Atheist soldier takes on the military

No, he doesn't go around trying to convince other soldiers that God doesn't exist and no, he doesn't throw his disbelief in other soldiers' faces. Spc. Jeremy Hall just wants not to be harassed for his atheist beliefs.

Hall has filed a lawsuit which includes Secretary of Defense Robert gates as one of the defendants. He says that the Christian religion is pushed on soldiers and that he has been passed over for promotion because superior officers believe that he would be unable to bond with those under him unless he believes in God.

You can read more about it at the Topeka Capital Journal. Hall is based at Fort Riley, Kansas.

Brazil's homeless and landless unite

Homeless is a word we know all too well here in the U.S. But landless? Do people have a right to land? Seems to fly in the face of our deep-seated belief in the right to private property.

Brazil's Landless Workers Movement, or Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra, is the largest social movement in Latin America. The MST interprets the Brazilian Constitution as allowing for the occupation and expropriation of unproductive land. Sometimes the Brazilian court agrees with MST and sometimes it doesn't. MST members occupy the land and begin subsistence farming.

Recently the MST has been working with the Movement of the Roofless -- Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Teto-- which has been organizing takeovers of abandoned buildings in cities like San Paulo. One building in the city, Prestes Maia, has been occupied since 2002. Conditions are poor but, say residents, better than living in a cardboard box on the street. BBC News.

While the U.S. tends to pathologize its homeless, other countries focus on the economic and political conditions that create homelessness and see distribution of wealth, especially in the form of land, as part of the solution.

We in the U.S. are far less likely to blame the rich, because we all want to be rich. But that's a little like Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegone, where all the children are above average.

What would it be like to live in a country where everyone has enough (and that includes enough for leisure) and where those who accumulate more than they need at the expense of others are seen as immoral? So many of our politicians insist this is a "Christian" country, but their definition ignores the many New Testament admonishments against excessive wealth.

Matthew 19:23-24 "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." I'm no Christian scholar, but to me this statement is not just about wealth, but about the inevitable moral corruption that comes about when we learn to ignore the disparities between wealth and poverty.

Meanwhile some movements intend to apply the correction to admonishments against excessive wealth right here on earth.

Photos from the BBC: Prestes Maia; a library in the building.

Wasted no more: Florida restaurants can give away food

We've all thought of this: why do restaurants have to throw out all their prepared food at the end of the day? Why can't they just give it away to shelters and meal programs? Then we answer our own question: because they don't want to get sued. (Guess food taken from dumpsters is lawsuit-proof because it was thrown away.)

These same thoughts went through the mind of 12 year old Jack Davis after eating out at a Tallahassee restaurant last year. His dad is a lawyer and they drafted a bill exempting restaurants and other eateries from any liability associated with their food. There's more at the Miami Herald.

Colleges also throw out a tremendous amount of good food from dining halls. Sounds like a good project for a campus student group. Tip from the 13th Juror.

By the way, the London Mail reports that families in the UK throw away about a third of the food they buy. I'm sure it's not different in the U.S. "Buy one, get two" sales take some of the blame-- the food goes bad before it can be eaten.

Springfield's Open Pantry needs help now

To be blunt: Open Pantry Community Services is in trouble and may not be able to avoid deep cuts in essential services. It's not hopeless but it's pretty bad, and what's bad for the Open Pantry is bad for the poor and homeless people in this city.

Last year the Loaves and Fishes soup kitchen prepared over a hundred thousand meals for people in need of food and friendship, lunch and supper, seven days a week. When staff and guests were discussing which of the two meals should be cut if it came to that, the answer was the lunch meal-- because a lot of children eat supper there with their parents.

Last year the Open Pantry provided groceries for more than 27,000 people, half of them children. Now the pantry may have to cut back days they're open from four to two.

Last year 1,200 homeless people went to caseworkers at the Open Door with help ranging from getting I.D. and applying for veteran's benefits to looking for an apartment.

Last year the Commonwealth of Massachusetts cut more than 400,000 from OPCS's budget after its Warming Place shelter for single homeless was forced to close. Three area legislators have introduced amendments restoring that funding, but success is far from automatic.

If you're in the district of
Rep. Puppolo - amendment # 304 Tel. (413) 596-4333/(617) 722-2011
Rep. Swan - amendment # 936 Tel. (413) 739-8547/(617) 722-2680
Rep. Coakley-Rivera - amendment # 1034 Tel. (413) 739-1503/(617) 722-2011
Call them and thank them for sponsoring these amendments.

