Senda Verde Permaculture Eco Center

Monday 30 November 2009

Freeman on the Land - what is the freeman movement about?




Freeman on the Land is an exciting and rapidly growing area of interest for all people that value their liberty. As we approach some nodal point of global change many are looking for alternatives, and the Freeman on the Land concept can only become more popular as more end up losing everything and ergo, have nothing to lose.

Thank you to Veronica, of the Chapman family for this excellent introduction to Freeman on the land.

(As simplified as I can make them, based on the work of Robert-Arthur: Menard, Mary-Elizabeth: Croft and (to some extent Winston Shrout and Irene-Maus: Gravenhorst). Basically it is their work, tweaked a bit by re-writing, and removing 'God' - thereby reducing it to absolute fundamentals)



1) 'Lawful' is what it is all about. 'Lawful' .vs. 'unlawful'. Do not get trapped into discussing 'legal'/'illegal'.

2) In order to empower a representative, you must have the power yourself. You cannot give to anyone something you, yourself do not possess. You cannot give them any more than you, yourself, possess. Consequently you can look at anything any representative does, and say "I must be entitled to do that myself, without - necessarily - empowering someone else to do it for me".

3) In a democracy, 'a majority' does not depend on 'large numbers'. A majority can be as low as ONE. And that ONE must, of itself, (therefore) carry sufficient empowerment to put any motion into practice. (The US Supreme Court has 9 Members. A 5 - 4 majority carries any ruling. That's 'democracy')

4) Consequent to (3) no Government has more power than you do yourself. The powers are equal. The only difference is that your power is inalienable - it can't be taken away from you - whereas a Government can be replaced by some other set of role players. Consequently YOU are 'supreme'.

5) 'Requesting permission' is the act of a child. 'Licencing' is 'begging for permission' and 'submitting to someone else's will'. Adults do not beg permission for something they are lawfully entitled to do, and prepared to take full responsibility for so doing. Anything for which a licence can be granted must, by definition, be fundamentally lawful (otherwise it would be incapable of being licenced), and there is, therefore, absolutely no need for an adult to 'ask such permission'. The act of 'obtaining a licence' is the act of throwing away a fundamental Right, and substituting a (revocable) privilege instead.

6) 'Registration' of anything transfers superior ownership to the entity accepting the registration. Once an item has been registered, you are no longer the OWNER (even though you will still be paying for the item), but instead you become the KEEPER. This includes cars, houses, children (who become 'wards of the state' by virtue of a birth registration), etc. ('regis ...' = handing ownership to The Crown ... which, by the way, is the British Crown in Temple Bar, and NOT Elizabeth II)

7) When parts of the Magna Carta were 'transferred' into Statutes what was actually happening was that fundamental Rights were being transferred into privileges. Thus they were being watered down. Diffused. Being rendered powerless.

8) In all cases you are always being OFFERED A SERVICE - which includes 'benefits' - in the form of privileges. You are always fully entitled to waive such services, and of course you will also be waiving the attendant benefits, as you so choose. Your choice is - ultimately - to either assert your (inalienable) Rights, or accept (revocable) privileges.

9) The law can give rise to a FICTION, but a fiction cannot give rise to a law. Consequently a legal fiction called THE GOVERNMENT has no power to make LAW. It is, in point of fact, BOUND BY LAW (like everyone else, and including all other legal fictions). PARLIAMENT is another legal fiction entity. Statutes created by Parliament are not, therefore, the LAW. They are 'legislated rules for a society' and ONLY APPLICABLE TO MEMBERS OF THAT SOCIETY. Join a different society, and you would be bound by a different set of rules. (If this were not the case it would be impossible to become, for example, a Freemason and be bound by the rules of Freemasonry). Statutes are nothing more than the Company Policy of THE UNITED KINGDOM CORPORATION, or THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CORPORATION, etc. (See 'society', below)

10) Only a sovereign flesh and blood human being, with a living soul, has a Mind. Only something with a Mind is capable of devising a CLAIM. Legal fictions are soulless, and do not possess a distinct Mind. They cannot, therefore, in LAW, make a CLAIM.

11) Consequent to the foregoing, and since the Judiciary in a court de facto derives all its power from colour-of-law/Statutes, then no court de facto has any power over you as a sovereign human being, IN FACT (although, of course, they don't bother to tell you!). A court de jure is the only kind of court to which you are subject under Common Law, and there are none of those left (unless you insist that the court operates de jure, by demanding a Trial by Jury. But they will attempt to resist that with every fibre in their 'corporate', soulless, 'bodies').

