Dear folks,

You just can't believe what you read in the newspapers. Or even on the internet, for that matter. Observe the following list of honoured speakers who have appeared at prestigious Stanford University, in the USA:

Ralph Nader, consumer advocate and Green Party leader.
Jesse Jackson, civil rights activist.
Joe Dolce, harmonica virtuoso and composer of "Shaddap You Face."
Gene Kranz, NASA mission control director during Apollo 13.
Maya Angelou, poet and author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Dr. Ruth Westheimer, sex therapist.
Tony Kushner, Tony award-winning playwright of Angels in America.

Wha??? In what life did that happen? Is there a cheque forthcoming? Maybe it was an 'honorary appearance', like Bob Dylan got an 'honorary doctorate'. (I am available however so have your service call my service.)
Stanford Site

Favourite Reader Feedback

Dear Joe,
Great Newsletter again. Would you be interested in hearing the BordererS song "Uisge B'eatha" (Water of Life)? I liked your small acts paragraph. It helped us finish our new song "The Little Things".  All the best, Jim Paterson
BordererS Site

Joe;
Sounds like hyperbole, but one of your best yet. Good on ya' and keep it up. Best, JJ.

Joe,
Thank you for the uplifting message. I have been reading your missives for over a year now and forwarding them on to my friends with brains. Those with brains are deeply depressed about the election results...deeply depressed. It is difficult to listen to W describe how the economy is improving with a husband [college educated who programmed for the space shuttle at one time] who has been out of work for 3 years; with a cousin [masters in business] who has been out of work for 3 years; and a brother in law [hydraulic engineer] who has been out of work for 3 years. I thought this election would end this nightmare and give me my life back. But, I am looking at four more years of being the sole income in my family and watching as young military personnel die for no good reason. It sickens me to see the religious right describe how they want to take away the civil liberties of those who are different from them. I believe one word describes all organized religions: Intolerant. The world is not a better place for organized religion and the millions of people who have died in religions' name will never rest in peace. Your words give me comfort and reason to keep on plugging along. Keep it coming.  I really need it. from S.

Thank you Joe,
I usually receive your newsletter feeling slightly puzzled that you have my address, but also interested in the content and admiring of the energy and research you put into it. Sometimes I take the time to read it, sometimes I put it off till its gone mouldy. I am so grateful to do you for taking the trouble to find the link to Arundhati Roy's transcript. I work most of the day at the desk in my home office listening to Radio National, and have heard her interview with Phillip Adams, her acceptance speech and am becoming more and more enamoured of her clarity and in awe of her wonderful way of thinking and articulating. Still a bit ensconced in my too comfy cravass, I intend working harder to have my feathers ruffled and maybe help tip the scales from western evil to a fairer, more balanced world. I have a hard time believing that is possible with such actively malevolent intent on the part of powerful companies, wicked and retarded presidents and smug, bigotted Aus prime ministers all so enthusiastically pursuing their evil,
dishonest agendas, but my complacency doesn't only make me a puppet. It makes me compliant, it makes me an accomplice. Thank you again for that link and thanks for your efforts. Wendy E.

Hello Joe,
Your words were forwarded to me by a friend. Arundhati Roy did have some wonderful things to say. Her facts were amazing and presented convincingly. But I do not agree with a few things. In the last part of her speech she uses WAR speak, not Peace speak. And her suggestion for action is about bringing something down not building something up ­ more war speak.
"You could name them, boycott them, occupy their offices and force them out of business."
Is this not exactly what we are upset at America for doing to countries all around the world???
Thank You, Morgan

