That leaves 4 songs to go….

In other news, there’s a Boven trip coming up next weekend, remember you may not ever get another chance!  

I’ve added a page for all things green, and kicked it off with some info on where you can drop off plastic to get it recycled. Hope to expand it with some more hard-to-find goodies.

And then some bad news: Woolworths did not keep to their promise – here an email from Mark who drives the campaign:

“Woolworths claims that the premium on free-range eggs has nearly tripled since June and this has prevented them from delivering on their promise to switch to free-range eggs.

Their first official commitment to us (in writing) was for the first 70 products to be rolled out in April 2010, a second wave to be announced in June 2010, and a new liquid egg factory to be built as a matter of top priority – so that they could expedite the complete changeover within 2 years. They’ve sent lists and plans, yet nothing has materialised.

We are going to meet Woolworths in August to find out more about this delay and report back to you.

Mark Fox (mark@activist.co.za)”

And that’s all the laundry, some clean and some not so clean.

“Those subterranean seas of methane virtually reshaped the planet when they explosively blew from deep beneath the waters of what is today called the Gulf of Mexico.

Now, worried scientists are increasingly concerned the same series of catastrophic events that led to worldwide death back then may be happening again-and no known technology can stop it.

The bottom line: BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling operation may have triggered an irreversible, cascading geological Apocalypse that will culminate with the first mass extinction of life on Earth in many millions of years.

The oil giant drilled down miles into a geologically unstable region and may have set the stage for the eventual premature release of a methane mega-bubble.

The warning signs of an impending planetary catastrophe—of such great magnitude that the human mind has difficulty grasping it-would be the appearance of large fissures or rifts splitting open the ocean floor, a rise in the elevation of the seabed, and the massive venting of methane and other gases into the surrounding water.

All three warning signs are documented to be occurring in the Gulf.”

They reckon it could all be over in 6 months time. Both BP and the US federal government is serious about keeping scientists and reporters away with threats of fines of up to $40 000 and / or federal charges, yet some of the fissures have been spotted by civilian vessels up to 30 miles away.

Methinks it’s time to watch less TV and do some stuff outside while one still can.

Dear friends,

We did it! The proposal to legalise whale killing went down in flames in Morocco — and our campaign helped to tip the balance.

In a few short weeks, we built the biggest whale-saving petition in history, signed by an extraordinary 1.2 million of us worldwide, and delivered it directly to key delegates at the International Whaling Commission meeting. In the end, the 24 year old whaling ban was upheld.

The pro-whaling lobby tried to use political favours to win a so called ‘compromise’ that amounts to a quota for hunting whales, but as tension grew in the closed-door talks, our massive petition became a top story on the BBC’s world news, and we worked with friendly negotiators and other allies to put pressure where it was most needed and draw greater global attention.

The Australian environment minister Peter Garrett received our petition for like-minded governments in front of the world’s media and said “Thank you very much Avaaz. It is a great pleasure to be here and accept this petition … I believe the people of the world’s voices need to be heard. I certainly hear them today.”

The US delegation greeted us saying — “Avaaz! We saw your billboard at the airport!” and delegates were overheard excitedly discussing our giant real-time petition counter outside the meeting as it blew far past the million mark.

After the meeting, one European negotiator told us: “We’ve managed to keep the ban in place…I’ve been checking the petition online. I was very impressed by how fast the numbers are rising and seeing people signing from across the world.”

This is an important victory for whales — and for global people power — together we demonstrated that international decisions can be shifted by a little bit of well-placed effort from a lot of people everywhere.

Over its short lifespan, our movement has exploded through a simple democratic idea: that people power can stand up and win against powerful special interests. Whether it be protecting whales, countering corruption, supporting authentic democracy movements or fighting for a global climate deal, we are coming together to bridge the gap between the world we have and the world most people everywhere want.

Now, if enough of us chip in just a small amount for Avaaz’s member-funded campaigning, we’ll have the strength to win even more victories. Click here now to donate –

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/whales_reportback_2/?vl

With hope,

Ricken, Alice, Paul, Mia, Ben, Luis, David, Graziela, Milena and the whole Avaaz team

When I got to work this morning I could hardly speak so the boss was kind enough to let me go feel sorry for myself elsewhere. Freedom!!

A cosy morning in bed and then back to work. I decided to not wait until Saturday to move the remaining stuff to Refilwe, but rather get it done this afternoon – pics to follow. My storage requirement is rapidly shrinking – woohooo! I’ve also seen the progress the guys are making and listened to James talking to the volunteers: they are serious about a self sustaining organic environment – I’m so excited to be able to witness the evolution of their project.

I have placed my bets and I’m now absolutely certain it was the best thing I could have done with the equipment. Sure, I could have sold it and probably bought myself a plane ticket to Europe or somewhere else I want to go, but it would have been a tedious and drawn out process with little satisfaction. I KNOW I’ll be going back to visit these people again and again, and seeing my small contribution grow into something more than the sum of the parts will be priceless.

