leak that wiki!

I'm writing to ask for your reactions to the dissemination over the internet of over 250,000 classified correspondences containing government secrets.  I have had spare time to research the issue, so in case you're wondering what is going on, let me give you my understanding.  An Austrailian computer programmer, Julian Assange, and a group of volunteers collected sensitive government documents from hundreds of government employees who had smuggled (leaked) them from embassy buildings, intelligence centers, etc. in countries all over the world.  Before the most recent leak (cable gate), Wikileaks published a series on the Iraq war, exposing inhumane military activity Assange claims is evidence for war crimes.  Bradley Manning is a private for the US military, detained as a suspect for leaking, facing 52+ years in prison if convicted.
From reading these documents, we get to hear leaders insult each other, see behind the scenes of "alliances"--it turns out Hillary Clinton ordered ambassadors to spy on leaders of our closest allies in UK, Germany, and even Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon from S. Korea.  Having read only a handful of the actual documents whose topics range from coups in Honduras to Chinese companies selling Russian-made gyroscopes to Iran, to Iraqi-American refugees landing in Turkey, having read responses from our government officials, I am convinced our politicians are acting out of embarrassment more than out of concern.  I am eager to read more of these documents but wikileaks' website is overwhelmed with traffic.  www.wikileaks.org

I am very interested to hear your thoughts.  In my opinion these leaked documents hold our leaders accountable to their word, which is why you see them squirming in anguish and making up rubbish like "wikileaks should be considered a terrorist organization" and "what wikileaks has done is worse than a military assault."  But it's possible I am too steeped in "the liberal west coast mentality" as my loved ones in the heartland say.

Hanukkah starts tomorrow, time for Latkes, doughnuts, and applesauce!

reading rumi

I will start today's reflection with one of my favorite poems by Rumi.

Giving thanks for abundance is sweeter than abundance itself.

Should one who is absorbed with the generous one be distracted by the gift?

Thankfulness is the soul of beneficence, abundance is but the husk;

for thankfulness leads to where the beloved lives.

Abundance yields heedlessness, thankfulness brings alertness.

Hunt for bounty with a net of gratitude.

Masnavi iii

I am tremendously thankful for friends and family who have shown me kindness and given me a place to stay during the last several months--David & Michele, Jess & Dustin, Abigail & Alisa, Uncle Tim & Aunt Donna, Dennis Quaid, Michelle, Emily, Jill, Saun, Karina, Javier, Corbin, Nick, Jenny, Rachael, Shane, Katie, Tyler, Dad & Mom, Cornelius & Shauna, Katie Ann, Naomi, Marie, Doro, Megan  And for friends and family I am excited to see soon--Emily, Michael, Lindsey, Haddie, Bonesaw.  You are all on my heart and I pray God's blessing on you.

As I reflect on where and what brings focus to my mind's eye, I am reminded of something my father used to tell us: The person you will someday be you are now becoming. Megan and I took the chance to visit a few medical schools in Portland last weekend which inspired us to the point of break dancing and fits of laughter. Newly formulated goals:

learn to play on the piano all four parts of Lift Every Voice and Sing simultaneously

Hablar español cada día hasta que no hayan mas palabras para aprender!

Take chemistry and biology classes

A temporary home in Eugene has awarded so many good things including music practice with friends, continued Bible study (Moses just died after seeing the promised land without ever entering that land.)  The nations must have been terribly wicked for God to want them wiped clear off the face of the earth, but it's hard to imagine them any more wicked than Israel, yet God forgives them again and again meanwhile destroying the most wicked of them.

Lastly, I wish to recommend the film Temple Grandin, a sensational true story about a woman with autism (played by Claire Danes) who through her marvelous resolve toward her dreams, accomplishes above and beyond what anyone ever expected.  This film reminded me how valuable each and every person is and how helping a person realize her own endless potential enriches, not only that person's life, but all the lives of everyone who encounters her.  "I ONLY EAT JELL-O AND YOGURT!"

radioactive ideas on local energy

Many Americans are so accustomed to lifestyles depending on their relatively high energy consumption that they do not weigh (or choose not to think about) the risks of harvesting resources. We must not mistake luxury for necessity, for doing so could blind us to our creative potential in overcoming challenges in the energy arena.  Some assumptions we make that we all ought to revisit and reconsider: I have to drive my car to work. I have to comfort my house at a precise temperature. I have to eat the food I want regardless of how far it traveled to the store. I have to flush my shit with drinking water. According the the US Department of Energy, of all energy consumed by US individuals and companies, 93% comes from non-renewable sources: 37% from petroleum; 24% from natural gas; 23% from coal; 8% from nuclear electric.  Only 7% comes from renewable sources like hydroelectric, wind, solar, and bio-fuels.  Using coal pollutes our air, endangers miners, causes acid rain, petrol is expensive. A twinge in my elbow tells me natural gas and nuclear electric are likely to be the two leading sources of energy in the coming decades despite U.S. gas and nuclear power companies--Halliburton and Entergy--leaking seriously poisonous chemicals into natural aquifers. Degree of contamination ranges from "not a threat to public health" to flammable water from the spigot!

Josh Fox, a resident of Pennsylvania, made a documentary about gas companies drilling for natural gas. One of the major controversies surrounding this issue is their method of building the gas well: hydraulic fracturing.  He takes a tour across the country to speak to citizens whose drinking water was contaminated by the drilling and his findings are striking.
If you are at all interested in energy solutions, especially if you live in PA, WV, OH, NY, I highly recommend you watch this documentary.