Der Herr Bush...

Spitze! Like awesome dude.

Puppet show on global warming

...funny and makes a good point.

Leon...

...the very short version! Still my favourite movie.

Hemp For Victory...

...for more info see Cannabis College who have the best advice on this amazing plant.

Dean and Tony go travelling...

...in song.

Conscience Cola...

...the unofficial history of the adrenalin rush. A canned look at how a drink is changing the planet.

Peat bogs cause more global warming

A look at how the effects of global warming could release large amounts of CO2 from peatbogssuch as those in Wales.

X Files legalize it!

A short stop-motion animation which addresses the issue of marijuana and hemp legalization in the US. Subjects include Anslinger, industrial hemp, hemp products, medical marijuana, and marijuana history and legalization.

Anina models potato chips...

...Anina.net

Al Gore: The Climate Crisis

Mon 29 May 2006 10.40pm Appearing at The Guardian Hay Festival, Al Gore talks exclusively to Jonathan Freedland about his crusade to stop the world burning up through global waming. His film "An Inconvenient Truth" is in US theatres now.

melt - a teenager's view of global warming -do something now-

How can you you live with the thought of walrus pups crying for their mother's -floating away on blocks of ice to their deaths ? this planet's melting and we need to change things now. A young filmmaker Ruby Reynolds - explores some of the options that are staring us in the face.

Good luck baby Mert!...

...Clicking on next blog to play Billy's small blog world I came across this small baby in Ankara, Turkey. Today baby Mert has to go into surgery for CDH (congenital diaphragma hernia) so I hope this little bit of serendipity brings Mert and his parents Emel and Aytekin plenty of health and good luck. This could be a new twist on the game. Instead of trying to find our way to Billy, which as Swipey has found out is not always that easy, we could find people and stories that we might otherwise never know about. And who knows one day we may find our way back to Billy too!

The Dreaming Universe...

...is the title of a book by Fred Wolf who also blogs as a time travel yogi. The basic idea is that life is a dream, except on the Northern Line where of course it is a nightmare. Ask Norway's famous existential confusionalist who has just bought a new dress. A dream come true, maybe? So is there a Big Dreamer? Are we all just the eyes and ears of the Dreamtime, stuck in Plato's cave wishing to be free? Should we awaken from the dream where shall we be then? Who shall we be? Pure awareness with no object?

The Tibetans have an ancient tradition of dream yoga. Using visualisation and concentration they develop the state of lucid dreaming and so liberate themselves from harmful patterns of conditioning. I learnt some of these techniques from Sogyal Rinpoche. Through Sogyal I met Dudjom Rinpoche, one of Tibet's greatest Nyingma masters who once said "You actually have this awareness within you. It is the clear, naked wisdom of dharmakaya. But who can introduce you to it? On what should you take your stand? What should you be certain of? To begin with, it is your teacher who shows you the state of your awareness. And when you recognize it for yourself, it is then that you are introduced to your own nature. All the appearances of both samsara and nirvana are but the display of your own awareness; take your stand upon awareness alone. Just like the waves that rise up out of the sea and sink back into it, all thoughts that appear sink back into awareness. Be certain of their dissolution, and as a result you will find yourself in a state utterly devoid of both meditator and something meditated upon - completely beyond the meditating mind." Keith Dowman is a great source for much of this ancient wisdom.

Who dreams? Where do dreams come from and where do they go? We are children of stardust. How many degrees of separation lie between us?

Amsterdam squat protest great success...

...Photos/Hans/Story Indymedia/NL
...It was a night to remember. The Friday squat protest on Dam Square was peaceful, the food was good and every one had a great time. Everyone I spoke to this morning who was there still feels energised and motivated. Amsterdam krakers showed the positive contribution they make to the city. So why change the law? If it ain't broke don't fix it.

Rachel's London one year later...

..."Photo shows The Wounded Angel of St. Pancras church, dedicated to the victims of the 7th July bombings, and flowers underneath left by some of the passengers of the 8.50am Piccadilly line train that was suicide-bombed, ( 'Kings Cross United'), the London Underground staff, from Kings Cross and Russell Square and the British Transport Police officers who rescued the passengers, and the drivers of the bombed Piccadilly train."

"When we all got on the train we did not know that for some of us it would be a last journey, and that some of us would not come home.
We did not all finish our journey together, but we carry you in our hearts. To all that loved you, knew you, worked with you, miss you, our thoughts are with you.
Wherever we travel, we know that we are all fellow passengers,and we are with each other on our journey.'

Silence for one minute

Today is Rachel's day as well as being a day that belongs to all those that died or were injured last year in the London suicide bomb attacks. It is also a day that belongs to every Londoner who gets up to go to work by public transport each day. It is a day that belongs to the rescue services and police who came to help the victims. It is a day that belongs to ordinary people who became heroes by helping those next to them. It is a day to remember all victims of violence everywhere, whether in New York City or Kabul or Baghdad. Rachel's blog has been an inspiration to many. Her humanity and honesty and her determination to fight for justice for the victims are an example to us all.

Sleep-in posters and preparations...

...Preparations are underway for the sleep-in on Dam Square on Friday night. So far we've had a positive response for the idea from those we have spoken to, and many have promised to come. It really is a case of safety in numbers and publicity as it is technically illegal to sleep on Dam Square since 1970. Street medics will be on call during the night and there will be a free vegan kitchen, organised by the squatters from WildeWestenVoKu. This is intended to be a peaceful protest to show the positive side of squatting in Amsterdam. Should you come and be arrested on the night the lawyers Böhler, Franken, Koppe, Wijngaarden will be standing by to help. Radio Patapoe will be live at the event on 88.3 FM. ASCII will be hacking the night away with free internet. So come and add your voice of protest for freedom and the right to a roof over your head and show that Amsterdam has a future as a cultural and community city open to all, not just the rich.

Squat protest in Amsterdam...

...on Friday evening starting at 9pm (7 July) against government plans by Ministers Donner and Dekker to make squatting illegal. The plan is to have a sleep-in on Dam Square which has been illegal since the marines cleared the square in 1970. It is planned to have a festival with music and artists and activists. So if you are in Amsterdam on Friday evening come along with your sleeping bag and help us to make a peaceful protest on behalf of the homeless and a movement that has made the cultural life of Amsterdam what it is today. Free WiFi will also be available, so bloggers, bring your laptops!
"Are you an artist? Do you work in a Volkskeuken (cost price restaurant)? Are you in a band? Do you run a free radio station? Do you dance, or do acrobatics? Do you run a cinema? Write books? Bring it along to Dam Square and show everyone what you're up to! Apart from a few things like a press group, a legal team and street medics, we will not plan the action's programme. All too often we passively perform a demonstration-ritual through the city, after which everyone goes home quietly. This time it is our collective responsibility to use our own inventiveness, our creativity and our solidarity to make this night a success."
squat.net/damslapers