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Obama defies China with Dalai Lama meeting

amybdk — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:04:20 -0800

by Shaun Tandon Shaun Tandon – Thu Feb 18, 6:44 am ET
Source

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Defying Chinese anger, US President Barack Obama on Thursday meets Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who plans to seek assistance in finding a solution in his homeland.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureates will speak away from the cameras in the White House Map Room for a meeting the US administration calls private but which China has warned could worsen relations with the United States.

The 74-year-old Buddhist monk greeted the Tibetan well-wishers, tasting milk and tea which children presented to him and throwing a ceremonial offering of rice over his shoulder.

Lodi Gyari, his lead negotiator in on-off dialog with China, said that the Dalai Lama hoped to speak to Obama both about global concerns and events in Tibet where China sent troops in 1950.

"His Holiness will be asking the president to help find a solution in resolving the Tibet issue that would be mutually beneficial to the Tibetan and Chinese people," Gyari said.

Beijing voices anger when any government leader meets with the Dalai Lama. It has demanded that the United States reverse its "wrong decision" to "avoid any more damage to Sino-US relations."

The Dalai Lama's advisors said the White House meeting sent a comforting message to those in Tibet.

"They will feel encouraged that the president of the United States, a global superpower, is meeting with His Holiness," the Dalai Lama's secretary Chhime Chhoekyapa said. "It means the world has not forgotten them."

The Obama administration not only refused to call off the meeting, but announced that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would also see the Dalai Lama on Thursday at the State Department.

"She has met with the Dalai Lama before and looks forward to the opportunity to do so again," her spokesman Mark Toner told reporters.

"The Dalai Lama is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, internationally revered religious and cultural leader and the secretary will meet him in this capacity as recent secretaries of state have done," he said.

Toner acknowledged that China was upset by the Dalai Lama's trip but said that the United States supported a cooperative relationship with the rising Asian power.

"It's a complex relationship," he told reporters. "There's areas where we agree on; there's areas where we disagree on. And we're going to continue to pursue that relationship vigorously."

The Dalai Lama says he accepts Chinese rule over his homeland, as do virtually all countries including the United States. But China has branded him a "wolf in monk's clothes" and accuses him of advocating separatism.

China in January held talks with the Dalai Lama's envoys including Gyari, the first between the two sides since November 2008.

Many observers believe the Chinese are simply stringing the Tibetan exiles along until the Dalai Lama dies, on the assumption that the Tibetan movement will wither without him.

The Dalai Lama enjoys a wide following in the United States and every sitting US president has met with him since George H.W. Bush in 1991.

In 2007, President George W. Bush awarded the leader the Congressional Gold Medal in a high-profile ceremony on Capitol Hill.

Fending off domestic criticism, Obama did not meet with the Dalai Lama when he was in Washington last year in an apparent bid to set relations off on a good foot with China.

But Obama has this year gone ahead with decisions opposed by Beijing -- including approving a 6.4-billion-dollar arms package to Taiwan, which China regards as its territory awaiting reunification.

Leonard Leo, chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, a government advisory board, said he hoped the meeting with the Dalai Lama was "not just checking a political box."

Instead, Obama should seek advice on "how to think creatively" on the thorny issue of Tibet.

"Beijing's objections to Obama meeting the Dalai Lama should not deter the administration from trying to bridge China's plans to improve the living standards of Tibetans and Tibetan demands for religious freedom and protection of their unique culture and language," Leo said.

Pier 1 Imports Recalls Glitter Tea Lights Due to Fire Hazard

tdsollog — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:04:38 -0800

NEWS from CPSC and HC U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, www.cpsc.govHealth Canada, www.hc-sc.gc.caFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJanuary 14, 2010Release # 10-112 Firm's Recall Hotline: (800) 245-4595CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908HC Media Contact: (613) 957-2983 Pier 1 Imports Recalls Glitter Tea Lights Due to Fire HazardWASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following products. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. Name of Product: Silver Glitter Tea Lights; Gold Glitter Tea LightsUnits: About 37,000 United States and 3,000 in CanadaImporter: Pier 1 Imports (U.S.), Inc., of Fort Worth, TexasHazard: The flame from the tea lights can ignite the glitter on the candle, posing a fire hazard.Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received three reports of the glitter burning. No injuries have been reported.Description: This recall involves two styles of tea lights. A clear box of 24 silver glitter tea lights with SKU 2410335 and a clear box of 24 gold glitter tea lights with SKU 2410322. The SKU number is located on the bottom of the packaging.Sold at: Pier 1 Imports in the U.S. and Canada from September 2009 through December 2009 for about $10.Manufactured in: VietnamRemedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the tea lights and return them to their nearest Pier 1 Imports retail store for a full refund or merchandise credit.Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Pier 1 Imports at (800) 245-4595 between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. CST Monday through Friday or visit the firm's Web site at www.pier1.comNote: Health Canada's press release can be seen at: http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=942To see this recall on CPSC's web site, including a picture of the recalled product, please go to:http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10112.html

1stdec/2nddec/3rddec/4thdec/5thdec/6thdec/7thdec

fattyme — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:45:07 -0800

breakfast-jollibean peanut and cheese pancake and milk.
lunch-fried beehoon,sausage,mantou(2),alot of carrot cake(like 4 piece?!!!!)+ green tea+milo.
dinner-rice with dishes+ soup +fried bee hoon+dumpling+whole big chocolate bread(that look like 4-6 big mac ok.)+green tea+fruits+alot this and that.
2nd dec
breakfast -one and half fruit and nut bread and soyabean.
lunch-rice+black sauce chicken+egg+soup+ fish+red bean soup+fruits.
teabreak-2 banana+one fruit and nut bread.
dinner-fried rice+claypot noodles+fish+tofu+chicken+coffeebread and colourful cake and hotdog roll and red bean soup with rice ball and fruits.
3rddec.
breafast-one slice of bread with peanut butterand carrot cake and milk
lunch-oreo(half a long packet ) , +sushi + bubble tea(i drank alot ok!!!!!!!!)+ subway(turkeybreast )+apple juice.
dinner-noodles+porridge+2steam cake+one tiger rooll+one coffee bread +taro pie+tea and fruits.
4thdec.
breakfast-2slice of bread with peanut butter and kaya + milk+ cereal drink+ apple yoghurt.
lunch- yoghurt with 5 digestive biscuit+fruit and nut bread+cereal drink+one apple+mac(burger+frieds+milo!)
dinner-rice + dishes+one slice of bread+one box of dark chocolate and one orange chocolate and tea and fruits.
5thdec
breakfast-milk tea+ fishball noodles+pear.
lunch-oatmeAl with peanut butter and milk+hotdog withbread+ melon breadwith peanut butter+mantou with peAnut butter.
dinner-rice with dishes(black pepper crab.fried chicken,fried tofu,fried prawns)+kaya toast+pineapple bo lo bun+ milk tea and yin yang .
6thdec
breakfast-twoslice of bread with peanut butter and kaya +coffee+fruits.
lunch-rice+fishsoup+abcsoip+noodles with yong tau foo+egg.
teabreak-banana+two dumpling + one tapicia cake+one coconut cake and one colourful kueh+coffee.
dinner- porridges with dishes+milk tea+ rice dumpling+ fruits.
7thdec
breakfast-5colourful kueh+3banana+2 cereal drink
lunch-pasta+garlic bread+soup+ice lemon tea+potato salad
teabreak-blueberry tea+famous amos cookie.
dinner-rice+dishes+fruits.
breakd

19thnov

fattyme — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:37:33 -0800

breakfast-one mushroom cheese+mayo bun + vitagen + orange + one slice of bread with peanut butter.
lunch - two slice of carrot cake(damn nice ) + one charsiew bun+one ham+egg+cheese+mayo roll+ tea.+ apple .and i havent finish eating !
dinner-subway(6inch subway club)! + jollibean(1box!)+ cereal drink and fruits and one mushroom cheese bread
supper-pandan kaya bread+orange+lotus bread + fried mee sua+ 2slice of carrot cake +tea+ one bowl of meat floss+fruits.
omg die alr.
today walk 8rounds.

