This has always been the place where I release my guilt, but it never really leaves. I am prone to using rhetoric of the self, as if I can leave it here, or that leaving it here does not mean that it stays here. I often come to gather older guilt in exchange for something new. Now I have come to see, or it has come to me, that I have not the power to take guilt or leave it. Maybe one has to take it from me? Maybe I have to be willing to give it? but, to Whom?
I think it is a relevant thing to ask. I think its also relevant to expect an answer.
InshAllah
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Dreamtigers
A series of dreams, connected or not, they are frequent.
1. Sitting on the couch at my parents house, I see a spider. It is small, yet I can see EVERY single detail vividly. I look at it and watch as it jumps off of the couch and lands on my arm, sinking its teeth deeply into my flesh. I quickly remove it from my presence with a flick, and look at the bite expecting to feel fear due to what in my dream, I recognize as a conscious worry of being bitten. But, to my surprise, I feel no fear, only faith that I will be okay. In fact, I insistently demanded that I would be okay and physically restricted my arm from allowing the poison to course through my veins. That is dream one. 7-10-09.
2. Now dream two is very much different, because this time I was fearful of what everyone else was not fearful of. I was in a strange place, but apparently in my mind it was familiar. Many people I knew where there in a summer camp sense. My parents along with past school faculty were working on I dont know what. A flood came and quickly rose higher and higher. Everyone else had left except those working and myself. I wanted to leave but the building, or most of it, was beneath the water, but we were somehow okay due to, airtight doors and windows perhaps?
It is kind of hazy what happened here, but I remember getting outside and seeing all the water and soon after the storm stopping and my father saying, "I told you we'd be fine." I then saw my car and has been completely submerged, yet now it was okay. The bike rack was on the ground, off to the side. I felt that storm would be back. This is dream two. 7-11-09.
3. This dream is more recent, it was actually last night. I woke up with a completely different feeling. I was in longing for this to be true and I do not know why.
I was at the place where I work with a friend, who works there or had worked there, I will not say, but was related to the place in which I work at some point in time. Although it was work, it resembled something more laid back, I do not remember helping any customers, or seeing my employers. Nevertheless, I went out back with my coworker and we were taking the trash out together. Now keep in mind, I was at work, but outside looks nothing like the actual place, but in my mind, I was still at work. Well I told her I would give her a piggyback ride to the dumpster, and she agreed. Jumping on my back, awaiting the ride to the trash can, I felt a sense of excitement, I had butterflies, and I was happy with it. With her hands wrapped around me, we went to finish our job. On the way, for some reason I had the courage, and decided to kiss her hand. She stopped and walked with me somewhat excited that I had done so, saying something to the effect of, "We'd be happy, we could sleep close to each other, and shower together." (sorry this is what she said). All of this being said, it was not in a directly sexual way. From here, I dont know what happened, other than we were at a restraunt in a strange place that was falt and desert like, but had a consistenly busy atmosphere. We were with "friends" but I did not recognize them. This girl that I was with, got up and went to the restroom, and I followed in order to ask her about today. She walked ahead of me, not maliciously, but I just couldn't seem to catch up. She was walking with another guy, who was married, but was talking intently with her. I went to the restroom and then she and I walked back together. She said she was interested, but... and never resumed, for we were back at our table. From there we went back to my work late at night. We were able to open the doors knowing that it was closed. She turned on some reggae-esque hip hop and then went to the back of the store, I followed her, trying my best to formulate questions to ask her, about the "but..." moment we had earlier. I woke up and for some reason wanted it desperately to be true. 7-14-09.
4. This was my last dream. It was terrible violent so I won't go into it. It was almost as if I was on a movie set, and to be honest, I think I was...
