Living In My Own World

Evolution Observed and Confirmed in Lab Conditions

If you have any nervous creationist types in the vicinity, you might want to make a scene so they see this on your computer screen:

A major evolutionary innovation has unfurled right in front of researchers’ eyes. It’s the first time evolution has been caught in the act of making such a rare and complex new trait.

And because the species in question is a bacterium, scientists have been able to replay history to show how this evolutionary novelty grew from the accumulation of unpredictable, chance events.

Continue reading about this fascinating discovery here.

60 Years Since Gandhi’s Death and Where Are We Today?

January 30th marks the 60th anniversary of the assassination of one the most influential heroes in human history.

One of Gandhi’s most famous quotes is “be the change you want to see in the world”.

Because Ghandi knew that the only way to make a true difference in this world is first by changing yourself. He understood that every thought we have and every action we take instantly affects others; whether its the people closest to us or a random person on the other side of the planet (aka the Butterfly Effect). He knew and understood that we are part of ONE collective consciousness.

So as the 60 year anniversary of this great man stands before us, let us think about this list of people we are influencing. Is our life showing them the change we want to see in the world? Will their lives reflect the lessons they learned from watching us?

If not, that is ok. Because it’s not too late.

You and I can start today. Right now. This second.

And may peace, love and compassion prevail on planet Earth.

North American Union and Vchip Truth (Video)

This is the picture that is painted for the future, if you open your eyes to see it: a centralized, one word economy where everyone’s moves and everyones transactions are tracked and monitored, all rights removed.

The most incredible aspect of all: these totalitarian elements will not be forced upon the people; the people will demand them.. For the social manipulation of society and through the generation of fear and division has completely detached humans from their sense of power and reality in a process which has been going on for centuries, if not millenniums. Religion, patriotism, race, wealth, class and every other form of arbitrary, separatist identification thus can see has served to create a controlled population utterly malleable in the hands of the few.

“Divide and Conquer” is the motto. And as long as people continue to see themselves as separate from everything else, they lend themselves to being completely enslaved.

The men behind the curtain know this and they also know that if people ever realized the truth of their relationship to nature and the truth of their personal power, the entire manufactured Zeitgeist they prey upon would collapse like a house of cards.

Watch the movie Zeitgeist for free at:
http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/

Random Blog Post Causes Stir in Israeli Media

The other day I posted an article about the animal cruelty that took place on the premiere episode of “Survivor: Israel”.

The next day I was shocked and appalled that nowhere in the news headlines did anyone mention the abuse that took place on the show. Even animal rights groups seemed to have let it pass by quietly.

So in an effort to let out my frustration (and not necessarily receive a reply), I contacted Ynet, a major news website in Israel, with a link to my post. The letter read the following:

Hi,

I was wondering why this issue was completely ignored in the Israeli media:

(link to my original post)

Maybe you have some answers…

Thanks,

Shira

Within minutes I was contacted by a reporter from Ynet who asked to interview me about the issue and said that she would contact animal rights groups and Channel 10 (the channel that aired the show) for an official reaction.

Next thing I knew, this article was published on the homepage of Ynet, stating that the animal rights group “Anonymous” was filing a police complaint against Channel 10 and the article even linked to my original post!

Their article drew in over 150 comments, finally raising awareness to the mistreatment that had taken place on the show.

While some comments were negative as expected, I was pleasantly surprised to see how many people felt exactly the way I did about the issue and had supported the cause.

***

My point is that sometimes we feel that we are only one person, and “how much of a difference can one person make…”

The answer, as I have just learned from my own personal experience, is that the change really does begin in each and every one of us, and that the least any of us can do… IS TRY.

Israeli Version of “Survivor” Premieres with Animal Cruelty

As I am writing this, the first episode of the Israeli version of the hit TV series “Survivor” is being aired on Israeli television (channel 10).

Having bought the rights to the show, it is so far a fair imitation of the original series, this one shot on the Caribbean Islands.

So far, survivors were split into groups and challenged to jump off a boat in the middle of ocean and get the game started.

What they were asked to do was swim to rafts filled with tools necessary for survival, grab as many as they can and swim back to their new individual boats.

So far so good.