12) YOU, and your fellow countrymen, constitute the entire and total 'wealth' of your country. The resources may be considered as assets, but without you & your fellow countrymen they are worthless. A field must be ploughed, and seeded, before potatoes will grow. Once grown they must be dug up, bagged, and transported before they can do the worthwhile job of sustaining life. Without the efforts of you, and your countrymen, NOTHING can happen, and your country itself is a worthless lump of soil.

13) A Society is, in essence, nothing more than a grouping of like-minded souls since it is defined as a number of people joined by mutual consent to deliberate, determine and act for a common goal. A society makes its own rules, and its Members are duty-bound to follow them. Different societies can exist, having their own unique set of rules. One way of 'choking' the action of a court de facto is to claim membership of a society that only exists in Common Law jurisdiction. The World Freeman Society has been set up precisely for this purpose.

14) Contractual obligation. For ANY contract to be lawful, INCLUDING A CONTRACT BETWEEN YOURSELF AS PLAINTIFF OR DEFENDANT IN A COURT DE FACTO, it must comprise the following:

A) FULL DISCLOSURE by both parties. Neither party can later claim 'you should have known' if it was not specifically declared at the time of making the contract.

B) A CONSIDERATION offered by both parties, this being the subject of the exchange. It must be a sum of money, or an item of value. Both parties agree that their CONSIDERATION is worth (to them) the other party's CONSIDERATION.

C) LAWFUL TERMS & CONDITIONS for the contract, to which both parties agree.

D) 'Wet' SIGNATURES of both parties. This means hand-written SIGNATURES, as made by two human beings.

Even though businesses and officials act as though there is a lawful contract in place, 99 times out of 100 these rules have not been followed. (Maybe it is 999 times out of 1,000 - or even more!). Standing on these 4 rules, requesting proofs, is the simplest way of stalemating just about every action that may be taken against you. (See No. 16, below)

15. Agreement to pay. Consequent to (14) above, all 'payment demands', that could result in court actions against you, can be stopped by 'conditionally agreeing to pay the sum demanded', subject to proofs that the 4 rules were followed in the first place. (Make sure you send this letter by registered post, heading it 'Notice of Conditional Agreement' and including 'Without Prejudice' in a suitable place). In almost all cases no proofs are possible (because the rules were never followed lawfully). However, by 'agreeing to pay' you have removed all CONTROVERSY. Thus a court action, which is only there to adjudicate on CONTROVERSY, cannot take place. If you receive a Summons, you can write back (registered!) with a copy of your agreement to pay, subject to the proofs being presented. The court will consider that any further action is 'frivolous', i.e. a complete waste of its time, since there is no CONTROVERSY on which it can adjudicate. (The court may even consider whoever applied to the court to be in contempt). (See No. 16, below)

16. "I feel 'guilty', because I owe the money". No, you don't owe a damn thing! When taking out the loan, you were 'loaned' back what was yours in the first place. You created the 'money' when you signed the Loan or Credit Application. By doing so, YOU gave THEM a Negotiable Instrument called 'the money'. They cashed this in(*), and then used that to loan you back your own money. You don't owe a damn thing! THEY owe YOU - an apology at the very least - for applying this confidence trick on you - AND FOR CHASING YOU FOR SOMETHING YOU ALREADY GAVE THEM.

(* Actually they just could have walked away with your cash. But they didn't, because they are greedy, greedy, greedy, greedy. They knew they could get you to pay everything back, and also to pay them INTEREST on top of that. Thus they had already been paid in full ONCE when they cashed in on your money, took a risk by offering it back to you, and reckoned on being paid TWICE OR EVEN MORE via the 'interest'. Are you just beginning to feel slightly less sympathetic? If not, I don't know what else to say.

"Can this really be true?" Answer: Yes, because there is no other way. Banks are not allowed (by LAW) to lend Depositor's money (which is held by them 'in trust'). Loan Companies and Credit Card Companies (etc.) have no Deposit Money in the first place! Do they? So how else could they do it, then?)

17. 'Responsibility' .vs. 'Authority'. You can DELEGATE authority, but you can only SHARE responsibility. In other words, if you task (delegate) someone to do something, you still retain the RESPONSIBILITY for getting it done, and for anything that may happen as a result. If, for example, a Police Officer carries out any order, given by a superior, then that Officer is personally responsible for what may occur as a result, and all those up the chain of command are considered accomplices, in LAW.

(That's what the Nuremberg Trials were all about)

Therefore it is important that, if you delegate authority, you delegate to the right individual or group of individuals. You delegate to an individual who will accomplish the task without come-backs. And who you choose is your choice, and your responsibility.


TPUC has seen traffic on its web site increase over the last few months and the UK Libertarian party is growing in leaps and bounds.

