I watched a DVD entitled from Atom to Cosmos last night, which is an explanation of Itzhak Bentov's works. First there was an interview with Mr. Bentov, where he described physical evolution. He drew a Bell Curve and at the beginning of the curve were those humans who are ape-like, gorillas and are those people who are, say, 3 feet tall -- and at the end were people who are 7 feet tall. In the middle were the average people somewhere around 5'6" to 5'8".
Then Bentov went on with the same bell curve and illustrated Evolution of Consciousness.... he demonstrated that the people on the left are the gorillas and the people in the middle were the average people, and then people on the far right of the Bell Curve were those who are more evolved consciousness-wise.
He asked the interviewer, where do you think you will find these people on the far right of the Bell Curve? Before reading the answer, think about it.....where would you find these people with highly evolved conciousness?
The interviewer responded, "in our universities, professors, scholars and the like."
Bentov just smiled and giggled a little under his breath. The interviewer said, "what? did I say something wrong?" Bentov said, "you know where I think you will find them?" The interviewer, puzzled, asked "no, where?"
Bentov said, "in the nuthouses. That's where we will find those with above average extremely highly evolved concsiousness."
Wow. That reminds me of a conversation I was having with my friend Pam, a transpersonal psychologist. She said the same thing.
So on we go, with Bentov's interview. And he said, eons from now....(i don't know if he literally meant eons)..... the average human will be here.... pointing to the right side of the Bell Curve... where today's highly evolved humans hanging out in nuthouses are. And that today's average man will be tomorrow's retarded person.
whoa.... deep
The rest of the video is an explanation of Bentov's theory....just exactly how our consciousness evolves... and BOY is it Kozmikerrific! the Kundalini Awakenings are just a bit of the evolutionary process. That's all i can say...
What in the WORLD is a Kundalini Awakening?
Evolving Concsiousness II-- The Banana Spin
Ok, so Bentov says that the humans walking the planet today with extremely highly evolved consciousness are in the nuthouses. Why?
Bentov explains that all of us have the God consciousness, because there are many different levels of consciousness -- some are predominantly on higher levels, yet the consciousness of all Humans exists on every level... some humans predominantly hang out on higher levels than others, yet we overlap all the way up to God Consciousness. Think of an upside down triangle with lines drawn across it so that there are 5 divisions. The top of the upside down triangle is God consciousness, and the lowest level being the lowest level of consciousness. Now think of different humans being on different levels.... yet overlapping.
Lowest level equals 1 (this is where the gorillas are, if you will); and Highest Level Equals 5.
Suzie hangs out mainly on level 3. Sometimes she goes up to 4, heck! She's been known to go all the way up to 5! but for the most part she's on 3.
Joe hangs ous predominantly on level 4. Sometimes he goes up to level 5, but for the most part he's on level 4.
Thus, there are some things that both Joe and Suzie perceive and share consciousness wise.
So what I believe is that those in the nuthouses the ones who are on higher levels for the most part.... are able to perceive the consciousness of those humans who are predominantly on the lower levels. They have better functioning antennae, if you will.... and they can perceive what you are perceiving, but because their conscious reality is so much greater than ours.... it can make them seem crazy to us...as they perceive what you perceive. Does this make sense?
Not only are they perceiving and trying to interpret their own reality, to which we can not relate, because we are not 'UP THERE' with them on that regular basis...they are trying to integrate their reality with yours... which is inconceivable to us...we just write them off as nutsos.
Maybe they're not even trying to do that, but instead choose to just hang out on their level. "Autistic" people are coming to my mind here.
For example. One time I was at an Indian Museum, which was an Indian Burial Site from 4000 years ago. In the 1960s and 1970s, scientists and archaeologists dug up the bones of the people that were buried there 4,000 years ago. I was meeting with some folks, including some Native Americans to perform a prayer ceremony....
