A BLESSED AND HOPEFUL 2012 TO ALL

These young Haitian refugees recently arrived in Brasiléia AC, full of hope for a better life in Brazil.

JOY FROM BRAZIL

Brasil Pandeiro por Luigi Bertolli
(Brazil Tambourine by Luigi Bertolli)

FELIZ NATAL

Love, Light, Peace, Blessings and Good Things to All.

Amor, luz, paz, bênçãos e coisas boas para todos.

SOLSTICE: INTO THE LIGHT OR THE DARK?

"the light at the end of the tunnel" -- photo by AlicePopkorn at Flickr

This year, the Solstice occurs on the morning of 22 December when the arc of the sun reverses the journey of light and darkness in our days. If you are in the North, you'll be heading into more light as we in the South will be heading into more darkness. It all depends on where one stands.

Might it be like that as well in the interior world where we also take a stand? What determines our view of our individual and collective futures? What obstacles must be overcome? Václav Havel, who led a "velvet revolution" against totalitarian rule in Czechoslovakia and recently died, left us a poignant point-of-view:

For the real question is whether the brighter future is really always so distant. What if, on the contrary, it has been here for a long time already, and only our own blindness and weakness has prevented us from seeing it around us and within us, and kept us from developing it? (from The Power of the Powerless)

TIME FOR OFFERING TEARS FOR THOSE UNDER BRUTAL REGIMES AND GRATITUDE FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT

One atrocious event in Egypt in a world of far too many events like this one. I post it just because I have some faith in awareness -- that somehow feeling the pain can lead to better outcomes and even mere tears will not be in vain.

CESÁRIA ÉVORA -- SAUDADES

Cesária Évora, who brought the music of the tiny Cape Verde islands off Senegal to a worldwide audience, died on Saturday in Mindelo, on São Vicente, her native island in Cape Verde. She was famous for bringing the melancholy morna style, which is full of what is known in Portuguese as saudade, to the world.

Saudade is a word that is impossible to translate adequately. It describes a deep emotional state of nostalgic longing for something or someone that was held dearly but is now lost. The feeling, somehow, is also very sweet because it recalls something truly loved that survives in the heart -- a loss that lives on and brings a guiding light. The world now says, "saudades" and knows that the light of Cesária Évora will live on.

More at...

Al Jazeera newscast

Cesária Évora web site

SHOP TILL YOU DROP

Shop Till You Drop by Bansky

More wall art by Bansky here.

TO OUR SAVIORS

View more from the master image-maker el silencio.

DEFORESTATION IN BRAZIL: WILL THERE BE MORE OR LESS?

Deforestation for cattle in Capixaba, Acre, Brazil

[Update December 16, 2011: Greenpeace Brazil reports that a law was passed and signed that would exclude the Federal enforcement agency IBAMA from policing against illegal logging, passing the responsibility to local authorities who are often less resistant to violations of the law.]

The fierce struggle over setting limits to deforestation in Brazil continues. The good news is that the final vote on a revised Forest Code has been delayed until March, 2012 which pushes it close to the major UN environmental conference RIO+20 where President Dilma hopes to showcase Brazil as a global green leader who can halt deforestation and demonstrate sustainable development.

The bad news is that the delay was forced in the Chamber of Deputies by the powerful agribusiness bloc that does not want to accept even the relatively small green amendments that were introduced as the proposed law passed through the Senate. So, the battle lines have been drawn and across the next months we can expect intense campaigning on all sides.

Here's how the World Wildlife Fund sees the situation:

IS GOD BRAZILIAN?

Chevron's oil spill off the coast of Brazil.

Brazil got lucky this time in that the spill came on a Chevron project rather than on a Brazilian Petrobras project. Pointing the finger at the bad gringo corporation is a great smokescreen to hide the fact that Brazil is investing billions in dangerous extreme deep-water drilling that will inevitably produce its share of accidents, not to mention the fossil fuel contribution to global warming. There is so much deep-down oil off the coast Rio de Janeiro state that ex-President Lula and many others previously concluded that "God is Brazilian."
 

