April 22, 2017 by IdealisticRebel

Marching for Mother Earth

March for Science: Rallies worldwide to protest against political interference

Scientists and supporters participate in a March for Science in Washington DC, 22 April 2017 — People marched in Washington DC against President Trump, who is cutting funding for scientific research

Thousands of scientists have taken part in demonstrations around the world in protest against what they see as a global political assault on facts.

The first-ever March for Science, which was timed to coincide with Earth Day, was aimed at promoting action to protect the environment.

Organisers said it was a celebration of science and a call to support and safeguard the scientific community.

The main event was held in Washington DC.

The event’s promoters said the march in the US capital was not aimed against President Donald Trump, while adding that his administration had “catalysed” the movement.

Protesters carried placards that read “Science belongs to everyone” and “Science, not silence”

At the demonstration in Washington DC, Dr Jonathan Foley, the executive director of the California Academy of Sciences, said that research was being irrationally questioned, adding that attacks from politicians “amounted to oppression”.

“They’re specifically targeting science that protects our health, our safety and the environment. Science that protects the most vulnerable among us,” he said.

“Some people will suffer, some could even die,” Dr Foley added.

From climate change and pollution to medicine, men and women who support science were motivated on Saturday by the coverage of the recent Women’s March and are mobilising to make their concerns heard.

Supporters of science and research gather for the March for Science protest in Sydney, 22 April 2017

Protesters hold placards and banners as they participate in the March for Science rally on Earth Day, in Sydney, Australia, 22 April 2017 — Demonstrators are rallying against what they see as a global political assault on facts

Demonstrators hold banners before the March for Science in front of the Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany, 22 April 2017 — Protesters in Berlin, Germany, held placards in support of the scientific community

People gather in front of the Brandenburg Gate in support of scientific research during the March for Science in Berlin, Germany, 22 April 2017 — Thousands of protesters around the world have taken part in the first-ever March for Science

Organisers of the March for Science Vienna, in Austria, earlier said on the group’s Facebook page that it was encouraging people to turn out to join a movement that began shortly after Mr Trump entered the White House.

Mr Trump has previously called climate change a hoax and his views have raised concerns among the scientific community that the public are beginning to doubt the facts provided as scientific evidence.

A woman holds a sign as she participates in the March for Science in Vienna, Austria, 22 April 2017 — Large crowds in the Austrian capital Vienna joined the worldwide protest

People holding placards during the March for Science day at the Jardin Anglais in Geneva, Switzerland, 22 April 2017 — Marchers turned out in Geneva, Switzerland

In London, scientists and science enthusiasts marched from the Science Museum to Parliament Square.

Many were protesting against what they consider to be an “alarming trend” among politicians for discrediting their research.

Scientists and science enthusiasts gather for the March for Science outside the Science Museum in central London, 22 April 2017 — A large crowd of enthusiasts turned up at the Science Museum in central London

Scientists and science enthusiasts participate in the March for Science in central London, 22 April 2017 — Thousands marched in London, from the Science Museum to Parliament Square

The aim of the March for Science was to bring scientists and their research closer to the general public.

Organisers are of the view that it can be challenging for scientists to communicate with the public and are even actively encouraging scientists to become politicians so that their voices can be effectively heard.

It’s Earth Day and I always try to celebrate. I support the importance of Science, especially in a world where the EPA is being defunded and “Alternate Facts” (i.e. LIES) are in vogue.

As Neil DeGrasse Tyson says: “The good thing about Science is that it’s true whether you believe it or not.”

I couldn’t agree more. We must all encourage the next generation to not only embrace the truth in science, but to go into the sciences and study STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math). Science will lead us to a safe, prosperous future; lies will destroy us all.

Namaste,

Barbara

March 18, 2017 by IdealisticRebel

America’s Top High School Science Students are the Children of Immigrants

Regeneron Science Talent Search Society for Science & the Public2017 finalists

Courtesy of Society for Science & the Public

IMMIGRATION

America’s Top High School Science Students Are the Children of Immigrants

Rob Wile

Mar 14, 2017

If the children of immigrants somehow disappeared from the U.S., America would suddenly be in a serious science talent deficit.

That’s the conclusion that can be drawn from a new report from the National Foundation for American Policy, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to public policy research on trade, immigration, and education.

