Well, I just hung up the phone with Shelley, the daughter of whom was
one of my best friends for 25 years, sharing the news that Clarence (CB
to most anyone who was his friend) died of an overdose in a hotel room
in Laos.

CB is the reason I am living this great life here in Thailand, because
after I had sold all my assets in September 2002, he invited me to come
stay here for a few months before moving on to China where I was hoping
to land a good job back in computer/network engineering. I fell in love
with the Thai culture, and started learning the meaning of a life
outside America.

We had been through many MANY difficult life experiences together, some
of which nearly killed both he and I in the mid '80s, but we survived
("That which does not kill me makes me stronger") to enjoy many great
times together throughout our lives. I guess it culminated to when we
were laying around his pool down in Pattaya watching the sun set while
sipping on beer, laughing and slapping ourselves on the back at the
tough times we lived through to finally be in paradise watching such
beautiful sunsets.

My heart is sad and heavy now, and my spirit has taken on a moment of
sorrow for the way this best friend chose to let his life end. He is
survived by his mother, a daughter Shelley, and son Anthony, who still
live in the Houston metropolitan area of Texas. He will be sorely missed
by the many who held him deeply in our hearts.

May you finally find the love you so painfully sought, CB. May you now
be walking amongst the Path of Light for which you so richly deserve. I
love you. I miss you.

Happy New Year everyone!!

My cousin Cindy in Texas (have another in Arizona) sent this most perfect New Year's resolution to us and it is worded so beautifully that it needed to be passed on here.

May each of you find this wonderful new year full of success and happiness, and may it fill your hearts to overflowing with love.

Namaste!

Light, Life, & Love.

Cole

"A true heart makes wishes come true."

                                   Chinese Proverb

From: Cindy A. Carey
Sent: Friday, January 02, 2009 06:42
To: Cindy A. Carey
Subject: Happy New Year!

Hello!

Every single morning of the year we awaken to a brand new day filled with unlimited possibilities.  We can be who we have been with all of our worries, baggage and regrets intact or we can decide to enter the day focused on what is good and right in our lives. Nowhere in the year is this choice more conscious than on New Year's Day.  It really is a day like any other but we have all agreed to make believe it is special and because we have all agreed, it is.  And so we make grandiose plans for ourselves for the year to come and hope some of them come to pass.

 But what if, this year we do it differently?  What if this year, instead of mapping out our personal blueprint for the next twelve months, we forget about ourselves?  What if this year, ALL, 100% of our wishes are for the good of others.  What if we wish for the people we love instead of ourselves?  What if we send out wishes for what they want?  What if we wish that they lose dangerous weight or quit a crippling habit or find employment, find God, find happiness, lighten up, learn to forgive, get to travel, regain their health, find patience, eat better, get out of a relationship, get into a relationship, learn to laugh again, appreciate what they already have.  What if this New Year wasn't about us at all but all about them?  What if we just kept on working on our stuff like we have been (and keeping our fingers crossed that we are making progress) and use all of our New Year's wishes for others?

 It's not as big a sacrifice as you would imagine.  There would be no resolutions to keep, no lists of what you will do differently, no reluctant meals or exercises but if you would look around in a little while, you would realize that others really are being affected by your wishes for them, the world will suddenly seem to be getting a little brighter, the people that you wish good for will suddenly feel closer to you, you will suddenly start walking a little lighter.  The difference that you wanted to make in the world will have started.

With these thoughts in mind, I wish you a wonderful New Year filled with happiness and peace of mind and I wish that everyone you love is benefited by your New Year's resolutions.

Love and Blessings, Cindy Carey

It’s so important that I add this piece...

I’ve felt in times that I was so much “wiser”, so more “intuitive” than other people, like I was “better” or “more in-tune” than most, but in the end it’s all a farce.  It can be summed up in this favorite quote:

“If you have learned to walk
A little more sure-footedly than I,
Be patient with my stumbling then
And know that only as I do my best and try
May I attain the goal
For which we both are striving.

If through experience, your soul
Has gained heights which I
As yet in dim-lit vision see,
Hold out your hand and point the way,
Lest from its straightness I should stray,
And walk a mile with me.”
--
Cole

“We make choices in life, and then we must live with
    those choices. In the end, we ARE those choices.”

Well, it seems that as life moves forward we lose friends that we thought would be with us for our whole lives, but in time we learn that they were only meant to be with us for a short time. How should we feel over losing these dearest of people? What would be the next step when we find out they’re no longer traveling with us along this great journey? This is a most difficult question to answer because we always hope that these significant people will be with us, but as it turns out they have their own paths to follow.

For me personally, I feel a hole in a part of my spirit that can’t seem to be filled. These special people made such a difference in my life, and to think they will never be there again is almost too much to bear. However, when I think that they are adventuring their own special paths I feel somewhat relieved that my “selfishness” is a bit overbearing, and then I have a feeling of relief because these people have helped me to be where I am, and that is an incredible place for me. “Some people come into our lives for a short time, while others are there for a lifetime.”

For those of you who are in my life for a “lifetime”, thanks is not NEAR enough for all that you’ve given me and shared with me through our lives. For those of you who’ve been with me for a short time, you may not know what you’ve done for another. Thank you!  Hopefully I’ll be able to pass along what you’ve passed to me. :-)

For everyone who has called me “Friend”, thank you from my heart!  I hope we can share friendships once again in this life.

