Thursday, November 29, 2012

Marijuana Decriminalization Drops Youth Crime Rates by Stunning 20% in One Year

Arresting and putting low-level juvenile offenders into the criminal-justice system pulls many kids deeper into trouble rather than turning them around.

Photo Credit: Pablo Evans
 Marijuana — it’s one of the primary reasons why California experienced a stunning 20 percent drop in juvenile arrests in just one year, between 2010 and 2011, according to provocative new research.
The San Francisco-based Center on Juvenile & Criminal Justice (CJCJ) recently released a policy briefing with an analysis of arrest data collected by the California Department of Justice’s Criminal Justice Statistics Center. The briefing, “ California Youth Crime Plunges to All-Time Low ,” identifies a new state marijuana decriminalization law that applies to juveniles, not just adults, as the driving force behind the  plummeting arrest totals.
After the new pot law went into effect in January 2011, simple marijuana possession arrests of California juveniles fell from 14,991 in 2010 to 5,831 in 2011, a 61 percent difference, the report by CJCJ senior research fellow Mike Males found.  
“Arrests for youths for the largest single drug category, marijuana, fell by 9,000 to a level not seen since before the 1980s implementation of the ‘war on drugs,’ ” Males wrote in the report, released in October.  
In November, as Males  blogged recently, voters in Washington state and Colorado voted to legalize but regulate marijuana use, like alcohol, for people over 21. California’s 2010 law did not legalize marijuana, but it officially knocked down “simple” possession of less than one ounce to an infraction from a misdemeanor — and it applies to minors, not just people over 21. Police don’t arrest people for infractions; usually, they ticket them. And infractions are punishable not by jail time, but by fines — a $100 fine in California in the case of less than one ounce of pot.
“I think it was pretty courageous not to put an age limit on it,” said Males, a longtime researcher on juvenile justice and a former sociology professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz.
Arresting and putting low-level juvenile offenders into the criminal-justice system pulls many kids deeper into trouble rather than turning them around, Males said, a conclusion many law-enforcement experts share.
California’s 2010 law  still makes it a misdemeanor for anyone over 18 to possess less than an ounce of pot on school grounds, Males noted. For an adult, that’s an offense punishable by a $500 fine, ten days in a county jail or both. A minor caught on school grounds with less than an ounce of marijuana is also guilty of a misdemeanor and faces a $150 fine for the first offense, a $500 fine for a second offense and commitment to youth detention for not more than 10 days.
Before the passage of the 2010 law, Californians caught with less than an ounce of pot were arrested by the thousands every year, ultimately facing a fine of $100 fine and, under certain conditions, referral to drug treatment or education. Many of those arrested were booked, others were released but required to appear in court. They could demand a trial. Strained courts had to take up time ordering diversion treatment programs — a waste of court resources, supporters of a reform said.   
Backed by the California District Attorneys Association, the  new pot law  — passed by state lawmakers — did away with prior requirements that pot offenders be referred to treatment and now allows them to pay a $100 fine akin to that for jaywalking. When Gov. Arnold  Schwarzenegger signed the law, he noted that simple pot possession in California was already “an infraction in everything but name.”
Males said he suspects that many of the 5,831 marijuana arrests of juveniles in California last year may have occurred on school grounds. He doesn’t have data yet to check his theory, however.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Roman Curia


English: Rome, Roman Forum, Curia, interior, &...
English: Rome, Roman Forum, Curia, interior, "Plutei di Traiano", back side, with suovetaurilia Italiano: Roma, Foro Romano, Curia, interno, "Plutei di Traiano", retro con suovetaurilia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