I was in the dream, but it wasnt me. I seemed to be doing the action, but as a superhero that was trying to bring justice to a man shooting at him and others. I remember that I could not die, but could still feel the pain of the gunshots. I manuevered around him, not knowing what I was doing, yet knowing that it was soon going to trip him up in some way. Finally I caused him to wreck his car, and I tied something around his neck and was choking him, and beating him, and choking him more. It was vivid and colourful also. I stopped when a car drove by and asked for me to stop, and to let "her go." I was suprised because it was a very large man I was beating. I stopped and then, he stood up, except he was now a she. This girl got into the other car, and went away fine. The last thing i remember was a montage of video clips, where the girl who petioned for the other girl, and the girl I had aparantly fought, were acting together in movies. And then I woke up feeling disturbed. 7-14-09.
any ideas?
1. Sitting on the couch at my parents house, I see a spider. It is small, yet I can see EVERY single detail vividly. I look at it and watch as it jumps off of the couch and lands on my arm, sinking its teeth deeply into my flesh. I quickly remove it from my presence with a flick, and look at the bite expecting to feel fear due to what in my dream, I recognize as a conscious worry of being bitten. But, to my surprise, I feel no fear, only faith that I will be okay. In fact, I insistently demanded that I would be okay and physically restricted my arm from allowing the poison to course through my veins. That is dream one. 7-10-09.
2. Now dream two is very much different, because this time I was fearful of what everyone else was not fearful of. I was in a strange place, but apparently in my mind it was familiar. Many people I knew where there in a summer camp sense. My parents along with past school faculty were working on I dont know what. A flood came and quickly rose higher and higher. Everyone else had left except those working and myself. I wanted to leave but the building, or most of it, was beneath the water, but we were somehow okay due to, airtight doors and windows perhaps?
It is kind of hazy what happened here, but I remember getting outside and seeing all the water and soon after the storm stopping and my father saying, "I told you we'd be fine." I then saw my car and has been completely submerged, yet now it was okay. The bike rack was on the ground, off to the side. I felt that storm would be back. This is dream two. 7-11-09.
3. This dream is more recent, it was actually last night. I woke up with a completely different feeling. I was in longing for this to be true and I do not know why.
I was at the place where I work with a friend, who works there or had worked there, I will not say, but was related to the place in which I work at some point in time. Although it was work, it resembled something more laid back, I do not remember helping any customers, or seeing my employers. Nevertheless, I went out back with my coworker and we were taking the trash out together. Now keep in mind, I was at work, but outside looks nothing like the actual place, but in my mind, I was still at work. Well I told her I would give her a piggyback ride to the dumpster, and she agreed. Jumping on my back, awaiting the ride to the trash can, I felt a sense of excitement, I had butterflies, and I was happy with it. With her hands wrapped around me, we went to finish our job. On the way, for some reason I had the courage, and decided to kiss her hand. She stopped and walked with me somewhat excited that I had done so, saying something to the effect of, "We'd be happy, we could sleep close to each other, and shower together." (sorry this is what she said). All of this being said, it was not in a directly sexual way. From here, I dont know what happened, other than we were at a restraunt in a strange place that was falt and desert like, but had a consistenly busy atmosphere. We were with "friends" but I did not recognize them. This girl that I was with, got up and went to the restroom, and I followed in order to ask her about today. She walked ahead of me, not maliciously, but I just couldn't seem to catch up. She was walking with another guy, who was married, but was talking intently with her. I went to the restroom and then she and I walked back together. She said she was interested, but... and never resumed, for we were back at our table. From there we went back to my work late at night. We were able to open the doors knowing that it was closed. She turned on some reggae-esque hip hop and then went to the back of the store, I followed her, trying my best to formulate questions to ask her, about the "but..." moment we had earlier. I woke up and for some reason wanted it desperately to be true. 7-14-09.
4. This was my last dream. It was terrible violent so I won't go into it. It was almost as if I was on a movie set, and to be honest, I think I was...
I was in the dream, but it wasnt me. I seemed to be doing the action, but as a superhero that was trying to bring justice to a man shooting at him and others. I remember that I could not die, but could still feel the pain of the gunshots. I manuevered around him, not knowing what I was doing, yet knowing that it was soon going to trip him up in some way. Finally I caused him to wreck his car, and I tied something around his neck and was choking him, and beating him, and choking him more. It was vivid and colourful also. I stopped when a car drove by and asked for me to stop, and to let "her go." I was suprised because it was a very large man I was beating. I stopped and then, he stood up, except he was now a she. This girl got into the other car, and went away fine. The last thing i remember was a montage of video clips, where the girl who petioned for the other girl, and the girl I had aparantly fought, were acting together in movies. And then I woke up feeling disturbed. 7-14-09.
any ideas?
