The Syrian Orthodox Church was established by St.Peter, the chief of the Apostles and the first patriarch in AD 37 at Antioch (now Antakya in Turkey). The church suffered all kinds of tortures and hardships from all quarters right from its establishment, but its flag still soars high. Today the church is spread around the globe spanning 27 countries headed by a patriarch residing at Damascus in Syria.
Generous hands are Blessed hands.
Proverbs 22:9-10
It is unfortunate that anarchy is regarded as a purely negative thing. I've met several anarchists and they aren't bomb wielding maniacs with agendas to take us back to the Dark Ages. Instead they are against the old forms of government. Ever since the end of World War Two Nazi propaganda tactics have been combined with Freudian psychology to sell us a certain reality tunnel. Education and the mass media have been as much as turning citizens into placid robots as it has been about opening up the potential of the human mind for thought, expression and powerful intuition.
Academia is horribly slow in catching up. It is almost a rule that any break-through in the sciences will only become orthodoxy after being ridiculed by the presiding generation of professors. None of Einstein's revered peers endorsed his radical new theories of the space-time continuum. At the end of Einstein's life when he was placed as the leading mind of his age he too ridiculed the theories of new up and coming physicists that have since Einstein's passing become universally accepted.
Sons of Anarchy advocate a breaking down of the barriers of authority and the systems of repression built into state education programs. We reject the agenda foisted upon us by the mass media. We look to the fringes, the outsiders and the visionaries who now seem mad, but in the future will be revered. Most of all we reject the asymmetry of information that helps the ruling elite hide the true reality of how they are exploiting and cheating the masses. For example, why is that democrats argue with republicans and socialists with capitalists over the spending of tax money? They are hijacking the debate when what we should be continually asking is how much of my tax dollar is being given in contracts to the military-industrial complex? You moan about asylum seekers and Mexicans and any vulnerable outsider but how much of your tax dollar really goes to these people? How much goes to people who are already impractically rich? Are you stupid enough to imagine that they will let you join their ranks or that the over time you put in at work will really change your position in society?
It is only by a clear presentation of the facts that matter and the subsequent ground swell of desire for change will things ever get better. Every day the news should remind us that there is no such thing as an 'eco car' and that carbon levels have reached critical levels. Instead they tell us about some stupid little rally on the stock market.
A true anarchists loves the people and wants to see real democracy - the will of the people represented and carried out by the people and a total removal of the systems of nescience that maintain the position of an unworthy ruling elite. Every man can be a ruler.
Health is known to be related to foods we eat. We now have “new” conditions such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). How closely related to diet are these conditions? New evidence would suggest that the foods we feed our children play a crucial role in certain chronic conditions, e.g. Type 2 Diabetes as well as behavioural issues.
Therefore rather than feeding our young people with highly processed foods stripped of any real nutrition, perhaps we should be looking towards a whole foods diet that is rich in fresh fruits and vegetables. Juicers such as the Omega VRT350HD provide an easy way to create large quantities of nutritious fruit and vegetable juices in a short space of time.
Interestingly enough, there are further links to diet and behaviour of young offenders.
One of the secrets of controlling violent young offenders in prison is being unlocked. Researchers are looking at whether diet is as important as discipline. Fish oil and vitamin supplements, seem to have had a dramatic effect on behaviour at three prisons.
- HEALTH / CRIME: Young offenders: diet and nutrition tests
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The common notion of ’anarchy’ is the breakdown in law and order. People imagine a state of anarchy to be one of riots, rapes, arson – a general free for all where the weak get trampled by the vicious. It is interesting that the mass media and education has been able to successfully instill these preconceptions in people’s minds. The average person is neither a saint nor an angel, they probably are not rapacious looters and thugs, but that is what people think of their neighbors apparently!
Anarchy is a state where central government does not exist. At the same time the enforcing arms of government – the army and the police do not exist. This is not so hard to imagine. If you go trekking in the Himalayas in Nepal, Bhutan or Tibet you will notice that most of the country is actually free of police, government officials etc. Are these people killing each other? No.
In Thailand on many of the small islands such as Koh Phayam and even on many beaches in Koh Phangan such as Haad Yao and Thong Nai Pan Yai there is 1 policeman at most. He is hardly, if ever seen. I have lived in Thailand for several years and the only bit of law enforcement I have seen a Thai policeman do is to collect a ’fine’ that was probably never handed in.
