Baby chicks can do arithmetic!

According to an article on MSNBC, "baby chickens aren't just cute - they are also whizzes at math, according to a new study. The study, published in the latest Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the Royal Society's flagship biological research journal, presents the first known evidence that any non-human animal can perform consecutive addition and subtraction calculations on the same set."

The article further states that "Taken as a whole, however, the study supports the theory 'that animals and humans share a non-verbal, and even pre-verbal in the case of humans, numerical system" that can perform precise arithmetic on small number sets — 'with a limit of three or four' -- and make estimates about larger sets, said Rugani, a researcher in the Center for Mind/Brain Sciences at the University of Trento in Italy."

Pretty neat stuff! Go chickens!

Better Living Through Chemistry? Not in this case.

On March 31, 2009 the Senate Foreign Relations Committee outrageously approved S.384 the Global Food Security Act of 2009!

This is an example of good intentions gone bad! It's very noble that the U.S. wants to help food security in other countries but not when companies such as Monsanto get their hand in it!!

Part of the bill MANDATES that the U.S. must fund GMO research and biotechnology in Africa and South Asia!!

Isn't this crazy??

Why don't they also mandate the use of organic/sustainable agriculture in these countries??

Please call/write your senator and let them know that you are not happy about this part of the bill and won't allow it to be passed in the full Senate!

Obsolence of nation-states.

Many people are commenting on the failure of nation-states and how primary loyalty to nation-states comes from ordinary citizens.

It is apparent that the monied elite, such as bankers, are loyal to their own institution and could care less what happens to the USA or the respective country the banker, or other monied elite, lives in.

As this post by, the excellent thinker, John Robb states:

"Due to excesses (too many to name), legitimacy is rapidly draining from the global financial system and the networked groups that give it their primary loyalty (like Fred above). In recognition of this, nation-states should hold this system at arms length to limit damage to their own legitimacy. Given the constraints on resources faced by nation-states, a plan that would bulk up legitimacy would focus on reorganizing financial institutions (not bailing them out) and repairing the balance sheets of individual citizens (the only group in the chart to the left that is still loyal to nation-states). That isn't happening and the damage incurred from this mistake will be significant."

What do AIG executives know about running a financial coroporation?

Find out here:



Also check out this great blog, Talking Points Memo.

Transgenic seeds to push up fertiliser consumption

Transgenic seeds to push up fertiliser consumption

This is another reason why the big seed companies and their genetic engineering plans are bogus!!
Do we really need to use more fertilizers? Do we really need to use more herbicides? We have been growing our own food for many more years than these companies have been around. WE DON"T NEED YOUR HELP!!!

Go away you pesky little flies, like Monsanto, Syngenta, etc..

Furthermore, farmer's need to start standing up for themselves. You don't need these guys!! If you are looking for seeds, here's just one great resource, that doesn't use GMO's:

Seeds of Change

Eminem/D12.

I want to post more about Eminem, however, is it too obvious to say that he changed the rap scene forever and for the better? I love rap music again!

Patch.

One of the beloved family dogs, Patch, died on Sunday in Cochise, Arizona.

He was only about 9 years old, very young...but he had a lot of health issues.

He was a great dog that was always keeping an eye on the family as they went about their business on the ranch. He loved all the family members and his other dog buddies (my parents have several dogs).

I hate to see you go Patch but know you are someplace special!!!

An Amazing Quote.

This is an amazing quote from the Buddhist Philosopher Daisaku Ikeda:

"The human being is not a frail wretch at the mercy of fate. Shakyamuni insisted that to change oneself now is to change the future on a vast scale. The Western impression that Buddhism is all about meditation is alien to the spirit of Shakyamuni. The goal of Nichiren Buddhism is neither escape from reality nor passive acceptance. It is to live strongly, proactively, in such a way as to refine one's own life and reform society through a constant exchange between the outside world and the individual's inner world."

Mott Haven & The Bronx's FIRST Church.

Hi, the other day I visited a section of the South Bronx called Mott Haven. Mott Haven, in the past and still is, one of the most economically disadvantaged communities in the United States.

I'm looking to start a project in this area, that deals with an urban farm and artist village. This area is rich in history, so I had a nice little vacation and took some pictures. I plan on going back many more times to document other historical and interesting places.

I've included some pictures of an abandoned building I'm going to find out about and St. Ann's Episcopal Church.



Also, just a reminder that sometimes there is a vacation right in our own backyards, check out your own community and admire it's history, customs and cultures. I'm sure you will be surprised!!

President Barack Obama.

This is, simply, the greatest president I have seen in my lifetime. I just finished watching the weekly youtube address and am continually blown away by the spirit of President Obama. Wow, I mean he is calm, cool, collected, sincere and, most important of all, hopeful!!

Hopeful!! Which is so desperately needed in our leaders right now.

Let's carry this same spirit into our own communities, so that we can instill this same hope and sincere attitude wherever we go.

Change is already upon us!!! Yay!!!

Daisaku Ikeda Quote

"This lifetime will never come again; it is precious and irreplaceable. To live without regret, we must have a concrete purpose, continually setting goals and challenges for ourselves. And we need to keep moving toward those specific targets steadily and tenaciously, one step at a time."

Daisaku Ikeda is a Buddhist Philosopher and President of the Soka Gakkai International.

Looting of the USA by corporate and other monied elites.

I haven't exactly been following the news in a couple of weeks and have just been amazed at the crap that is going on.