The 4 secrets of amazing sex

PinkNC — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:56:02 -0800

*Article 2009
Resources: The Four Secrets Of Amazing Sex

Secret 1: Seduction

‘Chances are, your first crush was on a pop star or actor – someone you’d never met,’ says Beverley Anne.

‘They didn’t actively seduce you, you turned yourself on to them. You can be seduced by someone who doesn’t even know you exist,’ adds Georgia. ‘Contrary to what you may believe, it’s not down to other people to seduce us. Desire starts within you. It’s up to you to keep on cultivating these levels of seduction as you get older.’

In a long-term relationship you’re not always going to feel the same intensity of desire when the all-consuming passion develops into a richer sexual relationship. ‘It’s easy to become lazy and stop seducing yourself, or to place the onus on your partner to do it,’ warns Georgia.

Many of us take desire for granted, or think of it as something that just happens, like blushing. Instead, we are responsible for creating it within our own minds, and then nurturing it.

‘The danger of losing seduction is we then go for pure physical results and are left wondering why we don’t enjoy sex like we used to,’ says Georgia. ‘We lose sexual confidence, our partner does too, and the relationship suffers.’

Try this: Rekindle desire by spending time focusing on what makes you feel sexual. Ask, ‘what makes me a sexual person?’. Write down the things that first attracted you to your partner. If you’re single, think about a crush, first love, or qualities you aspire to in a partner. Consider their smile, voice, hands, lips, a sense of style. Put your list somewhere safe to re-read or add to whenever you want to tap in to these feelings of excitement.

Secret 2: The six senses

The Fosters include a sixth sense – that energy between two people that allows us to detect someone’s mood when they enter a room. ‘Rub your hands together, hold them an inch apart and you’ll feel it,’ says Georgia.

When you’re aroused, all six senses are heightened. ‘This is the stage at which foreplay starts,’ says Georgia. But people often neglect one or more of the senses, becoming limited lovers. ‘They think they know what does it for them and their partner and don’t vary from this repertoire.’ For example, one partner may be visually aroused by underwear while the other prefers touch – stroking or neck kissing. Their sex is on autopilot fulfilling these needs only. ‘This is when people might perceive their sex life has become boring and withdraw – or seek excitement in an affair.’

Your sensual preferences may change over the years, or you may enjoy different types of touch with different partners. But you won’t know unless you go back to basics. ‘Exciting new experiences with the same person are possible, if you prepare yourself differently,’ says Beverley Anne. ‘Promise yourself you’ll focus on each of the senses (your partner doesn’t even need to be aware you’re doing this if you’re shy about including them). Or you can challenge negative expectations about sex by approaching it in this new way.’

Try this: Practice living more sensually. Next time you have a coffee, really savor the aroma, taste and feeling in your mouth. Remember why you like to drink it so much. When you dress, notice how the fabric feels next to your skin, and how it feels on the outside when you run your hands over it. Is it smooth or rough? Cold or warm? Does it make a sound as you move? How does it look in the mirror?

Secret 3: Surrender

Surrender means being able to give yourself over fully to the physical act of sex. You’re in the present, fully aware of all your senses and enjoying the sensual experience – something that many of us often aren’t.

‘It’s not that your mind can never wander – that’s unavoidable at times,’ says Georgia. ‘But if all you can think about is what’s for tea, or how close you’re getting to orgasm, it’s not amazing sex.

‘Surrender is often prevented by the sexual saboteur – the inner voice of self doubt that creeps in just at the wrong time, telling you you’re too fat, or his previous partner was better at sex. This is a major inhibitor but it’s just your perception, not the truth. Hypnosis is very helpful in silencing this voice.’

Try this: Practice getting rid of negative thoughts by imagining a box by the side of your bed. Put the thoughts into this box and shut the lid, telling yourself you can take them back later if you want, but you don’t need them now. If your saboteur starts talking, breathe in and release the message on the out breath, saying ‘Let it go’.

Deep breathing is also a really useful tool for letting go, says Georgia. It slows your heart rate, releases anxiety, and distracts your mind from negative thoughts. ‘Take a deep breath in for a count of five, hold for five, release for five. Repeat three times. This clears and “resets” the mind, leaving you relaxed and in the present.’

Secret 4: Reflection

‘Perhaps as a consequence of a busy, modern life, few of us have the time or inclination to think about things after the event,’ says Georgia. ‘But if you want to move forwards, it’s absolutely vital to be able to take stock and think, “OK, how did I feel about that?” We’re not talking about delving into your past feelings about sex, just your positive reflection on a recent experience.’

If reflecting makes you feel happy and content, your unconscious mind will guide you back to secret one, seduction, so you can enjoy it all over again and reinforce your feelings and attitude towards sex. Conversely, for those with negative sexual memories, reflection becomes a barrier to fulfilling sex, says Georgia, while for others, their sexual saboteur takes control of reflection, reminding them of what they did wrong.

But each sexual experience is different, and gradually you can create more and more moments of positive sexual reflection, until your confidence increases. ‘Not every sexual experience is going to be amazing; life’s not perfect,’ says Georgia. ‘But the more pleasurable liaisons you can add to your mind’s library, the more self-belief you’ll have.’

It’s vital to realize that it doesn’t matter if you don’t have any positive reflections from your past. You can begin to create them today. ‘It’s liberating to know you can start afresh and creates a whole new memory bank,’ says Beverley Anne. Again, hypnosis is integral here, in letting your unconscious mind release anything from the past that’s holding you back, and making your new reflections more positive.

Try this: Next time you have sex, take time afterwards to create positive reflections on the experience. Try not to be critical – instead, think about the aspects that worked. What did you enjoy? What made you feel good about yourself? What would you like to repeat? Reinforce the idea in your mind that sex is something you value and deserve.

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My Pretty Pink Box is now available for September

fabulousfashion — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 00:15:07 -0700

Have you ever heard of My Pretty Pink Box? Well, if you haven't product junkies... your in for a treat! My Pretty Pink Box is a company that specializes in bringing you samples of the products you know and love and a few you've never heard of so that you may try them before buying or get them at a very nice discount. The boxes generally include a few full size products and are sure to be full of products that you'll love! The contents of the boxes are different each month as they are constantly finding new participants who want to include their items inside. If you have never visited My Pretty Pink Box's website please click here to learn more about them and who they are. In the meantime, here is a glance at some of the items that will be included in the September box that is now available, but hurry as they usually sell out quickly!

