"Is your Love enough or can you Love some more?"

Michael Franti -- perhaps as close as it comes to a modern day 'prince of peace'.

He and bandmates Spearhead made a journey to war zones in Western Asia including Iraq, Israel and Palestine to witness the 'human cost of war' with their own senses, and the experience totally informed the writing of the album Yell Fire!

The material was too heavy, and the band went off to Jamaica to record and lighten it up.

That's the hearsay as I know it. Yell Fire! is one of my all-time favorite albums. 

Here is Franti yellin' fire...totally inspirational -- 'Power to the Peaceful'

The following is the studio version with a soul-stirring chorus with reggae artist Gentleman, 

Documentary, I know I'm Not Alone -- Franti and friends in West Asian war zones.
"Ring the alarm, we come to wake up the snorin' ...Yell Fire..."

#Franti, #YellFire, #IsLoveEnough?, #IsYourLoveEnough, #WestAsia, #princeofpeace, #Iraq, #Israel, #Palestine, #powertothepeaceful

Everybody was Kung-Fu Fighting for World Peace?

It's a new idea in my scope of awareness.
Will have to see it to believe it...
That is, I'll believe it when I see everybody kung-fu fighting...

'ooooa oooa oooa oooa, oooa oooa oooa oooooaaaaa

Everybody was Kung Fu fighting

Those cats were fast as lightning...

It's an ancient Chinese art

And everybody knew their part

From a feint into a slip

And a kickin' from the hip

Everybody was Kung Fu fighting

We took the bow and made a stand

Started swaying with the hand

The sudden motion made me skip

Now we're into a brand new trip

Everybody was Kung Fu fighting

Make sure you have expert timing

Kung Fu Fighting

It's as fast as lightning'

#karate, #worldpeace, #kungfufighting, #fastaslightening, #Lainchaur, #Nepal, #kungfu, #carldouglas

"Humans Claim Distinction Of Unsustainable 'Super Predators'"

Not that it is a revelation about the bloodthirsty human beast...simply scientific notarization...read all about it here...
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/349/6250/858.full

#climatechange, #notsonakedape, #climatechange, #dodobird, #Pollution, #WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot, #WTF, 

Rebuilding Nepal: The rubble must go -- A Skeptic's Take

With all due respect to the talented author, her primary sources for the Al Jazeera piece (Rebuilding Nepal: The rubble must go) are organizations with vested interests--NGOs, the UN, the government—entities that have earned skepticism over decades of aid-industry ventures in Nepal. Rather than pay them more heed, the citizens of this great nation would do well to hold these groups up to greater scrutiny and demand transparency and hard evidence with quantifiable metrics, e.g., poverty reduction, worthy of 5-6 decades of aid and billions of dollars spent including dazzling salaries that put aid entrepreneurs in the top 1% of Nepal society, the very society that they endeavor to assist.

More reliable and convincing sources of information in this piece about the afflicted areas would be residents themselves from the rural areas most affected by the quake. A relatively small percentage of Nepal was badly damaged by this natural tragedy and people in these areas are receiving humanitarian aid and are also working together as communities to rebuild themselves. These worst hit areas will likely need a lot of continued assistance but this fraction of Nepal is not representative of the entire country regarding reconstruction needs by a wide margin.

It is extraordinary to read of the “urgent…task of reconstruction…small window of time… winter, which will be particularly brutal” juxtaposed with Executive Director of the National Society for Earthquake Technology’s statement, “Timeframe is not an issue…Nepal can be rebuilt in the five years outlined”.

It would be more convincing to hear from voices outside of the organizations that have monopolized aid. Despite the small pockets of Nepal in real need of humanitarian relief, the whole country seems to be portrayed as in dire need of outside help. An unsavory side-effect of that broad depiction is the complete sabotage of one of Nepal’s most vital industries—the hardworking tourism sector. Painting the picture as one of dire need  (e.g., “debris still blocking streets”) unnecessarily scares off potential visitors and is killing an integral industry that could immediately endeavor to revive Nepal’s post-quake economy.

.

The graphic portrayals though meant to help bring in more aid funds do real harm to many people especially, those who rely on tourism and their dependents. From hoteliers, restaurateurs, taxi drivers, goods sellers and suppliers, guides and porters, families and dependents and everyone else in between Kathmandu and tourist destinations and back again, such misrepresentations cause harm.

The following links are a bit scathing but at least might provide a counter-perspective to the implausible pleas in the Al Jazeera article for more money…Can these organisations iron out issues among themselves and get to work with the 4.4 billion USD that has already been pledged? This amount itself can scar Nepal indelibly if it goes to the wrong gang…and elements of that gang are very much aware of the wildly lucrative opportunity born from the true victims of tragedy.