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Read for yourself without my comment
Instead of hating the people you think are war-makers, hate the appetites and disorder in your own soul, which are the causes of war. If you love peace, then hate injustice, hate tyranny, hate greed - but hate these things in yourself, not in another.
- Thomas Merton,
New Seeds of Contemplation
...and in other news....
Food libel laws
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Veggie libel law)
Food libel laws, also known as "food disparagement laws", "veggie libel laws", or "veggie hate laws", are laws passed in 13 U.S. states that make it easier for food industry interests to sue their critics for libel. These 13 states are: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas. [1] Many of the food-disparagement laws punish First Amendment-protected expression, establish a lower standard for civil liability, allow for punitive damages and attorneys fees for plaintiffs alone[2], regardless of the case's outcome. Meaning, even if you are found innocent of Libel, for questioning whether or not hamburger contains ammonia or ecoli, you pay the legal fees of your persecution... Usually a team of very expensive lawyers from the best law firms money can buy.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] History
In 1996, television talk-show hostess Oprah Winfrey and one of her guests, Howard Lyman, were involved in a lawsuit surrounding the Texas version of this law. Although they were not the first people to be sued using this type of legal action, this case created a media sensation and is the example most people associate with food libel litigation.
These laws vary greatly from state to state, but they typically allow a food manufacturer or processor to sue a person or group who makes disparaging comments about their food products. In some states these laws also establish weaker standards of proof than are used in traditional American libel lawsuits.[citation needed]
In a normal U.S. libel suit, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant is deliberately and knowingly spreading false information. Under the Texas food disparagement law under which Winfrey and Lyman were sued, the plaintiffs — in this case, beef feedlot operator Paul Engler and the company Cactus Feeders — simply had to convince the jury that Lyman's statements on Winfrey's show deviated from "reasonable and reliable scientific inquiry, facts, or data."
One obvious trouble with such a law is that two reasonable, reliable scientists may not always agree. The subject that Engler and Cactus Feeders were suing Winfrey and Lyman over was BSE (also known as "mad cow disease") which has seen respected, reliable researchers reach quite different conclusions. Such a law partially shifts the burden of proof from the accuser.
Winfrey and Lyman won their case in 1998. However, the lawsuit also had the effect of silencing Winfrey. She stopped speaking on the issue, going so far as to decline to make videotapes of the original interview available to enquiring journalists.[3]
[edit] Alar
Proponents of food libel laws often cite the Alar "scare" as proof of the necessity of such laws, as farmers' protection against a loose-lipped public. In the Alar incident, a CBS report on a carcinogenic but widely used apple agrichemical led to a brief slump in the apple market[4] on Alar and a ban on the chemical. Apple growers subsequently sued CBS under existing libel laws and lost. "Never again — not another Alar" became a rallying cry for the food industry.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ http://cspinet.org/foodspeak/laws/existlaw.htm
- ^ http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Environment/Veggie_Libel.html
- ^ Sheldon Rampton, John Stauber (1997). Mad Cow USA: Could the nightmare happen here?. Madison, WI: Common Courage Press. pp. 192. ISBN 1567511112.
- ^ "Fruit Growers Pull Commercials To Protest Report by CBS". New York Times. May 7, 1989.
[edit] External links
- "Serving You Tonight Will Be Our Lawyer". New York Times. March 7, 2007
- "Farmers' Right to Sue Grows, Raising Debate on Food Safety". New York Times. June 1. 1999.
- "Apple growers bruised and bitter after alar scare". New York Times. July 9, 1991.
- Chilling effect of laws from the Center for Science in the Public Interest
- Existing laws by state Center for Science in the Public Interest.
And last but not least...
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