A DAY OF VISIONARIES FROM ACRE

Raimundo Irineu Serra (Mestre Irineu)



Françisco Alves Mendes Filho Cena (Chico Mendes)

Today is the anniversary of the birth of two great men who received their missions deep in Brazil's western-most state of Acre, back when it truly seemed as the end of the world. But for them it was the center of the universe and a place from which they could launch their visions into the world.

A DROP OF WATER + 10

A brilliant Brazilian campaign against the Belomonte monster dam, with some of the country's biggest stars, is going viral -- more than 1,200,00 hits so far in the Brazilian version. The English version is above. Please help amplify it -- sign and share now.

When you start the video, there should be English subtitles. If not, click on the red CC button at the lower right of the player frame and choose English. Also, you can eliminate the captions by clicking on the blank red button.

The petition (in English and Portuguese) is here.

ALL MY RELATIONS

I have this little altar where I place the symbols of some of my important pieces, shift them around, and look at them in diverse ways. It's a fun meditation. Sometimes, when it seems too fascinating, I get get saved by remembering the Buddha raising his hand and saying, "Finger pointing to the moon -- look at the moon, not the finger." And then I recall being told, "Don't look at altars. Something was put in your heart for a reason. Just look in your heart." Can't really talk about that but I sometimes I get a few pointers at the altar -- like now -- and I feel grateful.

FRIDA KALHO

WHO BY FIRE?

Based on an ancient Hebrew chant of atonement, Leonard Cohen's classic wake-up call offers a profound response to the hubris that dominates our world.

"Who shall I say is calling?"

THE TIMES (CLIMATE) ARE A CHANGIN

Disastrous Deal in Durban: "The main element of the deal struck in Durban is that all the world’s countries will start discussions next year aimed at signing an agreement by 2015 that will come into force in 2020." (read more)

Nina Simone's cover of the Bob Dylan classic has the perfect tone of righteous anger:

ADDICTED TO RISK

Selected as one of the best TED Talks of the year, here's a sample of Naomi at her best.

[Note: Obama decided to reduce the political risk of tar sand oil by deferring the Keystone pipeline decision until after the 2012 election. Now, Canada must decide whether to wait for the US market to open or to build a pipeline to the Pacific for shipment to Asia. It's all about where, when and how and not about NOT doing it -- that's how the addiction works.]

HOW TO ENJOY LIFE

Looks like fun. So simple.

CAPITALISM AND THE CLIMATE

Once again, Naomi Klein nails it. Capitalism-vs-climate is a must read.

Klein's view will seem radical to those steeped too deeply in market mythologies that don't work well as limits are reached. Here's a brief helpful background video about why we are stuck in a growth economy. If you want a more in-depth ecological view check out Herman Daly's Toward a Steady State Economy.

This is not an ideological rant. It's the emerging ancient-future awareness that nature is reciprocal -- the only way to keep taking is to keep giving back and there's no place other than the earth itself where capital accumulation leads to a virtuous cycle of abundance and consumption. We reap what we sow -- nothing more and nothing less. Mutuality more than competition leads to survival.

IF PRAYER WOULD DO IT

If prayer would do it
I'd pray.

If reading esteemed thinkers would do it
I'd be halfway through the Patriarchs.

IS DILMA DECIDING TO SIDE WITH THE BIG POLLUTERS SEEKING A CLIMATE TREATY DELAY IN DURBAN?

In a shocking development, the BBC reports:

The politics of the UN climate process are undergoing something of a fundamental transformation. Increasingly, countries are dividing into one group that wants a new global treaty as soon as possible - the EU plus lots of developing countries - and another that prefers a delay and perhaps something less rigorous than a full treaty. The US, Russia and Japan were already arguing for a longer timeframe. ...But BBC News has learned that Brazil and India took the same position.

AVAAZ says, "President Dilma is considering the unthinkable -- siding with the US and other big polluters at UN climate negotiations in Durban. We have to bring her to her senses before it's too late." Here is the petition.

