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A Tribute Through Music and Poem To Mama, The Klamath River Whale. August 22, 2011

Posted by Melodie Munro on October 2, 2011 at 3:56pm
A Tribute Through Music and Poem To Mama, The Klamath River Whale. August 22, 2011


A Flute Song for Mama, the Klamath River



This is a beautiful tribute written by my friend, Mihael Kavanaugh (pictured), in a farewell poem he wrote for Mama. Mihael played the flute to Mama on two occasions while canoeing on the Klamath River, one of which I was honored to accompany him on the canoe.


A Flute Song for Mama, The Klamath River Whale 2



Mihael Kavanaugh
Peaceful Rest

She has laid down to rest
Her journey home now complete
Her story known by many
Her message, a mystery …
A sigh of sadness
For she touched many a heart
Her dance
Was with such grace
The mist of her spout
Still refreshes my face
Such a friend …
One can’t replace
Though in story and song
She’ll echo her grace
Mama whale ~~~
Peace be with you …
As you go
From this worldly place

©2011 Mihael Kavanaugh










Seth Altamus, a stand-up paddler, had hopes Mama would follow him out to the ocean. She followed him to the Klamath River RV Park, a short way from the bridge, but then she turned and swam back to her spot by the bridge and continued her circles. Here Seth is waving a bittersweet farewell to Mama when he realized she did not want to leave. In the other image, he was serenading her with his ukelele from his paddle board.

All of the above images were what I would term a “holistic” approach in an attempt to soothe Mama or an attempt to convince her to head back to the ocean. Music has the capability to touch all beings, but Mama had her own path to follow, a reason for which we do not know, and she seemed content to stay near the bridge and make her continual circles mesmerizing all who watched this beautiful creature.

Many more images can be seen at AshalaTylor.com and http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashala
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Warrior Captain Jack, Modoc Kintpuash 1837-1873

Posted by Melodie Munro on October 2, 2011 at 3:55pm


Warrior Captain Jack, Modoc Kintpuash 1837-1873



In 1864, the Modoc Indians were living on their ancestral tribal lands near Tule Lake, on what is now the Oregon-California border region. However, because white settlers wanted the rich Modoc lands for themselves, the US Government relocated the Modoc people to the Klamath Indian Reservation in southwest Oregon.

Unhappy with how Modocs were being treated on the Klamath Reservation, Captain Jack led his people back to their tribal lands in 1865.

In 1869, U.S. Army soldiers again rounded up the Modoc people and moved them back to the Klamath Reservation, but conditions there had not improved for the Modocs.
A year later, 1870, Capt. Jack again led his people back to their tribal lands at Tule Lake.


BATTLE OF LOST RIVER

In 1872, Army soldiers were again dispatched to Tule Lake to escort Captain Jack and his band back to Klamath Reservation.

However, during negotiations, a fight broke out between an Army soldier and a Modoc warrior and the Battle of Lost River ensued.

After the battle, Captain Jack led his band into what is now known as the Lava Beds National Monument — Captain Jack's Stronghold — a natural maze of caves and trenches worn into the lava bed.


The Modoc braves were very successful in defending this stronghold and the Army was losing dozens of soldiers during fights to evict the band from this natural Indian fort.

Captain Jack is said to have believed that if the white Army leaders were killed, the Army would be defeated and the government troops would leave the Modocs alone.

During a high-level meeting, Captain Jack and several other Modocs drew their pistols in unison and killed two leading members of the government commission, including General Edward Canby.

General Edward Canby

The killings resulted in the US Government sending in over 1,000 reinforcement troops, and the soldiers attacked Captain Jack's Stronghold with superior forces and successfully evicted the Modocs from their safe haven.

On October 3, 1873, Captain Jack was hanged for the murder of General Canby.
Compiled by webmaster.