However, the night, not eating and the hard work caught up with me, so I let my inner girl out and soaked in a hot tub… but only after making food fit for a king – a weird mix of mince, pasta and stewing sauce. Awesome!!

The weekend is looking good too: spoiled for choice of entertainment and company tomorrow night. An almost errand free Saturday, followed by more difficult decisions regarding which excellent entertainment offerings to peruse…. <sigh> Life’s tough! Muahahahahaha!

PS: The girl in the pic looks tired, like me, so that’s the reason for the pic. Promise.

A few odds and ends I still need to take through and then just tag along for the ride. It’s a beautiful spot, with the sound of running water from the stream nearby. Some pics below, more to follow as the project progresses:

Take care what adhesives you use in your S&M sessions

From the DailyMail: 
“Supermarket food is at risk of being contaminated by a ‘highly toxic’ chemical found in the glue of packaging labels.
The chemical, which is in the same class of toxicity as mercury, asbestos and hydrochloric acid, can seep through and contaminate food, according to a study.
The study follows previous research that found chemicals in a wide range of products that may cause infertility in women, cancer, immune system disorders and even neurological problems.
Strict EU safety regulations mean that certain materials can not come into direct contact with food, but there are no rules about the chemicals in label adhesives.
The study,  published today in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s ‘Journal of Materials Chemistry’, showed that toxic compounds on four label glues can seep through paper and plastic packaging and contaminate the food inside.”

“Scientists at Kansas State University (KSU) found that three spices in particular — fingerroot, rosemary and turmeric — seem to direct the greatest amount of antioxidant activity towards preventing the formation of heterocyclic amines (HCAs). HCAs, they note, are the cancer-causing compounds that are produced when foods such as beef are barbecued, grilled, broiled or fried.
Full article on Health24

and some more info:

Marinating meat in antioxidant-rich spice blends can reduce the risk of heterocyclic amines (HCAs) forming by more than 80 percent.

“If you are concerned about carcinogens, marinating a product, and this would be any kind of muscle food product, is a good way to reduce the formation of HCAs dramatically,” said study author J. Scott Smith, a professor of food science at Kansas State University. His research was published in the current issue of the Journal of Food Science. “The marinades would have to be rich in spices,” Smith added.
And although the researchers didn’t specifically check this, Smith suspects that the antioxidants found in red wine and in many fruits and vegetables might also do the trick.”

Cooked beef tends to develop more HCAs than other kinds of cooked meats such as pork and chicken,”

Of all those investigated, rosemary came out on top as the strongest protector against HCA.

The authors suggested that consumers integrate these spices into their menus when appropriate, noting that some, such as rosemary, come in an extract form that has demonstrated HCA inhibition of 61 percent to 79%.”
Full article on Health24

In other words:

From Activist.co.za:

Success! Woolworths commits to switching over to free range eggs and apologises for “unintentionally” misleading customers. The First 60 products were promised by April 2010 – now we follow up

FREE RANGE EGG UPDATE FROM WOOLIES
In an e-mail to Wendy Hardie on 19th April, 2010, Julian Novak apologised for the delay in the roll out of products made with free range egg, and went on to say : “We are delighted to be able to communicate to you that the first 100 lines “made with free range eggs” will appear on our counters over the next 4 months, with 70 appearing in the next ten weeks.”

He said that they expect to launch the second wave of free range egg products by the end of the year : “We will be able to confirm this list and the timing by end June.”

To meet the needs of the 600 remaining Woolworths products still made with battery egg, he said that planning is underway to build a new liquid egg factory.  “We expect new production capacity will become available in approximately 2 year’s time….As soon as the factory becomes operational, we will expedite the changeover.”

…

“The ACB recently published a report featuring Smartstax entitled ‘The stacked gene revolution: A biosafety nightmare’. It pointed out that while the majority of commercially cultivated GM food crops contain three new genes at most, Smartstax contains eight.

The centre said that several prominent scientists at the United Nations have expressed grave concerns about the biosafety implications of this, and also the lax safety assessments carried out.”

It’s Friday and I’m not really in the mood to get all excited about this. It really is Same Shit Different Day, and I have for the moment lost hope for SA. Our politicians can’t stop filling their pockets long enough to tell Julius to STFU, so how are they going to resist Monsanto, who I’m sure will make it worth their while signing on the dotted line?

Anyways, YOU can still get worked up and go kick some ass. Here’s some stuff from the Organic Consumers Association to get you started:

(PS: I wonder what our government’s standpoint on number 3 would be, given the recent renewed interest in land redistribution and giving land to small scale PDA farmers?)