Totally Texty's line of shampoos and conditioners are free from Sodium Laurel Sulfate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Parabens, DEA, and TEA. The special deodizers help the hair stay fresh longer, without adding harsh chemicals to the hair. Plus, the packaging is just too fun!

Revlon Fantasy Lengths self adhesive lashes can transform your look from plain to fabulous in a matter of seconds. They're easy to apply and don't require any messy glue! Available at CVS, Ulta, and drugstore.com

Get salon nails at half the price! With Nailene, you can be sure you're getting top quality nails that fit your lifestyle without the salon price tag. Right now, Nailene is having a fantastic giveaway! Click here to check it out.

So simple, so fresh… keep Montagne Jeunesse products part of your everyday routine by purchasing your favourite top-to-toe treats online in one quick step. All your natural beauty care needs are just one click away, perfect for part of your daily detox program or just natural living – an essential shopping item!

FMC Alchemy strives to bring you Toxic Free, Eco-Friendly Makeup, branching out of the traditional mineral makeup faction and bringing you innovation. These full size pigments will definitely make you WTF! (Want Toxic Free)

Kiss is the world's largest manufacturer and distributor of professional quality nail products. Kiss became the first company to bring quality, professional nail care directly to the consumer, creating easy-to-use, all-in-one kits so you can achieve Salon Results at home.

With a desire to produce skin healthy and natural products, Lathered Upoffers a diverse selection of handcrafted soaps, bath and body products. All of their products are handmade primarily from natural ingredients, infused with fragrant oils to relax your mind and body, while lifting your spirit.

Appellation spa products are based on grape seed extract, one of the most powerful and beneficial antioxidants available. These lucious samples will start your skin on the road to softness. Through 9/3, enter code PTRY for 10% off any order.

When you use products from The Mineralista, you can be sure that you're not putting any nasty chemicals on your face. All of the ingredients are natural and most are vegan. These sample minerals really pop on your skin and can be used as an eyeshadow, eyeliner, blush, or added to your nail polish for a fun new color.

Monet Minerals creates some amazingly unique shades and are always adding more to their line. Their products are 100% natural and do not contain fillers.

Le Baby Hair Gel is made especially for babies, kids and anyone with sensitive skin. Even on adult hair, these full size bottles tame the frizzies and fly-aways while still holding your style in tact.

Wow - Orglamix eyeshadows are just beautiful! This Artisan crafted 100% pure mineral makeup line carries a wide variety of colors to choose from. These wonderfully pigmented, full size eye shadows are marvelous.

Paint Fx Cosmetics creates some of the most pigmented and long lasting shadows I have ever seen. These don't just pop, they blast a rich, beautiful color on your eyes.

Mineralicious has such an exciting array of colors for every woman. Because products are made in-house and not purchased wholesale & repackaged, you can be sure you're getting the best quality products for your skin.

What's in YOUR box?
September's My Pretty Pink Box will contain samples from 6 retailers from the list above.
Plus, every box will have an exciting sample from mark's new fragrance, Sophistique, available 9/11/09.

How the World's Biggest Corporations, From Starbucks to Wal-Mart to Barnes & Noble, Claim to Be 'Local'

Roarman — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:29:31 -0700

HSBC, one of the biggest banks on the planet, has taken to calling itself "the world's local bank." Starbucks is un-branding at least three of its Seattle outlets, the first of which just reopened as "15th Avenue Coffee and Tea." Winn-Dixie, a 500-outlet supermarket chain, recently launched a new ad campaign under the tagline, "Local flavor since 1956." The International Council of Shopping Centers, a global consortium of mall owners and developers, is pouring millions of dollars into television ads urging people to "Shop Local" -- at their nearest mall. Even Wal-Mart is getting in on the act, hanging bright green banners over its produce aisles that simply say, "Local."

Hoping to capitalize on growing public enthusiasm for all things local, some of the world's biggest corporations are brashly laying claim to the word "local."

This new variation on corporate greenwashing -- local washing -- is, like the buy-local movement itself, most advanced in the context of food. Hellmann's, the mayonnaise brand owned by the processed-food giant Unilever, is test-driving a new "Eat Real, Eat Local," initiative in Canada. The ad campaign seems aimed partly at enhancing the brand by simply associating Hellmann's with local food. But it also makes the a claim that Hellmann's is local, because most of its ingredients come from North America.

It's not the only industrial food company muscling in on local. Frito-Lay's new television commercials use farmers as pitchmen to position the company's potato chips as local food, while Foster Farms, one of the largest producers of poultry products in the country, is labeling packages of chicken and turkey "locally grown."

Corporate local-washing is now spreading well beyond food. Barnes & Noble, the world's top seller of books, has launched a video blog site under the banner, "All bookselling is local." The site, which features "local book news" and recommendations from employees of stores in such evocative-sounding locales as Surprise, Arizona, and Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, seems designed to disguise what Barnes & Noble is -- a highly centralized corporation where decisions about what books to stock and feature are made by a handful of buyers -- and to present the chain instead a collection of independent-minded booksellers.

Across the country, scores of shopping malls, chambers of commerce, and economic development agencies are also appropriating the phrase "buy local" to urge consumers to patronize nearby malls and big-box stores. In March, leaders of a new Buy Local campaign in Fresno, California, assembled in front of the Fashion Fair Mall for a kick-off press conference. Flanked by storefronts bearing brand names like Anthropologie and The Cheesecake Factory, officials from the Economic Development Corporation of Fresno County explained that choosing to "buy local" helps the region's economy. For anyone confused by this display, the campaign and its media partners, including Comcast and the McClatchy-owned Fresno Bee, followed the press conference with more than $250,000 worth of radio, TV, and print ads that spelled it out: "Just so you know, buying local means any store in your community: mom-and-pop stores, national chains, big-box stores -- you name it."

The Real Buy Local Movement

In one way, all of this corporate local-washing is good news for local economy advocates: It represents the best empirical evidence yet that the grassroots movement for locally produced goods and independently owned businesses now sweeping the country is having a measurable impact on the choices people make.

"Think of the millions of dollars these big companies spend on research and focus groups. They wouldn't be doing this on a hunch," observed Dan Cullen of the American Booksellers Association (ABA), a trade group which represents some 1,700 independent bookstores and last year launched IndieBound, an initiative that helps locally owned businesses communicate their independence and community roots.

Signs that consumer preferences are trending local abound. Locally grown food has soared in popularity. The U.S. is now home to 4,385 active farmers markets, one out of every three of which was started since 2000. Food co-ops and neighborhood greengrocers are on the rise. Driving is down, while data from several metropolitan regions show that houses located within walking distance of small neighborhood stores have held value better than those isolated in the suburbs where the nearest gallon of milk is a five-mile drive to Target.

A growing number of independent businesses are trumpeting their local ownership and community roots, and reporting a surge in customer traffic as a result. In April, even as Virgin Megastores prepared to shutter is last U.S. record store, independent music stores across the country were mobbed for the second annual Record Store Day. A celebration of local music retailers that features in-store concerts and exclusive releases, the event drew hundreds of thousands of music fans into stores, was one of the top search terms on Google, and triggered a 16-point upswing in album sales, according to Neilson SoundScan.