The truth is that real communities have their own customs, traditions and moral standards and they are able to enforce these standards without outside interference. This is particularly true of small communities. It thus seems apparent that the modern apparatus of government and enforcement is really a function of the urban milieu. Moreover, as inequalities mount between the haves and have-nots the only way to protect the property and wealth of the rich is through government and law. Proudhon said ’property is theft’, and he was right when one man owns everything and the rest are starving. Somewhere in history that one man or his forefathers has stolen the land from the forefathers of those now in penury around him.
It is something to think about.
Tags: anarchy, theft, Proudhon, preconceptions
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When I read about men and women that have devoted their lives to a worthy cause, I’ve got to admit that it often makes me feel quite inadequate. These people regularly take on authority, seemingly without a second thought for their own personal safety or freedom. The depth of their spirit seems unlimited and it often makes me wonder what it is that sets these people apart from the rest of us mere mortals?
Oh how I would love to be more like them, but it is just not in my nature. I am by design a law abiding citizen, someone for who civil disobedience is an anathema. I’m not saying I wouldn’t love to be at the head of a mass demonstration, or lead a picket line against a tyrannical boss, but my natural inclination is to toe the line, which means I tend not to get involved.
Recently I was trying to think of a time when the rebel in me had seen the light of day, and I’m embarrassed to say that those times have been few and far between. I do remember one time though, a few days after I’d just bought the best electric shaver I could afford. I woke up late that day and in my rush to get dressed and ready for work, I left home without taking a shave! Not much in comparison to some peoples achievements, but for an entire working day the rebel inside me swelled with pride for at least 9 hours!
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The Syrian government of late has made it very hard for fans of freedom to express themselves without serious consequences. This makes the recent release of emails taken from the Syrian presidents account particularly irksome.
While his government does everything it can to maintain power, he continues his daily life as normal. For the citizens protesting against his regime, this must be absolutely galling! The emails have revealed scantily clad images of a girl with long black hair, something that is certain to outrage Syria’s more pious citizens even more than his outrageous abuses of the citizenry.
As he continues to oppress his people, the nation of Syria continues its’ descent into downright anarchy. The outside world watches helplessly as he – with continued support from a couple of major UN security council members – continues his activities without sanction.
Our thoughts and prayers go the oppressed and dying in Syria, and we hope that someday soon their situation changes for the better!
Tags: syria email, anarchy in syria
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It is interesting to note that the present coterie of powerful bankers, political advisors, share brokers and analysts that congregate in Wall Street and Washington espouse a form of right wing Republicanism that they claim is partly inspired by the writings of Ayn Rand. She was a Russian born novelist and philosopher whose major work was Atlas Shrugged.
In this giant book she described a movement of nationalization in America where all the major industries are taken over by a ’people’s’ bureaucracy that states that all things should be shared for the benefit of all. The novel is a powerful expose of the hypocisy of this communist point of view that claims to bring universal prosperity but instead brings industry, the trains etc. to a stand still. She states strongly that those excpetional people who can set up a business, invent a better type of steel, make a train faster should benefit from their inventions, drive and resourcefulness. People are ruined by handouts. This is all doubt partly true and the novel was very much influenced by the disastrous autocracy of Stalinism and Maoism.
We need people to pioneer new forms of enginnering such as EDM electrodes for precision cutting, internet engineers, innovative scientists etc. Those who invent and pioneer should be rewarded. There are, however, plenty of businesses that owe their success to little more than outsourcing to poor countries, bought government contracts, old school boy connections, mafia links etc. These businesses would not receive the Ayn Rand endorsement. Moreover, how can she argue with the success of many cooperative and syndalist companies around the world where the workers own the company, vote on wages, choose their managers and equally share the profits? And on the other side of the coin, why would Ayn Rand choose to fete Goldman Sachs who lied to their investors about the quality of their financial products and then bet on those CDOs etc. failing?
There is a moral dimension to Ayn Rand’s philosophy of business that the far right fail entirely to understand.
Tags: Ayn Rand, communism, far right
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Those of us who take an active interest in politics and the state of our nation are often also concerned with the state of our bodies. This is why to be able to participate fully in society, it is vital that we take care of our bodies. The right sorts of food and drink gives us the required energy for both physical exertion and mental focus. Every cell in our body runs on sugar. Therefore whether we are campeigning or demonstrating, using our physical body or debating, using our mental prowess, our need for the right kind of fuel is apparent.
Fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, in other words, (whole) plant foods, are pretty much the best that mother nature has to offer. I like politicians with principals rather than those who pander to fickle voter appetites. In the same way, I want to avoid processed foods designed to taste good, but don’t have any nutritional substance. Put simply, we should all eat more fruits and vegetables. This is a principal that we would all do well to live by. Making juices from whole fruits will help you to live the kind of life you were born to lead.
Youtube has information about the best juicer for overall health. This kind of information was unavailable to us just 10 years ago. The internet is a powerful resource that should be used for the good of mankind
Tags: political health
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Dutch music might not be one of the most recognized forms of musical expression in the world, but nevertheless it has its moments. One of those moments is the career of Hans de Booij. It spans 4 decades and shows if nothing else that perseverance and the right attitude can get you a long way. And that the end of the journey might be more about happiness than money.
In the 1970s Hans de Booij worked in a theater in Antwerp, Belgium as a technician. This was an informative period in his career. He met famous Dutch artists such as Boudewijn de Groot, whose song he was later to cover and make him briefly a pop star.
In the 1980s Hans de Booij started his own comedy troop and started writing songs and performing them. He soon had a couple of hit records the biggest of which was de Groot’s song Annabel.
Success quickly left Hans de Booij. His songs became increasingly dark; he got in trouble with the police; he took too many drugs. Within a few years of his success he was performing in the street and was hard up for cash.
In 1999 Hans de Booij met the Dalai Lamai. The meeting was to prove inspirational for de Booij as he wrote a book called Ministry of Love in which he espoused his personal philosophy. The book was not a success. He ended up going door-to-door in Hooland trying to sell it. He claims to have sold 4,000 copies by doing this.
In 2007 nostalgia for 1980s music gave Hans de Booij ‘s music a new lease of life. He started performing again in Holland to big audiences. He also released a new album. Finally, Hans de Booij had gained some recognition and financial security. He had also gained more peace of mind.
In 2008 he moved to Koh Phangan. Hans de Booij makes music in Koh Phangan, a small Thai island and seems at last to have found peace. You can sometimes hear Hans de Booij play in the Jam Bar in Hin Kong.
Tags: Hans de Booij, Hin Kong, Koh Phangan
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For many people in the Western world curtains are the traditional and preferred type of window treatment for the home. Curtains are not without their benefits but they have many drawbacks and one good alternative to curtains is to install bamboo blinds or bamboo shades in the home.
Curtains are made from heavy natural and synthetic materials. Natural materials such as cotton have a high embedded value for water. In other words these materials require a lot of natural resources to produce. Synthetic materials such as rayon, polyester etc. are made from petrol-chemical derivatives that are responsible for a significant amount of carbon emissions. Furthermore, petrol is not a renewable resource and using it to make window treatments seems slightly ludicrous.
In contrast bamboo is the fastest growing plant on the planet and is a very important renewable resource. In just one day bamboo can grow 60 cm or 24 inches and in 5 to 7 years it has reached maturity. Bamboo also needs less water than trees and produces more oxygen than trees. Furthermore, bamboo has a natural resistance to pests and pathogens and so can be grown organically.
Bamboo blinds and shades are easy to install: normally you just screw a few brackets to the window frame and hang the blinds and shades. In comparison installing curtains is a difficult process. Bamboo blinds and shades are also easy to clean – you simply wipe them down with a damp cloth. Compare this with curtains which need dry cleaning with chemicals that contain VOCs that are bad for human health.
Furthermore, curtains are breeding grounds for dust mites whose excrement triggers asthma and allergic rhinitis attacks; whereas bamboo provides no place for dust mites to live. Also bamboo is anti-fungal and antimicrobial and so ideal to keep indoor air quality healthy for human habitation.
Finally, bamboo blinds and shades add style and a touch of nature into a room. Bamboo shades have been used for centuries in the Far East because they provide privacy as well as blocking out the glare of the sun. And if you check the prices, you will notice that bamboo blinds and shades are much cheaper than curtains.
Tags: allergies, bamboo blinds and shades, curtains, renewable resource
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At the start of the latest century many people were under the illusion that house prices could only ever go up. Economies around the world were booming, apart from the slight concern over pollution and climate change the future looked exceptionally rosy for both the middle class and the working class. Everyone was encouraged to buy things on credit, to take out loans using their homes as collateral. Consumption was good and it just made everyone richer.
