WORKSHOPS FOR PEACE!

Workshops For Peace!
Check in here in just a couple of days for info on how your school, your child's school and/or your local arts center can benefit from a special workshop exploring heroes, myth, and PEACE!
Hint: Atlanta's own Theatre Gael's WorldSong has a role in this!
Peace, kids.

IN THE I-KNOW-SOMEONE-WHOSE-BOOK-DANIEL-BERRIGAN-LIKES-CATEGORY:
Famous priest/peace activist Danel Berrigan
praises new book!
Louise Runyon! You go, woman!
Check out Louise Runyon's effots towards blending poetry AND motion(her dance)from her Home-Page.He entries from the past several months, may be accessed, below:
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Sunday, June 29, 2008

New Praise for Poetry Book!
LANDSCAPE / Fear & Love - what a treasure!-- Daniel Berrigan--Poet, Activist, and Priest

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▼ 2008 (9)
▼ June (2)
New Praise for Poetry Book! LANDSCAPE / Fear & Lo...
Louise Runyon Poetry ReadingSunday, June 29, 8 p....
► May (2)
Dance Performance! Louise Runyon & Tom Bell ...
Dance Performance May 4 Louise Runyon will present...
► April (1)
Alice Lovelace & Louise Runyon, Revisited!Po...
► March (2)
Louise Runyon Poetry Reading with Rupert Fike! Su...
New honor for Runyon's recent book of poetry, LAN...
► February (2)
Four Fab Women Poets! Interna...
Poetry Reading Thursday, February 21, 12 noon...
► 2007 (3)
► December (1)
Poetry ReadingLouise Runyon & Alice LovelaceThu...
► November (1)
Poetry Reading December 2!Louise Morgan Runyon w...
► September (1)
Just Published! Louise Morgan Runyon's second bo...

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Brilliant Photographer
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Peace, kids!

PEACE UPDATE. A list of things to do, before November's historic election, to advance Peace.
1) Watch CNN's new series "Black in America" (check your local listings)
Next Wednesday and Thursday, it will detail how some executives have stated they will hire a white man who is a convicted felon, with no high-school diploma, OVER a black man with NO criminal record, who has a four-degree. Sound unbelieveable? Tune in to see how this kind of bigotry, still goes on. Awareness creates power which can then create Peace.
2) Aim to meet different people, people outside your "comfort zone". I am a very left-leaning young woman, but I can honestly say I have several cherished friends who happen to be far to the right. Though we don't discuss politics, we hold many values in common: a love of family and friends, a love for our home, a sense of faith, a celebration of the arts, a strong work ethic.
Learn to be open to others who may disagree with you. You can find common ground. And that is what Peace is all about!
3) Extend a hand through volunteerism. There must be something you feel strongly about. So, go out & support it!

Backrubs offer Peace.

Backrubs.If you have a partner, offer to give one.This is a small courtesy to extend, but one that is greatly appreciated. I love Young Living Essential Oils, in Lavender.
To learn more about essential oils, and to order:
http://www.youngliving.us/
I do NOT accept money or any swag for endorsing products; if I mention a product or service, it's because I know it's good quality, and a good deal!So, put a few drops in your palm, and whisper softly to your beloved. Heat the oil in your hands for a moment, then apply. Smoothly. Softly. I promise things will only stay quiet, if you want them to. Sometimes, just after making love, there is a special kind of Peace.

ADOPTION.
Adoption and Peace? How are they connected? Well, adopting a doggie, a kitten--or child--who does not have a home, provides Peace for that individual, and for you.
How do I know? "Louie", our Golden-Retriever-Mix whom we adopted many years ago has and continues to, bring love and Peace into our hearts. Won't you consider adopting or fostering a pet, or if possible, a child?
The Golden Retrivere Rescue, Austrailian Shepherd Rescue, German Shepherd Rescue, Good Mews, The Humane Society, are all good resources for animals as companions. The Christian Children's Fund is a responsible agency which sponsors children(of ALL countries, cultures, and faiths!) through your donations.
Consider a gift of time at your local animal shelter, too. Even though many are "no-kill", the animals often languish, withlittle or no attention....So drop in and walk a dog, or cuddle a kitty. You won't change the world, but for a lonesome animal, you'll change their world, and increase your own level of kindness. I call it raising my "kindness quotient"!!