Politely Don't Believe the Hype
&

Working from the Ground on Down

#FreeNepal, #AidBully, #AidEntrepreneur, #AidRiddenNepal, #DonorDarlings, #NepalQuake, #Nepal

How to Overcome Depression Naturally

From the good people of Reader's Digest: How to Overcome Depression Naturally (ho-la/maybe)
------

***addendum to suggestion #1…defragging 'fuggwits’ as much as possible—my personal example and instant mood downer -- (most) aid-entrepreneur expats in Nepal (many of them deny that they are even working in aid—excusing role as something else,‘advisor’ or ‘consultant’, while receiving relatively massive payments from DFID, SNV, USAID, GIZ and others) and wreaking (often unwittingly from inside a self-serving bubble) havoc as they treat the country as a personal playground knowing little of the lingo and culture and plead ignorance about the hazards of the aid industry.

Life can be hard enough without these people adding to the burden of blues as they and the ruling gang that they help to sponsor trample and bully the real Nepalis.

#Depression, #DonorDarlings, 

Whisky-Tango-Foxtrot?...in other words...

WTF?

Arise, awake--wake up in this world....Home Sweet Home Samsara

"They called it paradise...to light their neon way and give them thngs to do...They called it paradise, I don't know why". Photo by Alonzo Lyons

#WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot, #WTF, #Samsara, #HomeSweetHome

'Karma Doesn't Forgive'

In other words, 'What you do comes back to you'. 

Rather than a higher being meting out punishment and reward, karma might be thought of as a quasi-spiritual version of Newton’s 3^rd Law of Motion, 'To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction'.

Belief in Karma is a belief in cause and effect--for every action there will be a result -- each and every action has consequences. Current circumstances are conditioned by previous actions and the future is conditioned by current actions. 

It really is as simple as that. The rest is up to us -- thankfully.

Sign outside a restaurant in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo by Alonzo 'Sher Singh' Lyons

#Karma, #Newton, #ThirdLawOfMotion, #Forgiveness

Unavoidable Royals of the United Kingdom of America — Clinton and Bush Clans

“Maybe four out of five Presidents in a row shouldn’t be named Clinton or Bush” --Amy Davidson, Jeb Bush, to the Bat Cave, The New Yorker, 1 November, 2014. 

Maybe he or she should be a scientist, academic, private business owner and operator, comedian, prostitute, athlete, astronaut…anything but a warmongering, insider, partisan politician.

Is it possible to find an apolitical head of state — a leader in his or her field with a record of success built on skill, talent, intellect and working well with others?

More on this subject here: Public Self-Service
and Chronic Politician

Graffiti by Banksy

#UnitedKingdomOfAmerica, #Clinton, #Bush, #Comedian, #Prostitute, #Athlete, #Astronaut #NewYorker, #AmyDavidson, #Primary #Politrix #Cronyism

Time Flies like a Dodo Bird

I get so lost sometimes...time often flies like a dodo bird in my life...stumbling and fumbling...

Take it away for a while celestial Emeli --

#emelisande #wonder #timeflies #dodobird

Image sourced from http://store.tapirback.com/stuffed-dodo-bird-long-f1701/ 

Image sourced from: http://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/4dc9a5bc9298b2a17ad2b68d7abb6b5c

Sexy Green Peanuts and the Queen of Spices

Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) is a spice that is sometimes brewed with coffee and teas and can be a healthy enhancement. It helps neutralize coffee’s acidity naturally and adds a luscious aroma and rich flavor.

Brewing java with cardamom has long been favored in Arab cultures and especially by the Turks. It is also a vital component in 'masala tea' of Nepal and India. A

 Chinese friend refers to the cardamom seed pods as ‘green peanuts’ which they can resemble a bit with creative finesse (photo below).

The following are translations of 'cardamom' that I learned in a few different languages--as an admirer of the 'green peanut': doukou guoshi/豆蔻果实 in Mandarin, sukumel/सुकुमेल in Nepali, ilaichi/इलायची in Hindi and grawan/กระวาน in Thai). 

For the bold and willing, a dose of roxy (firewater) can also spice up java--known as Mustang Coffee in the Himalaya. Roxy-java is especially revitalizing in the highlands on cold, unkind days.