I was the first one at the museum. As I was waiting in the lobby at the museum for the rest of the people to come for the prayer ceremony, a bus from the Mental Health Institute pulled up with a bunch of mentally ill patients... for "a trip to the Indian musuem!! Yay! Fun!"
One of the men that was a mental health patient walked into the museum, and he seemed quite normal to me. I couldn't tell how old he was. He could have been anywhere from 19 to 45, really. He was not tall. He was about 5'4" but what makes me remember this guy after 13 years is his reaction as the mental health people tried to get him to go further beyond the museum lobby.
On the way to the grounds, where the "village" exists... where the Choctaw Indians show you arts and crafts, and how to make blowguns and arrows and basketweaving, you have to go through a "tunnel." It's not really a claustrophobic tunnel... it's actually more like a hallway. Well this is where the people had been buried. This is where they were laying at rest for 4,000 years before being dug up.
There are no signs nor indications that this tunnel is where the ancient indigenous people had been buried. I don't know how I know that. But it is a fact that this is where the dig was conducted. No one told this Man that this was where the Indians were buried, nor is there any indication that the people on the bus even knew the history of this Indian site... that it was in fact, originally, an Indian Burial Site. It is simply known as Chucalissa Indian Village .
This "mentally ill" man did NOT want to go through that tunnel. He was screaming and begging for them to "please not make me go in there! PLEASE!!" He tugged and pulled away from the people. I swear it sounded like a torture chamber.
I couldn't help but stand there in awe of what I was witnessing. I knew what that man was feeling... not quite what he was seeing... but knew that it had to do with the fact that this was where the ancient people had been buried for 4.000 years and it was scaring him to be in that tunnel.
What else! does this man see, perceive... that we who are not as evolved as he, perceive? And why are we so quick to write this guy off as CRA-ZEE?
I can just see what the psychologist is writing down... "Joe has a phobia of Hallways." yea right. "Joe is afraid of ghosts." yea right. "Joe is afraid of going into an early grave." Closer......
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Banana On Feminist Issues
Why don't I care about Feminist issues? I don't get it. I care about everything else that's "progressive" but I just don't get motivated when in this area. Maybe it's because I'm lazy.
I think there is a part of me that secretly wishes that women didn't have to work. Ha ha. I know. I should remember all the ladies who fought for my "liberation." I should remember that when My grandmom went to college she could only decide between 2 things for a major; (1) education; or (2) sociology. She picked Sociology. Then after graduation, instead of marrying some guy who turned out to be the D.A. somewhere in North Carolina, she ran away from him when he proposed and she joined the Air Force -- and subsequently met my most awesome grandfather and got married and settled down.
After having babies, she had a nervous breakdown. Kind of like the lady from the Ya Ya Sisterhood (I can't remember the character's name), the Mother of the main character in that book. Ashley Judd played her in the movie.
Well grandmom had one, too. Something tells me it was because she wanted to get out there and do things that men do. You know? Work in the same fields as the men. Instead she owned a fabric store, and was unsatisfied with her life.
Shouldn't my grandmom's story motivate me to want to be "all that I can be" as a liberated woman? Well, it doesn't. I never wanted to play football with the boys and I don't want to work with them either. I just want to be a stay-at-home mom. Or I think I do. Maybe if I really was one I wouldn't want to be one. Who knows? bla bla bla
I think there is a part of me that secretly wishes that women didn't have to work. Ha ha. I know. I should remember all the ladies who fought for my "liberation." I should remember that when My grandmom went to college she could only decide between 2 things for a major; (1) education; or (2) sociology. She picked Sociology. Then after graduation, instead of marrying some guy who turned out to be the D.A. somewhere in North Carolina, she ran away from him when he proposed and she joined the Air Force -- and subsequently met my most awesome grandfather and got married and settled down.
After having babies, she had a nervous breakdown. Kind of like the lady from the Ya Ya Sisterhood (I can't remember the character's name), the Mother of the main character in that book. Ashley Judd played her in the movie.