Hi Joe,
I enjoy the political content of your newsletter, along with your quirky anecdotes. However, I question Arundhati's suggestion that storming corporate offices is a solution to war? Having campaigned via donations, demonstrations & membership to Amnesty International, and over the years working as a storyteller, teacher, and singer on a European label, I've met a broad range of idealists. It seems to me that those with most substance are not necessarily the ones making the most noise. Teaching in the poorest urban region of Australia, I witness daily acts of social kindness. My colleagues work long hours in hard conditions, to assist young people who include refugees and asylum seekers. If our students climb out of the drudgery of factories, sweat-shops, car-yards, fast-food stores and supermarkets, some become the secretaries and receptionists of the types of offices that Arundhati incites us to storm. When a corporation goes down, which workers are laid off first? Isn't it the same class that war-leaders recruit? How many "politically aware" professionals or inner-city bohemians would bother to visit a bunch of teenagers in Dandenong? Not glamorous enough? Compare it with the afternoons gladly spent marching amid flashing cameras and cheering crowds.... pushing slogans to "free refugees", so easily ignored once they've actually settled, in suburbs that apparently aren't hip enough. Since when could we draw a clear line between good and evil anyway? In an episode of "The Sopranos", a mobster's wife donates $50,000 to a university, presumably one that includes pacifists, feminists, environmentalists, human rights activists and other enlightened liberals unaware that their education is partially funded by murderers: a metaphor for our entire capitalist system, perhaps, based as it is on blood money of Third World debt? I'm not suggesting we stop campaigning! I just wish our peace movement would outgrow simplistic, divisive, shallow exhibitionism. Thanks again for your unique newsletter, Louisa John-Krol.

(Note: Good point. In the context of her speech, and philosophy, I think what Arundhati Roy means is the kind of non-violent activism that Ghandi and Martin Luther King advocated. It could be argued that the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Indian boycott of English cotton forced many poor people into harder times, too. (The British Raj definitely considered Ghandi's non-violent resistance, acts of 'violence' against the British working man.)

It does raise a couple of good questions worth pondering: if someone chooses to work for a corporation that they know is involved in activities that they don't morally agree with, are they responsible for those activities?

And a much deeper question: in a democracy, if someone votes for a candidate like George W Bush, is that voter responsible for the brutal acts that their president commits on their behalf? In other words, in a democracy, is there really such a thing as 'innocent women and children' of voting age? If the pen is mightier than the sword, can votes be considered weapons?

By the way, Louisa John-Krol is a beautiful musician/singer/composer if anyone is interested in hearing some quite transcendental and very melodic music, especially the song that plays on her homepage. Louisa John-Krol Site

Here is the link to Arundhati Roy's speech in case you missed it last week.
Full Transcript
RealPlayer Audio
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Thought of the Week

Have you noticed since everyone has a camcorder these days no one talks about seeing UFOs like they used to?
(thanks to Dai Woosnam)
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Speaking of Bob Dylan

BOB DYLAN - TERRORIST COMMIE PINKO LIBERAL CREEP

The students told ABC News affiliate KMGH-TV in Denver they are performing Bob Dylan's song "Masters of War" during the Boulder High School Talent Exposé because they are Dylan fans. They said they want to express their views and show off their musical abilities.

But some students and adults who heard the band rehearse called a radio talk show Thursday morning, saying the song the band sang ended with a call for President Bush to die.

Threatening the president is a federal crime, so the Secret Service was called to the school to investigate.
(article)
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(the real thing - actual footage, taped off-air, at an Austin production facility during later months of his term as governor of Texas - approx 1 MB .mov file) .mov file
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IRAQ NOW

"The people of England have been led in Mesopotamia into a trap from which it will be hard to escape with dignity and honor. They have been tricked into it by a steady withholding of information. The Baghdad communiques are belated, insincere, incomplete. Things have been far worse than we have been told, our administration more bloody and inefficient than the public knows. It is a disgrace to our imperial record and may soon be too inflamed for any ordinary cure. We are today not far from a disaster. Our unfortunate troops, Indian and British, under hard conditions of climate and supply are policing an immense area, paying dearly every day in lives for the willfully wrong policy of the civil administration in Baghdad but the responsibility, in this case, is not on the army which has acted only upon the request of the civil authorities." T.E. Lawrence, (Lawrence of Arabia) The Sunday Times, August 1920
(thanks to stefan)

What Happened to Hearts?

