Human Rights- and Burma

With the recent atrocities in Burma the plight of those who suffer at the hands of military dictatorships was highlighted. What do you think of a world which allows some countries to be invaded under the guise of concern for democracy (those which contain oil) and yet other countries plight to be ignored?


Our Brother’s Keeper…
When one of us suffers injustice we all suffer, and where we remain complacent and silent while another suffers we are as much responsible for the suffering as are the perpetrators of such crimes against Humanity. One of the more recent examples of the violation of human rights to flash across our TV screens has occurred as the result of the Myanmar Governments crackdown and imprisonment of pro Democracy protestors in Burma.

Many peaceful protestors are still currently imprisoned for exercising a basic human right which so many of us here take for granted, Freedom of speech. I believe there are many ways we can each petition for the release of all Burmese political prisoners including the many Buddhist Monks without adding to the current anger, hatred and intolerance of the present military regime. Speak out and be heard yes, without doubt, but not with hate, malice and or destructive words and energies but with love. A greater love which will not stand back silent and watch another suffer. The compassionate heart so aptly expressed in the symbol of the sacred Lotus. Remind those who would imprison and torture that out of the darkness of ignorance, fear and brutality there is yet beauty that can come from such experiences and circumstances.

If you should feel so inclined post, fax, email pictures of lotus flowers to the Burmese authorities and other local and overseas government bodies or institutions with blessings calling upon their higher conscience to action.

Perhaps you may even wish to add some words such as those spoken so eloquently by Victor Hugo. “There is one thing stronger than all the armies of the World,
And that is an idea whose time has come…”

Remind them that out of the mud of darkness and ignorance true beauty can come. A compassionate call for the immediate release of all Burmese political prisoners.
Or better still, check out all the great works undertaken by Amnesty International and get involved! Never underestimate your power to help, in being a voice of conscience for those abused and mistreated. Support organizations such as ‘Amnesty International’ for truly without their light the world would be in a much darker space.


Michelle

Climate Change - What can we do to help?

The impact of environmental disasters will affect us all in one way or another what can you personally do to aid the world in general and your family?

Climate Change and You

By now many people are starting to take climate change seriously (except perhaps for our Federal and State Governments). Farmer’s got all excited after one decent fall of rain in last few years and thought that the drought was over, and being climate optimists (or having large debts to service) they borrowed more money so that they could put in a crop, and hope for a bumper harvest. What we have witnessed since has been seedlings wilting and dying from lack of any follow up rain. The drought isn’t over, it also isn’t a drought that will suddenly end, and everything will be back as it was in the “good old days”, so that we can carry on with the behaviour patterns of the past. What we are witnessing is just the start of rapid climate shifts around the planet. Far worse is yet to come. World grain prices are going through the roof as crop yields in Australia and many other grain producing areas are either much lower that expected, or have largely failed due to erratic rainfall. Other areas are experiencing severe flooding, e.g. sub Saharan Africa, parts of Europe and South East Asia. In an ironic twist, while many crops are dying for lack of rain, other crops have been destroyed by floods and prolonged inundation.

Our food supply system is dependent on inputs of vast quantities of petroleum products (diesel, petrol, oil). Petroleum products are needed in the production and transportation of foods, and in the production of herbicides and pesticides that are used to protect the crops from insects, diseases and competition species (weeds). And as anyone with a car will know, fuel supplies are dwindling and prices rising. The petroleum is running out, the human population continues to grow exponentially, and our soils and ecosystems are being rapidly depleted. A triple whammy! What this means to you and me personally, is that we are entering a period where food supplies will become unpredictable, and many shortages with concurrent high prices will occur. It is therefore time to start making preparations to allow you to reduce the effect that food shortages will mean to you and your family. It is time to start learning how to be more self sufficient in many ways. So what can you do to prepare yourself for what is coming? Plant fruit and nut trees around your property. Get them in now, they take several years to grow large enough to give you a good yield, and get their root systems down deep. Those with larger properties are luckier in that they have room to plant more fruit and nut trees, while those with quarter acre blocks can still find room for a least half a dozen fruit trees. I found room on my ¼ acre block for an apricot tree, a plum tree, a mandarin tree, a mulberry tree, a macadamia tree, a fig, a Calimata olive, a pear tree, an apple tree, two passionfruit vines (growing on wires strung along the back fences), and a blueberry bush. There was already a good sized Mango tree, a grape vine, Lady Finger Banana trees and a peach tree growing in the yard when I purchased the property. I also found room for 3 Oak trees, 2 Deodar Cedars and a Lacebark tree. So don’t tell me you don’t have any room to plant anything. I have had a couple of failures, frost killed the paw paw tree and the lychee tree did nothing for a year and then died.
The next projects for me are a vegetable patch (in a raised garden bed since I have clay and not soil on my property), a large water tank, and at some stage if I have sufficient money, solar hot water and a few solar panels. Those of you who are renting can still do something. You can grow vegetables in those foam boxes that you can get from the green grocer. Just add potting mix, fertiliser and some seeds (or seedlings) and water. The rest is up to nature. You can also have some fruit trees growing in large pots that you can take with you when you move. There are grafted fruit trees that have 2 or 3 types of fruit on the one root stock. You can also grow fruit trees espaliered along walls of courtyards or fences. If you get motivated enough to grow your own, you eventually might want to make or buy fruit and vegetable drying racks so that you can store excesses from summer to tide you through the winter. Those with enough room, and who don’t mind the hassles can also entertain the idea of having egg laying chickens in a coop. You can trade your surpluses with someone else for what they have to offer.
In this brief treatise, I have given you some hints as to what you can do to prepare for the future. Remember all of these things take time to grow or bring into reality, and if you leave it till too late to start, then it is you (and your stomach) that will bear the consequences.

Michael