Join LPUK link

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Sunday 29 November 2009

Flouride - what your dentist did not tell you


The Scientific American study "Concluded that fluoride can subtly alter endocrine function, especially in the thyroid -- the gland that produces hormones regulating growth and metabolism."

The report also notes that "a series of epidemiological studies in China have associated high fluoride exposures with lower IQ."



"Epidemiological studies and tests on lab animals suggest that high fluoride exposure increases the risk of bone fracture, especially in vulnerable populations such as the elderly and diabetics," writes Fagin.

Fagin interviewed Steven Levy, director of the Iowa Fluoride Study which tracked about 700 Iowa children for sixteen years. Nine-year-old "Iowa children who lived in communities where the water was fluoridated were 50 percent more likely to have mild fluorosis... than [nine-year-old] children living in nonfluoridated areas of the state," writes Fagin.

The study adds to a growing literature of shocking scientific studies proving fluoride's link with all manner of health defects, even as governments in the west, including recently the UK, make plans to mass medicate the population against their will with this deadly toxin.



In 2005, a study conducted at the Harvard School of Dental Health found that fluoride in tap water directly contributes to causing bone cancer in young boys.

"New American research suggests that boys exposed to fluoride between the ages of five and 10 will suffer an increased rate of osteosarcoma - bone cancer - between the ages of 10 and 19," according to a London Observer article about the study.

Based on the findings of the study, the respected Environmental Working Group lobbied to have fluoride in tap water be added to the US government's classified list of substances known or anticipated to cause cancer in humans.

Cancer rates in the U.S. have skyrocketed with one in three people now contracting the disease at some stage in their life.

The link to bone cancer has also been discovered by other scientists, but a controversy ensued after it emerged that Harvard Professor Chester Douglass, who downplayed the connection in his final report, was in fact editor-in-chief of The Colgate Oral Health Report, a quarterly newsletter funded by Colgate-Palmolive Co., which makes fluoridated toothpaste.

An August 2006 Chinese study found that fluoride in drinking water damages children's liver and kidney functions.



FACTS ABOUT FLUORIDE

- Fluoride is a waste by-product of the fertilizer and aluminum industry and it's also a Part II Poison under the UK Poisons Act 1972.

- Fluoride is one of the basic ingredients in both PROZAC (FLUoxetene Hydrochloride) and Sarin nerve gas (Isopropyl-Methyl-Phosphoryl FLUoride).

- USAF Major George R. Jordan testified before Un-American Activity committees of Congress in the 1950's that in his post as U.S.-Soviet liaison officer, the Soviets openly admitted to "Using the fluoride in the water supplies in their concentration camps, to make the prisoners stupid, docile, and subservient."

- The first occurrence of fluoridated drinking water on Earth was found in Germany's Nazi prison camps. The Gestapo had little concern about fluoride's supposed effect on children's teeth; their alleged reason for mass-medicating water with sodium fluoride was to sterilize humans and force the people in their concentration camps into calm submission. (Ref. book: "The Crime and Punishment of I.G. Farben" by Joseph Borkin.)

- 97% of western Europe has rejected fluoridated water due to the known health risks, however 10% of Britons drink it and the UK government is trying to fast track the fluoridation of the entire country's water supply.

- In Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg fluoridation of water was rejected because it was classified as compulsive medication against the subject's will and therefore violated fundamental human rights.

- In November of 2006, the American Dental Association (ADA) advised that parents should avoid giving babies fluoridated water.

- Sources of fluoride include: fluoride dental products, fluoride pesticides, fluoridated pharmaceuticals, processed foods made with fluoridated water, and tea.

more from prison planet



Statements on fluoridation by governmental officials from several European countries

Germany: "Generally, in Germany fluoridation of drinking water is forbidden. The relevant German law allows exceptions to the fluoridation ban on application. The argumentation of the Federal Ministry of Health against a general permission of fluoridation of drinking water is the problematic nature of compuls[ory] medication." (Gerda Hankel-Khan, Embassy of Federal Republic of Germany, September 16, 1999).
France: "Fluoride chemicals are not included in the list [of 'chemicals for drinking water treatment']. This is due to ethical as well as medical considerations." (Louis Sanchez, Directeur de la Protection de l'Environment, August 25, 2000).
Belgium: "This water treatment has never been of use in Belgium and will never be (we hope so) into the future. The main reason for that is the fundamental position of the drinking water sector that it is not its task to deliver medicinal treatment to people. This is the sole responsibility of health services." (Chr. Legros, Directeur, Belgaqua, Brussels, Belgium, February 28, 2000). www.fluoridation.com/c-belgium.htm