By Jonathan Schell
TomDispatch.com

" . . .The "immediate objective is to dissuade Sunni townspeople from joining, supporting or tolerating the insurrection," and "the price they will pay for doing so is being illustrated graphically in the streets of Fallujah." This isn't a lesson for the heart -- the organ of love, enthusiasm, positive approval. The reaction of the heart -- whether Iraqi or American -- could only be pity, disgust and indignation. Thus, only the "minds" of "the townspeople" could draw the necessary conclusions, as they survey the corpse-strewn wreckage of their city. In short, the people of Iraq will be stricken with fear, or, to use another word that's very popular these days, terror. Then they'll be ready to vote."
(article)
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FATHER GUISEPPI'S CHRISTIAN HOUR

School Mandates Alternate Evolution Theory
By MARTHA RAFFAELE, Associated Press Writer

DOVER, Pa. - When talk at the high school here turns to evolution, biology teachers have to make time for Charles Darwin as well as his detractors. With a vote last month, the school board in rural south-central Pennsylvania community is believed to have become the first in the nation to mandate the teaching of "intelligent design," which holds that the universe is so complex that it must have been created by an unspecified higher power. (article)

Creation Science Fair

Mission Statement

"It saddens me greatly that the proponents of Evolutionism have corrupted this true purpose of science and are instead using it as a propaganda tool to spread Secularism. But what is education for if not to fight against ignorance such as that? Our children are the future face of Science and we must teach them to recognize the truth of the Word of the Lord so as to break the cycle of Evolutionism dogma that is paralyzing scientific development and making higher education a dumping ground for the excesses of materialistic philosophies." Dr Richard Paley

Here are some of the winning submissions:

Elementary Level

1st Place: "My Uncle Is A Man Named Steve (Not A Monkey)"
Cassidy Turnbull (grade 5) presented her uncle, Steve. She also showed photographs of monkeys and invited fairgoers to note the differences between her uncle and the monkeys. She tried to feed her uncle bananas, but he declined to eat them. Cassidy has conclusively shown that her uncle is no monkey.

MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL

1st Place: "Life Doesn't Come From Non-Life"
Patricia Lewis (grade 8) did an experiment to see if life can evolve from non-life. Patricia placed all the non-living ingredients of life - carbon (a charcoal briquet), purified water, and assorted minerals (a multi-vitamin) - into a sealed glass jar. The jar was left undisturbed, being exposed only to sunlight, for three weeks. (Patricia also prayed to God not to do anything miraculous during the course of the experiment, so as not to disqualify the findings.) No life evolved. This shows that life cannot come from non-life through natural processes.

2nd Place: "Women Were Designed For Homemaking"
Jonathan Goode (grade 7) applied findings from many fields of science to support his conclusion that God designed women for homemaking: physics shows that women have a lower center of gravity than men, making them more suited to carrying groceries and laundry baskets; biology shows that women were designed to carry un-born babies in their wombs and to feed born babies milk, making them the natural choice for child rearing; social sciences show that the wages for women workers are lower than for normal workers, meaning that they are unable to work as well and thus earn equal pay; and exegetics shows that God created Eve as a companion for Adam, not as a co-worker.

HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL

2nd Place: "Maximal Packing Of Rodentia Kinds: A Feasibility Study"
Jason Spinter's (grade 12) project was to show the feasibility of Noah's Ark using a Rodentia research model (made of a mixture of hamsters and gerbils) as a representative of diluvian life forms. The Rodentia were placed in a cage with dimensions proportional to a section of the Ark. The number of Rodentia used (58) was calculated using available Creation Science research and was based on the median animal size and their volumetric distribution in the Ark. The cage was also fitted with wooden dowels inserted at regular intervals through the cage walls, forming platforms which provided support for the Rodentia. Although there was little room left in the cage, all Rodentia were able to move just enough to ward off muscle atrophy. Food pellets and water were delivered to sub-surface Rodentia via plastic drinking straws inserted into the Rodentia-mass, which also served to allow internal air flow. Once a day, the cage was sprayed with water to cleanse any built-up waste. Additionally, the cage was suspended on bungee cords to simulate the rocking motion of a ship. The study lasted 30 days and 30 nights, with all Rodentia surviving at least long enough afterwards to allow for reproduction. These findings strongly suggest that Noah's Ark could hold and support representatives of all antediluvian animal kinds for the duration of the Flood and subsequent repopulation of the Earth.