Battle of Lost River
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Part of Modoc War (Indian Wars)
Date November 29, 1872
Location Lost River (along the California-Oregon border)

Result Marginal United States victory

Belligerents
United States
Modoc

Commanders and leaders
Captain James Jackson
Captain Jack
Scarface Charley

Strength
40+ {U.S. 1st Cavalry Regiment}+citizens Unknown


Casualties and losses
1 killed, 7 wounded 2 killed, 3 wounded

The Battle of Lost River in November 1872 was the first battle in the Modoc War in the northwestern United States. The skirmish, which was fought near the Lost River along the California-Oregon border, was the result of an attempt by the U.S. 1st Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army to force a band of the Modoc tribe to relocate to the Klamath Reservation. In the subsequent war, Captain Jack of the Modoc and 53 warriors held off over 1000 U.S. soldiers for 7 months.[1]

Captain Jack's Stronghold, named for Modoc chief Captain Jack, is a part of Lava Beds National Monument. The stronghold can be accessed from the Perez turnoff, off Highway 139 between Tulelake and Canby, California.

During the Modoc War, Captain Jack's band settled here following the Battle of Lost River, and held off a United States Army force outnumbering them by as much as 10 to 1 for several months. The lava beds made an outstanding stronghold for the Modocs because of the rough terrain, rocks that could be used in fortification, and irregular pathways to evade pursuers.

In the First Battle of the Stronghold, January 17, 1873, 51 Modoc warriors defeated an Army force of 225 soldiers supported by 104 Oregon and California volunteers,[2] killing 35 and wounding several others, while suffering no casualties or serious woundings. During the Second Battle of the Stronghold, April 15 - 17, the reinforced Army of over six hundred men captured the Modoc spring and cut off their route to Tulelake, forcing the Modoc to flee when their water supplies ran out. After fleeing the Stronghold, the band of Modoc splintered, and the last group, made up of Captain Jack, John Schonchin, Black Jim, and Boston Charley were captured on June 1, 1873.

All four were hanged on October 3, 1873, at Fort Klamath.

The area originally served as a hunting and gathering area.


Edward Richard Sprigg Canby
November 9, 1817 – April 11, 1873 (aged 55)


Edward Richard Sprigg Canby (November 9, 1817 – April 11, 1873) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.

Early life
Canby was born in Piatt's Landing, Kentucky, to Israel T. and Elizabeth (Piatt) Canby. He attended Wabash College, but transferred to the United States Military Academy, from which he graduated in 1839. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Infantry and served as the regimental adjutant. He married Louisa Hawkins at Crawfordsville, Indiana, August 1, 1839. Although often referred to as Edward Canby, a biographer has suggested that he was known as "Richard" during childhood and to some friends for most of his life. He was called "Sprigg" by fellow cadets at West Point, but during most of his career, he was generally referred to as E.R.S. Canby, sometimes signing his name "Ed.R.S. Canby."

Early military career
During his early career, he served in the Second Seminole War in Florida and saw combat during the Mexican-American War, where he received three brevet promotions, including to major for Contreras and Churubusco and lieutenant colonel for Belén Gates. He also served at various posts, including Upstate New York and in the adjutant general's office in California from 1849 until 1851, covering the period of the territory's transition to statehood. Against his own wishes, he was ordered to serve in what was supposed to be the civilian post of custodian of the California Archives from March 1850 until he left California in April 1851. The Archives included records of Spanish and Mexican governments in California as well as Mission records and land titles. Evidently, Canby had some knowledge of the Spanish language, which came in handy during this period. (The Filson Historical Society in Louisville, Kentucky holds what appears to be a document written in Canby's own hand in Spanish, in which he identifies himself as "Edwardo [sic] Ricardo S. Canby.")

He served in Wyoming and Utah (then both part of the Utah Territory) during the Utah War (1857–1858). During this period, Canby crossed paths with Captain Henry Hopkins Sibley (whom he may have known slightly at West Point) when the captain was court martialed and Canby served on the panel of judges. Sibley was acquitted.

Subsequently, Canby wrote an endorsement for a teepee-like army tent that Sibley had invented. Both officers were later assigned to New Mexico where Canby coordinated a campaign against the Navaho in 1860, commanding Sibley in a futile attempt to capture and punish Navajos for "depredations" against the livestock of settlers. The campaign ended in frustration, with Canby and Sibley rarely so much as sighting Navajos, and then usually at a considerable distance that seemed impossible to close.