"THE FIRST TIME EVER I SAW YOUR FACE"

Possibly the greatest love song ever written, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" is a 1957 folk song written by Ewan MacColl for his wife Peggy Seeger. It was popularized by Roberta Flack and became a breakout hit for the singer after it appeared in the 1971 Clint Eastward film Play Misty for Me. Though the song first appeared on Flack's 1969 album First Take, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 and won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year three years later.

FROM THE FASTEST FINGERS IN THE WORLD

Paco de Lucia, John McLaughlin and Al di Meola at the Mediterranean Sundance

THE SAMAÚMA IS STILL CALLING

Four years ago -- during more ecologically sensitive times -- the Brazilian Government, the NGOs and the World Bank all cooperated to produce this magnificent video. That was before Dilma Rousseff and her developmentalist comrades in mining, energy and agribusiness took control and decided to ramrod the Belo Monte Monster Dam and the weakening of Brazil's Forest Code. As the political mood changed and the world looked on aghast, the Call of the Samaúma has become even more urgent. Please join the beat and pass it on.

Amazon Watch and Comitê Brasil are excellent sites to watch for latest developments.

BRAZIL WINS FOSSIL OF THE DAY AWARD

For the first time in the history of the "Fossil of the Day" award, Brazil took first place for its ridiculous statements in defense of its new forest code. The Climate Action Network (CAN) -- a worldwide network of over 700 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in more than 90 countries, working to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels -- is giving the awards for absurd statements being made at the UN Climate talks being held in Durban, South Africa. Read more about it here.

HERE'S TO THE CRAZY ONES

"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify and vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as crazy, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."

THE WORLD TO DILMA: Save the Amazon

Thousands marched through the streets of São Paulo earlier this year.

1,408,899 people from more than 100 countries have signed a petition at Avaaz.org calling on President Dilma to make Brazil an international leader on the environment by taking immediate action to save Brazil's precious forests.

THREATS TO AMAZÔNIA: An excellent analysis from Philip Fearnside

Re-posted from the Financial Times

The Amazonian biome faces multiple threats, ranging from deforestation to climate change. Although the forest’s vastness can give a false sense of security, many of the forces leading to its destruction are expected to increase.

FIDDLING WHILE THE AMAZON BURNS

Re-posted from The Economist

Keeping the world’s biggest forest standing depends on greens, Amerindians and enlightened farmers working together—if lawmakers let them

Dec 3rd 2011 | JACI-PARANÁ, RONDÔNIA

HELP NEEDED: A CALL FOR TRANSLATORS

The award-winning documentary (below) gives an excellent review of the struggle for the Sanctuary of Shamans in Brasilia. It needs to be translated from Portuguese to English. If you are bi-lingual (English and Portuguese) and would like to help, please contact Marcello Pedroso -- cellopedroso@gmail.com -- who is coordinating the group translation project.

Here is the video in Portuguese:

THE BLESSING OF FRIENDSHIP RENEWED

Grandmother Agness Pilgrim and me -- Photo by Marisol Villanueva

My October reunion in Brasilia with Grandmother Agnes Pilgrim, one of my dearest friends from Oregon, brought tears of joy to my eyes. At near 90 years of walking this earth, she traveled all the way to Brazil to be with the Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers. May the Creator grant her many more years of spreading her smiles and blessings around the world.

Salvé Vovó Aggie

PLEASE HELP OUR FRIENDS ALVARO TUKANO AND PAJÉ SANTXÎE

Eye-to-eye with Alvaro Tukano

[Correction: In an earlier version of this post Alvaro Tukano was mistakenly identified as Pajé Santxiê. Sorry for the confusion. See a Pajé Santxîe photo at the end of this post.]

On a recent trip to Brasilia, I made a friend. It was an "Indian sort of thing" of looking into each others eyes and "just knowing." What happened is that I asked Alvaro Tukano if I could take his picture. He surprised me by grabbing my camera and giving it to someone else to take our picture. He looked into my eyes and said, "You are a warrior of the forest. You have friends. We need more friends." It was a done deal. Perhaps the "indigenous eye" already saw this post in the mind but I'm only now becoming aware of the story as I write this post.