The organization found that 33 of the 40 finalists of the 2016 Intel Science Talent Search–the leading science competition for U.S. high school students, run by the Society for Science & the Public and now known as the Regeneron Science Talent Search–were the children of immigrants. Specifically, 30 out of the 40 finalists had parents who worked in America on H-1B visas, the option that is no longer available for expedited processing due to a recent policy change from the Trump administration.

“The science competition has been called the ‘Junior Nobel Prize,'” the Foundation says. “These outstanding children of immigrants would never have been in America if their parents had not been allowed into the U.S.”

Their ranks have been steadily increasing since 2004, the Foundation showed.

Here were the countries of origins for the 2016 finalists’ parents: India was No. 1 at 14, followed by China at No. 11.

And of the nine winners of the 2016 competition, seven were the children of immigrants.

December 1, 2016 by IdealisticRebel

Scientists are watching Trump on his science denial

2,300 Leading Scientists Send Trump A Clear Warning: We’re Watching You

An open letter signed by America’s top minds hopes to counter the influence of climate change deniers and oil execs.

Chris D’Angelo Associate Editor, HuffPost Hawaii

President-elect Donald Trump’s administration needs to “support and rely on science as a key input for crafting public policy,” the scientists wrote.

More than 2,300 scientists, including 22 Nobel Prize recipients, have a warning for Donald Trump: Respect science or prepare for a fight.

In an open letter Wednesday to the president-elect and Congress, scientists representing all 50 states called on the incoming administration to sufficiently fund scientific research as well as “support and rely on science as a key input for crafting public policy.”

Anything short of that, they stressed, is a direct threat to the health and safety of Americans and people around the world.

“The consequences are real: without this investment, children will be more vulnerable to lead poisoning, more people will be exposed to unsafe drugs and medical devices, and we will be less prepared to limit the impacts of increasing extreme weather and rising seas,” the letter reads.

The letter, organized by the Union of Concerned Scientists, comes amid growing concern about what a Trump presidency will mean for combatting today’s environmental challenges, namely climate change.

Trump and his fellow climate deniers have made it quite clear where they stand on the phenomenon and funding its continued study. Trump has dismissed climate change as “bullshit” and a Chinese “hoax,” and promised to pull the U.S. out of the historic Paris climate agreement. He has also said he would cut all federal spending on the issue, increase America’s production of coal, oil and natural gas, and do away with Obama administration regulations aimed at cutting emissions.

“Respect for science in policymaking should be a prerequisite for any Cabinet position” – .physicist Lewis Branscomb

In the weeks since the election, Trump has only added to scientists’ concerns by selecting climate change denier Myron Ebell and fossil fuel lobbyist Mike McKennato lead transition work at the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and oil executive Harold Hamm are front-runners to head the Interior Department, and Trump’s senior adviser on space policy wants to eliminate NASA’s research into climate change.

The letter, published Wednesday, features an impressive list of signatories, including David Baltimore, president emeritus of the California Institute of Technology; Eric Chivian, the founder and director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School; and Wolfgang Ketterle, a German physicist and professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The scientists call on Trump and the 115th Congress to “adhere to high standards of scientific integrity and independence in responding to current and emerging public health and environmental threats.”

In a news release on the letter, Lewis Branscomb, a physicist and professor at the University of California, San Diego, said: “Americans recognize that science is critical to improving our quality of life, and when science is ignored or politically corrupted, it’s the American people who suffer. Respect for science in policymaking should be a prerequisite for any Cabinet position.”

The group also promised to keep a close eye on Trump ― and fight back if necessary.

“We will continue to champion efforts that strengthen the role of science in policy making and stand ready to hold accountable any who might seek to undermine it,” the letter states.

It is illogical to not take care of Mother Earth. She will self-destruct without our peaceful intersession on her behalf. We have a responsibility to future generations of our families to protect and help her to heal. Don’t let Trump turn our world into a real dying planet.

Science is real. As it has been said, Science it True whether you believe it or not. You can’t bury your head in the sand. This problem won’t go away. It will simply grow more serious.

Namaste,

Barbara

April 15, 2016 by IdealisticRebel

Medical Experiments

While medical research is a legitimate activity of scientists, even today, there are ethical and moral limitations and considerations that MUST be addressed. Medical research has been done in the past, by more than one country, illegally and immorally upon its citizens. In America, it was the syphilis testing on blacks; and studies involving convicts and college students.