What I didn’t see coming, however, was a couple of cages with live chickens amongst the items on the raft.

The participants of each group swam to and jumped on the cages trying to get a hold of them first, causing the chickens in the cage to panic. That was already a huge shock to me (because anyone who knows me knows how sensitive I am to animals) but if that wasn’t enough, the struggle over the cages caused them to open, the chickens fell into the water hysterically trying to swim and the contestants continued to fight over who gets the chickens!

The whole thing was just 30 seconds of chaos: people yelling, chickens panicking, feathers flying, water splashing…

At that point, I just burst into tears and ran out of the room leaving my husband in shock.

He knew how long I had been waiting to see the Israeli version, with all the promos and publicity the show has been having - but I couldnt help it! I just started crying in disbelief.

How is it possible, as we head towards the year 2008, that today’s society and media STILL allows this kind of mistreatment of animals!

And for what???? For rating????

I’m not proud of my reaction. I wish I could go on watching the show as if nothing happened (just like millions of Israelis are probably doing right now). I wish I didn’t take everything so hard and get so emotionally involved when I witness these kinds of injustices…

But I do. It’s just who I am. I have always been this way and I guess I always will be.

And so I continue in my personal (and sometimes emotionally exhausting) pursuit of a better world.

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

- Mahatma Gandhi

UPDATE: I just saw a promo for next week’s episode where survivors argue over whether to kill the chickens. Apparently the show is called “Survivor” based on whether or not the animals on the island make it out alive…

YET ANOTHER UPDATE: This post gets on Ynet and makes a difference?Click here to read all about it.

Somebody Poke Me, I Must Be Dreaming

Somebody poke me: the government of Syria has made the move to block Facebook inside their borders.

According to sources speaking with Reuters, the official statement from officials is that they fear “Facebook could become a conduit for Israeli penetration of our youth”.  Critics of the government say that it is really to cut off access to the outside world. 

“Facebook helped further civil society in Syria and form civic groups outside government control. This is why it has been banned,” women’s rights advocate Dania al-Sharif told Reuters.

One Syrian confirmed on Digg.com that the block is in fact true, and that when he tries to log onto Facebook he gets the following message:

ERROR
The requested URL could not be retrieved
Requested URL:http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?
Error message: Access Denied
Administrator: webmaster@190.sy 

The “official” statement blames it on Israel, but as another Digger bluntly commented:

“Oh yeah, you wouldn’t want Israeli kids and Syrian kids to interact. I mean can you imagine? They might grow up to throw all the old racist, bigoted, war loving politicians out in both counties and actually get along in the future…Can’t f*ckin’ have that man. Gotta keep teaching them to hate each other otherwise who will they blame for all their left inflicted religious, social and economic problems?”

or as another digger puts it:

“It is sooooo typical of Syria to blame everything on Israel when in reality they just want to keep their community as ignorant as possible so they can control it better. just sad.”

or my personal favorite:

“Israel should just send a ‘friend request’ to Syria.”

So Syria can try as hard as they want - and they are definitely trying, including blocking off Hotmail and other websites - but the truth of the matter is that any person who truly wants to speak out and get heard, will always find a way to speak out and get heard.

That’s why it seems to me that dictorial regimes cannot last for long, once the people they seek to control and govern understand that they are the “oneness” that holds such governments together.

Or as Neale Donald Walsch puts it, in his book, Tomorrow’s God: Our Greatest Spiritual Challenge:

This is exactly what has already happened in the former Soviet Union. The people there understood that their solidarity was where the power was, not with the government, and so an oppressive government was ultimately dismantled, because it could not survive.  It was glasnost and perestroika that opened the door for this.

The same thing is what brought down the Berlin Wall, ended the regime of Slobodan Milosevic in Yugoslavia, and truncated the reign of countless dictatorial, oppressive governments and leaders.

Dictatorships will never be possible when the mass of the people are educated in, and embrace the basic principles of [freedom] and people will accept nothing less when they realize that freedom is the natural state of all things.

So call me a dreamer, or call me crazy, but I can only hope and pray that the people of these countries will continue to find ways to educate themselves and others, and that the light of freedom will one day shine upon their people.