Light, Life & Love!

Namaste!
--
Cole

“It is in changing that we find purpose.” Heraclites

So, what is the worth of a human life?  What is the worth of ANY life?  How do we measure this worth?  By accomplishments?  By wealth?  By the Loves we’ve had?  By our friends? By those who “love” us?  How about by our credit achieved? OH! I know! The career we’ve accomplished!

Hmmm!  Sounds like all material things, huh?

There are so many things we can “rate” our worth by, but what really counts is what we feel inside ourselves. How do you feel about the person you are?  So many people try to “fit in” with society so they will be loved or accepted, and this can be at the expense of our own self-esteem, our own self-worth.  Why is it so important that we be accepted? Why is it more important than our own self-love?  Love and Happiness are always wished upon us from everyone we know, but do they REALLY wish that upon us, or is it something they simply express because it is something we’ve learned to tell others because we wish it for ourselves?

If we take a few minutes each day to reflect upon our own lives and what we’ve truly accomplished in it, I believe that each and every one of us will be overwhelmed with joy at the obstacles, the JOYS we’ve each experienced over and over throughout our lives. Personally, as of today, I’ve had so many incredible moments that I cannot count them all, nor would I want to spend that much time trying.  Instead, I can rejoice at the beauty heaped upon me each morning when I wake up to find that I’m breathing another day of life into my body. Yes, I am truly blessed in this gift called “Life”.

As most of you know, I’ve had TONS of adversity throughout my life, and there were times I was ready to end it all, just too much “pain” to endure.  I’ve been to the top of the world, and down to the bottom of Hell, and yet today I find so much beauty in life that it sometimes makes me cry for minutes on end.  I’ve built an “American Life” that so many would dream to have, and yet I gave it all up to experience what many people in the world experience.  I left the states with 4 suitcases from a home loaded with 30 years of stuff, all accumulated since I was in high school, and yet I now know more peace and happiness than I would have EVER thought possible just 5 years ago.

I write this update today because it is so important that I tell each of you, my dear friends, how beautiful life is with each of you in it.  While many of you are friends I’ve known for a short time, many others are friends I’ve bonded with since I was a kid.  Some of you might say I am still a kid, but what the hey!?  Better to be a kid than some old crotchety crank that is bitter at the “ills” they’ve experienced, huh?  

Each day is another opportunity for YOU to make a difference in this world. Go out and spread all the Love you can, and know that each smile you give to another...each pat on the back will help all of us to live up to the mnemonic “Human”. Let’s make this world a place that all can be happy in. Let’s make this place something we can leave to a 1000 years of families.  Something I heard while watching Drew Barrymore (one of my most favorite actresses) last week... “Fun is something we bring with us.”  Yes! Fun, happiness, love is a matter of perception! You can wake up each day feeling love and happiness, no matter what pain (physical or emotional) you’re experiencing. It’s all up to you.

As I close this “update” I want to say that I’ve been experiencing for such a long time now so much peace and happiness, both through the AWESOME friends I have as well as the great life I’m experiencing here in Thailand, and I can’t thank all of you who call me friend enough for your love.  Clarity has never been this sharp before, and I know it can only get sharper, at least with the perspective I carry on life. 

I love you all, and hope that each and every one of you can share the love of life that I have come to know.  If you ever have any doubts about YOUR life, just talk to a friend, and see how awesome it is to have a FRIEND that is next to you.

-- Cole
    ”Life is a journey. Enjoy the trip.”

The Hunger Site

The Child Health Site

Here's an update from Michael Moore on the War in Iraq, and it highlights EXACTLY how I feel about America invading a sovereign country. The US Congress didn't break international law to free the Iraqi people, it did so to acquire their resources.

Read on...

From Michael Moore:
Cut and Run, the Only Brave Thing to Do

Sunday, November 26th, 2006

Friends,

Tomorrow marks the day that we will have been in Iraq longer than we were in all of World War II.

That's right. We were able to defeat all of Nazi Germany, Mussolini, and the entire Japanese empire in LESS time than it's taken the world's only superpower to secure the road from the airport to downtown Baghdad.

And we haven't even done THAT. After 1,347 days, in the same time it took us to took us to sweep across North Africa, storm the beaches of Italy, conquer the South Pacific, and liberate all of Western Europe, we cannot, after over 3 and 1/2 years, even take over a single highway and protect ourselves from a homemade device of two tin cans placed in a pothole. No wonder the cab fare from the airport into Baghdad is now running around $35,000 for the 25-minute ride. And that doesn't even include a friggin' helmet.

Is this utter failure the fault of our troops? Hardly. That's because no amount of troops or choppers or democracy shot out of the barrel of a gun is ever going to "win" the war in Iraq. It is a lost war, lost because it never had a right to be won, lost because it was started by men who have never been to war, men who hide behind others sent to fight and die.

Let's listen to what the Iraqi people are saying, according to a recent poll conducted by the University of Maryland:

** 71% of all Iraqis now want the U.S. out of Iraq.

** 61% of all Iraqis SUPPORT insurgent attacks on U.S. troops.

Yes, the vast majority of Iraqi citizens believe that our soldiers should be killed and maimed! So what the hell are we still doing there? Talk about not getting the hint.