There is good reason for the limitations and ethics surrounding medical research. Not every scientist who conducts medical research truly has the best interests of humankind — and certainly not of his subjects — at heart. Often, such so-called researchers are looking to make an indelible name for themselves in the scientific community, regardless of the cost.

Perhaps the worst experimentation done on human beings was headed by Dr. Josef Mengele at the concentration camps in World War II. Jews, Gypsies, Poles, Russians, the disabled, the very young and very old — any “undesirables” — were all experimented on, and the majority of these helpless human subjects died.

As I have said more than once: This may NEVER happen again.

In order for us to be sure these atrocities are never repeated, we need to know what happened before. It is my duty to tell you what I know of what happened to these people; these human beings; these helpless internees.

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http://www.mengele.dk/children/experimentsmed.swf

Josef Mengele and the Nazi doctors tortured men, women andchildren and did medical experiments of unspeakable horror during the Holocaust. Victims were put into pressure chambers, tested with drugs, castrated, frozen to death. Children were exposed to experimental surgeries performed without anesthesia, transfusions of blood from one to another, isolation endurance, reaction to various stimuli. The Nazi doctors made injections with lethal germs, sex change operations, removal of organs and limbs.

Medical Experiments:

High-Altitude Experiments
to investigate the limits of human endurance and existence at extremely high altitudes. The victims were placed in the low-pressure chamber and thereafter the simulated altitude therein was raised. Many victims died as a result of these experiments and others suffered grave injury, torture, and ill-treatment.

Incendiary Bomb Experiments
to test the effect of various pharmaceutical preparations on phosphorous burns. These burns were inflicted on the victims with phosphorous matter taken from incendiary bombs, and caused severe pain, suffering, and serious bodily injury.

Freezing Experiments
to investigate the most effective means of treating persons who had been severely chilled or frozen. The victims were forced to remain in a tank of ice water for up to 3 hours. Extreme rigor developed in a short time. Numerous victims died in the course of these experiments. After the survivors were severely chilled, rewarming was attempted by various means. In another series of experiments, the victims were kept naked outdoors for many hours at temperatures below freezing. The victims screamed with pain as their bodies froze.

Sea-water Experiments
to study various methods of making sea water drinkable. The victims were deprived of all food and given only chemically processed sea water. Such experiments caused great pain and suffering and resulted in serious bodily injury to the victims.

Malaria Experiments
to investigate immunization for and treatment of malaria. The victims were infected by mosquitoes or by injections of extracts of the mucous glands of mosquitoes. After having contracted malaria the victims were treated with various drugs to test their relative efficacy. Over 1,000 victims were used in these experiments. Many died and others suffered severe pain and permanent disability.

Mustard Gas Experiments
to investigate the most effective treatment of wounds caused by Mustard gas. Wounds deliberately inflicted on the victims were infected with Mustard gas. Some of the victims died as a result of these experiments and others suffered intense pain and injury.

Sulfanilamide Experiments
to investigate the effectiveness of sulfanilamide. Wounds deliberately inflicted on the victims were infected with bacteria such as streptococcus, gas gangrene, and tetanus. Circulation of blood was interrupted by tying off blood vessels at both ends of the wound to create a condition similar to that of a battlefield wound. Infection was aggravated by forcing wood shavings and ground glass into the wounds. The infection was treated with sulfanilamide and other drugs to determine their effectiveness. Many victims died as a result of these experiments and others suffered serious injury and intense agony.

Spotted Fever (Typhus) Experiments
to investigate the effectiveness of spotted fever and other vaccines. Numerous victims were deliberately infected with spotted fever virus in order to keep the virus alive – over 90 percent of the victims died as a result.

Experiments with Poison
to investigate the effect of various poisons upon human beings. The poisons were secretly administered to the victims in their food. The victims died as a result of the poison or were killed immediately in order to permit autopsies. In or about September 1944 the victims were shot with poison bullets and suffered torture and death.

The Holocaust was the systematic annihilation of millions of Jews by the Nazi regime during World War 2. In 1933 approximately nine million Jews lived in the 21 countries of Europe that would be occupied by Germany during the war. By 1945 two out of every three European Jews had been killed.

The European Jews were the primary victims of the Holocaust. But Jews were not the only group singled out for persecution by Hitler’s Nazi regime. As many as one-half million Gypsies, at least 250,000 mentally or physically disabled persons, and more than three million Soviet prisoners-of-war also fell victim to Nazi genocide. Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, Social Democrats, Communists, partisans, trade unionists, Polish intelligentsia and other undesirables were also victims of the hate and aggression carried out by the Nazis.