emblem of the Papacy: Triple tiara and keys Fr...
Emblem of the Papacy: Triple tiara and keys (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope.  It coordinates and provides the necessary central organization for the correct functioning of the Church and the achievement of its goals
"In exercising supreme, full, and immediate power in the universal Church, the Roman pontiff makes use of the departments of the Roman Curia which, therefore, perform their duties in his name and with his authority for the good of the churches and in the service of the sacred pastors"
Decree concerning the Pastoral Office of Bishops in the Church, Christus Dominus
 Curia in medieval and later Latin usage means "court" in the sense of "royal court" rather than "court of law". The Roman Curia, then, sometimes anglicized as the Court of Rome, as in the 1534 Act of Parliament that forbade appeals to it from England, is the Papal Court, and assists the Pope in carrying out his functions. The Roman Curia can be loosely compared to cabinets in governments of countries with a Western form of governance, but only the Second Section of the Secretariat of State, known also as the Section for Relations with States, the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and the Congregation for Catholic Education, can be directly compared with specific ministries of a civil government.
It is normal for every Latin Catholic diocese to have its own curia for its administration. For the Diocese of Rome, these functions are not handled by the Roman Curia, but by the Vicariate General of His Holiness for the City of Rome, as provided by the Apostolic Constitution Ecclesia in Urbe. The Vicar General of Rome, traditionally a Cardinal, and his deputy the Vicegerent, who holds the personal title of Archbishop, supervise the governance of the diocese by reference to the Pope himself, but with no more dependence on the Roman Curia, as such, than other Catholic dioceses throughout the world.
Until recently, there still existed hereditary officers of the Roman Curia, holding titles denominating functions that had ceased to be a reality when the Papal States were lost to the papacy. A reorganization, ordered by Pope Pius X, was incorporated into the Code of Canon Law (promulgated 1917). Further steps toward reorganization were begun by Pope Paul VI in the 1960s. Among the goals of this curial reform were the modernization of procedures and the internationalization of the curial staff. These reforms are reflected in the second Code of Canon Law (1983).
Icon depicting the First Council of Nicaea.
Icon depicting the First Council of Nicaea. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Secretariat of State is the oldest dicastery in the Roman Curia, the government of the Roman Catholic Church. It is headed by the Cardinal Secretary of State, currently Tarcisio Bertone, and performs all the political and diplomatic functions of Vatican City and the Holy See. The Secretariat is divided into two sections, the Section for General Affairs and the Section for Relations with States, known as the First Section and Second Section, respectively. The Secretariat of State was created in the 15th century and is now the dicastery most involved in coordination of the Holy See's activities.


English: Layout of the Curia Hostilia, Comitiu...
English: Layout of the Curia Hostilia, Comitium and Rostra with Lapis Niger (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
IMG 5980
IMG 5980 (Photo credit: Images @ Melonpopzdropz)
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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Clean up Happening Now!

See what happens when people start speaking out.  This area was just forgotten about and not until you jump up and down and start reading the facts to people in black and white simple language like you are living next to death are you aware of this ????

No they didn't know.  We as parents didn't know.  I would not have let my kids play soccer on those soccer fields at Urunga If I had known the facts.  I would have no let anyones kids play on those fields at Urunga if I had known the facts.

From the Courier Sun Bellingen


Antimony clean-up underway 


The NSW Government is working to remediate the contaminated site at Hillside Drive in Urunga with the completion of a detailed site investigation.
The Antimony processing activities occurred on the site in the early 1970s which sourced Stibnite ore from the Wild Cattle Creek mine in Dorrigo.
When the short term spike in Antimony metal prices fell, both the mine and the Urunga processing plant were abandoned. Since this time, the waste tailings containing antimony, arsenic, mercury, chromium, nickel, zinc, copper, lead and cyanide have spread into the adjoining SEPP14 wetland.
Project manager, Clayton Colmer is pleased that the results of recent sampling by local consultants GHD Pty Ltd have provided a clearer picture of the extent and nature of contaminated material on the site.
“Many investigations have been conducted in the past but did not give a complete picture of the contamination,” he said.
“The latest investigation used historical results but also involved an extra 300 samples. These samples included surface water, groundwater, soil, tailings and wetland sediments,” Mr Colmer said.
The recent sampling also used the latest technology X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) hand held sensor which allows a cost effective method of undertaking higher density sampling. Samples were also sent off for NATA accredited laboratory testing to confirm the concentrations of the heavy metals.
“We will be considering a wide range of practical remediation measures to clean up the site and how to best use the $1 million government funding. It is hoped that on-site remediation works can begin in mid 2013,” Mr Colmer said.
GHD are cleaning it up now but are they to be trusted HONESTLY look who their board of directors are and It appears they get all the best jobs for the boys in this game .. PLEASE READ ON

Founded in 1928, GHD has been active in the professional services business for more than 80 years. Since its inception, GHD has assisted global communities to realise their potential and create lasting value by delivering innovative and sustainable solutions.