There are many ways to liberate a country. Usually the residents of that country rise up and liberate themselves. That's how we did it. You can also do it through nonviolent, mass civil disobedience. That's how India did it. You can get the world to boycott a regime until they are so ostracized they capitulate. That's how South Africa did it. Or you can just wait them out and, sooner or later, the king's legions simply leave (sometimes just because they're too cold). That's how Canada did it.

The one way that DOESN'T work is to invade a country and tell the people, "We are here to liberate you!" -- when they have done NOTHING to liberate themselves. Where were all the suicide bombers when Saddam was oppressing them? Where were the insurgents planting bombs along the roadside as the evildoer Saddam's convoy passed them by? I guess ol' Saddam was a cruel despot -- but not cruel enough for thousands to risk their necks. "Oh no, Mike, they couldn't do that! Saddam would have had them killed!" Really? You don't think King George had any of the colonial insurgents killed? You don't think Patrick Henry or Tom Paine were afraid? That didn't stop them. When tens of thousands aren't willing to shed their own blood to remove a dictator, that should be the first clue that they aren't going to be willing participants when you decide you're going to do the liberating for them.

A country can HELP another people overthrow a tyrant (that's what the French did for us in our revolution), but after you help them, you leave. Immediately. The French didn't stay and tell us how to set up our government. They didn't say, "we're not leaving because we want your natural resources." They left us to our own devices and it took us six years before we had an election. And then we had a bloody civil war. That's what happens, and history is full of these examples. The French didn't say, "Oh, we better stay in America, otherwise they're going to kill each other over that slavery issue!"

The only way a war of liberation has a chance of succeeding is if the oppressed people being liberated have their own citizens behind them -- and a group of Washingtons, Jeffersons, Franklins, Ghandis and Mandellas leading them. Where are these beacons of liberty in Iraq? This is a joke and it's been a joke since the beginning. Yes, the joke's been on us, but with 655,000 Iraqis now dead as a result of our invasion (source: Johns Hopkins University ), I guess the cruel joke is on them. At least they've been liberated, permanently.

So I don't want to hear another word about sending more troops (wake up, America, John McCain is bonkers), or "redeploying" them, or waiting four months to begin the "phase-out." There is only one solution and it is this: Leave. Now. Start tonight. Get out of there as fast as we can. As much as people of good heart and conscience don't want to believe this, as much as it kills us to accept defeat, there is nothing we can do to undo the damage we have done. What's happened has happened. If you were to drive drunk down the road and you killed a child, there would be nothing you could do to bring that child back to life. If you invade and destroy a country, plunging it into a civil war, there isn't much you can do 'til the smoke settles and blood is mopped up. Then maybe you can atone for the atrocity you have committed and help the living come back to a better life.

The Soviet Union got out of Afghanistan in 36 weeks. They did so and suffered hardly any losses as they left. They realized the mistake they had made and removed their troops. A civil war ensued. The bad guys won. Later, we overthrew the bad guys and everybody lived happily ever after. See! It all works out in the end!

The responsibility to end this war now falls upon the Democrats. Congress controls the purse strings and the Constitution says only Congress can declare war. Mr. Reid and Ms. Pelosi now hold the power to put an end to this madness. Failure to do so will bring the wrath of the voters. We aren't kidding around, Democrats, and if you don't believe us, just go ahead and continue this war another month. We will fight you harder than we did the Republicans. The opening page of my website has a photo of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, each made up by a collage of photos of the American soldiers who have died in Bush's War. But it is now about to become the Bush/Democratic Party War unless swift action is taken.

This is what we demand:

1. Bring the troops home now. Not six months from now. NOW. Quit looking for a way to win. We can't win. We've lost. Sometimes you lose. This is one of those times. Be brave and admit it.

2. Apologize to our soldiers and make amends. Tell them we are sorry they were used to fight a war that had NOTHING to do with our national security. We must commit to taking care of them so that they suffer as little as possible. The mentally and physically maimed must get the best care and significant financial compensation. The families of the deceased deserve the biggest apology and they must be taken care of for the rest of their lives.

3. We must atone for the atrocity we have perpetuated on the people of Iraq. There are few evils worse than waging a war based on a lie, invading another country because you want what they have buried under the ground. Now many more will die. Their blood is on our hands, regardless for whom we voted. If you pay taxes, you have contributed to the three billion dollars a week now being spent to drive Iraq into the hellhole it's become. When the civil war is over, we will have to help rebuild Iraq. We can receive no redemption until we have atoned.

In closing, there is one final thing I know. We Americans are better than what has been done in our name. A majority of us were upset and angry after 9/11 and we lost our minds. We didn't think straight and we never looked at a map. Because we are kept stupid through our pathetic education system and our lazy media, we knew nothing of history. We didn't know that WE were the ones funding and arming Saddam for many years, including those when he massacred the Kurds. He was our guy. We didn't know what a Sunni or a Shiite was, never even heard the words. Eighty percent of our young adults (according to National Geographic) were not able to find Iraq on the map. Our leaders played off our stupidity, manipulated us with lies, and scared us to death.

But at our core we are a good people. We may be slow learners, but that "Mission Accomplished" banner struck us as odd, and soon we began to ask some questions. Then we began to get smart. By this past November 7th, we got mad and tried to right our wrongs. The majority now know the truth. The majority now feel a deep sadness and guilt and a hope that somehow we can make make it all right again.