Well grandmom had one, too. Something tells me it was because she wanted to get out there and do things that men do. You know? Work in the same fields as the men. Instead she owned a fabric store, and was unsatisfied with her life.
Shouldn't my grandmom's story motivate me to want to be "all that I can be" as a liberated woman? Well, it doesn't. I never wanted to play football with the boys and I don't want to work with them either. I just want to be a stay-at-home mom. Or I think I do. Maybe if I really was one I wouldn't want to be one. Who knows? bla bla bla
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Water
Please check out this site, and educate yourself about what is going on today in the World regarding water shortages, and wars over water.
Bolivia leads the way in fighting off corporations that are trying to take control of our most precious natural resource on the planet...water.
Read this book as soon as you can, and think twice before buying Evian, Naya, Dasani (Coca-Cola water), and Pepsi brand water.
Cheers!
Bolivia leads the way in fighting off corporations that are trying to take control of our most precious natural resource on the planet...water.
Read this book as soon as you can, and think twice before buying Evian, Naya, Dasani (Coca-Cola water), and Pepsi brand water.
Cheers!
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Favorite Pyschic Scene In a Movie
The movie is "The Right Stuff." It is a movie about Chuck Yeager, the man who broke the sound barrier.
In the first half of the movie, this scene. Chuck had already broken the sound barrier, by reaching Mach 1.
But oh no! He got beat out by Scott Crossfield who reached Mach 2, and the press was all over it, like white on rice.
The news reporter wanted to turn this into a sensational competition, rivalry between Yeager and Crossfield, yet the brothers would have none of it.
Chuck gets up, goes to the bar to get a refill of beer in his glass.
As Chuck is standing there with his back toward Crossfield, the pilot tipped his beer bottle in a toast to Chuck. Without seeing him or looking at him, with his back still to him, Chuck raised his glass to Crossfield in return.
In the first half of the movie, this scene. Chuck had already broken the sound barrier, by reaching Mach 1.
But oh no! He got beat out by Scott Crossfield who reached Mach 2, and the press was all over it, like white on rice.
The news reporter wanted to turn this into a sensational competition, rivalry between Yeager and Crossfield, yet the brothers would have none of it.
Chuck gets up, goes to the bar to get a refill of beer in his glass.
As Chuck is standing there with his back toward Crossfield, the pilot tipped his beer bottle in a toast to Chuck. Without seeing him or looking at him, with his back still to him, Chuck raised his glass to Crossfield in return.
Indigo Children
Supposedly there is supposed to be this phenomenon involving more and more Indigo children coming to this earth. I don't remember where I first stumbled across this idea, that there are non-earthling souls entering the bodies of earthlings, who are supposed to come here to help the human beings ... to save them.
So I went to a website, and learned more about indigo children, and I thought wow! This website is describing me, other than the fact that I don't have blue eyes. But after reading it one can see that it applies to everyone.
Supposedly you have to have blue eyes to be an indigo.
Here are characteristics of an "Indigo Child" :
Characteristics
Carroll and Tober identify ten attributes that they believe describe Indigo children[1]:
1. They come into the world with a feeling of royalty (and often act like it).
2. They have a feeling of "deserving to be here," and are surprised when others do not share that.
3. Self-worth is not a big issue; they often tell the parents "who they are."
4. They have difficulty with absolute authority (authority without explanation or choice).
5. They simply will not do certain things; for example, waiting in line is difficult for them.
6. They get frustrated with systems that are ritually oriented and do not require creative thought.
7. They often see better ways of doing things, both at home and in school, which makes them seem like "system busters" (non-conforming to any system).
8. They seem antisocial unless they are with their own kind. If there are no others of like consciousness around them, they often turn inward, feeling like no other human understands them. School is often extremely difficult for them socially.