In city after city, independent businesses are organizing and creating the beginnings of what could become a powerful counterweight to the big business lobbies that have long dominated public policy. Local business alliances -- like Stay Local in New Orleans, the Metro Independent Business Alliance in Minneapolis-St Paul, and Arizona Local First in Phoenix -- have now formed in over 130 cities and collectively count some 30,000 businesses as members. Through grassroots "buy local" and "local first" campaigns, these alliances are calling on people to choose independent businesses and local products more often and making the case that doing so is critical to rebuilding middle-class prosperity, averting environmental collapse, and ensuring that our daily lives are not smothered by corporate uniformity.

Surveys and anecdotal reports from business owners suggest that these initiatives are in fact changing spending patterns. A survey of 1,100 independent retailers conducted in January by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (where I work) found that, amid the worst economic downturn since the Depression, buy-local sentiment is giving local businesses an edge over their chain competitors. While the Commerce Department reported that overall retail sales plunged almost 10 percent over the holidays, the survey found that independent retailers in cities with buy-local campaigns saw sales drop an average of just 3 percent from the previous year. Many respondents attributed this relative good fortune to the fact that more people are deliberately seeking out locally owned businesses.

Corporations Take Note

None of this has slipped the notice of corporate executives and the consumer research firms that advise them. Several of these firms have begun to track the localization trend. In its annual consumer survey, the New York-based branding firm BBMG found that the number of people reporting that it was "very important" to them whether a product was grown or produced locally jumped from 26 to 32 percent in the last year alone. "It's not just a small cadre of consumers anymore," said founding partner Mitch Baranowski.

"Food is one of the biggest gateways, but we're seeing this idea of 'local' spread across other categories and sectors," said Michelle Barry, senior vice president of the Hartman Group. A report published by Hartman last year noted, "There is a belief that you can only be local if you are a small and authentic brand. This isn't necessarily true; big brands can use the notion of local to their advantage as well." Barry explains: "Big companies have to be much more creative in how they articulate local … It's a different way of thinking about local that is not quite as literal."

One way corporations can be "local" too is to stock a token amount of locally grown produce, as Wal-Mart has done in some of its supercenters. The chain's local food offerings are usually limited to a few of the main commodity crops of that particular state -- peaches in Georgia or potatoes in Maine -- and sit amid a sea of industrial food and other goods shipped from the far side of the planet. Yet, this modest gesture has won Wal-Mart glowing coverage in numerous daily newspapers, few of which have asked the salient question: does Wal-Mart, which now captures more than one of every five dollars Americans spend on groceries, create more and better opportunities for local farmers than the grocers it replaces?

Wal-Mart, like other chains, has learned that, with consumers increasingly motivated to support companies they perceive to be acting responsibility, tossing around the word "local" is a far less expensive way to convey civic virtue than the alternatives. "Local is one of the lower-hanging fruits in terms of sustainability," explains Barry. "It's easier for companies to do than to improve how their employees are treated or adopt a specific sustainability practice around their carbon footprint, for example."

Rather than making direct claims using the word "local," some companies are pushing marketing messages that work by association. One example that caught Dan Cullen's eye was a CVS television commercial that begins in a Main Street bookshop, following the owner around as she tends to her customers. The bookshop then transforms into a CVS. The bookshop owner is now the customer. The feel is still very much Main Street. "Suddenly the kind of unique, enjoyable, grassroots bookstore experience morphs into a CVS experience," said Cullen. "There's a Potemkin façade that a lot of chains are trying to put up because consumers now want something other than a cookie-cutter experience."

Redefining Local

Still another corporate strategy is to redefine the term "local" to mean, not locally owned or locally produced, but just nearby. "With the term 'local' being so nebulous, it seems ripe for manipulation," notes Mintel, another consumer research firm that counsels companies on how to "craft marketing messages that appeal to locally conscious consumers" and how to avoid "charges of 'local washing.'" The key, Mintel says, is for companies to decide what they mean by local and to disclose that clearly so as not to be accused of trying to misappropriate the term.

Corporate-oriented buy-local campaigns that define "local" as the nearest Lowe's or Gap store are now being rolled out in cities nationwide. Some represent desperate bids by shopping malls to survive the recession and fend off online competition. Others are the work of chambers of commerce trying to remain relevant. Still others are the half-baked plans of municipal officials casting about for some way to stop the steep drop in sales tax revenue.

Many of these AstroTurf campaigns are modeled directly on grassroots initiatives. "They copy our language and tactics," said Michelle Long, executive director of Sustainable Connections, a seven-year-old coalition of 600 independent businesses in northwest Washington state that runs a very visible, and according to market research, very successful "local first" program. "I get calls from chambers and other groups who say, We want to do what you are doing. It took me a while to realize that what they had in mind was not what we do. Once I realized, I started asking them, what do you mean by 'local'?"

Examples abound. In northern California, the Arcata Chamber of Commerce is producing "Shop Local" ads that look similar to the Humboldt County Independent Business Alliance's "Go Local" ads, except they feature both independents and chains. Spokane's Buy Local program, started by the local chamber, is open to any business in town, including big-box stores. Log-on to the Buy Local web site created by the chamber in Chapel Hill, NC, and you will find Wal-Mart among the listings.

When billboards proclaiming "Buy Local Orlando" first appeared in Orlando, Florida, Julie Norris, a café owner who last year co-founded Ourlando, an initiative to support indie businesses, was excited to see the concept getting such visibility. But she soon realized that the city-funded program, which provides businesses who join with a "Buy Local" decal, seminars at the Disney Entrepreneur Center, and a listing on the web site, was open to any business in Orlando. "We sat down with the city and said, What you guys are doing is a real disservice to the local business movement," she said. When Norris complained publicly, city officials accused Ourlando of being "exclusive" by not allowing chains.

The city did agree to remove from its press materials and web site a reference to a study that found that, for every $100 spent locally, $45 stays in the community. The problem was that the study, conducted by the firm Civic Economics, found that to be true only if the money was spent at a locally owned business. Shop at a chain store, the analysis found, and only $13 of that $100 spent stays in the community.

The Economic Development Corporation (EDC) of Fresno County also appropriated the $45-stays-local statistic when it kicked off its Buy Local campaign at the Fashion Fair Mall. The figure was repeated on a TV news story without any clarification that it did not apply to the types of chains visible in the background. Like the Orlando initiative, the Fresno campaign aims to boost sales tax revenue by deterring online and out-of-town shopping. It goes out of its way in every radio and TV spot to make sure people know that "local" means national chains and big-box stores. "Buy Local" stickers and posters are now visible on malls and chains throughout the Central Valley. "For someone to say you are not local if you are a big box, I say baloney. They invested here," explained Steve Geil, CEO of the EDC.

"I would prefer that the county's resources were not being spent promoting Wal-Mart and Home Depot," said Scott Miller, owner of Gazebo Gardens, a plant nursery founded in 1922. "We have a great history of being involved in community events and donating to local causes. Our plants are grown locally. We believe that our kind of business is more valuable to a community than any big chain."

When the city of Santa Fe decided to launch a campaign to encourage people to shop locally, the Santa Fe Alliance, a coalition of more than 500 locally owned businesses that has been running a buy-local initiative for several years, signed on. At the kick-off in March, the Alliance's director, Vicki Pozzebon, emphasized the economic impact of shopping at a locally owned business versus a chain. "After that, the city asked me not to push the $45 vs. $13, but just say 'local.'" said Pozzebon. The city's message, according to Kate Noble, a city staffer who runs the program, is that shopping at Wal-Mart is fine, as long as it's not walmart.com. Pozzebon said, "It has only diluted our message and confused people."