More information about cardamom, the Queen of Spices, aka, green peanuts, can be found at these informative sites (including many putative benefits)--

http://foodfacts.mercola.com/cardamom.html

http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/cardamom.html

Photo by Michelle Peters - Jones, found on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/foodfootballandababy/8434971801

Sign outside a diner in Ningbo, China. Photo by Alonzo Lyons

'Nepal pushes to finalise constitution despite concerns'

Continued insightful coverage on Nepal by Al Jaz…leave it to the expert reporters Saif Khalid assisted by Anuraj Acharya, and especially T. Bell and M. Hutt -- trustworthy Buddha-eyes on Nepal.

my response to the article on Al Jaz website was the following:

excellent reporting. would that I/NGOs and other  foreign agents pull out support for the charade. most continue to subsidize it unknowingly, and thus the establishment carries on same as it ever did with sustenance flowing in from international players. unfortunately, a windfall amount could change everything indelibly...perhaps for the worst. now is the time to call for evidence-based aid with transparency from top to bottom. is proof of aid's actions, cash-flow and effectiveness too much to ask? otherwise, a vulgar amount of funds might drive down and disenfranchise an impoverished people even more,  people without an advocate and without representation.

excellent reporting. would that I/NGOs and other  foreign agents pull out support for the charade. most continue to subsidize it unknowingly, and thus the establishment carries on same as it ever did with sustenance flowing in from international players. unfortunately, a windfall amount could change everything indelibly...perhaps for the worst. now is the time to call for evidence-based aid with transparency from top to bottom. is proof of aid's actions, cash-flow and effectiveness too much to ask? otherwise, a vulgar amount of funds might drive down and disenfranchise an impoverished people even more,  people without an advocate and without representation.
http://alolyo.blogspot.com/2015/08/working-from-ground-on-down.html

image taken from: http://fakebuddhaquotes.com/chill-homie-you-need-to-let-that-shit-go/ reporting. would that I/NGOs and other  foreign agents pull out support for the charade. most continue to subsidize it unknowingly, and thus the establishment carries on same as it ever did with sustenance flowing in from international players. unfortunately, a windfall amount could change everything indelibly...perhaps for the worst. now is the time to call for evidence-based aid with transparency from top to bottom. is proof of aid's actions, cash-flow and effectiveness too much to ask? otherwise, a vulgar amount of funds might drive down and disenfranchise an impoverished people even more,  people without an advocate and without representation.http://alolyo.blogspot.com/2015/08/working-from-ground-on-down.html

cellent reporting. would that I/NGOs and other  foreign agents pull out support for the charade. most continue to subsidize it unknowingly, and thus the establishment carries on same as it ever did with sustenance flowing in from international players. unfortunately, a windfall amount could change everything indelibly...perhaps for the worst. now is the time to call for evidence-based aid with transparency from top to bottom. is proof of aid's actions, cash-flow and effectiveness too much to ask? otherwise, a vulgar amount of funds might drive down and disenfranchise an impoverished people even more,  people without an advocate and without representation.

http://alolyo.blogspot.com/2015/08/working-from-ground-on-down.html

excellent reporting. would that I/NGOs and other  foreign agents pull out support for the charade. most continue to subsidize it unknowingly, and thus the establishment carries on same as it ever did with sustenance flowing in from international players. unfortunately, a windfall amount could change everything indelibly...perhaps for the worst. now is the time to call for evidence-based aid with transparency from top to bottom. is proof of aid's actions, cash-flow and effectiveness too much to ask? otherwise, a vulgar amount of funds might drive down and disenfranchise an impoverished people even more,  people without an advocate and without representation.
http://alolyo.blogspot.com/2015/08/working-from-ground-on-down.html

excellent reporting. would that I/NGOs and other  foreign agents pull out support for the charade. most continue to subsidize it unknowingly, and thus the establishment carries on same as it ever did with sustenance flowing in from international players. unfortunately, a windfall amount could change everything indelibly...perhaps for the worst. now is the time to call for evidence-based aid with transparency from top to bottom. is proof of aid's actions, cash-flow and effectiveness too much to ask? otherwise, a vulgar amount of funds might drive down and disenfranchise an impoverished people even more,  people without an advocate and without representation.
http://alolyo.blogspot.com/2015/08/working-from-ground-on-down.html

excellent reporting. would that I/NGOs and other  foreign agents pull out support for the charade. most continue to subsidize it unknowingly, and thus the establishment carries on same as it ever did with sustenance flowing in from international players. unfortunately, a windfall amount could change everything indelibly...perhaps for the worst. now is the time to call for evidence-based aid with transparency from top to bottom. is proof of aid's actions, cash-flow and effectiveness too much to ask? otherwise, a vulgar amount of funds might drive down and disenfranchise an impoverished people even more,  people without an advocate and without representation.
http://alolyo.blogspot.com/2015/08/working-from-ground-on-down.html

"Next-to-no illness, next-to-no-affliction, lightness, strength, and a comfortable abiding"

Thus I have heard. Siddhartha Gautama (aka, Sakyamuni Buddha) offered a straightforward prescription for "...next-to-no illness, next-to-no-affliction, lightness, strength, and a comfortable abiding".