9. They will not respond to "guilt" discipline ("Wait till your father gets home and finds out what you did").
10. They are not shy in letting it be known what they need.
**************************************************************
Other than not having blue eyes, most of what is described of an indigo child is me. I am somewhat psychic, sometimes I wish I wasn't. I have a fine-tuned memory of things that happened to me before I was born, things that happened to me when I was a small baby. I also am very rebellious, and have pursued a career in law to use to turn against the evil that is wreaking havoc on us, disturbing the balance that is struck. Ever since I was a child I knew the answers to things. Adults never listened to me, and it frustrated the hell out of me.
But does this make me an indigo child? I Doubt it. I am special, but I am not any more special than the next person.
We all have our unique gifts.
As for the psychic thing, it really started to hit when I started smoking pot. One day as a teenager, while working at the dry cleaners, while wearing these tight purple pants, I dropped something. My ass was facing the man customer. When I bent down to pick up the thing I dropped on the floor, I felt this vibration, like I was being penetrated, and I heard the man's voice in my head. I turned around and looked at this man, and he had this horny look on his face. I was somewhat offended, yet flattered at the same time.
One day I was at Ted's house. The first time I met Ted, we both just looked at each other, feeling this fuzzy feeling swarming around us. We both had a look of curiosity on our faces, and then at the same time we said to each other, "I know you from somewhere before." But we had never met. Yet at this point of meeting each other, we spent a lot of time together. We had sex, it was not fantastic, because I was not into him that way, so then He got angry with me. And started messing with my head, scaring me, freaking me out. Because his voice was inside my head and he was laughing while doing this to me. Then he held up the palm of his hand and said, "what do you see?" I saw the Rolling Stones logo, the Mouth.
I can't stand the Rolling Stones. I told him what I saw and he said yep. So then he started messing with my head even more, to the point I started having crazy dreams. So I knew that I could go to my theater professor about this. I had never talked to her about any of this stuff, and one day after class I said, "Professor, I need to talk to you about something that is not related to class, but it is an emergency that I am having." Concerned, she said, "okay, let us go to my office."
She took out a shell and lit some sage and cedar and stuff, and burned it at the threshold of her office. I said, "you are going to think that I am crazy, but I have been having a guy who is messing with my head, and I had a dream about you, and you were able to help me so this is why I am here." I went on about how he was getting into my head, I could hear his voice echoing in my head, and then I told her about him showing freaky things with the palm of his hand. Little holograms of images. She said, "oh that is known as the black mirror." Then she helped me find my center, and I quit hanging around Ted.
So anyway, that is one example of hundreds of what I perceive on an almost daily basis.
But back to the Indigo Children phenomenon. I don't really know a whole lot about it, but what I believe, is this is not a new phenomenon. These are not souls of extraterrestrial life force, any more than the others, if there are others and whatever they may be, occupying the bodies of human beings. These are people who have been around since the beginning of time. Should we be giving them this special label? I don't know.
I wonder what my Chickasaw spirit people would say? HOw can I know because they are not in their place in space.... instead they have been taken apart and put on display for people to see.
I do not see this as 100% disastrous, I see it is a bringing of an awareness, of just how it important it is that the ancestral ways be recognized, honored, respected. Not treated as blasphemy, heresy, or whatever the words may be to justify killing anyone who practices these ways.
Snake Dance may ye live on in the people!
(wish i could say something in Chickasaw here, but since I can't I will just say
~~ Shundahai ~~
And as for there being only a certain class of "indigo children" I say bullocks. This could be some people some time, some people all the time, all people part of the time, and all people all of the time.
It really is a choice one makes. The whole psychic thing. Ted wanted to see if I was game, but I was not in that way.
Instead like many people I have come across, my way is more of focusing in on the nuclear thing.
Which brings me to the "Sister China" dream that I had. In the dream I was risen up over the West and looking to the East, and there she was, from around the horizon, risen up from the East, beyond the waters.
She looked at me as ugly American greedy asshole sons of bitches, because I represented America. She represented China, and I remember conveying to her, "let us not look at each other as something just because of from where we come. You and me, we are sisters. Please do not be angry at me."