Unfortunately, we can't. So we will accept the consequences of our actions and do our best to be there should the Iraqi people ever dare to seek our help in the future. We ask for their forgiveness.

We demand the Democrats listen to us and get out of Iraq now.

Yours,

Michael Moore
www.michaelmoore.com
mmflint@aol.com

WOW!  Indeed! How things slip up on us! Some incredible things happened today which pointed out many feelings about life to me. 

First, I got an email from a friend in the SF Bay Area who is traveling to SE Asia for 2 months come January, and it was exciting to see how he felt about the adventures he is about to depart upon.  As I was reading his itinerary I could feel the joy I remembered when I set out upon a similar adventure after losing my 2nd high-tech job in 2 years back in 2002. I almost could relive the excitement through his thoughts.

Second, I got a message on MySpace.com from a teenage friend I’ve not heard from in 20 years. Our lives were intertwined for many years from 1975 until 1982, and BOY did those years suffer much pain for both of us. My jaw was sitting on the floor as I read who this message was from.  Him writing me on MySpace.com was the 3rd shocking event I had from being a member on this incredible website.  Now after so many years I am reunited with a great person in time.

Thirdly, I went to teach class with 1st year students, and as I looked into many of their eyes I could see ambition, happiness, youthful carelessness, and desires to be something that people respected in life. At times it made me feel old, and yet at the same time I was able to see my own incredible accomplishments through life. It’s these same accomplishments which have led me to desire sharing with those who want to better their young lives. While it is many times difficult because these youthful kids don’t have the experience of life’s understandings, it is at the same time enlightening for me to see the ‘light’ that shines in their eyes about where their lives are headed. It’s not only a gift, but a responsibility to be a teacher. I am always humbled by my current chosen career path.

Lastly, I was watching a movie channel which aired “The Two Of Us”; a film by Rob Reiner, staring Michelle Pfifer, Bruce Willis, Betty White, Red Buttons, and many more. It was a story about 2 people who had been married for 15 years and were finding that they had more in common with fighting than about being loving partners. It reminded me so much about how often we let little things get in the way of seeing the truth about life. “I can’t see the forest because of all the TREES!!”  Yes, it reminded me of how I have been unsuccessful at relationship in my life. DANG! To be 45 and never have experienced the ability to open myself to another.  Now it’s all behind me.  Sometimes I feel sad over this reality, but more often than not I see the reality of this existence, and it gives me strength to learn more about my path, and hopefully be the knowledge and guiding light to assist others who might have misgivings about their own situations.

After about 15 minutes of watching this movie I began to realize that the choices I’ve made in my life had led me to be alone. While in itself being alone is not a bad thing, it’s the fact that I feel life is written out before me, so much so that it will not include being with another person in an intimate sense. Hmmm... I’ve become my mother, father, grandmother (on my father’s side), and my sister. Interesting how it seems that many people’s lives are known long before they are even born.

In closing this update, it is important that I note life is incredibly dynamic, and every turn I make around every corner shows me a path of roses.  I could choose to see the stony path, or the thorns each rose stem carries, but when I smell those sweet smelling flowers along the way, every other unappealing aspect seems to disappear.  I guess what I’m saying is that my life feels like I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth.  So many people in my history (and family) became the kind of people you see in either horror movies, or sad stories where they end up in prison or homeless, and I can’t help but feel that the goose with the golden eggs wound up in my barn. Now how to share that wealth with the rest of the world?

I love y’all more than words will ever say, and certainly more than I can ever let you know without being absurd or mushy.   Thanks for your loving friendship, and I will always feel humbled by the life y’all have helped me to live.  I couldn’t be happier!

-- Cole
    ”Life is a journey. Enjoy the trip.”

The Hunger Site

The Child Health Site

The Hunger Site
The Child Health Site

WOW! Here it is! Already the 2nd semester of academic year 2006 is starting. Where did the FIRST semester go?!

Well, be that as it may, it was a great 1st semester where we had lots of fun, and also lots of work. This past semester found me being invited to work at many off-campus opportunities which has allowed me to build up a tasty savings so I can make a long over-due visit to my family and friends in the states. As of New Year's Day it will be 2 full years since my last trip overseas, and I find myself drooling over some Taco Bell yummies, and Whataburgers, and Casa Ole Mexican Food plates. Of course all of that MUST be topped off with some Homemade Blue Bell Ice Cream! WHOO!!HOO!! Hopefully I'll get to enjoy a tasty prime rib and cheese cake in the SF Bay Area, and who KNOWS what other goodies will be found. :=)

The current plan is slated to take off with my friend Marty coming to Thailand for a 2 or 3 week visit where he'll do some exploring on his own, then to meet up with me at some predetermined location where we'll then explore previously unseen wonders. When those adventures are complete I'll be flying back with him to the San Francisco area where I'll spend a week or so with visiting dearest friends of my adult life. Then it's on to Houston Texas to visit family and dearest friends of my younger life. :-D It's sure to be LOADS of fun, and I find myself feeling anxious every time I think about it.