Luxembourg: "Fluoride has never been added to the public water supplies in Luxembourg. In our views, the drinking water isn't the suitable way for medicinal treatment and that people needing an addition of fluoride can decide by their own to use the most appropriate way, like the intake of fluoride tablets, to cover their [daily] needs." (Jean-Marie RIES, Head, Water Department, Administration De L'Environment, May 3, 2000).
Finland: "We do not favor or recommend fluoridation of drinking water. There are better ways of providing the fluoride our teeth need." (Paavo Poteri, Acting Managing Director, Helsinki Water, Finland, February 7, 2000). www.fluoridation.com/c-finland.htm

"Artificial fluoridation of drinking water supplies has been practiced in Finland only in one town, Kuopio, situated in eastern Finland and with a population of about 80,000 people (1.6% of the Finnish population). Fluoridation started in 1959 and finished in 1992 as a result of the resistance of local population. The most usual grounds for the resistance presented in this context were an individual's right to drinking water without additional chemicals used for the medication of limited population groups. A concept of "force-feeding" was also mentioned.

Drinking water fluoridation is not prohibited in Finland but no municipalities have turned out to be willing to practice it. Water suppliers, naturally, have always been against dosing of fluoride chemicals into water." (Leena Hiisvirta, M.Sc., Chief Engineer, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Finland, January 12, 1996.)
Denmark: "We are pleased to inform you that according to the Danish Ministry of Environment and Energy, toxic fluorides have never been added to the public water supplies. Consequently, no Danish city has ever been fluoridated." (Klaus Werner, Royal Danish Embassy, Washington DC, December 22, 1999). www.fluoridation.com/c-denmark.htm

Norway: "In Norway we had a rather intense discussion on this subject some 20 years ago, and the conclusion was that drinking water should not be fluoridated." (Truls Krogh & Toril Hofshagen, Folkehelsa Statens institutt for folkeheise (National Institute of Public Health) Oslo, Norway, March 1, 2000). www.fluoridation.com/c-norway.htm

Sweden: "Drinking water fluoridation is not allowed in Sweden...New scientific documentation or changes in dental health situation that could alter the conclusions of the Commission have not been shown." (Gunnar Guzikowski, Chief Government Inspector, Livsmedels Verket -- National Food Administration Drinking Water Division, Sweden, February 28, 2000). www.fluoridation.com/c-sweden.htm

Netherlands: "From the end of the 1960s until the beginning of the 1970s drinking water in various places in the Netherlands was fluoridated to prevent caries. However, in its judgement of 22 June 1973 in case No. 10683 (Budding and co. versus the City of Amsterdam) the Supreme Court (Hoge Road) ruled there was no legal basis for fluoridation. After that judgement, amendment to the Water Supply Act was prepared to provide a legal basis for fluoridation. During the process it became clear that there was not enough support from Parlement [sic] for this amendment and the proposal was withdrawn." (Wilfred Reinhold, Legal Advisor, Directorate Drinking Water, Netherlands, January 15, 2000). www.fluoridation.com/c-netherlands.htm

Northern Ireland: "The water supply in Northern Ireland has never been artificially fluoridated except in 2 small localities where fluoride was added to the water for about 30 years up to last year. Fluoridation ceased at these locations for operational reasons. At this time, there are no plans to commence fluoridation of water supplies in Northern Ireland." (C.J. Grimes, Department for Regional Development, Belfast, November 6, 2000).
Austria: "Toxic fluorides have never been added to the public water supplies in Austria." (M. Eisenhut, Head of Water Department, Osterreichische Yereinigung fur das Gas-und Wasserfach Schubertring 14, A-1015 Wien, Austria, February 17, 2000). www.fluoridation.com/c-austria.htm

Czech Republic:"Since 1993, drinking water has not been treated with fluoride in public water supplies throughout the Czech Republic. Although fluoridation of drinking water has not actually been proscribed it is not under consideration because this form of supplementation is considered as follows:

(a) uneconomical (only 0.54% of water suitable for drinking is used as such; the remainder is employed for hygiene etc. Furthermore, an increasing amount of consumers (particularly children) are using bottled water for drinking (underground water usually with fluor)

(b) unecological (environmental load by a foreign substance)

(c) unethical ("forced medication")

(d) toxicologically and phyiologically debateable (fluoridation represents an untargeted form of supplementation which disregards actual individual intake and requirements and may lead to excessive health-threatening intake in certain population groups; [and] complexation of fluor in water into non biological active forms of fluor." (Dr. B. Havlik, Ministerstvo Zdravotnictvi Ceske Republiky, October 14, 1999).
thanks to "jesuitsdidit"

Watch the movies
The Fluoride Deception
Why Fluoridation should be stopped

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Saturday 28 November 2009

Permaculture at the supermarket by Daniel Walter


The local small town shopping centre; A great place to pick up milk, gasbag about Mrs Jones’ promiscuous cat and find potatoes growing wild on the medium strip.