Civil War
At the start of the Civil War, Canby was in command of Fort Defiance, New Mexico Territory. He was promoted to colonel of the 19th U.S. Infantry on May 14, 1861, and the following month commanded the Department of New Mexico. Although subsequently defeated by Confederate Brigadier General Henry Hopkins Sibley in February 1862 at the Battle of Valverde, his troops eventually forced the Confederates to retreat to Texas after the Union strategic victory at the Battle of Glorieta Pass.

Immediately following this battle, Canby was promoted to brigadier general on March 31, 1862. Recombining the forces he had earlier divided, Canby set off in pursuit of the retreating Confederate army, but he soon gave up the chase and allowed them to reach Texas. Shortly after the failure of the Confederate invasion of northern New Mexico, Canby was relieved of his command by Gen. James H. Carleton and reassigned to the east.

Canby's achievement in New Mexico had largely been in his planning an overall defensive strategy. He and his opponent, Sibley, both had limited resources. Though Canby was a little better supplied, he saw that defending the entire territory from every possible attack would stretch his forces too thinly. Realizing that Sibley had to attack along a river, especially since New Mexico was in the middle of a long drought, Canby made the best use of his forces by only defending against two possible scenarios: an attack along the Rio Grande and an attack by way of the Pecos and Canadian rivers.

Moreover, the latter defensive force could easily be shifted to protect Fort Union if the enemy attacked by way of the Rio Grande, which they did. Canby also took initiative in persuading the governors of both New Mexico and Colorado to raise volunteer units to supplement regular Federal troops; the Colorado troops proved helpful at both Valverde and Glorieta. It was Sibley's campaign to win or lose, and in spite of occasional superior soldiering by Confederate troops and junior commanders, Sibley's sluggishness and vacillation in executing an extremely risky plan led to an almost inevitable Confederate collapse.

After a period of clerical duty, Canby became "commanding general of the city and harbor of New York" on July 17, 1863. This assignment immediately followed the New York Draft Riots. He remained in that post until November 9, not only restarting the draft, but overseeing a prisoner of war camp in New York Harbor. He then went to work in the office of the Secretary of War, unofficially describing himself in correspondence as an "Assistant Adjutant General." Looking back on Canby's record, a twentieth century Adjutant General, Edward F. Witsell, described Canby's position as "similar to that of an Assistant to the Secretary of the Army."

In May 1864, Canby was promoted to major general and relieved Nathaniel P. Banks of his command at Simmesport, Louisiana. He thereafter returned to the Midwest, where he commanded the Military Division of Western Mississippi. He was wounded in the upper thigh by a guerrilla while aboard the gunboat USS Cricket on the White River in Arkansas near Little Island on November 6, 1864. Canby commanded the Union forces assigned to conduct the campaign against Mobile, Alabama in the spring of 1865, culminating in the Battle of Fort Blakely, which led to the fall of Mobile in April 1865. Canby accepted the surrender of the Confederate forces under General Richard Taylor in Citronelle, on May 4, 1865, and those under General Edmund Kirby Smith west of the Mississippi River on May 26, 1865.

Canby was generally regarded as a great administrator, but opinion was mixed as to whether or not he was a great warrior. Ulysses S. Grant thought him not aggressive enough. In a telling incident, Grant sent Canby an order to "destroy [the enemy's] railroads, machine-shops, &c." Ten days later, Grant reprimanded him for requesting men and materials to build railroads. "I wrote... urging you to... destroy railroads, machine-shops, &c., not to build them," Grant said pointedly. The story is instructive regarding Canby's character: although he could be a destroyer when he felt he had to be, he clearly preferred the role of builder.

Today, he might be considered a "policy wonk" because he was expert in the minutiae of administration. If someone had a question about army regulations or even Constitutional law affecting the military, Canby was the man to see. Grant himself came to appreciate this in peace time, once complaining vigorously when President Andrew Johnson proposed to assign Canby away from the capital where Grant considered him irreplaceable.