But that's still 6 months away, and deeply in the planning stages. Many changes will occur I'm certain. In the meantime, our new semester begins Monday the 30th of October. It looks to be another productive and enjoyable teaching period. Especially since I was contacted by a special person asking if I would take a job teaching English to Monks in a temple of Nakhon Sawan. If this job does come through, it will be another life-goal reached (one of many achieved in my blessed, if not completely crazy, life.) My studies in Buddhism have led me to have a completely new vision of mankind, and how we are all responsible to bring Love and Peace to all life on this wonderful planet. While this achievement is extremely difficult, we all know that anything worth acquiring in life is most certainly worth working for. "Easy street is a dead end!" Now if we can only get those republicans out of congress and let Peace have a chance! :-)

Guess this is enough for my quarterly update. Please be sure to check out my new videos I've uploaded. I'll be adding more from my trip to Tak province and Bangkok this weekend. It's my last chance to get away for some fun and relaxing since I'll be busting humps 6 days a week for 3 full months. WHEW!! I'll NEED that summer break to the states in April/May. LOL

Here's a link to MySpace.com videos:

Cole's Videos on MySpace.com

May Light, Life, and Love surround each and every one of you, and may happiness lighten every step you take.

Namaste

Well, it is now day 3 of the military regime takeover of Thailand, and there is no direct notice of anything being different.  Yesterday was declared a Nation Holiday and all government facilities were closed, including banks and universities.  Today it's back to Business As Usual and our classes at NU continue.

I've been watching CNN and BBC World since awaking this morning and have seen no censorship as I did yesterday.  There was a tickertape update at the bottom which read that the military coup leaders report that the coup is complete.  This would mean that all threats to the takeover by Thaksin supporters are eliminated.  This is a good thing.  They also reported that Thai TV has shown His Majesty King Bhumipol Adulyadej saying he supports the coup.  I have yet to confirm this, but will discuss with both my students and Thai colleagues during work today.

All-in-all things are quiet and continuing as if nothing has happened.  Us foreign teachers should be receiving our university contracts as expected with our journey to Thai Immigration next week to renew our visas.  I'll keep you all updated as things go. For now there is nothing to worry about or even have concern.

Here is a weblink to a blogger in Bangkok that Catherine Roth sent to me. It's really interesting and has come good information.  Thanks for sending this Catherine.

http://www.jotman.com

Also, thanks to all of you who have either written or called me to see how I was doing.  You are all special and as I have said before, I am blessed to be called your friend.

Love and hugs to you all.

-- Cole

    ”Life is a journey. Enjoy the trip.”

http://www.thehungersite.com

http://www.thechildhealthsite.com

ANALYSIS / FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF SEPT 11 ATTACKS

What if 9/11 had never happened?

World is probably pretty much the same place it would be if the bungling hijackers had not succeeded

By GWYNNE DYER

Five years since 9/11, and we are still being told that the world has changed forever. But the terrorist attack on the United States on Sept 11, 2001 was a low-probability event that could just as easily not have happened. The often careless and sometimes incompetent hijackers might have been caught before boarding those planes, and there were not 10 other plots of similar magnitude stacked up behind them. Would the world really be all that different now if there had been no 9/11?

There would have been no invasion of Afghanistan, and probably no second term for President George W. Bush, whose main political asset for the past five years has been his claim to be leading the United States in a Global War on Terror. Deprived of the opportunity to posture as a heroic war leader in the mould of Winston Churchill or Franklin D. Roosevelt, Mr Bush would have had great difficulty persuading the American public that his first-term achievements merited a second kick at the can.

Would Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz & Co have succeeded in invading Iraq anyway? That was high on their agenda from the moment they took office, but without the 9/11 attacks eight months later they would have had great difficulty in persuading the American public that invading Iraq, a country on the other side of the world that posed no threat to the United States, was a good idea. Whereas after 9/11, it was easy to sell the project to geographically challenged Americans: maybe no Iraqis were involved in 9/11, but they're all Arabs, aren't they?

So no Afghanistan, no Iraq _ and probably no Israeli attack on Lebanon either, because that was pre-planned in concert with the United States. Hizbollah's kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers and the killing of three others in a cross-border raid in late June was a major provocation, but the Bush administration had already signed off on an all-out Israeli air assault to destroy Hizbollah months before. All they needed was a suitable excuse, which Hizbollah duly provided. But assume no Bush second term, and that also doesn't happen.

Without 9/11, there would still be a "terrorist threat", of course, because there is always some terrorism. It's rarely a big enough threat to justify expanding police powers, let alone launching a "global war" against it, but the fluke success of the 9/11 attacks (which has not been duplicated once in the subsequent five years) created the illusion that terrorism was a major problem. Various special interests climbed aboard the band-wagon, and off we all went.

That is a pity, because without 9/11 there would have been no governments justifying torture in the name of fighting terrorism, no "special renditions", no camps like Guantanamo. Tens of thousands of people killed in the various invasions of the past five years would still be alive, and Western countries with large Muslim minorities would not now face a potential terrorist backlash at home from their own disaffected young Muslims. The United States would not be seen by most of the world as a rogue state. But that's as far as the damage goes.

Current US policy and the hostility it arouses elsewhere in the world are both transient things. The Sunni Muslim extremists _ they would call themselves Salafis _ who were responsible for 9/11 have not seized power in a single country since then, despite the boost they were given by the flailing US response to that attack. The world is actually much the same as it would have been if 9/11 had never happened.

