shoes from 2001 collection

There's nothing wrong with wearing shoes
your feet still touch the ground
the light of the earth still fills the soul
when Kwanza and Christmas are left behind
and Groundhog day on the beach
the new year starts with a new moon
when the light is waning away
you can leave your shoes on
because the light will really stay
the stars and the moon make no sound
sound has wasted away
and you can leave your shoes on
when the ground is gone
some moon will still remain
when the earth,
its ocean,
land and life
are dust
and the crashing waves and thunder storms
no longer make a sound
when the only sound is a cosmic wind
you won't be wearing shoes

Acirema

My first reaction to reading about the Israeli Defense Forces recent killing of two unarmed Palestinian militants in a raid was judgmental anger. Then I stopped myself for a moment and considered the new fad in American military policy, namely, using unmanned drones to blow up houses full of human beings because they are “plotting” against us. That’s right, think twice before you huddle with your buddies in a hut to talk dirty about the great Satan because the great Satan may well be listening and circling above you in an unmanned drone. This policy is executed here in America within the public sphere and seems to go off without a hitch of moral dilemma. They are terrorists we say, high level terrorists, and sure, sometimes their wives or children are home, but that’s just collateral damage, justified in the name of protecting the American people. One of the most remarkable things about this whole unmanned murder of human beings from the sky thing is the lack of public outcry amongst us. This is a policy that Barack Obama has been accelerating, and we seem to just swallow it as if it is another necessary evil in a broader war to protect the American “way.” But the more we participate in such behavior the less justified we are claiming that we have any legitimate “way” to protect. It’s time to turn the gun, the pen, and the camera back in on ourselves because we are expanding our role as global bad guy with each passing day. I’m glad we are making some progress in moving toward health care for all our citizens here in the USA, but the policies of our country are making each of our lives less valuable. We all have blood on our hands. Safely encapsulated in this FOX News bubble, it’s easy to forget to turn the critical eye on our own behavior, but a quick look at our actions as a country over the last few years will reveal the terrifying fact that we have only further justified the bulls eye they have on us. Since the attacks on September 11th, 2001, when the sympathy of almost the whole world was with us, any higher ground we might have had has been eroded by our own economic and military hubris. It is easy to criticize the policies and actions of a distant nation, like Israel or Uganda, or even Venezuela, because from a distance their actions are on the face of them wrong, yet when those actions are reported from those countries, they are often reported in a matter of fact way which indicates that from within them the actions seem justified. So we have to ask ourselves, how do so many of our actions, matter of fact as they may be from within, appear to the nations of the rest of the world? What does America represent to the rest of the world? It is a bit easier to see how we generally view ourselves as a country. Americans are trained in the meaning of America. We are the city on the hill, the global policeman, protecting the principles of freedom and democracy, equality and justice. As individuals it is hard to know what perception others really have of us, because we are so blinded by our own perception of ourselves. This is also true of nations. We get caught up in our own identity and it becomes difficult to even tell the true from the false. How might the rest of the world perceive the American Nation, and how might that differ from our American National Identity? These are scary questions to ask. We are sold this line about being justified in committing acts that from the outside could easily be discerned as war crimes. When the next attack comes against us on American soil, there will not be more sympathy and shock from around the world, there will be less, because our response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 have made us worthy of more attacks, not less. Instead of becoming a more peaceful, just, righteous nation, we have become more economically criminal, more terrorist militarily, and less aware intellectually. We have painted a bigger target on ourselves in the international consciousness by living, as a matter of fact, contrary to the ideals of our national identity. Our government policies have, therefore, put us, the American people, at more risk of terror attacks, and have stolen more of our innocence. We have engaged in war, we have done it knowingly, as it has been advertised all over our media, and we have bought it, hook, line, and sinker. So when the war returns to our soil, we should react rationally, not shaking our heads in wonder and asking why, but holding our leadership accountable and not letting them engage in more war in response to war that we have for nine years now been engaged in. If we want to make any progress in ending the violence, ending this cycle of wrongs done to remedy wrongs, eyes for eyes making us all blind, we need to turn away from what they have done to us, and start addressing our own policies and actions as a nation and as a people.

Don't give up.

"There is a legend of a hermit who had such a great desire to find the true path that he climbed a mountain of swords and threw himself into fire, enduring them because of his hope. He who is willing to risk the perils of the path will find a cool breeze blowing on the sword-bristling mountains of selfishness and among the fires of hatred and, in the end, will come to realize that the selfishness and worldly passions against which he has struggled and suffered are Enlightenment itself." The Teaching of Buddha, pg. 124.

The Belly Button of the Universe of Man

Yet more evidence that our ancestors evolved in the holy land. Yep, go back far enough and it becomes maddeningly apparent that we are all one family. Call us all Jews if you want. The northern part of the Great Rift Valley (oh, right around the north of present day Israel) is the birthplace of anthropos. Race, religion, culture, language, and all the other walls built up between us are but illusions. Hold on to them at your peril people.

"Lifestyle of our Holy Land ancestors makes scientists think again
By Yuval Azoulay


Scholars and scientists long believed that people started eating fish "only" 40,000 years ago, but new archaeological findings have revealed that hundreds of thousands of years before that, human ancestors were catching and consuming fish in the Hula Valley, which is known even today for its fish ponds - albeit artificial ones.

Giant fish inhabited Lake Hula 750,000 years ago, and the hominids who lived there - believed to be the first species ever to create fire intentionally - grilled and ate them, Hebrew University researchers have concluded. The evidence was found at archaeological digs near the Bnot Yaakov Bridge over the Jordan River.

Laboratory studies in Israel and abroad have confirmed that the hominids caught catfish, tilapia and carp that were more than a meter long.
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The team of archeologists was led by Hebrew U. Prof. Naama Goren-Inbar and assisted by Prof. Mordechai Kislev of the Bar-Ilan University life sciences department.

The findings were published this weekend in the journal "Science."

They found many tools to light fires and more, including basalt tools for cutting meat and cracking nuts. This led to the conclusion that nearly 1 million years ago, the ancestors of humans were living in communities comparable to modern societies - half a million years earlier than archaeologists had thought until now.

The findings were well preserved for 750,000 years, says Goren-Inbar, because the damp conditions prevented the formation of bacteria. The community inhabited a site about three kilometers square.

"We found many fish skulls, teeth, fins and bones, as well as crab claws, and not far away the remains of fires," she says. "With the stone tools and the other findings, we understand that the community was fully aware of the space they inhabited. They were familiar with the plants and animals, they knew the properties of the stone, and they were capable of planning long-term moves. Ancient man was far more advanced than we had thought," Goren-Inbar told Haaretz.

The researchers concluded that the inhabitants of the site roasted their nuts before cracking them open and eating them. The nutcrackers consisted of two stones, one with a hollow to hold the nuts and another to crack the shell.

No hominid remains were found, however. Researchers are not sure what they looked like, but some believe they were of the species homo erectus, which lived in Africa 1.8 million years ago and migrated outward.

"The homo erectus looked a lot like we do today, except his legs were shorter, his arms were longer like an ape's, his brow was heavy, and his brain volume was 900 cubic centimeters. Human brains are on average 1,400 cubic centimeters," says Dr. Gonen Sharon of the Hebrew University, who was involved in the research.

Despite the findings, the scientists still have no idea where the Hula community lived, since the site has no caves or other natural shelters."

From http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1136757.html