The proverbial matter hit the fan in 2008 with the global financial disaster, and since then things have generally gone from bad to worse. Despite the mass media telling us that the recovery is just around the corner, it is hard to find any real evidence of this. Governments pump billions of Dollars and Euros into failing economies and demand ‘the people’ accept austerity measures. It seems to only be the top executives of Wall Street and Thread Needle Street financial institutions that are doing better than ever.
In November 2011 the International Energy Agency released figures that showed that unless the world enacts the most far-reaching and stringent controls on carbon emissions then the consequences would inevitably be catastrophic flooding, mass extinctions and the transformation of the Amazon rainforest into a desert.
All of this means that we have to face up to reality. No more buying on credit, no more relying on world leaders to make everything great again. We must save money and find ways to reduce outgoings. One of the best places to start is to reduce home bills. This reduces carbon emissions and saves you money.
There are several ways to reduce home bills. Here are a few suggestions:
1) Change all your incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescent light bulbs. CFLs last 13 times longer than incandescent light bulbs and use 75% less electricity. Another possibility is LED lights that last even longer. You can buy cheap LED lights for sheds that run on solar power.
2) If you don’t have one then get a digital programmable thermostat. Look for the Energy Star approval rating. Honeywell, Hunter and Lux Products do good programmable thermostats. If sensible settings are used heating and cooling bills can be cut by as much as 30% a year.
3) Get a low flow shower head. These cost as little as $25 and can reduce water consumption by half when taking a shower. They do so by mixing air with water. There is virtually no difference in the actual experience of taking a shower.
4) Either unplug devices that go on stand-by or buy a smart strip that overrides standby. Digital displays etc. that stay permanently on waste electricity and provide no appreciable benefit.
5) Replace old energy inefficient fridges, TVs, washing machines and air-con units with more efficient models. They will pay for themselves in the long run.
6) Try to better insulate your home, and keep doors shut to keep heat in. Hunt out the cracks around doors and windows that are leaking heat and do what you can to block them.
The more you start to take actions to reduce your home bills the more money that you will save. This money can be spent on bigger energy saving strategies such as double glazing and solar energy. The more you save the more you reduce carbon emissions and the better you make your financial security in the future.
Tags: CFLs, global financial disaster, global warming, programmable thermostats, reducing energy bills, solar energy
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Akaparambu is the name of a small village in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. It is famous primarily for two reasons: it is only 1 km from Cochin International Airport; and, it is home to one of the oldest Christian churches in India – Mor Sabor and Afroth Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Cathedral.
The South of India has recently seen an upsurge in tourism. The beautiful beaches around Kovalam have gone from hippy spots to places where developers have built big resorts and pull in many high-end tourists. The area is rich in coconut palms and is hot year round. The back waters of Cochin are also popular places to explore for tourists. Unlike the north of India, the Malayam people in the area are more relaxed and less prone to rip-off tourists. They also have a distinctive style of cuisine which is also very different to the north.
For these reasons Cochin International Airport is doing very well. As a result land prices in Akaparambu have risen dramatically over the last few years. Many people envision several villages near the airport being amalgamated into a big ‘airport city’. This would obviously lead to a few people getting very rich and subsistence farmers being moved off their land.
It is believed that Christianity reached India before it did Europe. Legend has it that Saint Thomas the Apostle established the Syrian Church in India in AD 52. This is probably apocryphal but the close geographical locations between India and Palestine; as well the importance in the region of trading with India makes it very likely that India was one of the earliest foreign countries to establish Christian communities.
The Mor Sabor and Afroth Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Cathedral was established circa AD 825 when the Christian merchant Sapor Esho led a group of Syrian Christian immigrants and two priests to Akaparambu.
Today the community of Akaparambu is mostly Christian. It remains one of the most important Christian sites in India. It is visited by all the Patriarchs of Antioch who come to India. The good thing about Akaparambu is that those of the Muslim, Hindu and other religious persuasions manage to happily co-exist in the village. One is reminded of other peaceful communities such as on Koh Phangan in Thailand where non-eventful co-existence of communities is threatened by the forces of economic change that will inevitably create divisions in order to prise the land from the local people.
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