These sales tax driven campaigns may well be doing more harm to local economies than good, according to Jeff Milchen, co-founder of the American Independent Business Alliance, a national organization that helps communities start and grow local business alliances (and on whose board I serve). "If you encourage people to shop at a big-box store that takes sales away from an independent business, you're just funneling more dollars out of town, because, unlike chains, local businesses buy lots of goods and services, like accounting and printing, from other local businesses."

The irony of trying to solve declining city revenue by trying to get people to shop at the local mall is that the mall itself may be the problem. While many California cities are facing budget cuts and even bankruptcy, Berkeley has managed to post a small increase in revenue. Part of the reason, according to city officials, is that Berkeley has more or less said no to shopping malls and big chain stores and is instead a city of locally owned businesses that primarily serve local residents. That creates a much more stable revenue base. Berkeley hasn't benefited from the temporary boom that a new regional mall might create, but neither has it gone bust.

Will Big Local Triumph?

Can corporations succeed in co-opting "local" -- or at least so muddling the term that it no longer has meaning? The Hartman Group's Barry thinks that's possible. "For many consumers, these things are not being called into question much. They say, Hey, it's my local Wal-Mart or my local Frito-Lay truck. It depends where you are on the continuum and how you define local, which is a term that is really up for grabs."

Milchen is less concerned about what he calls faux-local campaigns in cities where there is already a strong local business organization. "It's more of an educational opportunity than a problem, so long as they respond to it," he said. But in places where local enterprises are not organized, he fears these corporate campaigns may succeed in permanently defining "local" for their own benefit. Michelle Long shares that concern: "That's my fear. People are going to do diluted versions and hold the space so that real campaigns don't get started."

Local-washing has prompted local business advocates to reconsider their language. Many are now using the word "independent" more than "local." Controlling language is critical, said Ronnie Cummins, director of the Organic Consumers Association, who is pushing for tighter regulation of the word organic, as well as rules governing terms like natural, sustainable, and local. "We've been fighting so long without the help of federal regulators that some people have forgotten that tool."

But perhaps local-washing will ultimately make corporations even more suspect and further the case for shifting our economy more in the direction of small-scale, local, and independent. "I think the fact that the chains are trying to play the local card, in a way makes it easier for us," said the ABA's Cullen. "I think people are going to recognize that these aren't authentic and that's going to make the real thing all the more powerful."

Source: http://www.alternet.org/environment/142379/how_the_world%27s_biggest_cor...

The Town Halls of August, They're here, they're conservative, get used to it.

Grandpa — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 18:03:50 -0700

The Town Halls of August
They're here, they're conservative, get used to it.
by Mary Katharine Ham

It had been a rough month by the time 67-year-old Bert Stead of Redding, Calif., stepped to the microphone at an August 18 town hall meeting with Republican representative Wally Herger. It was about to get rougher.

Dissent, formerly the highest form of patriotism, had suffered a precipitous decline in repute since the beginning of the Obama administration, a decline that in August deepened into a nosedive.

Stead and the thousands of other Obamacare critics flooding town halls to make their dissent known had been called "extremist mobs" by the Democratic National Committee, pawns of the insurance industry by Senator Dick Durbin, "un-American" by Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer, "brownshirts" by Representative Brian Baird of Washington, "manufactured" and "Astroturf" by White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, "evilmongers" by Senator Harry Reid, accused of "fear-mongering" by the president, and been deemed "political terrorists" by Representative Baron Hill of Indiana.

So the Redding veteran decided to say something about it. "I have been known to say things fishy," he started, as the crowd cheered his sarcastic allusion to the infamous invitation by the Obama White House ("If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov."). Stead continued: "I have been known to even attend a Redding Tea Party. . . . I wanna say that I'm a proud right-wing terrorist."

It was clear to those who have followed the debate over town halls, including most of those at Herger's event, that Stead was mocking the rhetoric

of Baron Hill and the other over-the-top Democrats. Herger got the joke: He replied to Stead's speech with a smile, "Amen, God bless you. There is a great American," before speaking to his health care concerns.

But MSNBC's Chris Matthews, a political pugilist turned punctilious scold, declared Stead's words so awful, he could not bring himself to finish the thought:

A guy who thinks it's okay, in this day and age, to call himself a right-wing terrorist. This is the dangerous edge, in which these people, including some elected officials, are now dancing. We've been here before. Words lead to actions, words create the national mood, the mood creates a license. People take that license and use it. I'm not spelling it out any further because I don't want to.

Fellow MSNBCer Keith Olbermann took an uncharacteristically hard line on the use of sarcasm in a public forum, saying "even if he was being allegorical or hyperbolic, this is not language to bandy about." He accused Herger, who refused to apologize for the exchange, of "contributing to this climate of paranoia and violence enveloping our political system."

Liberal blogger Greg Sargent, from his perch at the Washington Post, bemoaned a right-wing mainstream media that excuses the flagrant use of irony by elderly veterans: "Let's face it, if a Democrat did this, there would be days of media outrage about it. Not to state the obvious or anything, but right-wing terrorists have been known to kill American citizens."

Not to state the obvious or anything, but the climate of paranoia and violence that enveloped our political system this August was largely a creation of people like Matthews and Olbermann. The edge on which we're dancing is about as dangerous as the one Ren McCormack danced on at the Beaumont prom in Footloose. But the newly dour John Lithgows of the left won't stand for dancing, conveniently forgetting Camp Casey, Code Pink, papier-mâché Bush effigies, assassination fantasies, Bush*tlerisms, profane signage, and the vandalism and violence that marked their own dissent earlier in this decade.

Their willful mischaracterization of Stead was a fitting end to a monthlong attack on town hall protesters by the left, which began with Think Progress bloggers, MSNBC, and the DNC distorting both the provenance and content of a memo they alleged directed a national movement of conservatives to disrupt town hall meetings. The memo by Bob MacGuffie, a small-time conservative activist in Fairfield County, Conn., was cited as proof of a national strategy in countless media accounts. But it was distributed only to a handful of local activists, who had no connection to national conservative organizations, as alleged. Ironically, it urged using "the Alinsky playbook of which the Left is so fond"--i.e., tactics that should be familiar to the onetime Alinskyite community organizer now sitting in the Oval Office. The memo read in part:

You need to rock-the-boat early in the Rep's presentation. Watch for an opportunity to yell out and challenge the Rep's statements early. If he blames Bush for something or offers other excuses--call him on it, yell back and have someone else follow-up with a shout-out. Don't carry on and make a scene--just short intermittent shout outs. The purpose is to make him uneasy early on and set the tone for the hall as clearly informal, and free-wheeling. . . . When called on, ask a specific prepared question that puts the onus on him to answer. . . . After the Rep answers, or more likely diverts or dodges, be prepared with a follow-up--take the initiative and you will be able to follow-up.

The balance of the group should applaud when the question is asked, further putting the Rep on the defensive.