"It's complicated", as they love to say in Brazil,  but Alvaro Tukano knows that friendship can cut through the complexities. Here's the short version of the problem and how you can help:

LET THERE BE LIGHT

A GOOD IDEA: Let's All do It

... or at least start by singing about doing it. Even if the world stays as it is, we don't have to give them our sense of humor.

ONE OF MY ALL-TIME FAVORITES

Thanks to Juba for posting this marvelous find.

SPECTACULAR DIGITAL CULTURE FESTIVAL IN RIO

The Festival of CulturaDigital.Br begins next Thursday (02 December) with ex-Minister of Culture and world musician Gilberto Gil as its special ambassador.

THE DAILY VIEW: Forest Beings

When I was a child I loved to imagine faces and critters in the clouds or cracks in the sidewalks or, especially, in the bark of trees. A few weeks ago I spent a few hours wandering through the forest trying to recapture that child's way of seeing. I was able to record some of the results with the camera. (Guess I'm still crazy after all these years. Graças a Deus!)

SWITCHING ON THE LIGHTS AFTER BLACK FRIDAY: Two Options

"One hundred thousand people flocked to see the offical festive switch-on of the metal structure floating on Rio's Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon. The 542 tonne structure, wrapped in 3.3 million light bulbs was the centrepiece of an eight minute fireworks show, which has become one of the city's main tourist attractions. More than a million people are expected to view the structure before the lights are turned off on Three Kings' Day on January 6." (via UK Telegraph)

BAD FOREST CODE PASSES BRAZILIAN SENATE

In what may go down as one of the worst environmental crimes of the 21st Century, the Brazilian Senate voted on Wednesday to retain most of the bad changes to the national Forest Code that had passed the House of Deputies earlier this year. Brazil's international commitments to mitigating climate change, maintaining biodiversity and it's status before the upcoming RIO+20 global environmental meetings are now on collision course with the insatiable demand of its agri-business sector. In the coming months the issue will be laid squarely before President Dilma Rousseff who has thus far avoided comment.

"GAIA IS A TOUGH BITCH": Lynn Margulis, RIP

Lynn Margulis receiving the National Science Award -- photo by Paul Hosefos/The New York Times

Lynn Margulis, who was one of the giants of evolutionary biology and the co-author with James Lovelock of the original Gaiia Hypothesis, has died. Famously and controversially she has asserted that life at the cellular level is a community and that mutuality or symbiosis is as significant as random mutation in evolution. She also challenged the New Age fuzzy-wuzzy gentle Earth Goddess spin given to the Gaiia Hypothesis saying that, "Gaiia is a tough bitch." But, in this era of climate change, her observation of what happens when science and culture clash strikes me as the most poignant: "If science doesn't fit in with the cultural milieu, people dismiss science, they never reject their cultural milieu!"

Even though I understand little of the deep science that underlies her work, I've always intuitively identified with her spirit and mission ("I didn't believe things from books or authorities; I wanted to find out for myself."). In reading about her today, I got a hint as to a possible source of my affinity toward her -- she was born in Chicago on March 5, 1938, as was I. Maybe, it's in the stars.

Continue over the jump for a text about Gaiia and a great video interview.

GIVING THANKS

My mother Alice Zabelin Gold was born in Chicago, Illinois on Thanksgiving Day in 1910, the first of five children born to my Russian immigrant grandparents Barney and Minnie Zabelin who came to the USA for a better life. Alice gave her better life to me. I am eternally grateful.

SITA SINGS THE BLUES

This marvelous ancient-future animation has been online for a few years but somehow I missed it until now when it gives me a big chuckle and the occasion for a happy share.

Learn more from the animator Nina Paley here.

WORTH PONDERING

A POIGNANT POINT-OF-VIEW

From the NY Times columnist Roger Cohen:

In France, according to a Pew Research Center survey, only 27 percent of the population now believes that “our people are not perfect, but our culture is superior.”