While collecting cardboard from the recycle bin the other day for a sheet mulching exercise, I found this little guild – of a spud with a purslane ground cover – occurring right outside the local convenience store. Right next to this companioning I also found a heap of lawn clippings, so I did what any permy would do when faced with such an opportunity. I mulched it.

Making use of old fashioned techniques I used the disregarded resource (mulch) and hilled our little friend in the hope of potentially obtaining a crop. This is what us permies like to refer as a “happy accident”. (I can personally relate to the potato as my parents sometimes referred to me as a “happy accident”.)

While being the potato paparazzi afterwards, I was spotted being snap happy by the manager of the convenience store who enquired as to why I was doing this act of clickity click. So always up for the chance to chat about gardening stuff, I explained the situation and my intentions of follow up. Of course he laughed cause I am pretty funny in my explanation of such things (tickets please!!). We were both quite curious as to how the spud got there in the first place.



Bringing food back to the ‘burbs, one spud at a time

My guess is that while dumping food out the back door one day the spud has rolled away to liberation and has through some kind of divination found its place to procreate.

I then kindly requested that he be a passive caretaker as I would like to follow the evolution of the aforementioned spud. He agreed wholeheartedly to such a duty and we were both happy.

Having been involved of late in establishing community gardens on the gold coast, the paper work and process to get these gardens going has proved quite challenging. Here we have free hold land, a caretaker, no meetings, no long-winded documents and it hasn’t cost a cent!! Lovely.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Some people spend six years and thousands of dollars at university studying resource management. This way is a lot quicker, cheaper and no doubt less stressful. Stay tuned for updates.

Thanks to Daniel Walter follow this story with the Permaculture Research Institute

Friday 27 November 2009

Codex Alimentarios - coming to your town soon

Codex Alimentarius - Ian R Crane



Having spent the past twelve months investigating Codex Alimentarius, I am deeply disturbed by the almost total lack of awareness (or even interest) with regard to the implications of this pernicious global Commission, particularly amongst those most affected by the excesses of this restrictive legislation. In the words of the National Health Federation[i], the aims and objectives of Codex Alimentarius are as follows: * Only low-potency, “me too” supplements available that will do nothing for your health. * All or most foods genetically-modified. * Beneficial supplements unavailable or sold by prescription only. For many people, this agenda is so outrageous, they cannot believe such goals are achievable; yet this may well be the reality as soon as 31st December 2009, if the Codex Alimentarius Commission continues to disregard input from those who offer a counter perspective to the combined forces of Big Farmer & Big Pharma.
Ian Crane - Codex Alimentarius Scam



We Become Silent - The Last Days Of Health Freedom




International award-winning filmmaker Kevin P. Miller of Well TV announced the release of a new documentary about the threat to medical freedom of choice. 'We Become Silent: The Last Days of Health Freedom' details the ongoing attempts by multinational pharmaceutical interests and giant food companies — in concert with the WTO, the WHO and others — to limit the public’s access to herbs, vitamins and other therapies. 'We Become Silent’ is narrated by Dame Judi Dench, the noted UK actress who has won multiple Golden Globe awards, an Oscar, and a Tony for her on-stage work.

Dr Robert Verkerk is an internationally acclaimed expert in sustainability. During the course of his work over the last 22 years, he has focused on a diverse array of issues ranging from environmental protection to reducing pesticide and synthetic chemical inputs in homes and in agriculture to the promotion of sustainable health care systems.

He spent some 10 years as an academic at Imperial College London, first as a student, undertaking both his Masters and PhD degrees there, before going on to some 7 years as a postdoctoral Research Fellow. He has worked extensively in Australia, Africa, Central and South East Asia, and has regularly acted as an advisor to governments and development agencies. In 2002, he founded the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH), a pan-European and international, non-partisan, not-for-profit campaign organisation dedicated to positively shaping the regulatory environment to allow the future development of natural and sustainable health care.

The ANH has become one of the most prominent forces in this field through its implementation of a diverse range of strategies based around the application of 'good science and good law'. Dr Verkerk is a patron of the College of Naturopathic Medicine.

To download ANH's one-page summary flyer of Codex, click here—print it, email it—help educate your friends and contacts about the long-term risk of the Codex slow cooker. It is, in part, its long drawn out timescales for the development and guidelines and standards that makes Codex Alimentarius guidelines and standards so problematic.