GHD is a company built on partnerships. It continues to be an enduring force to connect, collaborate and communicate with our clients to solve their challenges, to drive our success and to make the world a better place.
1928 Gordon Gutteridge founded GHD and focuses on water and sewerage.
1937 Hobart office established.
1939 Gerald Haskins & Geoffrey Davey joins the partnership.
1949 Innovative sewerage design for Cairns, the largest city in Australia at the time without sewerage.
1950s GHD expands into transport infrastructure, manufacturing plants, building and civil works, energy, mining and dams.
1962 GHD employs 300 people.
1967 GHD opens Gold Coast office.
1970 GHD employs 500 people and provides extensive services for Hobart’s landmark Wrestpoint Casino.
1972 Townsville office opened.
1974 Formation of GHD-Parsons Brinkerhoff Pty Ltd. GHD plays a major role in the design of a new city and infrastructure for Darwin, following Cyclone Tracey.
1975 Offices opened in Albury/Wodonga and Perth.
1976 Offices opened in Adelaide, Bundaberg, Mackay and the Sunshine Coast.
1978 GHD begins international expansion and establishes a joint venture in Malaysia.
1980 GHD employs more than 700 people. Bunbury and Newcastle offices opened.
1981 Gladstone office opened. Merger with Planner West Pty Ltd. Joint venture of GHD-Black & Veatch established. GHD-Wood Geotechnical Pty Ltd established.
1983 Offices opened in Katherine, Port Hedland and Rockhampton.
1984 Offices opened in Alice Springs and Wollongong.
1985 GHD-Wright joint venture established.
1988 GHD carries out planning services for World Expo 88 in Brisbane and opens office in Coffs Harbour.
1990 International projects burgeon and offices opened in the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
1993 GHD earns ISO 9001: 1987 accreditation
1995 Acquisition of Water Corporation of Western Australia's water engineering group
1997 Acquisition of WORKS Australia and LongMac Group
1999 Manukau Consultants Ltd (NZ) join GHD.
2000 Martin & Co in Gladstone join GHD.
2001 Smith and Wood Consultants, NZ join GHD. Acquisition of MME in Doha, Qatar and in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
2002 Mergers completed with Geo-Eng Group and EGIS Consulting Australia. GHD people increased to 2300.
2003 GHD celebrates its 75th year of operations.
2004 Baker Saran, NSW, joins GHD
2005 Mergers completed with AJP, Malaysia, Qest Consulting, NSW, City Design, SA, and Civil Design Services, NZ.
2006 GHD broadens its reach in Hong Kong, China and the UK, completing mergers with Rankine & Hill, a Hong Kong consulting engineering company, and Archispace, a provider of urban planning, architectural and landscape design services throughout China. Alliance formed with London-based AMCL, and offices opened in York and London.
2007 Three companies joined GHD including Leddy Sergiacomi & Associates, a Queensland engineering and environmental consultancy company, ProAnd, a New Zealand specialist meat process design engineering consultancy and PCT Engineers, a Western Australia/Queensland consultancy company providing engineering services to the oil, gas and mining sectors.
2008 GHD celebrates 80 years. Hassall & Associates, a consulting firm specialising in International Development Assistance, agriculture, natural resource and environmental issues joins GHD. Offices opened in Ireland and Canada.
2009 GHD now employs 6000 people. Four strategic mergers completed in the USA that build on our core water and wastewater services, including RoseWater Engineering, the Arizona Engineering Company, CSA Engineering and Stearns & Wheler.
2010 Continuous strong performance of our operations including strategic mergers with SMGC in the mining sector in Australia and China Water International Engineering Consulting Company (CWIECC) in China. Health and safety of our workforce was recognised with the 2010 Best Workplace Health and Safety Management System Award. Community engagement was strengthened with ‘GHD in the Community’ contributing to the MSABI project in Tanzania, supporting vital charities and making contributions to natural disasters around the world.
2011 Mergers completed with MGF Consultants in North Queensland, Australia, CollinsonDutton Ltd (CDL) in the UK as well as Winzler & Kelly, Commonwealth Engineering & Technology, Inc (CET) and RobsonWoese in the USA. We also expanded our capabilities in the energy and resources sector and registered significant wins in transportation. We achieved a period of 3.4 million hours free Lost Time Injury and continued to engage in a range of Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives including community contributions in New Zealand following the earthquake in Christchurch.
2012 We continued our expansion in the Americas with the acquisition of the Sernas Group in Canada's Greater Toronto Region in Whitby, Mississauga and Kitchener and in the USA, in Madison, Wisconsin. We also broadened our water services with the acquisition of the Water Sciences Group of Australian Laboratory Services. We have been named the fourth most attractive company to work for in Australia by recruitment firm Randstad and recognised as the best waste consultant in Australia according to a survey completed by Inside Waste Magazine.