The number of children killed during the Holocaust is not fathomable and full statistics for the tragic fate of children who died will never be known. Some estimates range as high as 1.5 million murdered children. This figure includes more than 1.2 million Jewish children, tens of thousands of Gypsy children and thousands of institutionalized handicapped children who were murdered under Nazi rule in Germany and occupied Europe.

Holocaust Deaths
Country/Region		Estimate
Germany (1938 Borders)		130,000
Austria		65,000
Belgium & Luxembourg		29,000
Bulgaria		7,000
Czechoslovakia		277,000
France		83,000
Greece		65,000
Hungary & Ukraine		402,000
Italy		8,000
Netherlands		106,000
Norway		760
Poland & USSR		4,565,000
Romania		220,000
Yugoslavia		60,000
TOTAL		6,017,760
Source: Nizkor Project statistics derived from Yad Vashem and Fleming, Hitler and the Final Solution.

The world outside Nazi Europe received numerous press reports in the 1930s about the persecution of Jews. By 1942 the governments of the United States and Great Britain had confirmed reports about the Final Solution – Germany’s intent to kill all the Jews of Europe. However, influenced by antisemitism and fear of a massive influx of refugees, neither country modified their refugee politics. No specific attempts to stop or slow the genocide were made until mounting pressure eventually forced the United States to undertake limited rescue efforts in 1944.

In Europe, rampant antisemitism incited citizens of many German-occupied countries to collaborate with the Nazis in their genocidal policies. There were, however, individuals and groups in every occupied nation who, at great personal risk, helped hide those targeted by the Nazis.

One nation, Denmark, saved most of its Jews in a nighttime rescue operation in 1943 in which Jews were ferried in fishing boats to safety in neutral Sweden.

– Louis Bülow
Privacy ©2007-09

The Holocaust Websites – Crimes, Heroes And Villains
www.auschwitz.dk
www.izieu.com
www.oskarschindler.com
www.deathcamps.info
www.auschwitz.dk
www.oskarschindler.info/
www.fatherkolbe.com
www.canaris.dk/
www.mengele.dk/
www.shoah.dk
www.annefrank.dk

were established 1996 to promote education about the history of the Holocaust and assist visitors in developing understanding of the ramifications of prejudice and racism. The resources include essays, poems, eyewitness testimonies, photographs, documents, films, literature, timelines, links.