John D. Winters in The Civil War in Louisiana (1963) writes that Canby "lacked the social amenities" of Banks and appeared to most people as stern and taciturn."[1] Winters quotes Treasury agent Geroge S. Denison of New Orleans: "General Canby is very active, but his work makes no great show as yet, because it is conducted too quietly and without ostentation. Canby is a tall man of thoughtful and kind face - speaks litte and to the point - thoroughly a soldier and his manner is very modest and unassuming and sometimes even embarrassed."[2]

Canby's father had once owned slaves. Some of Canby's cousins fought for the Confederacy, and one was taken prisoner of war. The man's father wrote to Canby asking the general to use his influence to parole his son, but Canby declined on the grounds that he felt he was not entitled to use his influence to benefit family members. Later, when Canby was a military governor during Reconstruction, he declined to favor relatives who had become carpetbaggers in his jurisdiction.

Post War assignments
After the war, Canby served as commander of various military departments, remaining in charge in Louisiana from 1864 to May 1866. The Department of Washington, Delaware, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Alexandria and Fairfax counties in Virginia from June 1866 until August 1867, when he was appointed to command the Second Military District comprising North and South Carolina. In August 1868, he briefly resumed command in Washington, but was off to the Fifth Military District in November. There he focused primarily on the reconstruction of Texas. He left Texas for Virginia, the First Military District, in April 1869, serving there until July 1870.

Each of these postings occurred during Reconstruction and put Canby at the center of conflicts between Republicans and Democrats, whites and blacks, state and federal governments. New state constitutions were either being written, ratified or put into effect in each district that he commanded, and he could not help but offend one side or the other and often both. Nevertheless, Charles W. Ramsdell called Canby "vigorous and firm, but just." Even political opponents like Jonathan Worth, governor of North Carolina, admitted that Canby was sincere and honest.

Final assignment and death
On July 21, 1870, Canby was awarded a doctor of laws honorary degree by Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. In August, he was posted to command the Pacific Northwest. One of the problems he soon faced was that the Modoc tribe, which had previously lived in Northern California, had been compelled to live on the same reservation in Oregon with the Klamath tribe with whom they did not get along. The government would not give them their own reservation in California, so the Modocs returned to their old territory illegally. In 1872, the Modoc War broke out. The Modocs, entrenched in Captain Jack's Stronghold south of Tule Lake, resisted army attacks, fighting to a stalemate.

General Canby received conflicting orders from Washington as to whether to make peace or war on the Modocs, but war was not working, so the federal government authorized a peace commission and assigned Canby a key position on it. The purpose of the commission was undermined by the fact that there were many lines of communication between the Modocs and whites. At one point, someone in touch with the Modoc leader Captain Jack, alleged that the governor of Oregon intended to hang nine Modocs, apparently without trial, as soon as they surrendered. This caused the Modocs to break off scheduled talks, and infuriated Canby because he believed that his federal authority trumped the governor's and made the threat irrelevant; if they surrendered to him, Canby had no intention of allowing the Modocs to be punished without a trial.




Winema (Toby Riddle) standing between an Indian agent and her husband Frank (on her left) with other Modoc women in 1873

On April 11, 1873, after months of false starts and aborted meetings, Canby went to another parley, unarmed and with some hope of final resolution; however, Judge Elijah Steele of Yreka, California maintained that when he warned Canby that the Modocs were volatile and apt to kill the peace commissioners at the slightest provocation, Canby replied, "I believe you are right, Mr. Steele, and I shall regard your advice, but it would not be very well for the general in command to be afraid to go where the peace commissioners would venture." The talks were held midway between the army encampment and Captain Jack's Stronghold near Tule Lake. Two members of Canby's party brought concealed weapons, but, even more of the Modocs were armed.

Frustrated by the negotiations, Captain Jack, along with Ellen's Man, one of his lieutenants, shot Canby twice in the head and cut his throat. He was the only General killed during the Indian Wars. Other members of Canby's party were killed, including Reverend Eleazar Thomas. Others were wounded. According to Jeff C. Riddle, author of Indian History of the Modoc War (1914), the Modocs (believing a peace settlement that would allow them to remain in their home country impossible) had plotted to kill Canby and other peace commissioners before the meeting even began, and then "fight until we die."[3] Captain Jack was reluctant to go along with the killings, believing it "coward's work," but was pressured by other tribe members until he finally agreed. Jack's one condition was that they first let him ask Canby again to "give us a home in our country."[4] Canby did not have the authority to give this promise, so Captain Jack initiated the attack. (Riddle was the son of Frank Riddle, Canby's interpreter at the talks.)