Economically, 9/11 and its aftermath have had almost no discernible long-term impact: even the soaring price of oil is mostly due to rising demand in Asia, not to military events in the Middle East. The lack of decisive action on climate change is largely due to Bush policies that were already in place before 9/11. And strategically, the relations between the great powers have not yet been gravely damaged by the US response to 9/11.

There may even be a hidden benefit in the concept of a "war on terror".

It is a profoundly dishonest concept, since it is actually directed mainly against Muslim groups that have grievances against the various great powers: Chechens against Russia, Muslim Uyghurs against China, Kashmiri Muslims and their Pakistani cousins against India, practically everybody in the Arab world and Iran against the US and Britain. The terrorists' methods are reprehensible, but their grievances are often real.

However, the determination of the great powers to oppose not only their methods but their goals is also real. That gives them a common enemy and a shared strategy.

The main risk at this point in history is that the great powers will drift back into some kind of alliance confrontation. Key resources are getting scarcer, the climate is changing, and the rise of China and India means that the pecking order of the great powers is due to change again in the relatively near future. Any strategic analyst worth his salt, given those preconditions, could draw you up a dozen different scenarios of disaster by lunchtime.

Avoiding that disaster at the expense of the world's much abused Muslims is not an acceptable option, but it appears to be the preferred solution of the moment. And that, five years on, is the principal legacy of 9/11.

Gwynne Dyer is a London-based independent journalist.

Today marks half a decade since the world-changing 9/11 event. Many people died on this day 5 years ago, and those people on flight 93 were the 1st true heroes and combatants in the “new” War On Terror. Those brave and courageous people fought and won the very first battle against the tiny-brained mongoloids who feel it is a great calling to slaughter innocent people.

While I feel that America is ultimately responsible for the attack upon its soil because of its many years of middle-east meddling, that is no justification to murder innocent children, women, and men who have very little say over what their government does.

To honor these heroes it is up to each and every one of us to do our part to change the American policies which has led to a war of greed, power, and religious arm-wrestling with other countries. If these policies are allowed to continue, it is entirely possible that the whole world will suffer a disaster greater than any biblical writing could fathom.  As mid-term elections approach in the next 2 months, please PLEASE vote these horrid warmongers out of office, and get some real people of Peace into our congress. Help make a difference in this world, and by casting your vote for Peace in November you will help to honor those heroes who’ve given their lives for what they believed in.

May today be a memory of all brave souls who’ve fought throughout history for Peace.

Visualize World Love and Peace! It really works!
-- Cole

    ”Life is a journey. Enjoy the trip.”

http://www.thehungersite.com

http://www.thechildhealthsite.com

The Hunger Site

Who benefits from new hysteria about security?


"I used to know when I was being deeply cynical and when I wasn't," said a friend who just made it into London before they closed Heathrow airport for the terrorist scare. "Now, I don't."

Back in February 2003, when Prime Minister Tony Blair was trying to persuade a reluctant Britain that invading Iraq alongside the United States was a really neat idea, tanks suddenly appeared on the perimeter road around Heathrow to guard against an impending terrorist attack.

It wasn't clear what they were supposed to do - crush the terrorists under their treads? - and no actual terrorists ever showed up, but it helped to shape public opinion. So how different is it this time?

Hundreds of flights delayed or cancelled. Twenty-four alleged conspirators arrested in East London, Thames Valley towns and Birmingham, many of them described by neighbours as bearded Muslims wearing traditional dress. Shocking revelations that they had a new technique for blowing up to 10 aircraft on the heavily travelled London-US routes out of the sky simultaneously by smuggling explosive liquids aboard. All cabin baggage banned on flights out of Britain. And in a classic case of panic envy, the US Department of Homeland Security declares a red alert in the United States, too.

That should scare the public into supporting the "war on terror" a bit longer, even if the real wars are about something else, and are going seriously wrong: Iraq sliding into civil war, the Taliban coming back in Afghanistan, Israel flattening Lebanon without making any significant dent in Hezbollah's capabilities. Most people will assume that with all that smoke, there must be some fire.

Of course there's some fire.

Terrorists of various sorts have been in business for about 40 years, and the present crop of Islamist terrorists are especially dangerous since they are willing to kill themselves along with their victims. But in the United States more people die on the roads every single month than Islamist terrorists have killed since the year 2000, and in Britain it's more people every week. Yet neither country has tried to restrict access to cars.

Maybe it's cynical, but there are strong grounds for suspecting that this is all a charade. If they infiltrated these terrorist cells many months ago and have now have arrested most of the members, then why would they institute drastic new security measures on flights at this point? And did they really only realise in the past few days that explosives come in liquid form as well?

After the arrests in Britain on the night of August 9-10, Peter Clarke, head of Scotland Yard's anti-terrorist branch, assured the media that "during the investigation an unprecedented level of surveillance has been undertaken . . . We have been looking at meetings, movement, travel, spending and the aspirations of a large group of people . . .The investigation reached a critical point last night when the decision was made to take urgent action in order to disrupt what we believe was being planned."

Fair enough, although this is the same organisation that took "urgent action" to kill an innocent Brazilian called Jean Charles de Menezes in July 2005 "in order to disrupt what we believe was being planned", and earlier this year shot and wounded another innocent person in London in the course of a raid on a Muslim family in east London based on manifestly unreliable information.

So maybe 24 terrorist plotters have been arrested in Britain, or maybe 24 innocent British Muslims with full beards, or more likely some combination of the two. But whatever the truth of that, why the panic?

