The first one is always the most astounding

The first poppy popped
and it reminded me of my first love
delicate yet powerful, truly astounding


Flowers and woman are in common, so I stopped 
admired the beauty and a dove
was cooing in the surrounding


Then we think back to this day
and in many ways we fled our conversations
which could have happened right now - fatigue


It is startling to see how many games humans play
to artificially alter their situation
believe me, today was not that day, not that kind of gig

Gary Moore - Still Got The Blues ... and me too!

the poppy saga of Afghanistan

All right, so 87% of  the world market's opiates are produced and grown in Afghanistan, opium and the derivatives  - like heroin; and the US is the largest consumer of such. The beautiful white poppies who calm down mankind once processed. 

I have red ones in my garden, and they are spreading, not as potent  as white ones. It is probably totally illegal to grow them, but I like their beauty. Just look at them, that makes me content, don't need to chew the seeds.

Mysterious Blight Destroys Afghan Poppy Harvest

By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.

Published: May 12, 2010

Up to one-third of Afghanistan’s poppy harvest this spring has been destroyed by a mysterious disease, according to estimates revealed Wednesday by United Nations officials, potentially complicating the American and NATO military offensives this summer in the country’sopium-producing heartland.

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Asmaa Waguih/Reuters

Marines patrolled in Helmand Province in April while an Afghan girl harvested poppy. This year's blight might drive up opium prices, aiding insurgents.

Notes from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and other areas of conflict in the post-9/11 era.

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The Taliban’s public relations strategy against the offensives includes trying to convince local residents that Western troops will destroy their poppy crops, and in recent weeks Afghan farmers have started blaming the American and NATO militaries for spreading the disease, United Nations officials say. In many places, the blight has wiped out more than half of individual poppy fields.

The American military — which has decided that widespread eradication can be counterproductive to winning over Afghans — emphatically denies any involvement, and United Nations officials say the disease is naturally occurring.

Besides fueling the propaganda war, the blight might also help the insurgency by giving prices a boost. Reduced production is causing prices for fresh opium to soar as much as 60 percent, after years of declining prices, according to the executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Antonio Maria Costa.

While there is no evidence that the disease will return next year, the rising prices may make it harder to persuade farmers to give up the crop, he said.

The price increase is also raising by hundreds of millions of dollars the value of opium stockpiles held by traffickers and insurgents. The opium trade is believed to provide the Taliban with a large portion of their budget.

Greek

Greek


If a fish swims in
a pond without sunlight
it still keeps to the
Greek sense of peace
and the oceans gentle breeze
and the sun's soft warmth
comes up over the hills
gently touching me
and all the world around me
will come to a stand still
unless the wheels keep spinning
and Greek food makes me fill.




So we had that game last evening, waiting for the food to come. It was in a Greek tavern. There were four of us, my wife, my daughter and her man-friend.
The rules were such. You write three lines and then fold the paper, leaving the last line exposed. Handing it over, the next person continues to scribble. We did four rounds, then the food arrived - delicious. It was my birthday present!
Above is one example of the four "poems".  It's hilarious and just fun, by simply trying to do it, you'll see people sweat before they get hot. Give it a try!

Is there a tomorrow?

I certainly bore you to death by again picking up this subject. But now it's definitely closure time.
Tree planting, a plum tree I believe last Saturday in honor of Emily. I came a bit late, so I was not able to join the bunch of people to ride a horse up the dirt road - unfortunately! Haven't been on a horse for many years, would have liked to do so now. But oh well, maybe I can persuade the family to give me a horse and then take a ride at a later point. I am rusty, need to replenish.

Did you know that horses are one of the oldest species of animal life on earth, genetically speaking? They survived the dinosaurs, maybe because they were more intelligent than them.
I wonder how the human species will do in the future, is there a tomorrow?
They, the humans,  are a beautiful and soul-full creature, but somehow they seem to have a hard time connecting to all what is around them. 

Power/Energy/Life

What is power, which kind of power, who exercises it?

In Cape Cod in Massachusetts, there is a fair amount of opposition to an offshore windmill project that would generate a fair amount of energy. The reason, it could potentially kill some seagulls and it would also be an out of the ordinary sight for day-sailors cruising the bay.

In the mean time we follow the news of probably the worst oil spill in the United States caused by a defunct oil-digging rig run in the Gulf by BP, 1.5 million gallons so far oozed.
 They can’t even plug the thing to stop the oil spilling out more, because the well is 5000 feet deep.  This might go on for months. Devastation is inevitable.

Well, my opinion is, I'd rather see a few seagulls chopped up by windmills off shore than having to witness the destruction of vast habitats of the magnitude this oil spill will surely provide, not to mention about the loss to the fishermans who are all grounded for now.

I am not basically against off shore oilrigs, as long as they are save. But I lean more towards energy independence that would supply  energy without the dependence of fossil fuels.

Until people fully understand the havoc wreaked upon this country, as well as the rest of the world, by the capitalists corporations amongst us, there is little hope that we will see much change to our energy or economic policies.

Exploitation rules - the poor continues to get poorer, the middle class is disappearing, and the corporatists like BP will, once again, walk away unscathed.