Aftermath
Following Canby's death, there was a severe backlash against the Modocs. Eastern newspapers called for blood vengeance. (All except for one newspaper in Georgia that headlined the story: "Captain Jack and Warriors Revenge the South By Murdering General Canby, One of Her Greatest Oppressors." In contrast, citizens of Richmond, Virginia, where Canby had actually served as military governor, met on April 18 to express their appreciation of Canby and sorrow at his death.) E.C. Thomas, son of the murdered peace commissioner, demonstrated the extent and limitation of moderation when he accepted the inevitability and even desirability of reprisals against Captain Jack and his men, but reminded people that his father's memory would be dishonored by generalized malice toward Native Americans: "To be sure, peace will come through war, but not by extermination." Eventually, Captain Jack AKA Kintpuash, Boston Charley, Schonchin John and Black Jim were tried for murder and executed on October 3, 1873. The Modocs were sent to reservations.


Funeral of the Late General Canby -- the Body Lying in State

The killing of Canby, and the Great Sioux War, undermined public confidence in President Grant's peace policy, according to Robert Utley.[5]

After services were performed on the West Coast, Canby was returned to Indiana and buried in Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana on May 23, 1873. Attending the final funeral service in Indianapolis were at least four Union generals: William Tecumseh Sherman, Philip Sheridan, Lew Wallace, and Irvin McDowell, the last two serving among the pall bearers. A reporter noted that, although the funeral procession was generally reserved, "more than once, expressions of hatred toward the Modoc" marred the silence.

In recognition of his assassination, Canby's Cross was erected in the 1880s in the area that would later become Lava Beds National Monument. The towns of Canby in Clackamas County, Oregon, Canby in Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota, and Canby in Modoc County, California, are named for him. Every year in Canby, Oregon, on July 4th, the town celebrates General Canby Days, including a pancake breakfast, car show, parade and music.[6]
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Padre Pio

Posted by Melodie Munro on October 2, 2011 at 3:53pm
Padre PioThere is no greater proof of the power and will of God if He wishes to exercise it for the glorification of any particular individual like Father Pio!40 years after his death, Padre Pio looks like this.About Padre PioPadre Pio, a humble Capuchin priest from San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy , was blessed by God in many wonderful and mysterious ways. The most dramatic was the stigmata. Padre Pio bore the wounds of Christ for fifty years!Among his other gifts were perfume, bilocation, prophecy, conversion, reading of souls, and miraculous cures. People are still being cured through his intercession in ways that cannot be explained by medicine or science..More important, if less spectacular, are the spiritual healings that take place in all parts of the world! Padre Pio is a powerful intercessor!!Padre Pio's incorrupt body!To see him resting so peacefully it's hard to believe that he died 40 years ago!A Prayer to Padre Pio�Beloved Padre Pio, today I come to add my prayer to the thousands of prayers offered to you every day by those who love and venerate you in Jesus' name. They ask for cures and healings, earthly and spiritual blessings, and peace for body and mind. And because of your friendship with the Lord, he heals those you ask to be healed, and forgives those you ask be forgiven in Jesus' name.�Through your visible wounds of the Crucified Jesus, which you bore for 50 years, you were chosen in our time to glorify the crucified Jesus. Because the Cross has been replaced by other symbols, please help us bring back the veneration of the wounds of Jesus Christ, for we acknowledge His Precious Blood as true a sign of salvation, cleansing and purifcation.As we lovingly recall the wounds that pierced your hands, feet and side, like �beloved Jesus Christ, we not only remember the blood He shed as you also shed in pain, along with your smile, and the invisible halo of sweet smelling flowers that surrounded your presence, certainly the Scent of The Lord, symbolic as the perfume of sanctity.Padre Pio, may the healings of the sick become the testimony that the Lord has invited you to join the holy company of Saints. In your kindness, please help me with my own special request: (mention here your petition, and make the sign of the Cross).Bless me and my loved ones. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.In Memoriam J.S.The following quotes of Padre Pio tell how he looked after and loved his spiritual family:'I love my Spiritual Children as much as my own soul and even more.''Once I take a soul on, I also take on their entire family as my spiritual children.''To my Spiritual Children, my prayers for you will never be lacking.''If one of my spiritual children ever goes astray, I shall leave my flock and seek him out.'
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Beached whale found 800 meters ashore in Yorkshire

Posted by Melodie Munro on October 2, 2011 at 3:52pm

Beached whale found 800 meters ashore in Yorkshire
Marine experts have been left baffled after a rare whale was found over 800 metres from the shore in the Humber Estuary, Skeffling, East Yorkshire.