Images @ Melonpopzdropz Flickr
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Monday, November 26, 2012

Abandoned Babies and Baby Boxes

Europe mulls banning 'boxes' for abandoned babies


http://news.yahoo.com/europe-mulls-banning-boxes-abandoned-babies-075454911.html


This Thursday, Nov. 8, 2012 photo shows a view of a baby hatch with a baby sign which is fixed in a wall near the hospital at the district Neukoelln in Berlin. The text on the door reads: Only open in emergency. Graffiti on the wall reads in Polish 'I love you'. Baby boxes are a revival of the medieval "foundling wheels," where unwanted infants were left in revolving church doors. In recent years, there has been an increase in these contraptions — also called hatches, windows or slots in some countries — and at least 11 European nations now have them, according to United Nations figures. They are technically illegal, but mostly operate in a gray zone as authorities turn a blind eye. There are nearly 100 baby boxes in Germany. Poland and the Czech Republic each have more than 40 while Italy, Lithuania, Russia and Slovakia have about 10 each. There are two in Switzerland, one in Belgium and one being planned in the Netherlands. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

BERLIN (AP) — German pastor Gabriele Stangl says she will never forget the harrowing confession she heard in 1999. A woman said she had been brutally raped, got pregnant and had a baby. Then she killed it and buried it in the woods near Berlin.

Stangl wanted to do something to help women in such desperate situations. So the following year, she convinced Berlin's Waldfriede Hospital to create the city's first so-called "baby box." The box is actually a warm incubator that can be opened from an outside wall of a hospital where a desperate parent can anonymously leave an unwanted infant.
A small flap opens into the box, equipped with a motion detector. An alarm goes off in the hospital to alert staff two minutes after a baby is left.
"The mother has enough time to leave without anyone seeing her," Stangl said. "The important thing is that her baby is now in a safe place."
Baby boxes are a revival of the medieval "foundling wheels," where unwanted infants were left in revolving church doors. In recent years, there has been an increase in these contraptions — also called hatches, windows or slots in some countries — and at least 11 European nations now have them, according to United Nations figures. They are technically illegal, but mostly operate in a gray zone as authorities turn a blind eye.
But they have drawn the attention of human rights advocates who think they are bad for the children and merely avoid dealing with the problems that lead to child abandonment. At a meeting last month, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child said baby boxes should be banned and is pushing that agenda to the European Parliament.
There are nearly 100 baby boxes in Germany. Poland and the Czech Republic each have more than 40 while Italy, Lithuania, Russia and Slovakia have about 10 each. There are two in Switzerland, one in Belgium and one being planned in the Netherlands.
In the last decade, hundreds of babies have been abandoned this way; it's estimated one or two infants are typically left at each location every year, though exact figures aren't available.
"They are a bad message for society," said Maria Herczog, a Hungarian child psychologist on the U.N. committee. "These boxes violate children's rights and also the rights of parents to get help from the state to raise their families," she said.
"Instead of providing help and addressing some of the social problems and poverty behind these situations, we're telling people they can just leave their baby and run away."
She said the practice encourages women to have children without getting medical care. "It's paradoxical that it's OK for women to give up their babies by putting them in a box, but if they were to have them in a hospital and walk away, that's a crime," Herczog said. She said the committee is now discussing the issue with the European Parliament and is also asking countries which allow the practice to shut them down.
Herczog also said it's wrong to assume only mothers are abandoning these children and that sometimes they may be forced into giving up children they might otherwise have kept. "We have data to show that in some cases it's pimps, a male relative or someone who's exploiting the woman," she said.
In some countries — Australia, Canada and Britain — it is illegal to abandon an infant anywhere. Yet, in the U.S. there are "safe haven" laws that allow parents to anonymously give up an infant in a secure place like a hospital or police department. A handful of other countries including Japan and Slovakia have similar provisions.
Countries that support this anonymous abandonment method contend they save lives. In a letter responding to U.N. concerns, more than two dozen Czech politicians said they "strongly disagreed" with the proposed ban. "The primary aim of baby hatches, which (have) already saved hundreds of newborns, is to protect their right to life and protect their human rights," the letter said.
However, limited academic surveys suggest this hasn't reduced the murder of infants. There are about 30 to 60 infanticides in Germany every year, a number that has been relatively unchanged for years, even after the arrival of baby boxes. That's similar to the per capita rate in Britain where there is no such option.
Across Germany, there is considerable public support for the boxes, particularly after several high-profile cases of infanticide, including the grisly discovery several years ago of the decomposed remains of nine infants stuffed into flower pots in Brandenburg.
Officials at several facilities with baby boxes say biological parents sometimes name the infant being abandoned. "The girl is called Sarah," read one note left with a baby in Lubeck, Germany in 2003. "I have many problems and a life with Sarah is just not possible," the letter said.
The secretive nature also means few restrictions on who gets dropped off, even though the boxes are intended for newborns. Friederike Garbe, who oversees a baby box in Lubeck, found two young boys crying there last November. "One was about four months old and his brother was already sitting up," she said. The older boy was about 15 months old and could say "Mama."
Still, Germany's health ministry is considering other options. "We want to replace the necessity for the baby boxes by implementing a rule to allow women to give birth anonymously that will allow them to give up the child for adoption," said Christopher Steegmans, a ministry spokesman.
Austria, France, and Italy allow women to give birth anonymously and leave the baby in the hospital to be adopted. Germany and Britain sometimes allow this under certain circumstances even though it is technically illegal. Eleven other nations grant women a "concealed delivery" that hides their identities when they give birth to their babies, who are then given up for adoption. But the women are supposed to leave their name and contact information for official records that may be given one day to the children if they request it after age 18.
For German couple Andy and Astrid, an abandoned infant in a baby box near the city of Fulda ended their two-year wait to adopt a child nearly a decade ago.
"We were told about him on a Sunday and then visited him the next day in the hospital," said Astrid, a 37-year-old teacher, who along with her husband, agreed to talk with The Associated Press if their last names were not used to protect the identity of their child. The couple quietly snapped a few photos of the baby boy they later named Jan. He weighed just over 7 pounds when he was placed in the baby box, wrapped in two small towels.
When Jan started asking questions about where he came from around age 2, his parents explained another woman had given birth to him. They showed him the photos taken at the hospital, introduced him to the nurses there and showed him the baby box where he had been left.
Earlier this year, the couple began the procedure to adopt a second child, a boy whose mother gave birth anonymously so she could give him up for adoption.
Astrid said Jan, now 8, loves football, tractors and anything to do with the farming that he sees daily in their rural community. She said it's not so important for her and her husband to know who his biological parents are.
But for Jan, "it would be nice to know that he could meet them if he wanted to," she said. "I want that for him, but there is no possibility to find out who they were."