10 Things Monsanto Does Not Want You to Know

What’s wrong with Genetic Engineering?
Genetic engineering is a radical technology that breaks down genetic barriers between humans, plants and animals. Once released, these genetically modified organisms (GMOs) can easily spread and interbreed with other organisms, and they are virtually impossible to recall back to the laboratory. Monsanto provides roughly 90% of GMO seeds in the world. These seeds have been genetically modified to produce their own pesticide or survive repeated spraying of their toxic herbicide Roundup. Monsanto’s GMOs are not designed to increase yields to feed the world, but rather to increase Monsanto’s profits by increasing the use of chemicals such as Roundup and selling their highpriced patented seeds which farmers must buy every year. Due to the enormous political clout of Monsanto, the American public is being denied the right to know whether their foods are genetically engineered or not. Following is a list of 10 facts about Monsanto and GMOs, and how they can adversely affect your health, local farmers, and the planet.

1 No GMO Labeling Laws in the US
Foods containing GMOs don’t have to be labeled in the US. Monsanto has fought hard to prevent labeling laws. This is alarming, since approximately 70% of processed foods in the US now contain GMO ingredients. The European Union, Japan, China, Korea, Australia, New Zealand and many other nations now require mandatory GMO labeling.

2 Lack of Adequate Safety Testing
In May 1992, Vice President Dan Quayle announced the FDA’s anticonsumer right-to-know policy which stated that GMO foods need not be labeled nor safety-tested. Meanwhile, prominent scientists such as Arpad Pusztai and Gilles-Eric Seralini have publicized alarming research revealing severe damage to animals fed GMO foods.

3 Monsanto Puts Small Farmers out of Business
Percy Schmeiser is a Canadian farmer whose canola fields were contaminated with Monsanto’s Round-Up Ready Canola by pollen from a nearby GMO farm. Monsanto successfully argued in a lawsuit that Schmeiser violated their patent rights, and forced Schmeiser to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. This type of biotech bullying is happening all over North America.

4 Monsanto Products Pollute the Developing World
Monsanto’s deadly legacy includes the production of Agent Orange and DDT. Now massive aerial spraying of Roundup in Columbia is being used by the US and the Colombian government as a counter-insurgency tactic, contaminating food crops and poisoning villagers.

5 Monsanto Blocking Government Regulations
A revolving door exists between Monsanto and US regulatory and judicial bodies making key decisions. Justice Clarence Thomas, a former Monsanto lawyer, was the one who wrote the majority opinion on a key Monsanto case. Michael Taylor once worked for the FDA, later represented Monsanto as a lawyer, then returned as the FDA’s Deputy
Commissioner for Policy when rBGH was granted approval.

6 Monsanto Guilty of False Advertising
France’s highest court ruled in 2009 that Monsanto had lied about the safety of its weed killer Roundup. The court confirmed an earlier judgment that Monsanto had falsely advertised its herbicide as “biodegradable”.

7 Consumers Reject Bovine Growth Hormone
In the wake of mass consumer pressure, major retailers such as Safeway, Publix, Wal-Mart, and Kroger banned store brand milk products containing Monsanto’s controversial genetically engineered hormone rBGH. Starbucks, under pressure from the OCA and our allies, has likewise banned rBGH milk.

8 GMO Crops Do Not Increase Yields
A major UN/World Bank-sponsored report compiled by 400 scientists and endorsed by 58 countries concluded that GM crops have little to offer to the challenges of poverty, hunger, and climate change. Better alternatives are available, and the report championed organic farming as the sustainable way forward for developing countries.

9 Monsanto Controls US Soy Market
In 1996, when Monsanto began selling Roundup Ready soybeans, only 2% of soybeans in the US contained their patented gene. By 2008, over 90% of soybeans in the US contained Monsanto’s gene.

10 GMO Foods May Lead to Food Allergies
In March 1999, UK researchers at the York Laboratory were alarmed to discover that reactions to soy had skyrocketed by 50% over the previous year. Genetically modified soy had recently entered the UK from US imports and the soy used in the study was largely GM.
 

Life’s been happening thick & fast this past week or two. I’m sorta settled in my new place, quite nice if I say so myself. Bit of a rush decision, but it worked out well in the end.

Moving from the smallholding means no more space for my aquaponics project, so I’ve decided to donate all the equipment to a school or organisation who will accept it, on condition that they use it specifically to set up an aquaponics system and allow me to participate in the project. Read the corny marketing thingy called “Teach a man to fish” for all the gory details.

I’ve sent it to my friend Pletterpet (he’s a member of Rotoract) as he reckons they may want to take me up on the offer – holding thumbs…. Elmarie is still very keen, so there’s an extra set of hands too.

The bouldering wall is on hold until I’ve sorted out the space issue in my garage, but it looks like I’ll be able to fit it in there. Not sure what the landlady will say, but I think if I keep it a freestanding structure as originally intended and not drill any holes, everyone will be happy.

The hangdoghas been neglected of late, but that will get sorted ASAP. There’s some climbs I’m aching to free

That’s it, I’m done.

….for now