The 33ft mammal is thought to have died after getting caught in shallow waters – rolling onto its own blowhole before getting swept inland by the tide. Experts are “95 percent sure” the whale is a female from the rare Sei species – only three of which have been found stranded on the British coast in the last twenty years.

“It is sad. It was in shallow water of about 4ft to 5.25ft, making contact with the bottom,” said Andy Gibson, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. “This was about 800m offshore. When it gets in that situation it rolls onto its side and it can cover its blowhole.”

“Sometimes whales come into shallow water looking for food and get stuck,” added Kirsten Smith, North Seas manager at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. “With the high tide the whale probably got carried up on to the salt marsh, got pushed back further in shore and then got stuck when the tide went out.”

Earlier this month a fin whale washed up dead near Spurn Point, North East Lincolnshire after getting stranded at Immingham. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has seen a rise in whale sightings over the last year but are unable to explain the increase in the North Sea.
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Listeria in Cantaloupes: Deadliest Outbreak in a Decade

Posted by Melodie Munro on October 2, 2011 at 3:50pm

Listeria in Cantaloupes: Deadliest Outbreak in a Decade

At Least 13 People Have Died From Cantaloupes Tainted With Listeria Bacteria

By Brenda Goodman
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD

Sept. 28, 2011 -- The CDC says 72 people have been sickened and 13 have died as a result of eating cantaloupes tainted with listeria bacteria, making it the deadliest outbreak of food-borne illness in the U.S. in a decade.

State officials say they are investigating three more deaths -- one each in New Mexico, Kansas, and Wyoming -- that may also be connected to the contaminated Colorado cantaloupes.

The new numbers mean that the death toll has outpaced the number of deaths tied to an outbreak of salmonella in peanut products nearly three years ago. Nine people died in that outbreak.

According to the CDC, this is the third deadliest outbreak of food-borne illness since the agency began keeping records. In 1985, cheese contaminated with listeria killed 52 people. In 1998, listeria-contaminated hot dogs killed 21 people.

The melons involved in the current outbreak, "Rocky Ford" brand cantaloupes sold by Jensen Farms, were recalled on Sept. 14.

But health officials warn that that people may still have recalled melons in their refrigerators. They have also been used in some cut-fruit salads.

Unlike other many other kinds of food-borne pathogens, listeria bacteria can continue to grow despite the cold temperatures of a refrigerator.

"If they can't confirm that it's not Jensen Farms, then it's best to throw it out," said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, MD, in a news briefing on Wednesday.

Officials also say that because it can take weeks for people to get sick after coming into contact with listeria bacteria, they expect the number of deaths and illnesses linked to the melons to rise.

"The time between when you consume it and when you get sick is longer than it is for many other bacteria," Frieden said, "so people who consumed it some time ago may continue to develop illness in the coming days and weeks."

The majority of deaths in the current outbreak have occurred in people older than 60.
Listeriosis Symptoms

Listeriosis, the illness caused by listeria bacteria, typically strikes vulnerable people, like the elderly, pregnant women, and those with weakened immune systems.

Infection from listeria bacteria starts in the stomach and intestines where it may cause diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms. If it spreads beyond the gut, listeriosis causes flu-like symptoms including fever and muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, loss of balance, and convulsions.

Officials say that while states reacted swiftly to contain the outbreak, the source of the contamination is still largely a mystery.

"This is the first time we have seen listeria contamination in whole cantaloupes, and we're working very hard to determine how this happened," says FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, MD.

Though it's the first time listeria has contaminated cantaloupes, it's not the first time the melons have made people sick.