Special Note from the Judges: "This is is also the first year that Muslim students from the Al-Jannah Islamic school have been invited to participate; two of their students presented a project on human anatomy entitled "Allah Created Me" which, while it was found ineligible for a prize due to a number of Biblical inconsistencies (sorry about that) , did win a special Interfaith Outreach ribbon. " (Creation Science Site)

Paedobaptism Is "Wack - MC Eschatology and Jiggy4Jesus
by Dr Andrew Miller
Pastor of the Mt Fellowship Baptist Church

" I dropped by our main auditorium yesterday while taking a much-needed respite from some vexing research into the history of Baptist succession, vis-à-vis Waldensian protoanabaptism, to investigate Pastor Fred Hoskins' Cinco de Mayo party, which had attracted quite a few curious people from the local Catholic community seeking to learn more about Jesus. Besides wanting to sate my hunger with some corn chips and avocado dip, I was also curious to hear what sort of music Fred had lined up; I find his ministry most intriguing in the way he repurposes popular forms to spread the Gospel to the youth. When I came in, he was performing a hip-hop song, or rap, with Mr. M.C. Eschatology of the rapping group, Jiggy4Jesus. ("Jiggy" is an urban-youth term meaning "to be in touch with what's happening" (not in Australia, it isn't pastor! See 'Wogs Out of Work')-- apparently, it's been lately added to the OED; I shall have to see that the Mt. Fellowship library gets new volumes!) While I have heard some rapping before, I had never given much thought to its value in correcting the spread of erroneous doctrines in today's generation. However, after hearing the song that Fred and M.C. performed, I have had my eyes opened to the pedagogical possibilities of this modern form of syncopated doxology. In what can only be a Sign from the Lord of the importance of my inchoate research, the song they performed was called "Baby Got Baptism" and was about the very same erroneous doctrine of paedobaptism (or "infant baptism") that many of the Waldenses themselves endeavored to correct -- and which, sadly, is still promulged throughout most of the world. Fred was kind enough to give to me a CD with the song that included printed lyrics -- co-written by him and Mr. Eschatology, a few verses of which I'll reproduce here (do not be put off by the unusual spelling; it is part of the hip-hop vernacular):

An excellent argument against the error of paedobaptism. I think I shall play it on Sunday during my sermon so the congregation can become jiggy to urban youth hermeneutics." (article)

(My Note: Paedobaptism = Infant baptism. What a creepy word! Maybe the Universe was created by an unspecified lower power? Just a thought . . . )
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COMIC RELIEF

Jesus dies and goes up to Heaven. Having never seen his Father, he is finally looking forward to meeting the Grand Old Man he has been talking to for so long and seeing what he looks like.

He asks St. Peter "Where is my father?" But St. Peter says he doesn't know.
He asks the archangel Gabriel, "Where is my father?" But Gabriel doesn't know.
He asks John the Baptist "Where is my father?" But John does not know.

Suddenly, out of the mist, he sees a bent-over Italian man in a long robe coming toward him. The man is very old, with white hair, and has a slight limp. He's drinking Holy Wine from a Chianti bottle.

"Stop!" Jesus yells. "Who are you?"

"Oh, I am-a but -a a simple-a old-a man in search-a of my son."

Jesus is without words. Could this be his father?

"Tell me of your son, old man," asks Jesus.

"Oh, you would-a know him if you-a saw him. Holes inna his-a hands where the nails used to be. My son-a was-a hung-a from-a da cross, you know..."

"Father!!!!!" screams Jesus.