Yikes! As I've been remiss in not posting for several days here is a"Phrase of the Day" for several days:
Peace(as a verb, here) by not engaging in retaliation, even when provoked, or frightened.
See article below, and then scroll on down, for more on "Phrase of the Day".
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Woman overpowers thief with tea and sympathy
Tue Jul 8, 10:26 AM ET
A Japanese woman and her six-month-old baby escaped unhurt from a knife-wielding thief this week after the mother calmed him down with a cup of tea and a chat.
The 30-year-old Tokyo woman was walking along a corridor in her apartment building with her daughter Monday when a man brandishing a knife demanded money, the Asahi newspaper said.
When the housewife told him she had none, the man barged into her apartment. Hoping to calm him, the woman made the thief a cup of tea, whereupon he put his knife away and began a 20-minute monologue about his life.
The woman then gave the man 10,000 yen ($93.34) and ran outside to call the police from a pay phone, the report said.
Police rushed to the scene, but the thief had fled and is still being sought.
(Reporting by Mari Saito)
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More "Phrase of the Day":
Read poetry, everyday.
Poetry forces you to slow down, absorb the imagery, the emotion, whatever has been conjured. And usually--in the best poetry--it reveals a truth. At least one truth. And often, a big, universal one, which leads to a "communion" with others. Which leads to--you guessed it--a kind of Peace.
Take five minutes to smile at someone, and say something kind. This is not difficult. Here's an example: Each time I'm in an airport, I usually see several young men and women in uniform(military) headed overseas. I could shudder(and often do, imagining what they may face, what they may have to do), but I make a point of saying "Thank you for your service." Why thank those enrolled in the military when I am a pacifist? Because they risk their lives. Because they often don't have much choice in careers, and/or they want an education. Because politics don't matter when it comes to service. Because no one says Thank You. And because guess what? THEY want all the war in this world to end soon, too!
Reach out to someone you have not spoken to in, in many months(or years). Call that Great-Aunt. Write a letter to that long-lost friend. People often regret what they did NOT do, but I've never heard someone say they were sorry that they were able to reach someone they care about!
Pray. Even if you DON'T pray, pray, meditate, ask for goodness from God. Or the Universe. The Universe is listening. So pray with it. For it.
Inhale lavendar oil, or add lavendar-water to your laundry-detergent. It is immediately calming, soothing.Peaceful.
Eat avocadoes. Proven to be calming because of their effect on the brain, and filed with "good fat", too. Enjoy some guacamole'.
Organize your phone numbers/addresses in one neat place. This is one I need to work on, as I know how UN-peaceful it is to have disarray in this. The result when you are organized? Peaceful moments, peaceful life!
Enjoy your Wednesday.
Peace, kids.

