something!
Most amusing of all, after my son in his excitement at one of his presents accidentally head-butted the temporary crown from my mouth I had to visit my local health centres emergency service over Xmas. The dentist there got all huffy when he heard I was going to Milan for the treatment. He assured me there were plenty of competent implantologists in the UK, and that they even did bone grafts in his surgery, where it was almost routine . Meanwhile he couldnt find the proper cement to stick the crown back in, then bodged it with temporary filling mixture which didnt fit and fell out again a half hour later. Apparently he saw no irony about doing such a crap job in the same session he was lecturing me on the superiority of British dentistry!
I think Ill be trusting any major dental work to foreign dentists for some time to come now, and I would urge anyone with major problems to do the same.
Muzz, Southampton
>> how far can we take this in a serious magazine, eh?
what do u call major, muzz? me, i gave up dentists 5 years ago, deciding to keep my stumps and harden them up till i can chew on them. well, slowly the old fillings fell out till there were only the 4 remaining walls, most of which fell out etc. but i learned to chew with them fine, and i had 5 full teeth at the front so my smile was intact more or less. then a couple of small fillings fell out of the back of those front teeth and, after not bothering with it for a year, i decided to go have them filled in case it was encouraging decay. the bluddy dentist drilled a huge hole at the back and 2 days later that cracked. i went back and he drilled that out and refilled it and 3 days after that i was chewing (big muesli admittedly) and the tooth came right out! so now i have a huge gap in my front top smile with 2 fine teeth on each side of it. if id stayed away from dentists i coulda had that perfect smile another 5 or 10 years! but now he has me by the short roots!
so all i need is for that gap to be filled in some way and maybe another false tooth beside the front 5 so i can smile more broadly. is that major? now my dentist is pretty much telling me he cant do anything without pulling out all my little roots and stubs (which long ago stopped bothering me, i think all that drilling had been upsetting my mouth ecology, honest i do)
suggestions? have been calling the dental universities to see if they have the latest techniques..
UP!
Hello,
This is not an unsubscribe request, but i have got to say that until yesterday you were really annoying me, and then i read one of your emails and went to some of the links, particularly the ones about the guy in Iraq reporting from the ground. Brought it all home. I've never been an activist type cos i haven't the head for politics, but those articles really hit home cos they are about people, and that means a whole lot more. Found it shocking, and shed many a tear last night, couldn't believe what i was reading.
Thanks for that; what one does beyond that, i dont know...
Keep up the good work!
Bless,
Alan O'Rourke, Ireland.
Reporting from Ireland (the new Americanised Version)
>> its letters like this which make it all worthwhile to moi! in terms of what u can do, alan, start sending the info to other friends and contacts who should know about what theyre paying for.
UP!
a l l g o o d t h i n g s c o m e t o a n e n d
which don't justify nuttin'
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___________________________________
I had an idea for a script once. It's basically Jaws except when the guys in the boat are going after Jaws, they look around and there's an even bigger Jaws. The guys have to team up with Jaws to get Bigger Jaws.... I call it... Big Jaws!!!
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