But it was too late, because behind her was a bright light of an A-bomb explosion, as it exploded, like slow motion, she turned and caught a glimpse of the mushroom cloud, and then turned around back at me.
Sister China's facial expression changed... from anger at me, to being angry at the bomb. Her expression changed to fear not of me, an American, but of the A-bomb.
The next day I was at the bar for a NASA meeting, when what's his face who worked at the Earthquake Research Center told me that China conducted a nuclear test while we were sleeping and that it measured 3.4 on the Richter Scale.
Oh China.
So I went to a website, and learned more about indigo children, and I thought wow! This website is describing me, other than the fact that I don't have blue eyes. But after reading it one can see that it applies to everyone.
Supposedly you have to have blue eyes to be an indigo.
Here are characteristics of an "Indigo Child" :
Characteristics
Carroll and Tober identify ten attributes that they believe describe Indigo children[1]:
1. They come into the world with a feeling of royalty (and often act like it).
2. They have a feeling of "deserving to be here," and are surprised when others do not share that.
3. Self-worth is not a big issue; they often tell the parents "who they are."
4. They have difficulty with absolute authority (authority without explanation or choice).
5. They simply will not do certain things; for example, waiting in line is difficult for them.
6. They get frustrated with systems that are ritually oriented and do not require creative thought.
7. They often see better ways of doing things, both at home and in school, which makes them seem like "system busters" (non-conforming to any system).
8. They seem antisocial unless they are with their own kind. If there are no others of like consciousness around them, they often turn inward, feeling like no other human understands them. School is often extremely difficult for them socially.
9. They will not respond to "guilt" discipline ("Wait till your father gets home and finds out what you did").
10. They are not shy in letting it be known what they need.
**************************************************************
Other than not having blue eyes, most of what is described of an indigo child is me. I am somewhat psychic, sometimes I wish I wasn't. I have a fine-tuned memory of things that happened to me before I was born, things that happened to me when I was a small baby. I also am very rebellious, and have pursued a career in law to use to turn against the evil that is wreaking havoc on us, disturbing the balance that is struck. Ever since I was a child I knew the answers to things. Adults never listened to me, and it frustrated the hell out of me.
But does this make me an indigo child? I Doubt it. I am special, but I am not any more special than the next person.
We all have our unique gifts.
As for the psychic thing, it really started to hit when I started smoking pot. One day as a teenager, while working at the dry cleaners, while wearing these tight purple pants, I dropped something. My ass was facing the man customer. When I bent down to pick up the thing I dropped on the floor, I felt this vibration, like I was being penetrated, and I heard the man's voice in my head. I turned around and looked at this man, and he had this horny look on his face. I was somewhat offended, yet flattered at the same time.
One day I was at Ted's house. The first time I met Ted, we both just looked at each other, feeling this fuzzy feeling swarming around us. We both had a look of curiosity on our faces, and then at the same time we said to each other, "I know you from somewhere before." But we had never met. Yet at this point of meeting each other, we spent a lot of time together. We had sex, it was not fantastic, because I was not into him that way, so then He got angry with me. And started messing with my head, scaring me, freaking me out. Because his voice was inside my head and he was laughing while doing this to me. Then he held up the palm of his hand and said, "what do you see?" I saw the Rolling Stones logo, the Mouth.
I can't stand the Rolling Stones. I told him what I saw and he said yep. So then he started messing with my head even more, to the point I started having crazy dreams. So I knew that I could go to my theater professor about this. I had never talked to her about any of this stuff, and one day after class I said, "Professor, I need to talk to you about something that is not related to class, but it is an emergency that I am having." Concerned, she said, "okay, let us go to my office."
She took out a shell and lit some sage and cedar and stuff, and burned it at the threshold of her office. I said, "you are going to think that I am crazy, but I have been having a guy who is messing with my head, and I had a dream about you, and you were able to help me so this is why I am here." I went on about how he was getting into my head, I could hear his voice echoing in my head, and then I told her about him showing freaky things with the palm of his hand. Little holograms of images. She said, "oh that is known as the black mirror." Then she helped me find my center, and I quit hanging around Ted.