Medical writer Maria Cheng reported from London.

I was an abandoned baby and I know how hard it is to live in this world with out having the love of a mother.  Sometimes a mother cannot keep her baby and it is sad when governments stand against the ways that can make a baby safe and a mother ok to leave her baby behind knowing her baby will be ok.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Manly Palmer Hall

Cover of "The Lost Keys of Freemasonry (A...
Cover via Amazon
Manly was born on March 18th in 1901, which makes him a Pisces.  He passed from this earth on August 29, 1990 (aged 89)
Los Angeles, California

 Manly Palmer Hall was a Canadian-born author and mystic. He is perhaps most famous for his work The Secret Teachings of All Ages: An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy, published in 1928 when he was 27 years old.

Manly Palmer Hall was a Canadian-born author and mystic. He is perhaps most famous for his work The Secret Teachings of All Ages: An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy, which is widely regarded as his magnum opus, and which he published at the age of 27.

He has been widely recognized as a leading scholar in the fields of religion, mythology, mysticism, and the occult.

In 1934, Hall founded the Philosophical Research Society (PRS) in Los Angeles, California, dedicating it to an idealistic approach to the solution of human problems. The PRS claims to be non-sectarian and entirely free from educational, political, or ecclesiastical control, and the Society's programs stress the need for the integration of philosophy, religion, and science into one system of instruction. The PRS Library, a public facility devoted to source materials in obscure fields, has many rare and scarce items now impossible to obtain elsewhere.

In 1973 (47 years after writing The Secret Teachings of All Ages), Hall was recognized as a 33º Mason (the highest honor conferred by the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite), at a ceremony held at PRS on December 8th, despite never being initiated into the physical craft.

In his over 70-year career, Hall delivered approximately 8,000 lectures in the United States and abroad, authored over 150 books and essays, and wrote countless magazine articles.

http://www.manlyphall.org/

Works

  • Selected Major Works
    • The Secret Teachings of All Ages, 1928 PRS
    • Meditation Symbols In Eastern & Western Mysticism-Mysteries of the Mandala, The Philosophical Research Society,Inc.,1988. ISBN 0-89314-543-2
    • The Lost Keys Of Freemasonry, 1923
  • Other Books & Texts
    • Lectures in Ancient Philosophy: An Introduction to Practical Ideals
    • The Adepts Series PRS
    • Lady of Dreams: A fable in the manner of the Chinese (Los Angeles, 1943)
    • The Blessed Angels: A Monograph
    • Lectures on Ancient Philosophy—An Introduction to the Study and Application of Rational Procedure, The Hall Publishing Company, Los Angeles, First Edition, 1929, Rosicrucian and Masonic Origins (chapter 19)
    • Introduction to Max Heindel's Blavatsky and The Secret Doctrine, 1933,
    • The Secret Destiny of America (Los Angeles, 1944)
    • America's Assignment with Destiny (Los Angeles, 1994)
    • Unofficial Listing of All Books by Manly P. Hall, with topics
  • Journals
    • Catalogs of articles in The All-Seeing Eye, Horizon, and PRS Journal 
  • Essays
    • Atlantis, An Interpretation
    • Symbolic Essays
    • Noah and His Wonderful Ark
    • The Fraternity of the Rosecross From: The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly P. Hall. PRS., 1928
IMG 2711  St Margaret's Anglican Church Bell Bellingen

Images @ Eminpee Fotography - Church Bell

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Mia Dyson – Jesse

by John Hardaker

ARIA nominee Mia Dyson is shining a light on a dark corner of Australia’s history, the practice of forced adoptions, brought to the forefront with the Victorian government’s recent apology to victims.