If you live anywhere in Massachusetts, call your legislator! Ask them to sign on to these amendments and to vote for them if/when they get to the floor. Calls to members of the the House Ways and Means Committee will help, also. The main number for the State Representatives is: (617-722-2000) or you can follow this link: http://www.mass.gov/legis/memmenuh.htm for a complete list of State Representatives with their contact information.

I try to picture Springfield without the Open Pantry and it's a pretty grim picture. Don't let it happen.

PS-- Forgot to say, money is totally welcome! You can send a contribution to Open Pantry Community Services, P.O. Box 5127, Springfield, MA 01101-5127.

Earth from the Landsat Satellite - Himalayas

Soaring, snow-capped peaks and ridges of the eastern Himalayas Mountains create an irregular white-on-red patchwork between major rivers in southwestern China. The Himalayas are made up of three parallel mountain ranges that together extend more than 2900 kilometers. Our Earth as Art - NASA

Rice rationing in Springfield?

This morning I was going to write about the sudden surge in rice prices as speculators take advantage of food insecurity (sort of like war profiteering, as far as I'm concerned) but I ran out of time. I'd also saved an article about the potential for rice rationing in the U.S. which I hadn't had time to read thoroughly.

On my way home from work I stopped at the Food Zone on Belmont Ave. for milk and dog food and sure enough! The twenty pound bags of rice were labeled "Limit 2 bags."

A Costco in California is limiting customers' purchases of rice to one bag each. Flour and cooking oil are also being rationed in some parts of the U.S.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that food shortages in the U.S. are imminent (although I could be wrong!) but we have certainly all felt the pinch of increasing prices. We're unlikely to be eating mud next month, as they are in Haiti right now. But what I am saying is that while we look for the larger solutions, we'd better be damn careful on a personal level. Look for food bargains. Don't waste what we buy. Appreciate what we have. And put a little bit aside just in case.

As a young hippy homesteading in Maine, I learned to identify many edible wild plants; I ate many of them-- with relish!-- and still remember most of their names and what they look like. Even though I don't expect to have to eat them for survival any time soon, that knowledge reassures me in some deep way.

Perennials! Got a big back yard or live near a vacant lot? Get half a dozen raspberry canes. In just a few years you'll have so many raspberries you'll have plenty to give away. Asparagus takes a little longer but is indescribably delicious. Remember grandmother's rhubarb patch? Strawberries spread on their own, too.

Of course a lot of people don't have yards-- 50% of Springfield's households are rental-- but just about everyone has the room and the light to grow a patio tomato. In the summer of 2008, we won't need that plant to survive. Yet maybe if we all could start remembering/discovering the taste of a tomato warmed by the sun, we would find ourselves gently guided toward greater control of our own destiny.

Plant a tree with Stumble Upon

Do you have the Stumble Upon toolbar?
If you don't, you should have. With Stumble Upon, you indicate your interests and when you hit the Stumble button, you're sent a page from a website or blog that matches your interest. Who has time to randomly search the Web for interesting sites anymore?
Anyway, if you do have the toolbar, or get it anytime before May 2, the first page you see will be from Stumble Upon. If you click a 'thumbs up" for the page, Stumble Upon will plant a tree with the National Forest Foundation.
How easy is that?

Meeting Saturday on Holyoke trash transfer station

Holyoke City Councilor Diosdado Lopez and other community activists are calling for a public meeting this Saturday to figure out what to do about the proposed solid waste transfer station. last Tuesday, the City Council voted to require a special permit to build such a station. But that leaves many unanswered questions for activists.

People aren't against the station per se-- Councilor Lopez says Holyoke is willing to take responsibility for its share of solid waste, and maybe more than that. (Springfield's recycling center serves 78 communities.) At this particular location, however, trucks bringing trash would run through a low-income neighborhood where asthma rates are already high. Treated trash would leave the plant by rail, which passes by the city's water supply. And, says Lopez, it wouldn't be cost-effective for the plant to send treated trash out a boxcar at a time-- trash might sit on the tracks for days until it moves.

If you're affected by this plant, find out more. The following is the meeting notice I received:

DON'T LET HOLYOKE GET TRASHED BY UNITED WASTE MANAGEMENT OF HOLYOKE! COME TO A PUBLIC MEETING TO HEAR HOW THE PROPOSED PLANT COULD AFFECT OUR HEALTH AS WELL AS HOLYOKE'S DRINKING WATER SUPPLY, (ASHLEY RESERVOIR IS ON THE TRAIN ROUTE BRINGING OUT TONS OF WASTE AND DEBRIS).