So anyway, that is one example of hundreds of what I perceive on an almost daily basis.
But back to the Indigo Children phenomenon. I don't really know a whole lot about it, but what I believe, is this is not a new phenomenon. These are not souls of extraterrestrial life force, any more than the others, if there are others and whatever they may be, occupying the bodies of human beings. These are people who have been around since the beginning of time. Should we be giving them this special label? I don't know.
I wonder what my Chickasaw spirit people would say? HOw can I know because they are not in their place in space.... instead they have been taken apart and put on display for people to see.
I do not see this as 100% disastrous, I see it is a bringing of an awareness, of just how it important it is that the ancestral ways be recognized, honored, respected. Not treated as blasphemy, heresy, or whatever the words may be to justify killing anyone who practices these ways.
Snake Dance may ye live on in the people!
(wish i could say something in Chickasaw here, but since I can't I will just say
~~ Shundahai ~~
And as for there being only a certain class of "indigo children" I say bullocks. This could be some people some time, some people all the time, all people part of the time, and all people all of the time.
It really is a choice one makes. The whole psychic thing. Ted wanted to see if I was game, but I was not in that way.
Instead like many people I have come across, my way is more of focusing in on the nuclear thing.
Which brings me to the "Sister China" dream that I had. In the dream I was risen up over the West and looking to the East, and there she was, from around the horizon, risen up from the East, beyond the waters.
She looked at me as ugly American greedy asshole sons of bitches, because I represented America. She represented China, and I remember conveying to her, "let us not look at each other as something just because of from where we come. You and me, we are sisters. Please do not be angry at me."
But it was too late, because behind her was a bright light of an A-bomb explosion, as it exploded, like slow motion, she turned and caught a glimpse of the mushroom cloud, and then turned around back at me.
Sister China's facial expression changed... from anger at me, to being angry at the bomb. Her expression changed to fear not of me, an American, but of the A-bomb.
The next day I was at the bar for a NASA meeting, when what's his face who worked at the Earthquake Research Center told me that China conducted a nuclear test while we were sleeping and that it measured 3.4 on the Richter Scale.
Oh China.
1872 Mining Stuff
http://www.themountainmail.com/main.asp?SectionID=7&SubSectionID=7&ArticleID=11248
Mining companies digging our pockets
Guest Opinion
by Ryan Alexander
Thursday, June 21, 2007
When lawmakers make legislative mistakes, it can take a long time to fix the error. That's the nature of a deliberative body. Wednesday was the "birthday" of one piece of legislation that has taken longer to fix than any other we know of - the General Mining Act of 1872 (more commonly referred to as the 1872 mining law).
The "granddaddy" of federal subsidies is alive and going strong, but rest assured we won't be throwing it a party or buying it presents. No, the only ones getting presents today are the gold, copper and other mineral companies that are the beneficiaries of 135 years of subsidies and giveaways.
The 1872 mining law robs taxpayers by allowing companies to "patent" - take title of - public lands for the rock bottom price of $5 an acre (that's a measly 31 cents per acre when adjusted for inflation!), a giveaway signed by Ulysses S. Grant as a way to help populate the western United States.
Once they have purchased this practically free land, mining companies are allowed to extract metals and minerals - an estimated $245 billion worth over the years - without paying a dime in royalties.
To be clear, we are not talking about subsidies going to the old '49ers who set up camp during California's gold rush back in the 19th Century. Today, minerals are mined by big companies making even bigger profits.
Every year, billions of dollars of gold, silver, and copper are taken from public lands, and Uncle Sam is literally giving the stuff away.
In 2006, Australian-based Rio Tinto reported profits of $7.9 billion and Canadian-based Barrick Gold Corporation sold over $4.4 billion worth of gold. It total, these two companies alone hold 39,322 claims covering 785,490 public acres in the United States.