"Pinocchio!!!!!!!" yells the old man.

'Evangelical Christianity Has Been Hijacked'
An Interview with Tony Campolo
by Laura Sheahen

Speaking out on gays, women and more, a progressive evangelical says 'We ought to get out of the judging business.'

Evangelical leader, sociology professor, and Baptist minister Tony Campolo made headlines in the 1990s when he agreed to be a spiritual counselor to President Bill Clinton. A self-described Bible-believing Christian, he has drawn fire from his fellow evangelicals for his stance on contemporary issues like homosexuality. He talked with Beliefnet recently about his new book, Speaking My Mind.

Q. It's a common perception that evangelical Christians are conservative on issues like gay marriage, Islam, and women's roles. Is this the case?

Well, there's a difference between evangelical and being a part of the Religious Right. A significant proportion of the evangelical community is part of the Religious Right. My purpose in writing the book was to communicate loud and clear that I felt that evangelical Christianity had been hijacked. When did it become anti-feminist? When did evangelical Christianity become anti-gay? When did it become supportive of capital punishment? Pro-war? When did it become so negative towards other religious groups? (article)
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MUSIC

Ukulele Ike

Cliff Edwards (1895-1971) sang the brilliant song, 'When You Wish Upon A Star,' in Walt Disney's 'Pinocchio', and his distinctive voice was also the unforgettable voice of Jiminy Cricket. This song became the theme song for Disney all over the world, but oddly (read: crookedly), Edward's name does not appear on any of the credits for the film. He was a master of the ukulele and a style of 'kazoo-like scat singing he called 'eefin.' He left a huge body of work in the days of the 78 rpm record. Cliff Edwards site
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MARIONETTE

(The meaning of this word may have come from 'Little Mary.')

BENNY HINN PUPPET MASTER
Jesus Christ allegedly serves as marionette to Benny Hinn, the puppeteer.

"You know one of these days we may show you what happened in our church in Orlando when I had the church in Florida.  I was preaching, I was actually ministering on a Sunday night to the sick when suddenly the people began screaming as the Lord's face appeared on the balcony.  We have it on video. The Lord's face appeared on the balcony  and what was so remarkable is right before that the same face appeared in the children's church on a blackboard.    And a little child sitting there with crippled legs was healed instantly.  The teacher comes running down from the balcony screaming and shouting, the kids are all behind her, telling us how the Lord had appeared up there.  And when she came running down that's when the face of the Lord appeared in the main sanctuary.  She was screaming, we all began screaming, and for eight weeks the Lord's face sit on that balcony, on the wall.  And what was even more remarkable is that night, that Sunday night service when I was having a healing service, as I was speaking the mouth was moving.  The mouth ... the Lord's face was on the wall and you could see the mouth moving as I was speaking.  And we thought, it was maybe, you know, it had to do with the lights, you know just how we are all human beings, we're like Thomas sometimes who say "Is this for real"?  And, and, and the next day, Monday, the lights were all out ... it was still there!  Eight weeks later it was still there." (Benny Hinn, This Is Your Day) (article)

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain! Now it's your turn to control the man who controls the man who's losing control of everything! The Model 100-C Dick Cheney marionette is 17" of NeoCon hilarity.
Dick Cheney Marionette Site
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USA Animated Atlas

(This is fantastic!)

This moving map of the USA, showing it from the beginning of the 13 states and going through the present. It includes the acquisitions from England and Spain, the Slave states, the Free states, a segment on the Civil war. (Be sure your sound is on). (USA Animated Atlas)
(thanks to John Jacobs)
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A Day in the Life of Joe Republican

"The national government will maintain and defend the foundations on which the power of our nation rests. It will offer strong protection to Christianity as the very basis of our collective morality. Today Christians stand at the head of our country. We want to fill our culture again with the Christian spirit. We want to burn out all the recent immoral developments in literature, in the theatre, and in the press-- in short, we want to burn out the poison of immorality which has entered into our whole life and culture as a result of LIBERAL excess during the past years." Adolf Hitler

Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards.