Part 1 - Robert Verkerk - Codex Alimentarius
Chief Executive Alliance for Natural Health Robert Verkerk discusses the Codex Alimentarius Commission


Part 2 - Robert Verkerk - Getting Nutrition



Part 3 - Robert Verkerk - Codex, Food & Monsanto
Chief Executive Alliance for Natural Health, Robert Verkerk, discusses Animal Vaccination, food irradiation and Monsanto's links with Codex Alimentarius.






Scott Tips from the National Health Federation joins us on the program to discuss Codex Alimentarius and the Codex Commission. Scott has been specializing in food-and-drug law and trademark law. We get to hear directly from Scott how the process of how Codex is being implemented, the mechanics of the Commission, how their meetings are being run, how "consensus" and decisions are being made. Topics discussed: International Food Standards, Food Trade, WHO, FLA, Laws, international law, propositions, standardization, the limiting of people's health freedom, GMO, vitamins, consequences of the implementation, the power of the European Commission. Don't miss this interesting program that will explain how the Codex Commission functions and how the freedom to make decisions over our own health is diminishing in a step by step process.











Further Reading sources.
Codex Alimentarius
The Alliance for Natural Health
The Natural Health Federation
Dr. M. Rath Foundation




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Thursday 26 November 2009

Food and Farming and how it relates to Peak Oil

BBC Wales Takes a Long Hard Look
by Sami Grover



Who said the revolution would not be televised? What with national newspapers talking about survivalism and community resillience, and radio soaps joining the Transition Towns initiative, it really seems like the mainstream media in the UK are embracing the idea that peak oil, fossil fuels and climate change are very real, and very immediate, threats to our way of life. Now, thanks to one of our periodic check-ins with Rob Hopkins' Transition Culture blog, we've come across this BBC Wales series, in which Patrick Holden of the Soil Association explores how to move his farm, and our food systems in general, away from their precarious reliance on dwindling oil supplies. It's dynamite stuff, looking at both the problems with the way we eat now, and the solutions that may help us move away from this crisis. Topics covered include everything from local food festivals to potential civil unrest in the face of rising fuel prices to urban community gardening to supermarket's phoney 'local' food initiatives

Part 2


Part 3



Part 4



Thanks to:
Tree Huggerak

Wednesday 25 November 2009

Monsanto - The monster controlling our food

Monsanto playing with our genetic heritage

On March 11 a new documentary was aired on French television (ARTE – French-German cultural tv channel) by French journalist and film maker Marie-Monique Robin, The World According to Monsanto - A documentary that you won’t see on American television. The gigantic biotech corporation Monsanto is threatening to destroy the agricultural biodiversity which has served mankind for thousands of years.






Another good documentary highlighting the ongoing disaster with Monsanto's BG Cotton.





Life running out of control - watch it
Thanks to.
Wide Eye Cimema
Journeyman TV









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The Permaculture school revolution

Senda Verde Permaculture Eco school project launched in the Minho valley, Valenca, Portugal



With the launch of Senda Verde Permaculture Eco Center this timely article from Frank Aragona of the Agro Innovations Podcast and Agroblogger blog
hit all my buttons.

Senda Verde is an ongoing work in progress, an evolving model.
We are interested in; permaculture, organic agriculture, biodynamics, off grid living, self sufficiency, sovereign independence, freeman on the land, free energy, expanding consciousness, epigenetic biology, unified field theory, keylontic kathara science, holistic medicine, natural medicine, Truth, honour, morality and being the change we want to see.

Enjoy the article from Frank and we reccomend checking out the podcast archives for some excellent interviews.

Permaculture the schools.

The clock is still ticking, and collapse continues unabated. Most are oblivious to the true nature of the progression, what it means, why it's happening, and most importantly, what we should do about it.

But the answer is simple, and it's right in front of us. It's so simple, in fact, that most people will not accept it. The answer is this: we must turn our schools into organic farms; as many of them as we can, in the shortest possible time.

By doing so, we have the potential to address, if not outright solve, almost every pressing social issue of our age. In a short time, every community in the country will reduce its carbon footprint dramatically. Education will be reborn and reinvented, with children learning and applying hands-on skills that respond to their physical, emotional, and intellectual needs. Every discipline is welcome and included: woodworking, mathematics, chemistry, biology, engineering, art, and architecture. All of it is applied to real world problems that our communities must address in a responsible and proactive manner.

Mulching the mandala in April 2009 at Senda Verde Permaculture Eco School

Issues of animal cruelty, environmental destruction, and good nutrition will be placed into a context of critical thinking and careful reflection. Standardized tests will be exposed as a fraud, the product of a cruel and twisted logic on the part of politicians and planners.