Unlike other extractive industries, hard rock mining companies can dig for gold, silver and other precious metals and minerals on taxpayer-owned lands for free. Coal, oil, and natural gas companies must pay a royalty back to the U.S. Treasury that runs as high as 16 percent of the value of the resource they extract.
It only makes sense that these companies pay a royalty. Taxpayers should not give away free commodities that private companies will turn around and sell. And it shouldn't be any different for mining companies.
According to a recent analysis of government mining records, just 10 mining interests, five of which are foreign-owned corporations, own more than one-sixth of all claims.
These 10 companies hold 86,396 claims, representing 1,720,380 acres of public lands. In 1993, the largest of these companies, Barrick Gold Corporation, patented claims in Nevada for a mere $10,000. The estimated mineral value of those claims was $10 billion.
Adding insult to injury is that taxpayers foot the bill for billions of dollars in cleanup costs when mines are stripped bare and abandoned. One estimate puts the total cleanup cost at between $32 billion and $72 billion.
Reform of the 1872 mining law is more urgent than ever. Taxpayers have already given away many billions of dollars worth of metals and minerals, and new energy trends indicate the pace of the giveaway could accelerate without congressional action.
With the nuclear power industry pushing to increase their market share, companies looking to mine uranium have staked hundreds of new claims on public lands in the West hoping to cash in. Speculation in recent years has already caused uranium prices to double, and with gold and silver prices riding high, the pressure is like never before to exploit the bygone 1872 mining law for private gain.
As that mining law grows another year older, Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.V.) is leading an effort to modernize it. You can be sure that the deep pockets of the mining industry will fight like crazy to keep the subsidies flowing, so it's going to take a lot of hard work to ensure that substantial reforms are enacted and taxpayers are protected. Let's just hope we don't have to wait another 135 years for reform.
Ryan Alexander is president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a non-partisan federal budget watchdog. Column distributed by MinutemanMedia.org.
=== EARTHWORKS
Protecting Communities and the Environment ===
Mining companies digging our pockets
Guest Opinion
by Ryan Alexander
Thursday, June 21, 2007
When lawmakers make legislative mistakes, it can take a long time to fix the error. That's the nature of a deliberative body. Wednesday was the "birthday" of one piece of legislation that has taken longer to fix than any other we know of - the General Mining Act of 1872 (more commonly referred to as the 1872 mining law).
The "granddaddy" of federal subsidies is alive and going strong, but rest assured we won't be throwing it a party or buying it presents. No, the only ones getting presents today are the gold, copper and other mineral companies that are the beneficiaries of 135 years of subsidies and giveaways.
The 1872 mining law robs taxpayers by allowing companies to "patent" - take title of - public lands for the rock bottom price of $5 an acre (that's a measly 31 cents per acre when adjusted for inflation!), a giveaway signed by Ulysses S. Grant as a way to help populate the western United States.
Once they have purchased this practically free land, mining companies are allowed to extract metals and minerals - an estimated $245 billion worth over the years - without paying a dime in royalties.
To be clear, we are not talking about subsidies going to the old '49ers who set up camp during California's gold rush back in the 19th Century. Today, minerals are mined by big companies making even bigger profits.
Every year, billions of dollars of gold, silver, and copper are taken from public lands, and Uncle Sam is literally giving the stuff away.
In 2006, Australian-based Rio Tinto reported profits of $7.9 billion and Canadian-based Barrick Gold Corporation sold over $4.4 billion worth of gold. It total, these two companies alone hold 39,322 claims covering 785,490 public acres in the United States.
Unlike other extractive industries, hard rock mining companies can dig for gold, silver and other precious metals and minerals on taxpayer-owned lands for free. Coal, oil, and natural gas companies must pay a royalty back to the U.S. Treasury that runs as high as 16 percent of the value of the resource they extract.