I haven’t read such depressing news in a long time. When humility overtakes French culture, it’s over, folks.

Here in the United States, according to the same survey, 60 percent of Americans over 50 believe “our culture is superior.”

I’m not sure what’s more terrifying: the new French modesty or an old U.S. delusion.

GLOBALIZATION'S FINEST

YES! Our new world of connectivity can be very beautiful.

THE DAILY VIEW: Library Layers

Libraries can be a playground for the imagination. The Biblioteca Publica in Rio Branco is a marvelous place. Here is a single photo of trees, fish, cars, houses, books and more that I saw while going to the children's area. The child in my eye (and camera) was delighted.

BRAZIL'S RISING INFLUENCE MEETS RESISTANCE

Noah Friedman-Rudovsky for The New York Times -- Bolivian indigenous groups undertook a 325-mile march from the central lowlands to La Paz, to protest a Brazilian-backed road project through their territory. More Photos »

Re-posted from the NY Times

By SIMON ROMERO

LA PAZ, Bolivia — Sandal-clad indigenous protesters have excoriated their president, calling him a “lackey of Brazil.” Angry demonstrations in front of Brazil’s embassy here denounced its “imperialist” tendencies. Bolivian intellectuals lambasted the “São Paulo bourgeoisie,” likening them to the slave hunters who expanded the boundaries of colonial Brazil. 

THE MESSAGE

I recently had the privilege, at the Gathering of the Grandmothers in Brasilia, of meeting and listening to some representatives of the peoples of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia.

The speaker said something that struck me as profound: "We don't have religion. We have nature." I know that I'll be contemplating its meaning for a long time. The message comes from the heart of the world.

THE DIVIDED MIND

BELO MONTE UPDATE

Brazilian Amazon groups invade the construction site and withdraw peacefully.

The NY Times report is here.

Press releases and news via Amazon Watch are here.

SENDING UP PRAYERS

The finale of the recent visit of the Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers to Brasilia was a ceremony at the Esplanada in the center of the Brazilian Federal Government to send up prayers for the protection of indigenous lands and the free clear flow of the waters.

More photos from the gathering...

VIVA EVO! VIVA!

Bolivian President Evo Morales -- photo by Jasmine Milani

Bolivian President Evo Morales has sent an amendment to Congress, halting the project to build a road through the Isiboro Secure National Park and Indigenous Territory (TIPNIS), which is home to around 50,000 indigenous people from various ethnic groups. “Therefore, the issue of the TIPNIS has been resolved,” Morales said.

More on the story from BBC.

FEDERAL JUDGE RULES AGAINST BELO MONTE LICENSE

re-posted from Mongabay:

The environmental license for the controversial Belo Monte dam violates the constitutional rights of indigenous communities and is therefore illegal, ruled a federal judge in Brazil on Monday.

Judge Selene Maria de Almeida concluded that the 2005 decree that authorized the dam is illegal because Congress failed to carry out a consultation process with communities that will be affected by the dam. The consultation process is a right guaranteed to indigenous communities under Brazil's constitution.

THE DAILY VIEW: Nossa Senhora Aparecida

Nossa Senhora Aparedcida is the patroness of Brazil and yesterday was Her day. Due to computer problems I couldn't post this yesterday but today I can report that the traditional kid's parties and celebrations were GREAT.

Salve a Rainha do Brasil.
Salve Nossa Senhora Aparecida.

THE DAILY VIEW: On Strike

My old Dell laptop went belly-up last night. I'm not sure if the problem is terminal or if the old guy is just on strike. I was using it while waiting for a better notebook to be returned from a distant repair but the postal workers have been on strike. For the moment that's two strikes against blogging so I'm going to take a break from computer and Internet until it all sorts out. For me, it could be a very good time.

I'll send out an alert when I'm posting again. Hope you'll stay tuned.

"POSTCARD" FROM ACRE

Andrew Revkin requested that I send Dot Earth a blog "postcard" [update: published at Dot Earth on 10/11/11] commenting on the October 3, 2011 press release from Brazil’s Ministry of Environment announcing, "the lowest Amazon deforestation rates for the month of August since monitoring began in 2004."