A beautiful example of raised bed mandala permaculture from Brazil

Children will become ambassadors for the cause of local food. They will take the seed that we plant, they will water and nurture it and make it grow. They will open the eyes of the ones they love, millions of people across the country, to the promise and the possibility of a national renewal. Our children will show us the way in a leaderless and silent revolution.

Our local economies will be rebuilt on a new model, as schools will require materials, expertise, and technological innovation to rapidly put in place a radical overhaul of the school's curriculum and landscape. Open source technologies will be developed by the students themselves at breakneck speeds. These technologies will be deployed and converted into viable local business models.



This is not utopian. This is real, and it can happen now. The country is ready for it. This is apolitical and post-ideological. We need to organize and demand it. We need to visit our local schools, ask them if they've considered it. We need to put together petitions. We need to knock on doors: city councils, neighborhood associations, teacher's unions, mayoral offices, school boards, PTA's, county officials.

We need to get local resources interested in the idea, and apply the principles of slow money towards the development of a capital resource base for making the vision a reality. We need to network with other people who are already working on similar things, including CSA's, the OSAT community, and the transition community. We need to search out past experiences and research initiatives, and conduct further research, to verify and promote the inherent value of this approach.

We need all of it, and we need it now. If I was a gambling man, I'd be ready to bet the farm that if this happens, it will work. The kids will show us the way.

Tuesday 24 November 2009

Paul Stamets offers has 6 ways mushrooms can save the world

Mycologist Paul Stamets studies the mycelium -- and lists 6 ways that this astonishing fungus can help save the world.




More info:

Paul Stamets

Thanks to
Third eye open

Sunday 22 November 2009

Bill Mollison a walking talking inspiration

Bill Mollisons is the founding father of the design system called Permaculture
and a voice of sobering clarity.


Bill Mollison was born in 1928 and has been called the 'father of permaculture', an integrated system of design encompassing not only agriculture, horticulture, architecture and ecology but also money management, land access strategies and legal systems for businesses and communities. The aims to create systems that provide for their own needs, do not pollute and are sustainable. Conservation of soil, water and energy are central issues to permaculture, as are stability and diversity. Bill Mollison in 1978 founded The Permaculture Institute in Tasmania.

Mollison's two early books, Permaculture One: A Perennial Agriculture for Human Settlements (with David Holmgren, Transworld Publishers, 1978) and Permaculture Two; Practical Design for Town and Country in Permanent Agriculture (Tagari Publications, 1979) have sold over 100,000 copies and been translated into eight languages. Since then, he has published three books, Permaculture - A Designer's Manual (1988), Introduction to Permaculture (1991) and The Permaculture Book of Ferment and Human Nutrition (1993). His latest book is Travel in Dreams (1996). In addition, Mollison has written various articles and reports on permaculture for governments, educational and voluntary organisations and the general public.

The main focus of the Permaculture Institute is education. Since its inception in 1978, its certificated design courses have attracted more than 40,000 people, most of whom are now active in the practice or education of permaculture around the world. Independent permaculture institutes have been established in several countries and the movement is linked by biannual international conferences.

In addition to his work at the Institute, Mollison consults and educates extensively elsewhere in Australia and abroad. He has worked, for example, on village housing and planting design in Brazil; tropical polyculture systems in Hawaii, Fiji and the Seychelles, and design strategies for city farms in the UK and USA. He has developed a teaching manual in arid land techniques for the Australian Department of Education's Technical and Further Education Colleges and has advised on this topic in Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Brazil and the USA. The Permaculture Institute endeavours to spread its practical work internationally by training a core of local people in different countries and then assisting them with backup resources through a Trust in Aid Fund until they are self-sustaining.



In 1991, Mollison was elected in Kursk as a member of the Russian Academy of Agriculture Sciences, founded by the the former biogeographer Nikoli Ivanovich Vavilov. Bill is the only Australian to be honoured so.

Other initiatives of the Institute include the formation of an Earthbank Society, which holds seminars on ethical investment and publishes on alternative economic and financial strategies; and the initiation of a Tree Tithe Programme which voluntarily taxes the proceeds of all permaculture publications to invest in permanent tree-planting. So far the Programme has funded tree-planting groups in South and Central Australia, New South Wales, India, Nepal, Chile and Spain.



In 1994, a Permaculture Academy was established to enable graduates of permaculture courses to achieve tertiary qualifications in practical work. There are now few countries worldwide which do not have a permaculture group or association, and many countries have adopted permaculture as a sustainable land-use ethic.