Her latest single “Jesse” was written last year for her new album The Moment (which is vying for an ARIA Award later this month) after fan Lesley Pearse approached her after a show to ask whether she could write a song about her plight.

“Lesley’s story had a profound effect on me,” said Dyson. “As an unwed mother in the early 70′s, she was sent to live out her pregnancy away from family and friends, told she was an unfit parent and coerced by social workers into signing papers to hand her baby over under immense pressure.”

“I was shamed into giving up my baby and told that if I loved the child I would do what was ‘right’ – relinquish my baby to a married couple,” explained Lesley Pearse. “I was told I would ‘never be able to have any contact with my baby again’.”

“The idea that this was not just a one-off, but a systemic atrocity that has affected both mothers and their children for decades after really shocked me,” said Dyson. “I was driven to write Jesse as I think that understanding and sharing their story is the best tribute we can give to these brave women as we move towards a national apology in 2013.”

‘Jesse’ is the third single from Mia’s acclaimed fourth album The Moment which has been labelled as a “career defining record” (Herald Sun) and “an epic piece of work” (Rhythms).

Via Flickr:
We stayed at my Uncles Fishing Shack at Tweed Heads and took Jesse everywhere for a holiday. Jesse was six months old in 1989.
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Friday, November 23, 2012

Glenugie/ Pillar Valley Community Stands Strong Against Coal Seam Gas Drilling

Glenugie Community Protest Metgasco CSG
Glenugie Community Protest Metgasco CSG (Photo credit: kateausburn)
This press release comes from a Lock the Gate member group in the Clarence Valley, NSW. It is the second day of their action opposing Metgasco's plans to drill near Grafton - Metgasco are currently doing site preparation ahead of plans to commence drilling in early December.

See a map of the drill site here: http://bit.ly/SMAvfi

Check this website for latest updateshttp://www.csgfreenorthernrivers.org/?p=1366

Media Release: 22nd November 2012
Glenugie Community  Stands Strong Against Coal Seam Gas Drilling

A  community protest against coal seam gas drilling in the Clarence Valley  near Grafton continues this morning. Local residents of the Glenugie and Pillar Valley area have gathered at the drill site for a second day to protest Metgasco’s coal seam gas operations in their neighbourhood.

“Fifty local residents gathered yesterday to protest against Metgasco’s activities in our area,” said Sarah Fletcher, who lives across the road from the drill site.

“None of us have been notified by Metgasco that they were going to commence work here,” said Ms. Fletcher. 

“There has been no engagement with the community and no transparency from Metgasco.”

“These operations are going ahead without the support of the local community- we do not want to live in a gas field,” she said.

“Our important local wetland habitat areas and rich biodiversity are under threat from coal seam gas mining in this locality,” said Denise Dean of Pillar Valley.

“We are particularly worried about the risks to our local waterways and associated wetlands as there have been no studies to understand the impacts of mining in the Coldstream River catchment.

“Our area is home to threatened aquatic species like the Oxleyan Pygmy Perch and green and Golden Bell Frog and waterbirds such as Brolga, Black Necked Stork and Magpie Geese.”

“We are not going to give up the fight to protect our precious local environment from coal seam gas mining,” she said.

Photos: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.418833154855424.95803.149255515146524&type=1

Higher Res photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/treslola/sets/72157632066180911/

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Thursday, November 22, 2012

How Bad Is It Really To Eat Junk Food?

Animation of the structure of a section of DNA...
Animation of the structure of a section of DNA. The bases lie horizontally between the two spiraling strands. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
From WORLD TRUTH