Check out this excellent post by, John Robb. I advise following this guys blog during these times, he is truly a visionary.

"The Looting Process
Everyone is loyal to a network type. Many of those in the current elite are loyal to the market network. They don't care about institutional (nation) or the greater good (open source networks). They don't even really have a tribe that benefits from their activities. Just short term mutual interests.

This puts the above into perspective:

Boris Fyodorov, the late Russian Minister of Finance who struggled for many years against corruption and the abuse of authority, could be blunt. Confusion helps the powerful, he argued. When there are complicated government bailout schemes, multiple exchange rates, or high inflation, it is very hard to keep track of market prices and to protect the value of firms. The result, if taken to an extreme, is looting: the collapse of banks, industrial firms, and other entities because the insiders take the money (or other valuables) and run. This is the prospect now faced by the United States."

Also, check out the Jon Stewart video, he links to on his site, about CNBC and the current financial crisis that is truly disturbing. Jon Stewart, is the real news reporter during these times!!

Playing for Change.

Everyone has to check out this youtube video, it's from an upcoming documentary, Playing for Change: Peace through Music.

Great song. Great video. Anyone local musicians have their videos, music to share?? I would love to hear it and put it up on this blog! Thanks.

The Wildlife.

The Wildlife, have some great music! The only problem is, they have not come out with a new album since about 2006! This isn't really a video, in the common sense, but you can hear a good song nonetheless. Check it:

Take the failing food industry out of the school lunch programs!!

Please read and take action on this email I received recently. I will keep you updated on this important issue.

Dear Com Fooders,
As everyone knows, the Child Nutrition and WIC Act -- which encompasses school lunches -- is up for renewal this year. The time is now to make the case that the school lunch program shouldn't be owned by the food industry -- that instead school lunches are part of a robust public-education system. Making them so will require a serious investment in school kitchens, which have been hollowed out over the past decade, and an increase in the paltry budget now devoted to them.

Yet I fear that, despite the recent stimulus education, we're about to enter a period of severe fiscal austerity, forced by the gaping blunders in Iraq and Afghanistan and the ongoing meltdown of the financial sector. The Obama administration today handed the failed insurance giant AIG another $30 billion -- one top of the $150 billion it has already received. Its CEO is on record saying it will likely need more. As these payouts pile up, you can bet that "fiscal conservatives" will vigorously oppose any increase to the school lunch program, which currently get $9 billion (less than two months' mayhem in Iraq and Afghanistan).

The sustainable-food movement needs to get out ahead on this debate. I'm urging everyone to come over to Grist to participate in a debate I initiated with some prominent technocrat-ish DC political bloggers who oppose an increase on fiscal grounds.
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2009/2/27/9549/79465
Check it out.
All best,
Tom

Tom Philpott
Co-founder, Maverick Farms
Food editor and columnist, Grist.org

Ayuverda Cafe.

Yesterday, we went to the Ayuverda Cafe on the UWS of Manhattan. Ayuverda has a particular science behind it and this is an all vegetarian restaurant. The food was very good and reasonably priced.

The food and drinks are served in stainless steel dishes, which seems very hygienic. The meal changes every day but is set for that particular day. Dinner cost only $12.95 per person and it's all you can eat!

For those of you who don't know what Ayuverda means here is a brief description from their website:

"Ayurveda is the science of life, a 5,000-year-old traditional holistic system
of well-being from India. 'ayur' means 'of life' and Veda' means 'knowledge'. Ayurveda is the knowledge of longevity which offers healing, rejuvenation and self-realization through balanced food, herbs, yoga, massage, aroma, and meditation.

Ayurveda is very clear when it comes to food. Sattvic (pure) food is needed to heal and maintain good health and must incorporate six tastes in every meal: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent and pungent."

It's really cool, I hope you find such a place in your community!

Start the morning off.

A good video/song from The Game w/ Lil Wayne. We are witnessing some of the best rap music out there today!

Jel. Anticon.

Jel, is one of those rare rappers, nowadays, who cares about his craft. The Anticon Label that supports him, has many more such artists under their wing. Check every one of the artists out!

Lucinda Williams.

Another great artist, that I enjoy, is Lucinda Williams.

This is someone's video backdrop for the song Blue...amazing song!!

Gaza, Isreal & Food Aid.

"JERUSALEM - For more than seven weeks, the international aid group Mercy Corps has been trying to send 90 tons of macaroni to the isolated Gaza Strip as part of a global campaign to help the 1.4 million Palestinians there rebuild their lives after Israel's recent devastating 22-day military operation.

Israel, which controls most of what goes into and out of Gaza, has said no repeatedly.

At first, Israeli officials said that they wanted to make sure that the macaroni wasn't destined for a Hamas charity. Then they said macaroni was banned because they didn't consider it an essential food item.

On Wednesday, days after American lawmakers raised pointed questions about the macaroni ban, Israeli authorities said that they were preparing to give the pasta a green light.

For the international aid community, the dispute is emblematic of the red tape and political maneuvering that have stymied efforts to rebuild Gaza."

Food is a basic human right and should NOT be used for any political maneuvering. I hope we all keep an eye on this situation in the Middle East and contact our government representatives as needed.

If you are in NYC and interested in hearing someone's thoughts on PEACE in the Middle East, please see one of my earlier posts about Mona Eltahawy, who is giving a lecture tonight at 7:30 pm.