About the Right Livelihood Award

The Right Livelihood Award was established in 1980 to honour and support those "offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today".

It has become widely known as the 'Alternative Nobel Prize' and there are now 133 Laureates from 57 countries.
Quotation

"All my life we've been at war with nature. I just pray that we lose that war. There are no winners in that war..."

Bill Mollison





Permaculture Design with Bill Mollison (Part I)

Last month I had the privilege to speak with Bill Mollison, visionary and creator of the revolutionary and true reality-based design science of permaculture. The interview is published here, so that those of you who are new to permaculture can discover the history of its founder and the nature of the concepts embodied in his philosophy.

This is the first part in a two part series. Please listen and enjoy, and come back soon to hear part two.

The World According to Mollison (Permaculture Part II)
Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007

In the second part of our interview with Bill Mollison, Bill’s humor, wisdom, and philosophy are on display as he opines about Peak Oil, global warming, and the future of our planet. This one is not to be missed.


Bill Mollison (co-popularizer of permaculture ideas with David Holmgren) narrates a four part series exploring successful permaculture strategies in four different climatic contexts around the world.

1 - Tropics


2 - Dry


3 - Cool


4 - Urban


Further reading:
Bibliography

* Permaculture One: A Perennial Agriculture for Human Settlements (with David Holmgren, Trasworld Publishers, 1978) ISBN 978-0938240006
* Permaculture Two: Practical Design for Town and Country in Permanent Agriculture (Tagari Publications, 1979)
* Permaculture - A Designer's Manual (1988) ISBN 978-0908228010
* Introduction to Permaculture (1991, Revised 1997) ISBN 978-0908228089
* The Permaculture Book of Ferment and Human Nutrition (1993, Revised 1997) ISBN 978-0908228065
* Travels in Dreams: An Autobiography (1996) ISBN 978-0908228119
* The Permaculture Way: Practical Steps To Create A Self-Sustaining World, with Graham Bell (2005) ISBN 978-1856230285
* Smart Permaculture Design, with Jenny Allen (2006) ISBN 978-1877069178

David Holmgren - Future Scenarios


The name David Holmgren will be familiar to some, as it was he, along with fellow Australian Bill Mollison, who developed permaculture. Thirty years after their theories were first introduced, they still seem to be gaining new relevance with every passing year.

Holmgren’s challenge in ‘Future Scenarios: How Communities can adapt to Peak Oil and Climate Change’ is to think through what we really want: “My purpose was to empower those committed to ecological values and social justice to be effective in their quest to create the world we want, rather than just resist the world we don’t want.”

To help inform and clarify that vision of the world we want, Holmgren uses scenario planning – a technique pioneered, somewhat ironically, by the Shell oil company. Like the recent Transition Timeline, the book presents four possible scenarios, depending on how fast oil supplies decline, and how serious climate change turns out to be.

David Holmgren

Those four are, roughly:

1. Brown tech: oil decline is slow and tar-sands and oil shale are pressed into service to maintain the status quo. This triggers rapid climate change, and centrally planned, fascistic attempts to control it.
2. Green tech: oil declines slowly, leaving time for investment in renewable technology and strategic localization. This is the scenario most politicians are hoping for.
3. Earth stewards: oil production crashes, making globalization impossible and forcing a bottom-up rebuild of the economy. With fossil fuel use in freefall, serious climate change is averted.
4. Lifeboats: This is the disaster scenario, where both climate change and resource decline are both severe. Society breaks down, and we all wish we’d paid more attention when Ray Mears was on.

These four scenarios are, for the most part, entirely feasible. By mapping them, we can work out what we might want to do as climate change and peak oil begin to unfold. The kinds of choices we face are exemplified in Australia, the world’s largest exporter of coal, and one of the places that will be hardest hit by climate change. There will be some very tough political decisions to make in the coming years, as growing the economy and stabilising the environment become mutually exclusive.

As Holmgren points out, “public discussion of energy descent is generally seen as unrealistic, defeatist, and politically counter-productive”. The job of activists is to change the story of peak oil and climate change, and unearth the positives. There is there for “a desperate need to recast energy descent as a positive process that can free people from the strictures and dysfunctions of growth economics and consumer culture.”

‘Future Scenarios’ rambles a bit and feels at times like a website pressed into a linear book format, which it is in fact. It is nevertheless insightful. It will be particularly helpful to permaculturists wondering if their theories extend to global problems, and those working on powerdown projects such as Transition Towns.

Holmgren and Mollison - Permaculture 1
Further reading:
Web site of Future Scenarios.org

Thanks to
One Straw for the review

The Truth WareHouse