Result of a medical experiment on a prisoner. Buchenwald concentration camp, Germany, date uncertain.Photograph
A victim of Nazi medical experiments. Buchenwald concentration camp, Germany, date uncertain.Photograph
A victim of a Nazi medical experiment is immersed in icy water at the Dachau concentration camp. SS doctor Sigmund Rascher oversees the experiment. Germany, 1942.Photograph
A prisoner in a compression chamber loses consciousness (and later dies) during an experiment to determine altitudes at which aircraft crews could survive without oxygen. Dachau, Germany, 1942.Photograph
A Romani (Gypsy) victim of Nazi medical experiments to make seawater potable. Dachau concentration camp, Germany, 1944.Photograph
A Romani (Gypsy) victim of Nazi medical experiments to make seawater potable. Dachau concentration camp, Germany, 1944.Photograph
A Soviet prisoner of war, victim of a tuberculosis medical experiment at Neuengamme concentration camp. Germany, late 1944.Photograph
A Jewish child is forced to show the scar left after SS physicians removed his lymph nodes. This child was one of 20 Jewish children injected with tuberculosis germs as part of a medical experiment. All were murdered on April 20, 1945. Neuengamme concentration camp, Germany, between December 1944 and February 1945.Photograph
Seven-year-old Jacqueline Morgenstern, later a victim of tuberculosis medical experiments at the Neuengamme concentration camp. She was murdered just before the liberation of the camp. Paris, France, 1940.Photograph
A war crimes investigation photo of the disfigured leg of a survivor from Ravensbrueck, Polish political prisoner Helena Hegier (Rafalska), who was subjected to medical experiments in 1942. This photograph was entered as evidence for the prosecution at the Medical Trial in Nuremberg. The disfiguring scars resulted from incisions made by medical personnel that were purposely infected with bacteria, dirt, and slivers of glass.Photograph
Victims of Dr. Josef Mengele’s medical experiments at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Poland, 1944.Photograph
Eduard, Elisabeth, and Alexander Hornemann. The boys, victims of tuberculosis medical experiments at Neuengamme concentration camp, were murdered shortly before liberation. Elisabeth died of typhus in Auschwitz. The Netherlands, prewar.Photograph
Soviet soldiers inspect a box containing poison used in medical experiments. Auschwitz, Poland, after January 27, 1945.Photograph
United Nations personnel vaccinate an 11-year-old concentration camp survivor who was a victim of medical experiments at the Auschwitz camp. Bergen-Belsen displaced persons camp, Germany, May 1946.Photograph
Four Polish women arrive at the Nuremberg train station to serve as prosecution witnesses at the Doctors Trial. From left to right are Jadwiga Dzido, Maria Broel-Plater, Maria Kusmierczuk, and Wladislawa Karolewska. December 15, 1946.Photograph
Josef Mengele, German physician and SS captain. In 1943, he was named SS garrison physician (Standortartz) of Auschwitz. In that capacity, he was responsible for the differentiation and selection of those fit to work and those destined for gassing. Mengele also carried out human experiments on camp inmates, especially twins. Place and date uncertain.Photograph
Nazi physician Carl Clauberg, who performed medical experiments on prisoners in Block 10 of the Auschwitz camp. Place and date uncertain.Photograph
Friedrich Hoffman, holding a stack of death records, testifies about the murder of 324 Catholic priests who were exposed to malaria during Nazi medical experiments at Dachau concentration camp. Dachau, Germany, November 22, 1945.Photograph
Wladislava Karolewska, a victim of medical experiments at the Ravensbrueck camp, was one of four Polish women who appeared as prosecution witnesses at the Doctors Trial. Nuremberg, Germany, December 22, 1946.Photograph
Concentration camp survivor Jadwiga Dzido shows her scarred leg to the Nuremberg court, while an expert medical witness explains the nature of the procedures inflicted on her in the Ravensbrück concentration camp on November 22, 1942. The experiments, including injections of highly potent bacteria, were performed by defendants Herta Oberheuser and Fritz Ernst Fischer. December 20, 1946.Photograph
Waldemar Hoven, head SS doctor at the Buchenwald concentration camp, during his trial before an American military tribunal. Hoven conducted medical experiments on prisoners. Nuremberg, Germany, June 23, 1947.Photograph
Herta Oberhauser, who was a physician at the Ravenbrueck concentration camp, is sentenced at the Doctors Trial in Nuremberg. Oberhauser was found guilty of performing medical experiments on camp inmates and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Nuremberg, Germany, August 20, 1947.Photograph
Victor Brack, one of the Nazi doctors on trial for having conducted medical experiments on concentration camp prisoners. Nuremberg, Germany, August 1947.Photograph

December 21, 2015 by IdealisticRebel

Peace on Earth

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The Solstice is the shortest day of the year. It has been celebrated for centuries because as the wheel of the year turns, the power of the god weakens. Tomorrow the goddess takes charge and it will be daylight a little longer. We celebrate the return of the goddess because with her she brings light and warmth. As the wheel of the year slowly turns, she fills Mother Earth with lush, green, fragrant life. She indeed brings life back to earth. Seeds are planted and the people celebrate the joy of her warm sun. So be joyful and happy because the wheel continues to turn. Blessed be, Barbara

Druids at stonehenge

Here comes the dark. The winter solstice — marking the longest night and shortest day of the year — is Monday night.

The solstice occurs at the same instant everywhere on Earth. In the United States, it happens at 11:48 p.m. ET Monday (or 10:48 p.m. CT, 9:48 p.m. MT and 8:48 p.m. PT).

In Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, that means the solstice actually comes on Tuesday.

The winter solstice is the precise moment the Northern Hemisphere is tilted its farthest from the sun all year, and usually occurs near the day when there is the least amount of daylight and the most darkness.

One of the most famous solstice celebrations occurs at the ancient Stonehenge ruins in Wiltshire, England, where druids, pagans and other revelers gather each year to celebrate the event.

The solstice is the astronomical beginning of winter — the start of the coldest three months in the Northern Hemisphere — even though meteorologists view winter as starting Dec. 1. After the solstice, the days slowly start to get longer again.

It’s the opposite in the Southern Hemisphere, where Dec. 21 marks the longest day of the year and the beginning of astronomical summer.