It only makes sense that these companies pay a royalty. Taxpayers should not give away free commodities that private companies will turn around and sell. And it shouldn't be any different for mining companies.
According to a recent analysis of government mining records, just 10 mining interests, five of which are foreign-owned corporations, own more than one-sixth of all claims.
These 10 companies hold 86,396 claims, representing 1,720,380 acres of public lands. In 1993, the largest of these companies, Barrick Gold Corporation, patented claims in Nevada for a mere $10,000. The estimated mineral value of those claims was $10 billion.
Adding insult to injury is that taxpayers foot the bill for billions of dollars in cleanup costs when mines are stripped bare and abandoned. One estimate puts the total cleanup cost at between $32 billion and $72 billion.
Reform of the 1872 mining law is more urgent than ever. Taxpayers have already given away many billions of dollars worth of metals and minerals, and new energy trends indicate the pace of the giveaway could accelerate without congressional action.
With the nuclear power industry pushing to increase their market share, companies looking to mine uranium have staked hundreds of new claims on public lands in the West hoping to cash in. Speculation in recent years has already caused uranium prices to double, and with gold and silver prices riding high, the pressure is like never before to exploit the bygone 1872 mining law for private gain.
As that mining law grows another year older, Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.V.) is leading an effort to modernize it. You can be sure that the deep pockets of the mining industry will fight like crazy to keep the subsidies flowing, so it's going to take a lot of hard work to ensure that substantial reforms are enacted and taxpayers are protected. Let's just hope we don't have to wait another 135 years for reform.
Ryan Alexander is president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a non-partisan federal budget watchdog. Column distributed by MinutemanMedia.org.
=== EARTHWORKS
Protecting Communities and the Environment ===
Thursday, June 21, 2007
GEORGE BUSH VISITS A NUKE PLANT
George Bush visits Browns Ferry in North Alabama today. I am not surprised that this is the way that George would want to spend the Summer Solstice.
This nuke plant is the same one that was the subject of a security breach last August 2006. The Department of Homeland Security wants answers from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on just how this security breach happened. Unfortunately I haven't had time to fully research this issue, because I am struggling with learning the difference between comparative negligence, partial comparative negligence, specific intent crimes vs. general intent crimes, admissibility of evidence and whether it is past recollection recorded, or present sense impression recorded, and all aspects of judicial review... all of which comprises roughly 8% of the Bar Exam material that I will need to know to pass the Bar Exam so that I can better serve the anti-nuke fight.
This blog post is here to memorialize the fact that I need not forget about Browns Ferry and the security breach of August 2006 that was covered up until last month of 2007. To serve as a reminder that this is one of my first projects after taking the Bar Exam, on top of many other pressing issues. I have a cousin who works at this plant! Although a staunch Republican who is so lost from his indigenous roots that he doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground, thanks to the wonderful brainwashing techniques of Fundamentalist Bible thumping melded with the societal pressures of living in a small Southern town, it's okay, because cousin here has his back.
This nuke plant is the same one that was the subject of a security breach last August 2006. The Department of Homeland Security wants answers from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on just how this security breach happened. Unfortunately I haven't had time to fully research this issue, because I am struggling with learning the difference between comparative negligence, partial comparative negligence, specific intent crimes vs. general intent crimes, admissibility of evidence and whether it is past recollection recorded, or present sense impression recorded, and all aspects of judicial review... all of which comprises roughly 8% of the Bar Exam material that I will need to know to pass the Bar Exam so that I can better serve the anti-nuke fight.
This blog post is here to memorialize the fact that I need not forget about Browns Ferry and the security breach of August 2006 that was covered up until last month of 2007. To serve as a reminder that this is one of my first projects after taking the Bar Exam, on top of many other pressing issues. I have a cousin who works at this plant! Although a staunch Republican who is so lost from his indigenous roots that he doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground, thanks to the wonderful brainwashing techniques of Fundamentalist Bible thumping melded with the societal pressures of living in a small Southern town, it's okay, because cousin here has his back.
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