Officials say 10 other outbreaks of food-borne illnesses in the last decade have been tied to cantaloupes. In seven of those outbreaks, the melons were tainted with salmonella. In three, they carried norovirus.

"It's still a good thing to eat fresh fruits and vegetables, and we encourage people to do that," Frieden said. "It's a good thing to wash them before you eat them and to wash your hands after handling food."


Listeria Hot Spots

So far, illnesses have been reported in 18 states in the West and Midwest.
Colorado and New Mexico have been hit the hardest. To date, 15 people have fallen ill in Colorado and two have died in that state. In New Mexico, 10 have gotten sick and four have died.


Other states reporting illnesses linked to the outbreak, according to the CDC:•

. California (1 illness)
• Florida (1)
• Illinois (1)
• Indiana (2)
• Kansas (5)
• Maryland (1)
• Missouri (1)
• Montana (1)
• Nebraska (6)
• North Dakota (1)
• Oklahoma (8)
• Texas (14)
• Virginia (1)
• West Virginia (1)
• Wisconsin (2)
• Wyoming (1)
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Steal someone's confusion with this Jedi mind trick

Posted by Melodie Munro on October 2, 2011 at 3:49pm

Steal someone's confusion with this Jedi mind trick
Monday, September 26, 2011 by: Mike Bundrant
(NaturalNews)

The Jedi understand that states of confusion (as well as other states) are malleable and transferable. Like a yawn, they can be passed on to others. Jedi Masters use this phenomenon to "steal" confusion so that the original carrier is freed from it. This Jedi mind trick is rarely shared, so pay attention and don't forget to try it when you can be of help to someone in need.

First, understand that we are all connected. To be in the presence of another person is to have some effect upon them and visa-versa. There is no way around this and no one has ever been immune from it. How do you want to impact others? How much choice do you want to have? How aware do you wish to become?

The Dark Side is a proponent of perceptual blindness in this matter. It wants the average person to have little awareness and choice in how they affect other people and how they are affected. The less you know about communication and your own inner workings, the more power the Dark Side has to intervene, encouraging reactive behaviors over proactive behaviors.

The Jedi advocate awareness, intention and choice. The more awareness you have about the nature of communication, the greater your opportunity to serve and make the world a better place.


With that, here is how to steal another person's confusion.

1. When someone is confused and engaged in conversation with you (assuming you have a nice rapport), listen politely and give them a chance to work it out on their own. If they don't need you to steal their confusion, don't attempt it.

2. If they remain stuck and can't seem to get clear, steal it! Here's how: Become confused at their confusion. Act as if they are confusing you. Better, allow yourself to truly become confused by their confusing situation! Get sucked in.

3. When this trick works, the other will respond to your confusion by popping out of their own confusion and explaining (often spilling the beans about something they were hiding from themselves) it all to you, thus helping you out.


Here is an example of an actual dialogue:

Fred: I don't get it. How did I get here? I don't have a dime to my name and, well, I frankly don't know what to do. Should I start my own business? Wait, I can't do that. How will I live? I am so messed up!

Jedi: You really don't have a dime? (Keeps the conversation going to allow Fred a chance to work out a productive direction on his own)

Fred: Huh? I don't know. No. I mean, sure, I have a dime, but...what the hell happened to my life? I just don't get it.

Jedi: You don't get what?

Fred: I honestly don't know. I'm confused. I wish I knew how to escape my own head sometimes, really. I don't know what's going on. I wish I had more money, but...(he looks off into the distance as if searching on the horizon, his brow furrowed and stuck in a deep, confused trance. He remains that way for 10 seconds or so before the Jedi intervenes).

Jedi: Hmm. I'm actually getting confused myself (He takes on a confused look, sinking into his chair and diminishing his posture). I'm not sure what to (He cocks his head to one side and furrows his brow)....I really don't get it. This IS confusing! How could....?

Fred: It's actually not that complicated. I don't track my expenses - at all. That's it! I have no idea how much money I spend every month and really should be on a budget, something I have been resisting for years, actually.

Who can expect to spend so freely and not have financial troubles? God, I knew this day would come - I have to grow up and hold myself accountable to a budget. Then, if I can save some money, I'd like to make a break from my dead end job and start a business.