WORKERS' RIGHTS

And another thing, for Peace sakes...
from http://www.peta.org/

Worker Rights
The Most Dangerous Job in America
Slaughterhouses and animal-processing plants are among the most dangerous places to work in America today. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor, nearly one in three slaughterhouse workers suffers from illness or injury, compared to one in 10 workers in other manufacturing jobs.11 Slaughterhouse workers are also 35 times more likely to suffer from repetitive stress injuries than their counterparts in other manufacturing jobs.12 The rate of injury to slaughterhouse workers is most likely even higher than the official numbers because many workers have trouble communicating with human resources staff, plant management is often dismissive of worker claims (making it difficult to file an official injury complaint), and workers are pressured to refrain from reporting work-related injuries to keep the plant’s insurance costs low. The Human Rights Watch report “Blood, Sweat, and Fear: Workers’ Rights in U.S. Meat and Poultry Plants” states, “Almost every worker interviewed by Human Rights Watch for this report began with the story of a serious injury he or she suffered in a meat or poultry plant, injuries reflected in their scars, swellings, rashes, amputations, blindness, or other afflictions.”13
The workers who kill animals are at constant risk of being hurt as the animals fight for their lives. Chickens and turkeys peck and struggle to escape: One researcher in a slaughterhouse reports that as chickens are being hung by their legs to be killed, “The birds, weighing approximately five pounds each, fight back by pecking, biting, and scratching the hangers …. Then, as workers finally hoist the birds onto the hooks, the chickens urinate and defecate out of desperation, often hitting the workers below.” Many cows and pigs are still completely conscious when they are hung up by their hind legs and their throats are slit, and they kick, thrash, defecate, and vomit as they die. Killing animals who do not want to die is inherently dangerous work, but the ever-increasing line speeds, repetitive motions, filthy working conditions, and other hazards mean that employees are putting their lives on the line every time they clock into work. 14
Struggling to Keep Up
One of the most serious hazards for slaughterhouse workers is the high line speed. Roughly 10 billion animals are killed in our nation’s slaughterhouses each year, and slaughterhouses are constantly increasing their line speed to meet this demand. Workers are handling frightened animals—many of whom weigh hundreds of pounds—along with knives, hooks, and heavy machinery, and all the while, they’re under constant pressure to kill more animals in less time. Slaughterhouse employees must hoist, kill, or cut several animals each minute, usually with few breaks and no time to stop to sharpen their knives. Sometimes workers aren’t even given time to relieve themselves during their shift: One Teamster investigator reports that during meetings with slaughterhouse workers, “People were crying, talking about being covered in diarrhea the entire shift because the supervisor wouldn’t let them go to the bathroom.”15
This frantic and fast-paced environment does not provide workers with any opportunity to slow the line to make sure that they are following proper safety precautions—in fact, the line moves so quickly that animals aren’t even allowed enough time to die, so workers are often forced to hack them apart as they are still struggling to escape. One worker says, “The chain goes so fast that it doesn’t give the animals enough time to die. People don’t have enough time to wash their knife if it falls on the floor.”16 Martin Fuentes, a slaughterhouse worker in Oregon, has been injured three times by cattle who were struggling against death, including a kick to his arm by a struggling steer that plunged a knife into his wrist. “The live cows cause a lot of injuries in there,” he says.17
A worker told Gail Eisnitz, author of the widely acclaimed book Slaughterhouse, that employees are routinely forced to cut animals up while the animals are still conscious, saying “[Our legger] gets beef that’s still conscious all the time. Sometimes almost every one … I’ve seen beef still alive at the flankers, more often at the ‘ears and horns.’ That’s a long way.”18 In The Washington Post article about slaughterhouses—entitled “They Die Piece by Piece”—former animal-processing plant employee Tim Walker says that he was fired after complaining to the Humane Society that animals were cut apart while they were still alive. “I complained to everyone—I said, ‘Lookit, they’re skinning live cows in there.’ Always it was the same answer: ‘We know it’s true. But there’s nothing we can do about it.’”19
Amid the commotion and the struggle to keep up with the speed of the line, workers’ knives inevitably slip, and people are injured or even killed. A former slaughterhouse nurse says, “I could always tell the line speed by the number of people with lacerations coming into my office.”20 A poultry plant worker from Arkansas told Human Rights Watch, “Everybody is on top of each other, so a lot of people get cut, especially their hands. Blood and flesh fall into the meat. The birds just keep going.”21 Another worker says, “The line is so fast, there is no time to sharpen the knife. The knife gets dull and you have to cut harder. That’s when it really starts to hurt, and that’s when you cut yourself.”22 Despite the fact that workers are getting hurt because they’re struggling to keep up, the farmed-animal industry continues to put profits over people by continuing to demand faster line speeds.
The fast line speeds also make it difficult for the workers to take the time to remove contaminated animal carcasses from the line. David Carney, chair of the National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals, has seen meat go down the line that is “contaminated with feces, abscesses, tapeworms, hair, hid buckshot, chewing tobacco, and even cactus thorns … cattle heads so disgusting that contamination oozes out of their skulls.”23 According to Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, “The same things that contribute to the contamination of the meat are what make it more likely that people are going to get hurt. The only reason it’s been allowed to continue is that people don’t know. Even if you have no compassion for the poor and the illegal in this country, if you eat meat, or the people you love eat meat, you should care.”24
Read more about the hazards of working for the animal industry.

11 Schlosser 172.12 Schlosser 173.13 Human Rights Watch 29.14 Russell Cobb, “The Chicken Hangers,” In the Fray 2 Feb. 2004.15 Karen Olsson, “The Shame of Meatpacking,” The Nation 16 Sep. 2002.16 Olsson.17 Jim Lynch, “Workers’ Safety Also an Issue at Meat Plant,” The Oregonian 25 Feb. 2001.18 Gail Eisnitz, Slaughterhouse (Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books 1997) 215.19 Joby Warrick, “They Die Piece by Piece,” The Washington Post 10 Apr. 2001: A01.20 Gardner.21 Human Rights Watch 38-9.22 Human Rights Watch 24.23 The Center for Public Integrity, Safety Last: The Politics of E. Coli and Other Food-Borne Killers, Center for Public Integrity, Washington, D.C., 1998, 17-8.24 Olsson.