If we all dropped dead after eating junk food, the message would have been loud and clear: DO NOT INGEST! 
But this is one of the things we probably have to learn the hard way. Many people these days struggle through a  long time of  sickness, being plagued with low immunity, high toxicity, and a wide range of metabolic imbalances. Most likely they will have to leave this world in a hospital, after a long addiction to medical drugs and doctors.
In the Aboriginal tribes on the other hand, the elderly leave their community and go alone to die in the wilderness when they “feel” it’s time to go. Just like that, on their own feet. Decent. Proud. Simple. Peaceful. In perfect harmony with Nature.
Most modern, “civilized” people refuse to make and acknowledge any connection between the food they ingest, their lifestyle and their health. And they can do that because the effects of poisoning our bodies are as cumulative as they are most of the times delayed.
When you store enough toxins to build up cancer in your body, the first thought that comes to mind is  ”I have to kill it“, NOT  ”The food I ate and the lifestyle I had were bad, I have to start all new and heal my body and mind“. As you see, the focus is mainly to “kill” something external, a diseases that fell on our heads with no reason, out of nowhere (like conventional medicine likes us to believe) and NOT internal, based on our own actions and choices.
This mentality allows it to easily find excuses that validate our eating behavior, with no regard to the massive negative effect the junk food industry has on the human race. And processed, toxic food can come in many forms and sizes: from packaged dinners, “cardboard” cereal boxes, factory raised meat, pasteurized conventional dairy, GMO foods, to candy and even eating un-sprouted, un-soaked, and un-fermented grains, legumes and nuts.
Some of us have awaken and now see the connection. They see and understand that you ARE what you eat…

But have you ever wondered…”How bad is it, really, to eat junk food?”
To put it simple, it goes down to your DNA. Here are the scientific facts:
1. The connection between FOOD and ALTERED GENES in humans
What we eat and what we are exposed to in our environment directly affects our DNA and its expression. Epigenetic factors (“beyond the control of the gene”) are directly and indirectly influenced by the presence or absence of key nutrients in the diet, as well as exposures to toxins, chemicals, pathogens and other environmental factors.
The “genetic material” a mother transmits to her baby is made up of very complex factors, but they all come down to the answers to these simple questions: What did the mom eat? What was her lifestyle? What were her health problems?
In her book “Deep Nutrition“, Catherine Shanahan, MD talks about how genes are affected by the foods we eat:
Epigenetic researchers study how our genes react to our behavior, and they’ve found that just about everything we eat, think, breathe, or do can, directly or indirectly, trickle down to touch the gene and affect its performance in some way. (…) Not only does what we eat affect us down to the level of our genes, our physiques have been sculpted, in part, by the foods our parents and grandparents ate (or didn’t eat) generations ago. (…) (1)
In 2005 scientists from Spain that study epigenetics showed why twins with identical DNA might develop completely different medical problems. And this is very important because conventional medicine wants us to believe that many diseases are out of our own control, that beautiful and healthy people are just a matter of luck and genetic chance.
The study showed that “if one twin smokes, drinks and eats nothing but junk food while the other takes care of her body, the two sets of DNA are getting entirely different chemical “lessons” – one is getting a balanced education when the other is getting schooled in the dirty streets of chemical chaos. ” (1)
So genes actually make very intelligent decisions guided in part by the chemical information in the food we eat. Food is the primary way we interact with our environment and it CAN alter genetic information in the space of a single generation. Researchers have become to understand that DNA has been programmed at some point in the past by epigenetic markers that can turn certain DNA portions on or off in response to certain nutrients.  If, for example there is no enough calcium and vitamin D in the body, the genes remain “dormant” (turned off) and less bone is built in the body, until the specific nutrients are again available. A “forgetful”, “dormant”, “turned off” gene can be “retrained” to function normally under the right environment.
The anthropologic literature is full of evidence and discoveries that link skeletal modification over time to dietary changes. Narrow face, small jaw, crooked teeth, thinned lips, thin bones, flattened features can be all observed in modern generations. And disproportionality disables the body’s ability to function properly.
2. Gene mutation and Methylation
It is estimated that 49% of the general population has an under methylation gene defect.  They cannot detoxify well. “More than any other molecule, methyl groups are involved in the healthy function of the body’s life processes, and more than any other molecule, the lack of methyl groups for methylation is involved in chronic, degenerative diseases, autoimmune concerns, hormonal processes and neurotransmitter balances.(…)
The onslaught of cellular damage has only increased in the past ten years. The toxic environment damages cellular function deep within the cell’s epigenetics. Ionizing (x-rays, mammograms) and non-ionizing (cell phones, airport scanners) radiation damage DNA. Genetically modified food damage DNA more and more every day as Round Up Ready genetically modified (GMO) toxins are being incorporated into infants DNA around the world.” (2)
How do methyl groups get damaged?
Poor nutrition along with stress, free radical damage, lack of vitamin B 12 and folic acid and exposure to environmental toxins all damage methyl groups. Methyl groups also decline with the aging processes.
Why are methyl donors so important?
Our bodies conduct a billion methylation processes every moment of our lives! Methyl groups keep every cell doing its correct job for the good of the whole according to the body’s innate intelligence. (2)
They unlock the resistance to healing by supporting the cells with nutrition required for them to heal themselves. All genuine healing is within the cell.
The body uses millions of methyl groups to turn on the stress response according to the laws of Nature. But if a person does not have sufficient methyl donors, that person won’t be able to turn off the stress process anymore.
In a cellular methylation process called DMA Methylation, methyl groups attach to cromosomes and deactivate certain gene sequences so we don’t express them. This includes deactivating disease processes, viral genes and other deleterious elements that may be introduced to a person’s genetics. (2)
Methylation helps convert dangerous molecules to ones that the liver, gall bladder, and kidneys can eliminate.
Excessive weight gain and the inability to lose weight is a cellular issue – one involving inflammation, the cell membrane, anti-oxidants and… methylation!
These are just a few of the very important and numerous roles methylation is conducting. To find more information about this extremely complex process you could check out these websites: http://mthfr.net/http://drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/CFS_-_The_Methylation_Cyclehttp://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=837
3. The connection between FOOD and ALTERED GENES in animals
Our ancestors chose their food in terms of : good soil, healthy animal, freshly picked. It was not the cheapest, the fastest or the most convenient. And this was the reason they kept themselves healthy and thriving, staying connected to their land.
Not the case these days anymore. A surprising conclusion was drawn in a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition regarding conventional fed chickens versus organically fed chickens. It seems that organically fed chickens develop a different process of gene expression in their small intestines than that of chickens which get conventional feed.
“The result is that the genes responsible for creating cholesterol have a higher expression in organically fed chickens, yet these birds do not have elevated blood cholesterol levels. Researchers were surprised to discover that simple differences in cultivation methods can have such a drastic outcome in how chickens process their food and express it in their genes. Dr. Astrid de Greeff from Livestock Research and her colleagues came to find that 49 genes ended up regulating differently in the organic group.” (3)
As you see, you might not feel the negative effects of junk food today or tomorrow.You might even be one of the lucky ones that have stronger, healthier genes and feel relatively ok until later in life. But in the end, that doesn’t mean you and your future generations will be immune to the explosion of Franken-foods that flooded the world and are ingested every day. The old excuse “my grandma lived to be 90 and smoked and drank her whole life, I can do the same” doesn’t apply anymore, and now you know why. Because she already passed down poor genetic material determined by her lifestyle. It can’t get better from there.
Resources:
(1). Shanahan, Catherine. Deep Nutrition
(2). Tips, Jack. Methylation: The Molecule That Unlocks The Body’s Healing Response