British Home Secretary John Reid boldly asserted that the "main players" had been accounted for, and Scotland Yard Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson proudly announced that "we are confident that we have disrupted a plan by terrorists to cause untold death and destruction and commit mass murder".

Well done, lads - but if you have them all locked up, why are you closing the airports and bringing in all these draconian security measures now? A couple of months ago, when you first uncovered this plot but didn't know all the "main players", I could understand such drastic precautions, but why now?

Maybe it was those explosive "liquid chemicals" they were planning to smuggle aboard the planes. After all, it's only 160 years since nitroglycerine was invented. It's a mere 11 years since al-Qaeda associate Ramzi Yousef plotted to blow up 12 airliners flying across the Pacific at the same time with nitro carried aboard in contact lens solution bottles. Who could have foreseen this? Quick! Bring in new security measures!

They really aren't that stupid. They have been checking liquids that people want to carry aboard flights at airport security checkpoints for years. There would be no need for drastic new security measures, even if the alleged British terrorist ring were still on the loose.

This is all hype, designed to frighten the British and American publics into supporting the wars of their deeply unpopular governments (and the war of their Israeli ally as well).

Or am I being too cynical? Maybe they're just stupid. I really don't know any more.

Gwynne Dyer is a London-based independent journalist.

Hmmm....  Well, I can’t think of one single book that everyone should read at least once in their life, but I believe everyone should read something that challenges their beliefs.  Less than 5% of all humans ever question their beliefs which means they go through their lives reacting to events without truly knowing WHY they are reacting.

Additionally, by never questioning our beliefs we build a wall of prejudice that we always live behind, and we will protect that wall almost with our lives  We don’t know why we are willing to die for that wall because we’ve never questioned why that wall is even there, just that it needs protecting.

So when you feel like you are right and the other person(s), be it in conversations, readings, chats, etc., are wrong, ask yourself, “What if they are right, and why do I feel I am right?”, a door will open that can free your mind, therefore you’ll be taking a step closer to true understanding.

The above questions were paramount in changing the way I saw myself and life, and right now I’m virtually the happiest with life than I’ve ever been.

These are some of my thoughts for reading. :-)

-- Cole

    ”Life is a journey. Enjoy the trip.”

The Hunger Site

Many of us are highly concerned with all that is happening around the world. Israel is about to start WWIII, and Iran is ready to jump in the middle of it. Japan is threatening N. Korea to a preemptive missile attack on their launch sites. Heavy disturbances in Africa!

DANG!! The world is ready to explode! Just can’t help but thank Dubya for helping to destabilize the entire middle east region with his lies of WMD to start a war to gain Iraq as a puppet government.

Bombs going off in Mumbai, India, and India is threatening Pakistan for the bombings. Lebanon is also under missile attacks as well as aerial bombings from Israel. We’ve got the H5N1 Avian influenza 2 or so mutations before it becomes a pandemic.

The Earth’s magnetic field is realigning from the southern Atlantic ocean, and it is some 500,000 years behind it usually 200,000 year cycle. No one knows if it will fry life during its realignment, or if it will only cause heavy cancers. Either way it will create a huge amount of destruction.

Need I go on?! Quite frankly, I’m virtually scared of what the next hour will bring. Mankind seems to be on the brink of destruction and all the world can do is engage in petty disputes over religion, or oil, or who slapped whose mother last night. Stupid PETTY reasons to destroy all of live.

It is these things which I am attempting to teach my students to think about, and how can governments and their citizens make a significant change so mankind survives our infancy.

While this blog sounds “Doom and Gloom”, its really more about what’s happening and how can I as a World Citizen make a difference. It is up to each and every single human to try their best at stopping this madness before it’s too late.

-- Cole
"From time to time man is tested.
It is then when angels appear."

<A href="http://www.thehungersite.com">The Hunger Site</A>

CNN this morning showed Bush in Austria at the EU Summit, and when he said "some people think it's okay for there to be tyranny, but I don't." This is in response to comments on the US led war in Iraq. This really PISSES ME OFF!! The UN Charter 52 specifically states that "War is illegal except in self-defense." At no time did Iraq attack America, make a threat to attack America, or even be known to work with Al-Queda in attempts to attack America, and yet America over-threw the government and is now occupying Iraq illegally based upon this charter. America helped draft this charter in the early 1950's. Guess there had been enough war in the world at that time.

Just because America doen't believe in tyranny does NOT give it the right to decide which country it thinks has a tryannical leader then invade it! Some people in this world think Bush is a tyrannical leader, and the way he has unsettled the world peace (with a special note that many countries and their citizens hate America more than ever today), I'm almost inclined to agree with them. Living here in Thailand allows me to meet people from all walks of life, and I hear not only how they feel about their own country's government policies, but how their citizens feel about American government and its citizens.

Additionally on the same CNN news program I saw where 7 troops have been charged with murdering an Iraqi citizen for not spying on other Iraqis thought to be involved with attacks against American troops. These troops had been hammering this 54 year old disabled Iraqi for weeks to spy, and he wouldn't because he felt it was dishonorable. The alleged crime is they went into his home one night in front of his family, carried him out to the road then shot him execution style. These troops attempted to bribe the family with first $2,000 USD then $10,000 to keep quiet about what they had done. The brother said he didn't need the money, and that this horror needed to be told. He's lucky they didn't kill him as well!