Winter’s shortest day, however, is typically not the coldest day of the year. There is a lag between the shortest day of the year and the coldest average temperatures for most spots in the USA.

This lag in temperature occurs because even though the amount of daylight is increasing, the Earth’s surface continues to lose more heat than it receives from the sun. In most locations across the country, the minimum daily temperature occurs around two or three weeks later, in early to mid-January.

For example, the coldest days in Boston, on average, are Jan. 17-26. In Chicago, it’s Jan. 17-20, and in Miami, it’s Jan. 2-22. At the end of January, more heat finally begins arriving than leaving, and days slowly start to warm up.

The Earth’s tilted axis causes the seasons. During the Northern Hemisphere’s winter, the land north of the equator is tilted away from the sun, which lowers the amount of the sun’s energy warming the Northern Hemisphere.

And why is the Earth tilted? It’s probably the result of collisions with various proto-planets and other massive objects during the formation of the solar system billions of years ago, according to NASA. Just a bit unsettling to realize that the reason the Earth has the perfect temperature for life to form is a few random collisions with other space rocks a few eons ago.

TropicofCapricornSolstice

In the meantime, happy solstice!

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May 9, 2015 by IdealisticRebel

Science and Spirituality

I wanted to share another TED Talk with you — Jeff Lieberman, an MIT-trained artist, scientist and engineer, makes a scientific argument for mystical experience. He asks us to challenge our perception of what we are, our relationship to the universe, and our relationship to one another. Our minds are “thought-generating machines.” What we would happen if we could turn off the machine? If we could transcend our individual experience of the world?

Most of you know that I am a very spiritual person, but I believe in science as well, and I do not believe that the two are mutually exclusive. Do you?

April 3, 2014 by IdealisticRebel

Where There is a Woman

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“Where there is a woman, there is magic.” —-Ntozake Shange

One of the most famous magical textbooks is The Key of Solomon the King. Like the quest for the Holy Grail, the search for Solomon’s secret manuscript containing his spells, invocations, talismans, formulas, diagrams, and rituals has tantalized and tortured practitioners of the esoteric arts—-from alchemists to mathematicians—for centuries. The thought of what he could do with Solomon’s jottings kept Sir Issac Newton up at night; nonetheless he managed to accomplish quite a bit on his own during the day. That is because Newton, considered the modern world’s first and greatest scientist, was also a passionate mystic and one of the world’s last and greatest magicians.

Michael White tells us in his biography, Issac Newton: The Last Sorcerer that he was not the pure scientist of lore. Unknown to all but a few people, he was a mystic, an alchemist and he dabbled in the occult. He did not discover gravity by watching an apple fall—in reality, Newton’s great theories were grasped within the charred base of the crucible and the alchemist’s fire. Nor was Newton the idealistic puritan he has been portrayed to be. He risked his health in his unrelenting search for an understanding of the Universe. He studied the Bible for divination and not dogma, he practiced natural magic, he studied astrology and numerology when he conducted mathematical experiments.

Newton did not live a very happy life, because he had to present himself to the world as a pure scientist. His discoveries and revelations would not have been believed otherwise. He feared having his scientific contributions discredited and his work amounting to nothing. He feared damage to the intellectual alchemy that transformed mankind’s view of the Universe and our place in it.

So Newton hid a large part of himself to be accepted by society and the church. Women today often have to face the same pressures and the same inability to be real to the world. How often do you play like you have no real opinions because friends do not want to hear them? How often do women ignore there gifts and accomplishments? Not only ignore but play them down. Women ask themselves if they are really worthy of being called intelligent, gorgeous, talented. In truth, each of us women are a child of the Universe. We are the child of The One. When women play “small” we are not helping the Universe. When a woman shrinks into the shadows she is not being enlightened. Men have always stood up proud and loudly proclaimed their accomplishments. Each man and woman has gifts from The One that we are to give from the world. Don’t hide, use what you have been given to help the world. Shine your light and give the world the benefits of the gifts you have been given to share.

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Remember that as women we are not less than. Women have accomplished much in the world but have felt they have to hide it. So whatever your gift, even the ability to spread the magic in the world or to sing and bring tears to someone’s eyes. Magic is simply the ability to use the energy that flows around us here on our planet and throughout the Universe. Open up to all that you can find in the Universe. And share it with all the other people you meet in your life.

Solstice 2

Be the magic in the world!