Images @ Melonpopzdropz Flickr
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Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Protesters blockade CSG company site at Glenugie

Glenugie resident George Oxenbridge concerned over workers clearing land on property at Glenugie in preparation for gas exploration. Photo: Adam Hourigan / The Daily Examiner

Glenugie resident George Oxenbridge concerned over workers clearing land on property at Glenugie in preparation for gas exploration. Photo: Adam Hourigan / The Daily Examiner Adam Hourigan
UPDATE
CHANTING 'our land, our water, our future, no coal seam gas,' about 50 people gathered this morning to blockade the main access point to Metgasco's latest exploratory mine site, located on the Avenue, Lavadia east of Grafton Airport.
Neighbours say while they were aware of Metgasco's intentions for the site, they claim there has been very little community consultation from the mining company or from the government, and were surprised to discover work had commenced yesterday afternoon.

IMG 3702 The Metgasco Fiasco lets go in our row!


As word spread, the community came together on site to protest the arrival of Metgasco and were joined by anti-CSG protestors from across the region.
Expecting to see further work on the site today and over coming weeks, protestors say they'll be camping out for as long as it takes with the hope of preventing any further work from being undertaken.
Protestors say they fear what is likely to be devastating affects on their community and the environment.
The Daily Examiner has spoken with a representative of Metgasco and we will bring you their comments later in the day.
9:55AM
CLARENCE Valley Against Coal Seam Gas has called a "code red" and is urging people to come to the Pillar Valley/Glenugie area where Metgasco has started work.
A Facebook post was sent out last night saying:
"CODE RED: Pillar Valley/Glenugie.
"Bring food and water, your friends and neighbours, your pet raptors. Metgasco have started at the Avenue (Golden Mile Lane). Drill pad prepared and infrastructure being set up.
"This the headwaters of the Coldstream River, home to families who respect and value a healthy the environment and love life and their families.
"We need your support now.
"IT STOPS HERE. NO CSG FOR THE CLARENCE VALLEY. FRACK OFF METGASCO, ERM AND LNG CHINA."
Daily Examiner staff are on their way to the site now and we will have updates shortly.

Meanwhile send any information, photos or video to us at newsroom@dailyexaminer.com.au.

Images @ Melonpopzdropz Flickr
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