Life can be such a blessing sometimes that time is scarce.  Had a wonderful experience on a meditation retreat that is really hard to explain.  But for a few precious moments something touched me in a most profound way - I am no longer the same person.

It is such a shame though to have to return to my mundane routines, my business, paying the bills because I just wanted to go back to that place.

everything made sense!!!

I was no longer simply in my body but I was!!!

WOW was all I could say once I got my wits about me.

This is too close to call.
My father use to tell me stories of a spider named Anansi, who is derived from West African folklore.  He got into all kinds of trouble from trying to capture all knowledge and horde it to challenging animals much bigger than he was.
The other is the legend from the Devi Mahatmyam, the demon Mahisasura defeats the male gods of Indian folklore and kicks them out of heaven, to liberate their heavenly domain a female goddess Durga Devi was created.   Always thought it was neat story for a young girl to hear that beauty, power and physical strength were not an unfeminine combination.

We now have all testing finished and it shows nothing - they all came back normal.  So we are going back to our regular routine, we have begun to do so anyway.
So I guess his "collapse" (see past blog posts) was a one time event due to something rather simple. 

He has been working out, and playing softball without any issues.  His team may even with their division this year for a change.

...life can be rather amusing :)

Before I was born my mother had a rather bad miscarriage and lost a close to full term baby boy due to eclampsia.  She does not remember to much about this so most of my info about this period comes from my father - my mother almost lost her life.
so when I came across http://www.engenderhealth.org/ I decided to blog about it.

You see this is not really an health issue for most American women, but it is a killer in the developing world.  The medication to treat this is rather simple and cheap - magnesium sulfate.  Here is the catch - because it is simple and cheap drug manufactures are not inclined to make or sell to the extent necessary - see the profit margin is just not there.

Perfect example of capitalism feeding on itself.

anyway, check out the article on eclampsia at

http://www.engenderhealth.org/ia/swh/eclampsia.html

http://www.projectgood.com/community_promo_fwd.html

In the small city of Volladolid, Mexico few jobs exist for women outside of low-wage factory work.
Project good will donate one dollar to Dzitnup for every new member that signs up.


Joy

It is the only one I could find :)  I am ususally the photographer so I am rarely in front of the camera.

Ok as promised here is part two of the Christian Science Monitor's articles on Carbon Tax and Global Warming.

Conservative and liberal economists like it. James Connaughton, President Bush's top environmental adviser, backs it. Al Gore says he's always preached it. So why isn't a carbon tax on the table in Congress as it weighs measures to curb climate change? A three-letter reason: T-A-X.

Economists agree that the real cost of burning fossil fuels - damage to the environment and health, not to mention the cost of replacing them as they run out - isn't reflected in today's prices. A carbon tax would directly send a market signal to reduce carbon use. And it would provide an incentive for investment in renewable sources.

I disagree with the following:

But wait: What if the carbon-tax revenues were returned to most taxpayers, canceling out the effect on pocketbooks but retaining the market incentives?

Under one plan, every worker would receive a tax rebate of about $560, cutting the tax bill by 18 percent for those earning $20,000, or by 4 percent for those earning $90,000. The burden on consumers would shrink, but the US would achieve greater conservation and a shift to energy alternatives. And the tax could be fine-tuned to meet rising targets for reducing carbon dioxide.

Wonderful in theory but no government, especially ours has the ability to use a tax in a progressive manner.  Before long special interests and campaign money will corrupt this, besides consumers act in their own intrest, if they do not feel the pain there will be no changes in carbon consumption.

I took this headline from the NY Times.  It was describing how, after presiding on one of the worse losses ever experienced on Wall, Street Meryl Lynch CEO E. Stanley O'Neal will have to be paid $159 M if he is fired by the Board of Directors.

Now as a believer in free market capitalism I do not seen anything inherently wrong in a buy out or salary so huge - except Meryl Lynch and many others in the sub prime mortgage mess, a mess of their own making (giving loans to individuals who cannot afford them is not sensible economically.) And thousands will loose their jobs as a result of decisions made by Mr O' Neil - and I doubt any one of them will get a severance buyout.

I read somewhere that what passes as free market economics these days is just socialism for the rich.

I am reminded of a common story, the goose that laid golden eggs.  Basically  a farmer had a goose that laid golden eggs, but he got greedy and wanted it faster so he killed the bird but when he opened her up there were no golden eggs to be found.

Today the Christian Science Monitor has an article on the very topic of Kyoto and carbon emissions - and the writer agreed with me :)

Excerpts

A company with high emissions, say a coal-fired power plant, would buy permits to emit CO2 as it invests in cleaner technology in preparation for lower caps. A company that emits less carbon could sell some of its permits, rewarding clean operation. In theory, overall emissions are reduced, while leaving companies free to devise their own strategies for playing the cap-and-trade game.

In practice, however, the details are tricky for both government and business, as experienced by the European Union since 2005 with its cap-and-trade plan.

Industry lobbyists were able to punch loopholes in the EU's complex system. The EU ended up handing out far too many free permits: Their value plummeted from more than $30 a ton to about $1 last year, hurting the incentive. In industries that were hit by caps, many moved production outside the EU, taking their polluting ways with them.

The next round of EU permits, issued for 2008 to 2012, may close loopholes and better judge the trading marketplace. But it took the EU decades to agree to launch its euro currency and build trust in its value. The global-warming fight can't wait that long to work the kinks out of a cap-and-trade system.

Tomorrow, the Monitor's View will look at a simpler, better way to cut emissions: a carbon tax.

Looking forward to tomorrow's article.