I'm just OUTRAGED at what these people have turned the image of the great nation of America in to! The world is a much more scary place for American travelers of today. I'm truly embarrassed sometimes to even admit being American, especially when my students ask me how I feel about what America is doing. How sad!!

I am OUTRAGED at the news I’ve just been shown! It would seem that if a person wants to get away with a heinous crime all you need to be is SHORT!

Look at this article:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/05/26/judge.flap.ap/index.html

“But supporters of short people say it's about time someone recognizes the unique challenges they face.”

WTF!!??

This assaulted young child was short! Where is their justice?!

ONLY IN AMERICA!!

Cole
"There is only one nation...the Human Nation."

http://www.thehungersite.com

www.thehungersite.com

Hello my friends.

Well, our new academic year begins June 12th, and us teachers are in full swing preparing lessons for the upcoming students. I have 5 full classes in a variety of majors, namely in the medical field, BioMed and Cardio/Thorasic, with some Thai Music and Tourism thrown in. The class sizes will total to nearly 242 students through about 22 hours per week. It's going to be a busy semester.

As I was waking up this morning, the outline of this update ran through my mind, and I felt it was important to share with y'all my feelings about life as I now know it. So many changes have occurred in my life as most of you know. It truly feels like I've had nine complete lives with the most current being the most rewarding. Someone told me that it's not how far you fall, but how high you bounce once you hit bottom. Well my friends, I must be made of super rubber because each time I've smacked into the bottom I've sailed faster and higher than any previous achievement known to me. While these achievements are mainly based upon my own constitution, they could not have been reached without family and friends (most notably my mother & sister, Marty, Riche & Ron, John Besser, Phil Eudy, CB, John Lindquist, and Alison to name the top few.)

We have "falls" in life so that we can learn to pick ourselves up and continue towards the great lessons. If a child were to fall while trying to walk and instead of getting up only sat there crying, this child would not learn to walk, much less run. Sometimes our falls are from high places with painful landings, but we cannot let this deter us from striving to reach our goals. Just 3 years ago I was having a very difficult time accepting the HUGE changes I had made in my life, mostly leaving behind America and all I had known and achieved in my life to that point, and this nearly killed me if it were not for my friends. This was a reflection of the other great difficulties I had gone through only to rebound to higher achievements than ever known previously.

My move from Texas was extremely difficult because I had only known Houston, but when the calling to California arose, I packed up and moved with little hesitation. For months it was a painful relearning experience making new friends and growing new roots, but 8 years later I had experienced the best goals of my life. I met some wonderful friends who are now like family, built AAA credit which allowed me to buy a $21K car and $250K home without any assistance for the first time, work for 3 great companies with huge incomes, one being the world's largest company General Electric, and visit places outside of America I never thought I could/would visit. Through the many people I've worked with and made friends with, I have learned new skills and tools with which to face oncoming problems and dire situations, and turn them into successes instead of failures. If life were to end for me tonight, I would die at peace knowing that I have achieved virtually every goal set for myself, most notably turning my selfish heart into a compassionate soul of life. Nothing, in my opinion, is more rewarding than giving of oneself unconditionally to others. While I have not fully learned this lesson, I am MUCH closer to that end than at any time in my past.

I was at lunch in a Chinese restaurant with a co-worker, Tim Tierney, and my fortune cookie showed the best lesson for me to learn. It read, "Generosity and Compassion are your everlasting goals." No truer words have ever appeared to me. Now I wonder how Timmy is doing as it has been many years since we've seen or chatted with each other, but I will always remember the friendship he shared with me in life, and this lunch together.

Before closing, I want to share one last example of my life changes. The night I was leaving for Chiangmai to join Susy on our Laos trip in March, there was a HUGE rain storm covering the area. Naresuan University is approximately 12km (7.5 mi) from the train station and I had to ride there on my motorbike in this downpour, and it was NOT pretty! Just as I was approaching the station from under an overpass lightening struck about 5 meters away blinding me. As the old adage goes, it was lightening fast! I could not see the bolt, only that in an instant I was blinded by sun-bright white light, and then felt the flash of heat upon my body at the same time I heard the crack of thunder. After I reached the station I had time to reflect upon what just happened, and how close to being fried I was. Being struck by lightening was a near miss on the beginning of my Laos journey.

I bring this up because it exemplifies how things can strike at us from out of nowhere as we move through life, and ultimately they are just fears to overcome. I could have let that rainy night and near-miss lightening strike stop me from going to Laos with Susy out of fear of what might happen, but instead I took it for what it was, a sign of chance, and continued on to have a wonderful, and much-needed holiday. If we let things scare us into submission or inaction, be it things in our present life or things from our past pains, then we live life in fear of what MIGHT happen if we continue instead of what we can MAKE happen even though there is adversity. We only live once, so take life by the horns and live it to its fullest! As Spock said before he died the 1st time, "I hope to die at least as well as I have lived." This is tantamount to saying, "Live by fire! Die by fire!" If we give others respect, we will earn it for ourselves. If we give others compassion and love, then we will earn them for ourselves. How simple is that?

Take care my friends. I love you all, and hope that each and every day Love and Compassion fills your life to its fullest.
-- Cole
"There is only one nation...the Human Nation."
H.G. Wells

www.thehungersite.com