My response is more of a letter:

SOMETHING'S HAPPENING

Right Here All Over  (Occupy Wall St.) from Alex Mallis on Vimeo.

[Update -- 11 October 2011: Check out Tom Friedman's NY Times Column coincidently with a title similar to this post. Paul Gilding's theme is that we are witnessing The Great Disruption.]

HOW TO BE A SPIRITUAL WARRIOR

[AVAAZ has a petition you can sign in support of the Wall St. protests. The running totals will be posted in the middle of the occupation.]

Deepak Chopra, one the world's leading New Age voices, says,

Right now Wall St. is the pure culture of money at its most selfish, greedy, and anti-social. If you aren't angry about that, you aren't breathing.

THE DAILY VIEW: Iara

Iara - photo by Lou Gold (wall graffiti)

I pass this image of Iara often during late night walks. On the darkened street, she is glowing.

THE DAILY VIEW: Peace

Peace -- image by Lou Gold

Today is the celebration of the life and vision of Saint Francis of Assisi.

OCCUPY WALL STREET MANIFESTO

(Image: Woman at Occupy Wall Street, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from 33498942@N04's photostream)


A manifesto of sorts has emerged from Occupy Wall Street:

THE DAILY VIEW: Unfinished

Unfinished -- photo by Lou Gold

Somehow, this old unfinished wall corner really intrigued me.

THE SALVATION OFFERED BY TREES AND FORESTS

Wisdom from the root of how things work -- trees and forests restore the climate balance on earth. And, if the deforestation does not stop and serious reforestation does not occur, there is very little that we can do.

THE DAILY VIEW: Daughters

Daugthers -- photo by Lou Gold

This is a big weekend for kids in Brazil. There are great parties celebrating Cosme e Damião, martyred twins who by legend are thought to be especially kind to children and give favors in return for sweets. Especially in Rio de Janeiro, children throng to the streets in search of treats and toys on this weekend.

When I first came to Brazil, I was really impressed with the attention and license given to children. It was so different from the "children should be seen but not heard" approach I knew in the States. Once, I asked a friend why he thought Brazilian culture gives such extraordinary attention and celebration to children. His answer was simple, "They are our hope."

THE DAILY VIEW: Night Race

Night Race -- photo by Lou Gold

BOLIVIANS BLAST EVO OVER VIOLENCE AGAINST INDIAN PROTESTS

No doubt about the fact that large projects of infrastructure development are needed to promote the Bolivia's Brazilian-financed model of globalization and economic growth. There is also no doubt that the benefits of these projects arrive at the cost of much destruction... and the local Indians know it. What is new is that they are gaining supporters in the cities and from the labor movement and Evo Morales is being challenged to make his deeds match his promise to defend Pachamama.

THE DAILY VIEW: Waiting

Waiting -- photo by Lou Gold

DAM(N) GOOD NEWS

AMAZING!!! There are TWO good developments to report:


Work must halt on Brazil's monster dam, Belo Monte

Work halted on divisive Myitsone hydro project in Mayanmar

THE DAILY VIEW: São Miguel

São Miguel -- graffiti by Tiago Tosh

Crumbling wall art from a Rio Branco graffiti chapel for the Day of Saint Michael.

VIVA! São Miguel Arcanjo

UPDATE: PROTESTS SPREAD ACROSS BOLIVIA

As protests spread to the cities and a Bolivian labor federation calls strikes in sympathy with the Indians, the march against the road is resuming.

You can offer support and TAKE ACTION at Amazon Watch or AVAAZ.

BOLIVIA SUSPENDS AMAZON ROAD PLANS AFTER INDIANS AND POLICE CLASH

Police blockade road in Bolivia preventing Indian protesters' route to La Paz

Survival International reports, "Bolivia’s President Evo Morales has suspended plans to build a major highway through indigenous peoples’ land in the Amazon rainforest. His decision follows a 40-day protest march, which was brought to an abrupt halt on Sunday, when police used tear gas and truncheons to dispel 1,000 protesters."