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June 29, 2013 by IdealisticRebel

The Ecological Self

Black Mountain NC. Photograph copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2010

The United States President, Barak Obama has gone on the record that he is against the Keystone Pipeline if it will hurt the environment. I was waiting for this announcement and knew he would come out on the side of Mother Earth.

Politics right now in Washington stink. Congress was elected by their states to represent the will and wishes of the people. They aren’t. Out of 365 days, they have worked 126. They are doing this without censor from the party leaders. If you or I showed up to work a third of the days we were supposed to work, we would be fired. If you don’t believe me, try it and please let me know if your boss pats you on the back and tells you not to worry about it.

The ecological self, like any notion of selfhood, is simply a metaphor, but it is a dynamic one. It involves choice. We can choose at different moments to identify to different aspects of our interrelated existence. We each can choose whether we care about those who hunt whales or not. We can care about homeless human beings or not. We can choose to participate in the long-standing rape of Mother Earth or we can choose to care. We can choose to recycle, support politicians who care about Mother Earth and whose voting record proves it.

“Look deeply, I arrive in every second
to be a bud on a spring branch,
to be a tiny bird, with wings still fragile,
learning to sing in my new nest,
to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone…
Please call me by my true names,
so I can wake up.
and so the door of my heart can be left open,
the door of compassion.”
—–Thich Nhat Hanh

Dolphins breaking water

June 10, 2013 by IdealisticRebel

A Possible Cancer Cluster

Relay for life at fairgrounds

While visiting my daughter and her family; the Fabulous Floozies were making the final preparations along with schools and churches and other groups of men and women who care about the amazingly large amount of deaths due to Cancer. Officials believe there is a possible Cancer Cluster. A study will be beginning at a local college to investigate and see if there is a Cancer Cluster there and what is causing it.

For my daughter, several of her husband’s family have lost their battle with Cancert. Her BBF, Karen died last year after her third struggle with a cancer that started in her breast. She left a Navy husband and two children near the ages of my grands.They are all struggling to carry on. My daughter is struggling with her grief and loss. It breaks my heart.She has another friend who is recovering from a double mastectomy.

The luminaries completely encircled a space larger than a football field.

The luminaires completely encircled a space larger than a football field.

I met survivors, caring people who want to work to help end Cancer’s hold on their town. There were schools, churches, women’s groups, and groups of people who came together to give of themselves to stop this unseen killer, They sold food and pop, bands played and people hugged each other and many tears were shed. There was dancing and singing for 24 hours.

Surviviors walked with crutches, canes and wheelchairs

They work all year to earn money for cancer research. The results of this research has the potential of identifying the cluster and saving the lives of people in this small town. My prayers are with them. My hopes are with them. Please remember these women, men and children who are affected on so many levels.

I am dedicating this blog to Karen and Iris. I pray they find the Cancer Cluster and stop the cruel hold Cancer has on this Eastern North Carolina county and town, I was impressed by the dedication of the thousands of people who live in the county and once again I remembered how much we can accomplish when we work together for good.

All photographs were taken by Barbara Mattio and Copyrighted 2013.

April 18, 2013 by IdealisticRebel

New Horizons

some very old trees

In the midst of all of the darkness we find ourselves in, there are exciting and positive things happening. We can’t dwell on death but we can work on taking care of Mother Earth.

A young woman named Meryl Marsh is the director of Archangel Ancient Tree Archive. This is a world wide organization that devotes itself to preserving the DNA of our oldest and strongest trees on the planet; trees which have survived drought, fires, insect infestations and the greed of loggers.

Ms. Marsh and her team cut limbs off of these trees to use them to preserve the DNA, and the genetic memory held within the DNA. All living things have DNA and we are connected to the Universe and to each other. Guns, fire, saws, brutality cannot break that connection.

The people in this project are working to ship these small branches in coolers to specialized labs where they pare them down and root them and try to grow again that wonderful tree that it came from.They are having a 2 % success rate. Yes, it does sound small but as they learn more I know they will have more successes.

Their successes include Irish giant oaks, and our Sequoia trees. They will take the living offspring and replant them in their countries of origin, where they will grow and perpetuate the grand old forests. Imagine refilling the world with strong living trees. The Giant Sequoia, Black Willow and Redwood trees are also being used. Good luck to this inspiring organization. I am sure Mother Earth will reward your spirit and love for all her living creatures.