AN ACCIDENT COULD CONTAMINATE OUR CLEAN WATER SOURCE!! GET INVOLVED! TAKE CARE OF THE HOLYOKE WATER SUPPLY AND OUR QUALITY OF LIFE (water, air, health + property values)

RAIN OR SHINE EVENT SATURDAY, APRIL 26, 2008, 1:00PM, CORNER OF MAIN & BERKSHIRE STREET, HOLYOKE. FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL COUNCILOR LOPEZ 413-532-4496
DIOSDADOLOPEZ@HOTMAIL.COM

NO DEJE QUE HOLYOKE SE CONVIERTA EN UN BASURERO DE LA COMPAñIA “UNITED WASTE MANAGEMENT OF HOLYOKE”

VENGA A ESTA REUNION PARA ESCUCHAR COMO ESTA PROPUESTA PUEDE ARRUINAR NUESTRA SALUD Y NUESTRA AGUA QUE USAMOS DIAREMENTE EN HOLYOKE.

(NUESTRA AGUA POTABLE DE LA RESERVA “ASHLEY” ESTA EN LA RUTA DEL “TRAIN” QUE ESTARA TRANSPORTANDO TONELADAS DE BASURA Y ESCOMBROS POR LAS VIAS)

¡CUALQUIER MINIMO ACIDENTE PUEDE CONTAMINAR NUESTRA AGUA POTABLE! ¡PARTICIPE!

CUIDE NUESTRA FUENTE DE AGUA POTABLE Y CALIDAD DE VIDA EN HOLYOKE. (Agua, Aire, Salud y Valores de las propiedades) Este evento se llevara a cabo con lluvia o sin lluvia

SABADO 26 DE ABRIL DEL 2008, 1:00PM, En la Esquina de las Calles Main y Berkshire en Holyoke

PARA MAS INFORMACION LLAME AL ASAMBLEISTA LOPEZ 532-4496

DIOSDADOLOPEZ@HOTMAIL.COM

Tokyo homeless encampment

"being homeless in Tokyo is different than being homeless in other countries of the world... " from Cliostaad, a site that talks about Toyko's homeless population and some of the shelters they built for themselves Site owners also show a polycarbonate house they designed for short-term visitors to Japan, where housing is extremely scarce.

GM crops yield less, not more, food

For the last three years the University of Kansas has been studying genetically modified soybean crops. Professor Barney Gorden in the agronomy department started the study because some farmers in the region who were using genetically modified soybeans said their crop yields were down. So Gorden grew a Monsanto GM version in one field and regular soybeans in another. The GM modified field produced 70 bushels to the 77 bushels produced by the non-modified field-- a 10% difference!

It turned out that the GM crops needed more manganese, and something about the GM Monsanto seeds-- modified to resist Monsanto's own Roundup weedkiller-- prevented the mineral's uptake. The crops recovered when extra manganese was added, but still, the yield only equaled, not exceeded, the yield of the non-modified. Farmers, of course, would have to pay the extra cost of the manganese.

Meanwhile, some countries that have resisted buying GM because of public mistrust are changing their policies. Japan and North Korea have already started importing GM crops, justifying their actions because of rising prices and the global food crisis. Today's New York Times reports that even Europe may be pushed closer to acceptance of GM foods based on their pocketbooks.

The Times article also makes the first reference I've seen to the study I wrote about last week by the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (although the article didn't refer to the group by name). This five year examination and re-envisioning of agricultural production to meet the world's needs had nothing positive to say about the role of genetically modified crops, questioning both their safety and their efficacy.

75% of all the corn grown in the U.S. last year was genetically modified.

Who is David Jessie?

Who is David Jessie and why is the Memorial Bridge his home?

Mr. Jessie was injured by an Amtrak train on Sunday and taken to the hospital with "non-life threatening" injuries to his arm. Springfield, MA police listed his address as the Memorial Bridge.

Did he not like the praying at Springfield Rescue Mission? Or was he unable to comply with the No Drinking rule?
Is he banned at Worthington St. Shelter? Or not able to handle the noise, lack of privacy and so he chose to sleep out?