Stead was just the latest fellow unlucky enough to have his words intentionally distorted for the sin of getting involved in public debate. Before he became known as a "terrorist" on national television, Stead was known in the community as the guy astride the Honda Gold Wing he jokingly calls his "fat old man motorcycle." He rides with three veteran charity groups, raising money for homeless and elderly vets, escorting fallen vets across the country to Arlington National Cemetery, and tracking down and identifying unclaimed remains of veterans for proper military burial. There are new rules in place. To summarize: The left calls protesters "political terrorists" for mere yelling at local town halls, protesters get teed off about being called "terrorists," they satirize the idiocy of liberals by calling themselves "terrorists," and are subsequently faulted for their rhetoric by the very liberals who called them "terrorists" in the first place. Says Stead: "Why can't I use their terminology? Especially if I'm poking it back at them?"

One public calendar, compiled by RedState.com, lists more than 400 congressional town hall meetings in the month of August. It's likely not an exhaustive list, but it represents an average of more than 13 live town halls conducted per day in America during the monthlong span. At these meetings, there were fewer than ten documented incidents that could be described as violent, and most of them involved very little physical contact.

The first of these came Thursday, August 6, in Tampa and St. Louis. Liberal health care groups and the DNC had encouraged union representatives to show up in force for Obamacare. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) was an official sponsor of Representative Kathy Castor's town hall in Tampa, and at a meeting hosted by Castor's Democratic colleague Russ Carnahan in St. Louis, there was a heavy presence of attendees wearing the union's trademark purple shirts.

In Tampa, there were scuffles at the doorways as event organizers shut the doors on protesters who felt they were being unfairly boxed out, but there were no reports of charges filed or injuries--just a picture of a man with a ripped shirt. Inside the hall, a St. Petersburg Times photographer snapped Karen Miracle slapping Barry Osteen in the face. Miracle turned out to be the treasurer of a local Democratic club, and Osteen an Obamacare critic. Miracle claimed she was protecting her husband, with whom Osteen was arguing, but a slideshow depicts Osteen barely moving a muscle in a series of eight pictures, while Miracle and her husband move closer to him.

In St. Louis, several video cameras captured an altercation between Kenneth Gladney, who was selling "Don't Tread on Me" flags and buttons outside, and several purple-shirted SEIU members. Witnesses said Gladney, who is black, was addressed by an SEIU member using the "n-word," who then assaulted him. Gladney went to the hospital with minor injuries, and two SEIU members, including the local SEIU public service director Elston McCowan, were among the six people arrested in St. Louis that night. An unidentified female was arrested in connection with the same altercation. A video of the event shows her approach an Obama critic filming the Gladney incident, and then smash the camera into the filmer's face. The female assailant was later cuffed by police at the scene, also on tape. The SEIU later claimed that Gladney was the aggressor, but a video shows a different picture. Gladney is outnumbered and visibly shaken as one SEIU member yells on tape, "He attacked America!" before challenging Gladney's defenders to a fight and hurling profanities at the filmer.

When Nancy Pelosi appeared in Denver the next day, Obama supporters countered Obamacare critics with pre-printed signs from Health Care for America Now and Organizing for America (the group directly descended from the Obama presidential campaign). A Denver Post photographer caught one of those sign-bearers, a grim-faced woman in a "HOPE" Obama shirt, ripping a homemade anti-Pelosi sign from Obama critic Kris McLay's hands as she yelled in protest. The Obama supporter declined to be identified for the photo.

At Arlen Specter's town hall on August 11, an Obama-care critic was roundly criticized as a loon for standing up and yelling at Specter about his right to "speak my mind before I leave." While he did disrupt the event, what most news accounts ignored was the escalation afterwards. An Obamacare supporter tried to manhandle the critic out of the room, which can be seen on the video shot by every network. At that point, Specter stepped in forcefully and effectively, and police closed in, calming the scene before it got out of hand.

At Representative David Price's August 13 town hall in Durham, N.C., sponsored by the state employees' union, Obama critic Gene Ellefson was punched at the beginning of the evening, surprising the relatively quiet crowd and witnesses, who said there was very little arguing leading up to the punch. "I was punched with no blood drawn by an older man who didn't like comments I made . . . to a stranger sitting nearby who was also a conservative," said Ellefson, who pressed charges and has a court date in September. "I was not belligerent and I was not shouting as I have seen in other coverage of these types of events. There was very little yelling at all at this event."

According to local media, the perpetrator seems to have been a man wearing a union sticker named Woffozo Humphries who was escorted out by police. In a video of the aftermath, a liberal audience member is heard asking, "Do you have health insurance?" to laughter, as Ellefson leaves the auditorium.

Altercations featuring Obama supporters as the aggressors hardly fit the climate-of-fear storyline of the mainstream media, so it must have come as a relief to liberals when one of the violent, racist "teabaggers" they'd been conjuring finally seemed to show up. At a St. Louis town hall meeting on August 11 hosted by Democratic senator Claire McCaskill, a white man tore away the sign of a black woman before police stepped in and escorted both parties out. The left labeled it a hate crime, saying the poster was taken because it had Rosa Parks on it. But there was more to the story than that, and it's quite plausible his motivation wasn't racial at all. There were no signs allowed inside the auditorium. In video shot before the altercation, three women with posters enter the auditorium, marching in dramatic protest style. The crowd yells, "No signs!" several times, before McCaskill herself tells them they must put them away, at which point one of the women remains standing, seeming to taunt the crowd. When a reporter comes over to inquire about her poster, the man steps in and rips it away. He was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor assault.

On August 25, liberals were once again delighted when the Democratic party headquarters in Denver was vandalized, attributing the 11 broken windows to efforts by the "other side" to "stir up hate." It turned out the guy doing the stirring up and breaking windows was one of their own--Maurice Schwenkler, who worked for a Democratic candidate in 2008 and is a member of Denver Bash Back, a group of "radical gay, lesbian and transgender individuals," according to the Denver Post. In another act of vandalism, a swastika was painted outside black Georgia Democrat David Scott's office, and attributed by the left to a racist element on the right, but police have yet to find a suspect.

In a fitting turn of events, an August 25 town hall meeting of Virginia Democrat Jim Moran also saw an altercation. Fitting because Moran may be the only congressman with an entire section of his Wikipedia page dedicated to "assaults and threats"--featuring the congressman as the perpetrator (including a 2000 dust-up with an Alexandria, Va., second-grader).

At the Moran event, an Obama critic had his shirt ripped, and an Obama supporter was punched in the eye. According to witnesses, there was a dispute over a sign. The Obama supporter grabbed the critic's shirt, ripping it, and the critic threw the first and only punch. No one was arrested, and neither man pressed charges, police said, but from my vantage point it looked like the Obama critic reacted with more force than he should have. The rest of the event, save for one yelling pro-life protester who was ejected, went very smoothly but was reported as far more chaotic than it was.

There were also two prominent reports of people carrying guns outside Obama town halls. Police told news outlets that William Kostric was within his rights to carry a holstered hand gun in New Hampshire on August 11, even at a protest. In Arizona, where there's also an open-carry law, both Obama supporters and critics were spotted with assault weapons at an August 17 rally against Obama-care in Phoenix. None of the armed protesters threatened anyone, but MSNBC's Contessa Brewer took the opportunity to crop out the face of a black man with a firearm, even while asking if all these "white people showing up with guns" evinced a dangerous "racial overtone."