Jedi: Ah! Now that makes perfect sense.

Once the air is clear and the confusion has dissipated, the trick is done.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/033687_confusion_Jedi_mind_trick.html#ixzz1ZZA998JZ

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Who am I? Ramana Maharishi

Posted by Geetha on October 2, 2011 at 3:36am

Excerpt from: ‘Talks with Ramana Maharishi’.
Maharishi’s response on being asked: Who am I? How is it to be found?

B.V. Narasimha Swami, author of Self- Realization, asked: Who am I? How is it to be found?

Maharishi: Ask yourself the question. The body (annamaya kosa) and its functions are not ‘I’.

Going deeper, the mind (manomaya kosa) and its functions are not ‘I’.

The next step takes one to the question. “Wherefrom do these thoughts arise?” The thoughts are spontaneous, superficial or analytical. They operate in intellect. Then, who is aware of them? The existence of thoughts, their clear conceptions and their operations become evident to the individual. The analysis leads to the conclusion that the individuality of the person is operative as the perceiver of the existence of thoughts and of their sequence. This individuality is the ego, or as people say ‘I’. Vijnanamaya kosa (intellect) is only the sheath of ‘I’ and not the ‘I’ itself.

Enquiring further the questions arise, “who is this ‘I’? Wherefrom does it come?” ‘I’ was not aware in sleep. Simultaneously with its rise sleep changes to dream or wakefulness. But I am not concerned with dream just now. Who am I now, in the wakeful state? If I originate from sleep, then the ‘I’ was covered up with ignorance. Such an ignorant ‘I’ cannot be what the scriptures say or the wise ones affirm. ‘I’ am beyond even ‘Sleep’; ‘I’ must be now and here and what I was all along in sleep and dreams also, without the qualities of such states. ‘I’ must therefore be the unqualified substratum underlying these three states (andandmaya kosa transcended)

‘I’ is, in brief, beyond the five sheaths. Next, the residuum left over after discarding all that is not-self is the Self, Sat-Chit-Ananda.

Devotee: How is that Self to be known or realized?

Maharishi: Transcend the present plane of relativity. A separate being appears to know something apart from itself (non-Self). That is, the subject is aware of the object. The seer is drik; the seen is drisya.

There must be a unity underlying these two, which arises as ‘ego’. This ego is of the nature of chit (intelligence); achit (insentient object) is only negation of chit. Therefore the underlying essence is akin to the subject and not the object. Seeking the drik, until all drisya disappears, the drik will become subtler and subtler until the absolute drik alone survives.

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23.33 degrees libra, spica, arcturus and nov 11/11

Posted by Annette Gordon on October 2, 2011 at 12:13am
Namaste. Im not writting this as an informative blog. More as ,for once, a self centered musing. Im not citing referances as im not copying.When thinking on atlantis and even Mu i asked what did morrocco or even 24 degrees libra had to do with anything...duh, saturn conjuncts spica at that degree on nov 11/11. Not thinking on myan calendar predictions im more aware of arcturus sitting on 24 degrees libra.(same? Please, any astrologers help.... (and my venus north node midpoint 23 something libra). This pulls in recent higher conciousness or really 'remembering'So Arcturus is the planet of white brotherhood. Also part of the 11th and 12th chakra high system. It apparently will help to activate '12' strand dna sequencing to enable world transition into the 13th realm and chakras, which will initiate a portal into galactic point. (26' sag ?)
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Circle of Protection

Posted by AMBA on October 1, 2011 at 1:37am

 

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Circle of Protection
by Samael Aun Weor


.....the disciples who want to defend themselves against the attacks of
black magic must habituate themselves to mentally trace the magical
circle. The magical circle can be performed before falling into normal
sleep or whenever it is necessary.
- Samael Aun Weor, Logos Mantra Theurgy

When you trace a magical circle around yourself, whether it is with your
sword, with your willpower and imagination united in vibrating harmony,
or with both at the same time, you must pronounce the following
mantras:

Helion, Melion, Tetragrammaton

The magician defends himself against attacks from the demons with the
magical circle and the esoteric pentagram.

Excerpted from
Occult Medicine & Practical Magic
by Samael Aun Weor.

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