Several government ministers have resigned as more protests erupt. There is an
AVAAZ petition gathering 500,000 signatures in support the indigenous people.

More news and analysis here and here.

IS THIS HOW THE GREAT DISRUPTION BEGINS?

Trader Alessio Rastani, in a BBC interview that has gone viral, says that the Eurozone market is going to crash. I don't think than one has to has a Nobel in economics to see that it's a distinct possibility as governments struggle to achieve a rescue plan that many see as "too little and too late".

REVOLUTION

THE DAILY VIEW: Delicacy of the Orient

Delicacy of the Orient -- wall painting by babu

At the Rio Branco restaurant Delicias do Orient a piece of babu's mural depicts the dragon's view of a possible meal.

WANGARI MAATHAI -- "I WILL BE A HUMMINGBIRD"

On Sunday night Wangari Maathai -- the greatly loved and world renown Kenyan carrier of the message of the hummingbird -- passed from among us after a struggle with cancer. She was a passionate advocate for justice, protection of nature and women's rights, which she saw as bundled together in a spiritual environmentalism. She was the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her efforts in Kenya which linked forests, justice and empowerment of women in the (now-global) Greenbelt Movement.

THE DAILY VIEW: Oracle

Oracle -- image by Lou Gold

THE DAILY VIEW: Changes

Changes -- photo by Lou Gold

MOVING PLANET WAS AMAZING

Moving Planet was a worldwide day to move beyond fossil fuels, with over 2000 events in more than 175 countries! Have a look.

THE DAILY VIEW: Night-rider

Night-rider -- photo by Lou Gold

CLASSIC QUOTE

photo -- Allen Brisson-Smith for The New York Times

LAFAYETTE, Minn. — A rash of thefts has law enforcement officials stumped. Among other challenges, the missing hogs are difficult to single out. “They all look alike,” said a sheriff.

THE DAILY VIEW: Night Colors

Night Colors #1 -- photo by Lou Gold

Two versions of this one because I could not decide which I liked best. The second one is over the jump.

IDIOCY AND ADVOCACY

Some good commentary from Timothy Egan....

THE DAILY VIEW: A Rain of Color

A Rain of Color -- photo by Lou Gold

I've often commented on and displayed the extraordinary use of color in Rio Branco. It is said that "color expresses the Acreano will toward happiness." Now, the national oil company Petrobras seems to be using color to express the late-in-the-dry-season desire for rain. Or, perhaps the colors express the happiness that will be felt when the rains finally return. Or, more likely, it's to celebrate Children's Day in Brazil. Either way, it surely reaches for happiness.

[Update - 24 September 2011 -- We had a blessed serious rain last night.]

FLOODING AND STEALING OUR FUTURE

Chief Almir Narayamoga Surui, leader of the Suruí tribe of the Madeira River Basin, Brazil.

Chief Almir Narayamoga Surui is the leader of the Surui people in Rondonia where infrastructure development such as roads, large hydro projects and deforestation are threatening ancestral peoples of the land. On Equinox -- the moment of balance between light and dark -- he spoke to the UN about the imbalance that is spreading across Amazonia.

POETRY COMBINES WITH POLITICS AGAINST THE DAMN DAMS

Poetry from Mayanmar's U Maung Sein Win inspires the global struggle against the damn dams:

Whole forests are cleared and
mountains laid bare

Sand bars emerge at the narrows

Not so far in the future, Myanmar’s people may disappear

Did we drink our own blood?

This is the frightening thought

That one day the river might be dead.

THE DAILY VIEW: No Parking

No Parking -- photo by Lou Gold

THE DAILY VIEW: Terminal

Terminal -- photo by Lou Gold

Equinox day and the sun is passing directly above the equator. Like the buses in the terminal, its arc will turn around for another run.

Here in the Brazilian Amazon the turn of the arc of the sun is toward summer and cooler rainy weather that will be much appreciated after the long hot and dry winter season.