No, I don't want to watch any video highlighting pain and suffering. But it's important--in the interest of creating a possibility for Peace for animals--maybe especially those used by many for food--to inform you of what they suffer, on a daily basis... You'll notice I put pork recipes and bacon recipes in the technorati tags for this post at Practice What You Peace. Why? Because if someone clicks on this, hoping for a pork recipe, I'm hoping they'll see (and understand!) that pork comes from a sentient, smart, cute, feeling creature called a pig. Read about why charges are being filed against workers and a supervisor at a factory "farm" which houses pigs.
Scroll down the PETA.org page I copy-n-pasted for your knowledge, below.
Learn even more at:
www.peta.org

Cruelty to Animals
Amazing Animals
Health Concerns
The Environment
World Hunger
Worker Rights
Poisoning Communities
Government Regulation
Meet the Animals
Chickens
Cows
Fish
Pigs
Turkeys
Ducks and Geese
More »
Resources
Get Active
Recipes
'Meet Your Meat'
Pledge to Be Veg for 30 Days
Famous Vegetarians
Books and Web Sites
Literature and Merchandise
In the News
Investigations
Photo Gallery
Charges Filed After Investigation Reveals Torture of Pigs
Mother Pigs and Piglets Tortured in a North Carolina Factory Farm
Other viewing options
Update: North Carolina officials have filed six cruelty-to-animals charges against one of the individuals documented dragging and beating pigs and abusing them in other ways in a 2007 PETA undercover investigation of a sow farm. Charges are pending against a second man who has apparently fled the state.
Video footage obtained in the investigation revealed horrific cruelty to mother pigs and their piglets on a farm owned by Murphy Family Ventures, LLC, which supplies the largest pig-killing company in the world, Smithfield Foods.
In addition to the confinement of mother pigs to cruel "gestation crates" so small that the animals can't even turn around or lie down comfortably, the following cruelty was documented at Smithfield supplier Murphy Family Ventures, LLC:
Workers dragged injured pigs out of the facility by their snouts, ears, and legs before killing them with a captive-bolt gun. Some of the pigs had "KILL" spray-painted on their backs.
A farm supervisor admitted that he violently beat pigs, saying of one that he "cut the sh** out of his God damn nose with a f***ing gate rod."
Workers cut off piglets' tails and pulled out piglets' testicles—without using any pain relief—as the baby animals screamed in pain in front of mother pigs.
Two workers and a supervisor hit and jabbed pigs—sometimes in their faces and near their ears—with 2-foot-long metal gate rods on 31 of the 41 days that PETA's investigator worked.
A worker gouged the eyes of four pigs with his fingers. Pigs suffered from ailments including cysts, sores, and a uterine prolapse for which they were denied treatment.
View the video footage taken by PETA's undercover investigator for more examples of the horrific cruelty to animals at Smithfield's supplier.
Every vegetarian saves more than 100 animals a year from abuse by the meat industry. To learn more about going vegetarian, order PETA's free "Vegetarian Starter Kit" today.
Smithfield claims that it has fired workers as a result of the investigation, but the company has not yet provided any details.
Take action: Complete the form below to urge Smithfield Foods to demand that Murphy Family Ventures fire all the workers responsible for this cruelty and work with PETA to enact meaningful animal welfare reforms. Also, tell Smithfield that while it's good that it has promised to phase out the use of gestation crates at its own farms, the company needs to make the transition faster and require independent suppliers to phase out these cruel devices too.
Take Action on This Issue
Subject:
Dear [ Decision Maker ],
(Edit Letter Below)I was horrified by the shocking undercover video footage shot by PETA at your supplier Murphy Family Ventures, LLC. I urge you to cut all ties with this supplier until it fires all the workers responsible and works with PETA to create and enforce meaningful animal welfare reforms.
In addition, please phase out gestation crates in a shorter time frame than 10 years and require your independent suppliers to get rid of these cruel devices too.
Sincerely,[Your name]
By signing up here and giving us your details, we're taking that as acknowledgment that you've read and agreed to our privacy policy.