With his first swallow of coffee, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to insure their safety and that they work as advertised. All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance -- now Joe gets it, too.

He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry. In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

It's noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression. Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime.

Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards.

He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification. He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to.

Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."
(thanks to Margret RoadKnight)
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JOKE (HE WOOD IF HE COOD)

A man boarded an aircraft at London's Heathrow Airport, and taking his seat as he settled in,
he noticed a very beautiful woman boarding the plane.
 
He realised she was heading straight toward his seat and bingo: she took the seat right beside him.
Eager to strike up a conversation, he blurted out, business trip or vacation?"
 
She turned, smiled enchantingly and said, Business. I'm going to the Annual Nymphomaniac
Convention in the United States."
 
He swallowed hard. Here was the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen sitting next to him,
and she was going to a meeting for nymphomaniacs!
 
Struggling to maintain his composure, he calmly asked, "What's your business role at this Convention?"
 
"Lecturer," she responded. "I use my experience to debunk some of the popular myths about sexuality."
 
"Really", he smiled, "what myths are those?"
 
"Well," she explained, "one popular myth is that African-American men are the most well endowed when, in fact, it's the Native American Indian who is most likely to possess that trait.
 
Another popular myth is that French men are the best lovers, when actually it is the men of Greek descent.
 
We have also found that the best potential lovers in all categories are the Irish."
 
Suddenly the woman became uncomfortable and blushed. "I'm sorry," she said. "I really shouldn't be discussing this with you,  I don't even know your name!"

"Tonto," the man said. "Tonto Papadopoulos....but my friends call me Paddy.
(thanks to Jim Testa)
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Microchips & Woodchips

TWO VIEWS OF THE NEXT CENTURY

Chipping at the Future

By Lucrezia Cuen
ABCNEWS.com
R E A D I N G, England - When Kevin Warwick enters his office building on the campus of Reading University, strange things happen. Lights turn on. Doors open. The building says, "Hello Professor Warwick." The structure knows Warwick because of the electrical fuse-sized "smart card" implanted in his left arm. In Britain, he's been dubbed "The Cyborg Man," the first person known to have a microchip implanted in his body for communication with outside machines.
Professor Warwick claims the real possibilities for the technology will begin when the brain initiates contact with computers. "Ultimately, if we connect up the human nervous system to such an implant .... the possibility is for humans by their thought processes to interact with a computer." Warwick says he can imagine a world where people communicate with their computers without keyboards. Once enough people have implants they may be able to use their thoughts to access the Internet and communicate with others-making telephones obsolete and revolutionizing technology in the next century. (article)

Human Extinction Within 100 Years Warns New Zealand Scientist
By JOHN HENZELL

A top New Zealand researcher is using a prestigious award ceremony in Christchurch to warn that humans face extinction by the end of the century. Professor Peter Barrett will be presented with the Marsden Medal tonight for his 40-year contribution to Antarctic research, latterly focusing on climate change.

The director of Victoria University's Antarctic Research Centre expects to use his acceptance speech to warn climate change was a major threat to the planet.

"After 40 years, I'm part of a huge community of scientists who have become alarmed with our discovery, that we know from our knowledge of the ancient past, that if we continue our present growth path, we are facing extinction," Barrett said. "Not in millions of years, or even millennia, but by the end of this century." (article)
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RECIPE

Sweet Polenta

This is a very simple late night dessert.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cornmeal
3 tbles honey
few drops of vanilla essence
butter, to taste
fresh sliced fruit
extra milk
ground cinnamon

Mix cornmeal with 1/4 cup cold milk. Place 1 cup of milk in a sauce pan. Stir in the milk/cornmeal mixture, add the honey and vanilla essence and slowly bring to a simmer, stirring continually. When the polenta is firm enough so that a spoon stands up in it unassisted, remove from heat and stir in the butter.
Serve with an extra knob of butter, sliced fruit (such as bananas or apples) some cinnamon sprinkled over, and extra milk.