What I do know is that six months from now, the weather will be chilly and rainy and the promised new shelter with expanded capacity at Worthington St. still will not be built! The ground remains unbroken. People will still be sleeping out in dangerous situations.

If anyone knows Mr. Jessie, or if Mr. Jessie gets to read this himself, I would like to know more.

Land of 10,000 homeless

Check out Voices of the Streets, a website of artistic activism, providing a space for the disadvantaged to share their stories, presents the stories of Minnesota's homeless...music, video, art and suggestions about what each of us can do to end homelessness.
The site says, "Mainstream media seldom asks for the opinion of those adversely affected by homelessness, poverty, discrimination, racism, or other serious and persistent societal problems." This is so true. The providers want to solve problems for us, not with us.

Auto site talks about biofuels

Wow-- here's a blog called Kicking Tires that, among other things, is blogging about biofuels, and how one tank of gas equals 528 pounds of corn-- enough to feed a person for a year, and suggesting that the U.S. change its policy on biofuels. You can research cars, write a review of your own car, find out about recalls, buy and sell-- in other words, a regular car site but writing about hunger and the environment.. Hope for the world?

Bay State Gas: using less will cost you more

In one of the more ridiculous rationalizations I've seen recently, Bay State Gas Co. says that consumers have used 7% less gas ever since Hurricane Katrina-- so it wants an increase in rates. Well, we use less gas because it costs more. So let me get this straight: it costs more so we use less so it costs more?

Profit, of course, is always the bottom line. Bay State Gas is a wholly owned subsidiary of Indiana-based NISource, and it's true their profits were down a teeny bit from last year: "NiSource's consolidated operating earnings (non-GAAP) for 2007 were $997.9 million, compared to $1,002.0 million in 2006. Schedules 1 and 2 of this news release contain a reconciliation of net operating earnings and operating earnings to GAAP." NiSource

Apparently Bay State Gas filed for the rent increase last October. Mandatory public hearings must have been held, and it slipped by me. They are not usually widely publicized; I wonder why? This year Bay State wants a 5% increase on the distribution portion of our bill, about 30% of the total.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley wants state regulators to refuse the increase, which would add to the $24.2 million in increases since 2005.

Protest is not futile. I found this flyer from 2005 when Arise for Social Justice was organizing with other groups across the state. Protests in whatever form have made a difference in the past. Call Coakley at (617) 727-2200 or use the Consumer Hotline number at (617) 727-8400. Send an email to NISource (no number listed) at questions@nisource.com. Call Bay State Gas Co-- they provide no number for consumers other than the automated line, so I'd try calling the numbers provided for businesses:

er Type	E-mail	Phone
Vic DeAngelo	Commercial & Industrial	vdeangelo@nisource.com	413-781-9200 ext. 2738
Paul Giguere	Key Accounts	pgiguere@nisource.com	413-781-9200 ext. 2142

You can then ask for spokesperson Sheila A. Doiron or as high up the corporate scale as you can get!

Last but not least, don't give up. Talk to your neighbors and get them to call. With the Attorney General on consumers' side, it's not too late to stop or reduce these rate hikes.

Conscious Consuming - does not eating meat make a difference?

I found a simple and informative blog called Conscious Consuming that links to an column by Derrick Z. Jackson about eating meat. I want to be writing more about this myself, but this is about as good as it gets.

How to make perfect rice

Start with a heavy pan. I have two WWII vintage cast aluminum pans; cast iron is also good.

The proportion is always one cup of rice to two cups of water (except arborio, which is a whole other story).

Purists say not to rinse, but I find that most commercial white rice is better if rinsed until the water is nearly clear. Drain well, or it will throw off your water proportions.

Put rice, cold water and 1/2 teaspoon salt in your pan and turn the heat up to high. When the water comes to a boil, stir once if you absolutely must and then cover the pan reduce the heat as low as you can with gas or two settings above Warm on an electric stove.

Depending on the rice, (white, brown, short long) cook for 20 to 30 minutes and try not to take the cover off more than you need. DO NOT STIR THE RICE WHILE COOKING!

You will know the rice is done when an inserted butter knife comes out dry.

A great topping rice : Gomasio. 1/4 cup sesame seeds, 1 teaspoon salt (sea salt is best). Toast the sesame seeds on medium heat in a cast iron pan until brown. Put in a flat bowl. Toast the salt until a bit translucent. Add to sesame seeds and grind both together until most but not all of the sesame seeds are split open. Unbelievably delicious!