That's the full list of documented violence from the August meetings. In more than 400 events: one slap, one shove, three punches, two signs grabbed, one self-inflicted vandalism incident by a liberal, one unsolved vandalism incident, and one serious assault. Despite the left's insistence on the essentially barbaric nature of Obamacare critics, the video, photographic, and police report evidence is fairly clear in showing that 7 of the 10 incidents were perpetrated by Obama supporters and union members on Obama critics. If you add a phoned death threat to Democrat representative Brad Miller of N.C., from an Obama-care critic, the tally is 7 of 11.

And if you extend the census into September, you can add the most severe injury of all, which happened during a fight at a September 2 rally backing Obamacare in Thousand Oaks, Calif., hosted by the left-wing activist group MoveOn.org. Police have not determined who started the fight, but it ended when one of the Obamacare supporters "bit off the left pinky" of counterdemonstrator William Rice after Rice threw a punch, according to police. The Obamacare supporter, who could be charged with mayhem, left the scene before police arrived, and though Rice's missing digit was recovered, doctors were unable to reattach it because "a human bite has so much bacteria," Rice told me. Several liberal commentators took the opportunity to hail the forcible amputation as a victory of government-run medicine over a hypocritical Obama critic. Because Rice is 65, he is covered by Medicare.

All in all, a not inconsiderable amount of that "dancing on the dangerous edge" Chris Matthews bemoans is being done by the very same people who are fretting that tea partiers will destroy this once-great nation.

If the left and the media were really worried about political violence, they might save some moralizing for former Democratic strategist Skip Ohlsen. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported last week that Ohlsen was named in a search warrant in an ongoing investigation into an October 2008 parking garage bomb explosion that severely injured a 70-year-old Missouri attorney. They might have fearful pronouncements to spare for Bradley Neal Crowder and David Guy McKay, who were found guilty of plotting to bomb police cars outside last summer's Republican National Convention in St. Paul. Or they might save some of their outrage for Katyanne Marie Kibby, a Texas activist charged with threatening the man who turned Crowder and McKay in to the FBI.

But instead the left's self-righteous leaders fire-and-brimstone the townspeople with tales of a country doomed by loud health policy protests. In doing so, they sound as out-of-touch as Footloose's Reverend Shaw Moore inveighing against the great peril of dancing the watoosie. They will not convince regular Americans that the honored civic pastime of political protest is un-American, inherently dangerous, or terroristic simply because it is undertaken by conservatives.

What we learned in the last month is that people who have been energetically organizing, filling town halls and high-school gymnasiums, and staging protests for most of their lives are more than a little dismayed to find out that the other side can do it, too. There will always be a risk of unrest at any political protest, left or right, and that risk increases with the emotion and energy surrounding the debate. And it will always be important to call for civility in heated debates, and to treat public forums and our right to speak in them with the respect they deserve.

But encouraging responsible civic behavior was not the mission of the hyperventilating liberals this August. Instead, they aimed to impose a social cost and scrutiny on conservatives who protest that they had never previously imposed on protesters closer to their own political persuasion. The high-profile throttling of people like Bert Stead and Bob MacGuffie, who merely spoke out or organized friends to do the same, was meant to send a message. Free-market grandmas around the country were meant to look at Stead and MacGuffie and wonder if they wanted to turn themselves into piñatas for the MSNBC hosts or should keep quiet instead. Pro-life moms attending town hall meetings, perhaps for the first time in their lives, were meant to recoil at the label of "racist" or "terrorist" and wonder whether staying at home with the kids might be a better course of action. William Rice is wary of similar treatment, saying he's avoiding most media for fear that "I'll end up being some sort of a bad guy," but he remains "optimistic that a healthy debate is good. I hope that it all works out for all of us." MacGuffie is still organizing conservatives in Connecticut, and Stead has already returned to the protest field on his Gold Wing, defending himself and Herger at a liberal demonstration calling for the congressman's resignation.

Indeed, judging by the tea party protests of last spring, the health care protests of August, and protests planned for September and beyond, with enthusiasm seemingly uncurbed, the wrath of Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews and the "un-American" insults of Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, and their caucus are being laughed off. Perhaps the Reverend Moores of the left will learn there's a new kid in town, and when it comes to "civic engagement" (as they might call it), everybody can cut footloose.

foodies

fattyme — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 03:57:18 -0700

min dont mind me doing this too!
but its real fun ^^
today
breakfast -two bread
break-share with min the colourful thing one box.
lunch - thai express
tom yam soup + beef noodles+two lime and watermelon drink.
i being a pig and help darling finish the food.
i keep going yum , i going finish this even though i already like 100 % full.
think she see me also scared.
there was this uncute waiter.
who actions were cute
he drop our bill and we were like laughing @ him and he gave us a huge smile.
after that when min put 40 on the bill thing
he still waiting for me to put money.
then darling told him already got 40 !
hahaha he so paiseh.
then he keep laugh .
and he purposely one sia.
make our drink so long want to see how we bear hot spicy tom yam soup right.
but i managed to finish most off them without any tears .
i am so proud.
and i alr 54.5 but i hope its true.
idk whether its bluffing me.
dinner will be eating like a glutton too .
told myself to go swimming but was being lazy .
shall go running with mum later hope the weather be a dear and dont rain .
and 100 sit up
and hulahoop 45minutes.
is that enough for a -pig like me?
i hope so.
i going to endure this journey myself.
ok heres a joke
theres a girl who about same size /weight as me.
and she tell me she eat how much also wont get fat.
irritating!
dinner- 8 course dinner.
fruits +rice+fish+vege+mushroom+egg+fruits and tea + chocolate milk + pau ./
did i miss any ?!