Register To Vote

PHRASE FOR THE DAY: REGISTER TO VOTE!
How is getting registered to vote, practicing what you Peace?
Because it is you choosing to become active in the voting process, where you may choose to vote for Peace.
And don't let the article I found, which I have reprinted below, scare you off. Although genetics plays a huge role in whether you will vote, you can choose to become involved...My own conclusion from the study cited is that those same elements of sociability which determine if you are likely to exercise your right to vote, are the same factors which make you more likely to be outgoing, be more positive, less prone to depression. Indeed, I suspect if they do a follow-up study, they'll discover folks who suffer from depression are less likely to register to vote. After all, when one is mentally ill, depression is likely to say "why bother?". The healthier folks are likely to vote, and more likely to be healthy in other ways, too!
Evolutionarily speaking, it makes perfect sense.
My personal bit of advice is: even if you suffer from a "why bother?" mentality, register anyway. And read, learn. About the issues, this country, the world, the candidates. And then, vote! The act of choosing positive behavior will, I believe, influence future personal positive behavior(and outcome!).
Here's that article:
Genes Get Out the Vote
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, July 1 (HealthDay News) --
Heading to the polls on Nov. 4? If so, your genes may be driving you there, a new study suggests.
In fact, as much as 50 percent of whether you vote or not may be genetically determined, says a team at the University of California, San Diego. Genes may even be more important to your tendency to cast a ballot than family political history.
"Both nature and nurture play a role in voting," said lead author James H. Fowler, an associate professor of political science. "We expected genes would play a little bit of a role, but we were surprised how strong [a] role they played."
Previously, experts primarily focused on the environmental factors that pushed people to vote. "For a long time, they thought that parents and children have pretty much the same behavior when it comes to voting," Fowler said. "If they voted, it's likely you will go to the polls as well."
But, rather than transmitting ideas, "parents are transmitting genes," Fowler now believes.
He co-authored a report on the issue, published in July's The Journal of Politics.
In the study, Fowler and Ph.D. candidate Christopher T. Dawes drew on voter-turnout data in Los Angeles. They matched that data to a registry of identical and non-identical twins.
According to that analysis, 53 percent of the variation in voter turnout is due to differences in genes.
In fact, family upbringing appears to have little effect on how regularly offspring participate in elections. "The other half of the voting behavior was mostly attributable to the unshared environment between the two twins," Fowler said.
To try to replicate the findings more broadly across the country, Fowler and Dawes looked at nationwide voting patterns using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which ran from 1994 to 2002.
Using the genetic data in this study, Fowler and Dawes found that 72 percent of differences in voter turnout among identical twins can be accounted for by genes.
Genes also play a significant role in political participation, including giving money to a campaign, contacting a government official, running for office and attending political rallies, the two researchers found.
Fowler and Dawes also looked for specific genes involved in the decision to vote. They found that two genes that influence the brain's serotonin system, called MAOA and 5HTT, were also associated with a person's inclination to cast a ballot. The serotonin system helps regulates trust and social interaction, the experts noted.
In fact, they found that people with more efficient versions of those genes were about 10 percent more likely to vote.
"It's not just the gene that makes you vote, but it has an impact on how susceptible you are to different kinds of environments," Fowler said. "Depending upon what kind of environment you are in, it is going to activate those tendencies you might have to cause you to participate in politics or not."
To thoroughly understand politics, one has to include genetics, Fowler now believes.
"To study politics without genes is to miss half the story," he said. "To really get an understanding of what people are doing and why they are doing it, we need to integrate both nature and nurture into the study of politics," he said.
According to John T. Jost, a professor of psychology at New York University in New York City, this article is another in a growing list of studies suggesting that political orientation is partly heritable.
"In some ways, this conclusion is not so surprising, given that we have known for over 50 years that there are basic cognitive, motivational, and behavioral differences between leftists and rightists," Jost said.
"Unless one believes that basic psychological characteristics have no genetic antecedents whatsoever, one would have anticipated these results on the basis of the psychological literature," Jost said. "Still, it's quite important that these researchers appear to have identified specific gene combinations that are linked to political orientation," he said.
More information
There's more on how the brain works at Harvard's Whole Brain Atlas.
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Peace, kids.