CHAPTER 97

Iveenia — Sun, 31 May 2009 06:08:34 -0700

Perhaps I had postnatal depressions – I always broke in tears whenever I was moved – how annoying… Well – get used to it…
So, now I was at home and felt like the ultimate greenhorn, a stupid chick with a baby and I had NO idea how to take care of her… Brilliant – in addition she had her first “vomit days” and I nearly went nuts…
Ummi came to me and said: “If you need me – I will help you – no matter if it is day or night – come to my house. We all started small, be happy that you are not alone.” How prophetic these lines were – we did not know in advance – yet yes, I went to her more often than I would have wished for… And it was not only because of my kids – it was because of HER “kid”…
However – I was VERY grateful, that this family had accepted me – and that I had been taken care of well, too.
Finally the parcel fm my parents had arrived… There was one P.O. Box number missing – instead of the 2787 there was only 278 – the greatest fun was – that nobody knew – it was the address of the EL CHADRA HOSPITAL - - Adel’s P.O. Box number had four digits… However – they did not find me there cause it had been delivered before my delivery. Wow – life is soooooooooo funny!!! So El Chadra sent it back to the main post office. They were so close to send it back to my parents – luckily Salah went. There was this elderly gentleman who helped him out – even went with him to the locker – the “post-office safe” – GREAT – I was so grateful, prayers work – definitely
The elderly gentleman congratulated my husband to the baby and gave him the parcel without even opening it. Irene had sent stuff to my parents – at that time the embargo was still on – i.e. no contact with the US – no internet connection either – nothing… BRILLIANT LIFE
In the parcel were baby clothes and other sweet stuff – she had a frog bib – which was just soooo sweet. Ummi loved it mostly. I was happy abt the enzymes which would make the scar heal faster. The next day they would take the stitches out. “My” professor Doctor Mustafa made this in person
He was really a darling. He also added: “Your mother is a woman of substance and your wife is a wonderful person, whom I like very much.”
My husband and my doctor understood each other well and I was happy abt that. Of course we had given gifts to him and his daughter – cause that was the least and I also hoped that they liked the cards, as well.
***
Athana had been born at 11:20 hrs minus two hours (Libyan time to GMT - daylight saving’s time another hr minus and then minus 10 minutes – cause I calculated it to Basel time) that was 09:10 hrs = Gemini ascendant. Who did that remind me of – and true – till today – she cannot decide easily… Like all my Gemini female friends. Male friends who are Gemini I do not have anymore. Athana was a born Aries – had the moon in Aries, as well = STUBBORN times 2 – i.e. her mood would be stubborn as well – that is what moon tells us then she had an ascendant of a Gemini which is actually the fastest and most intelligent Zodiac sign they say – so her intellectual grasp would be above average – well – that would mean – we will fight – ok – then so be it. She was a very active and vivid person – that was even indicated in the report of the hospital. i.e. she was already a little fighter. I just hoped – that she was not like me as a child – i.e. I gave up too fast mostly… However- her stubborn head made her win against my husband – he gave up. Yet against me – she had another stubborn head – I was 0.2 degree Taurus and Aries – exactly on the line. So now she had the challenge to fight against a set of 2 pair of horns - BTW: my mom’s ascendant is Gemini, as well and my mom is also an Aries. So I have/had been there – done that
If I gave up – and would give in – regarding her head – she would dictate – i.e. she would educate us – the older ones and would take over. Yet that was far of my intention – so I put up a fight whenever she tried. I had luckily bought the books during my pregnancy - it was abt Indigo children. Indigo kids would never ever accept orders – only either or – they would never just do sth which seemed nonsense to them. They would be different – and when developing their abilities – which were not really considered to be “normal” – i.e. mental abilities – that could just mean anything. Only later I found out that my kids were not anymore Indigo kids – however it is not important, what they are – but who they are.
Ummi helped me to change diapers – bathing her and also explained to me – that little babies are so slippery when getting in the bath – that you might lose them if you did not grab them well but not hurting – wow – what a job – I felt so stupid so downgraded so awfully like a bloody beginner – my depression… I had talked abt it with my doctor – he said: no, not you – but true – yes I had a postnatal depression – and a very huge one…
However – most women had to fight with that – i.e. with postnatal depression – over 90 % - so I belonged in there as well. Also Kerima and Amal were fighting with it – they confessed. Ummi never talked abt it anymore. Maybe she had forgotten or did not have time to think back.
Anyway one day I really had that breakdown – I was talking abt NO milk – only 20 ml that was top (I had a breast pump) then I was talking abt my disqualification abt educating kids, not even being able to change diapers – I was just nothing – wow – when I think back how terrible that was then sorry – I nearly laugh. Sure – it is incredible – yet – PMS was easy against those feelings… My husband did not know what to say anymore – he felt like paralyzed and completely off this world. In the evening I had finally gotten hold of myself again – I had taken out the book fm Erhard F. Freitag “the power of positive thinking”. How can God reach someone if in a terrible state like depression, sadness, anger, deception, aggression – nobody can be reached then anymore – I knew that fm books I had read. We should be happy with what we had. Should say yes to life and have joy in living. It really helped. However it was not easy – not even to go to the bathroom. The scar hurt terribly and the hematomas did make life hell. Even only letting go of air – that was hell – actually. Finally all stitches had been removed, the scar would look good my doctor said. Just that evening I was dead – so exhausted – Ummi kept the little one with her and I was “given off”. I.e. during the time we had been with the doctor. Apparently madam Athana had been protesting heavily that neither mom nor dad were there. She did even refuse to drink milk. However I had not more than those 20 ml of milk – which Ummi always claimed that more would come. I was not sure- I talked abt myself as an old “cow”. Yes – my sarcasm was back… It was not a shame – also Amal did not have milk for three of her children. And all were ok, anyway. Firstly I should become healthy again and then we would see to the milk – that is what Ummi said.
When I wanted to get some sleep – Amal’s kids came and made hell of a noise – exactly in front of the sleeping room’s window. So sleeping? Oh well - yes on another planet… I did not sleep at all. Salah slept in the same room as i did, again. I did not care anymore whether he snored or not – at hospital we had three women in the same room who were snoring worse. Yet and I admit – both of my kids snore, too and I cannot stand it anymore However – then I did not care. He also helped me at night to prepare her milk and with the breast feeding – even so there was not a lot and we always had to go for the baby formula milk… I was also not allowed to hold the baby because of my scar – so he had to hold her – wow – what a job!!! However during the day I could not just run to all and say – hey, she needs milk – so I did it myself and lifted her – after all she needed milk – with Mustafa I would not make such a “theater”, anymore!
After drinking milk, babies need to burp – otherwise they might throw up… oh yes – that is nice to clean the whole stuff – especially on carpets and shirts – awesome – who does not know abt that as a mother or father or relative…?
Mohamed – Salah’s youngest brother did not wish that the others knew how much he loved Athana – he sneaked in and kissed her fast on her front and then nearly ran out – Ummi caught him – but he did not see her I was laughing so also Mohamed suffered of the “Athana-sickness”.
It was really funny – that all were so deeply-stirred because of this little baby, why was I immune? I still ask myself. Maybe, because I am her mother? No idea… It was as if they were addicted to her. All wanted to caress her immediately. Of course she was “someone special”. WE ALL ARE – yet to exaggerate like this? Sure – she was cute and also I did hug her and cuddle her and kiss her several times a day – but I think it was a “healthy way”. Okay – she was very white – i.e. pink and maybe that made her also someone special in Africa. Yet overdoing was not my cup of tea. Her charisma was something I had to get along with – also with human beings I had never met before – I had to get used to it.
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Regarding politics (and fleas) we had some nice news in Libya. First the intro: Al Jazeera – had brought a documentary abt Gaddafi (I called Gaddafi the humpy animal herder) – actually abt all these countries: Libya, Iraq, Iran (in my mails I had to write abt the carpet-countries = Iran & Iraq – if only one of these guys working in the department of observation of ALL e-mails, short message system, phone calls, faxes – just anything would get to know what stuff I was telling my parents and friends abt Libya – we would have been not just in deep but deeper trouble) – all were there. The truth – I know they are – among many other media channels – they really do best in research. However – the Saudi Arabian story was really a “nice” one – the Saudi embassy was like extinct – not a trace of any of them – swallowed up by the earth… really very scary… gone with the wind…
Salah was happy that the story was over and that it had been so gotten off so lightly… I was not really sure.
I called all Muslim countries as a whole: the sand box countries
However – Al Jazeera always receives a lot of threats – i.e. we will kill all of you – and you will be blown off the map – that is why they always change their locations. I know someone fm Al Jazeera personally – that is why I can write abt it here. He has been working there for quite a while.
There was also news abt another country which emphasised to change two more governments in the “Arab” world. It was purely abt the black gold – i.e. the oil. Frankly speaking
BTW: amendment – my feeling was correct – no way abt going smoothly – just the same afternoon abt – all went well in Libya…: at 14:00 hrs that afternoon a factory next to Gaddafi’s residence went up in flames… WOW Mr. Humpy Animal Herder was scared to death – and I am VERY sure – that he had more than postnatal depressions now…
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