He was not suggesting any extracurricular training and exercises. He was not endorsing an elaborate nutritional program. He gave a direct, concise instruction with far-reaching benefits for health and well-being--by simply doing less of something. 

From the Kitagiri Sutta (translation by Thanisarro Bhikkhu):

Thus I have heard, "I abstain from the night-time meal. As I am abstaining from the night-time meal, I sense next-to-no illness, next-to-no affliction, lightness, strength, and a comfortable abiding. Come now. You too abstain from the night-time meal. As you are abstaining from the night-time meal, you, too, will sense next-to-no illness, next-to-no affliction, lightness, strength, and a comfortable abiding."

Advertisement in Pokhara, Nepal.."FOOD & SNAKES" -- not your everyday combination.
Photo by Alonzo Lyons

There are more attractive restaurant signs, but not 'meany' of them :) Photo by Alonzo Lyons

"Working from the ground on down"

'Nepal isn't Haiti' aid organizations are urging donors to believe.

They have good reason to be insistent...a vulgar amount of money is at stake--billions...

...billions...

The aid industry is even bullying the media to not report on misdeeds, that is, to not compare Nepal's aid paradigm to Haiti's fiasco--lest potential donors become justifiably wary and pull back. Aid entrepreneurs seem to be fitfully concerned about losing 'their' money and losing a chance at a financial jackpot wrought by a horrific tragedy.

And with a game-changing amount, then perhaps Nepal might become so disfigured as to be rendered unrecognizable--sunk forever if the wrong people receive as much power and leverage as a pornographic windfall would afford the ruling establishment--ever more leverage and more sway over a long-disenfranchised, impoverished citizenry.

"Nepal is not Haiti"...is supposed to reassure potential donors...

Actually, the aid scene in general in Nepal is likely worse than Haiti, and for that matter, perhaps worse than anywhere in the world. Are aid entrepreneurs willing to truly see the suffering behind mounds of expensive paperwork, reams of photo opportunities...to bear witness to the appalling fashion show behind the clutter and faux-scenery of a donor darling playground? For anyone with eyes to see, suffering is palpable in Nepal and deathly. Most donors and aid workers do not see it, pretend not to see it or worst of all, blindly believe that they are championing the very people being oppressed by the establishment, an establishment that aid helps to endow.

Therefore, I kindly request evidence-based reassurances that the aid business is on track and on task. After six decades and billions of dollars and endless schemes, can the aid industry please present evidence in their own defense worthy of six decades of otherwise lost time, effort and money? For example, in flagrante delicto many hydro projects have been funded (profanely funded) without materializing...that money didn't just disappear into thin air...the people should track and chase down and prosecute every last accomplice for stripping them of years and years and years of prosperity and the pox of poverty that took its place. Poverty and its effects include hunger, illness, educational failings and much more up to death associated with it and its lost opportunities.

For once, will the aid industry at least consider that they might be doing some harm (rather than curiously proclaiming that they are not Haiti)? This question is not unreasonable, especially when tens of millions of people are suffering every day and have been suffering for decades upon decades for want of progress, health and opportunity. Will the aid industry ever consider it might be doing some harm? Should not that be the first question of all before an aid entrepreneur packs his/her bags to effect change in a distant foreign land?

Until then, until we see clear, transparent, and objective proof worthy of billions of dollars and years and years of critical time wasted--lost time and lost opportunity borne by an impoverished people--people without a defender, without an advocate, without a champion, without representation--then, I will continue to believe the aid industry is generally misguided in Nepal and beyond. Hopefully, I might, even if in the smallest way, be part of a growing voice for overdue change in aid to Nepal...otherwise, taken as a whole, aid tends to support the very people keeping Nepal undeveloped and paralyzed in failed folly. In sum, aid, taken as a whole (from my anecdotal viewpoint), probably could not have done more harm to Nepal had that been its aim.

It tends to subsidize the entitlement gang, political establishment and government functionaries and does so for the worst. Together they generally have drowned the hopes of millions of Nepalis day after day, year after year, decade after decade and so on. Foreign agents tend to align with precisely the wrong gang, prolonging and perpetuating deathly problems. I would love with all my heart for the sake of Nepal and Nepali people to be proved wrong about aid...until then I will fumble along as I speak out against it (and hopefully speak up for Nepal and Nepali people) as much as I can.

And what now is most needed post-quake? In terms of rebuilding in rural areas, structures in the hills collapsed, and mostly homes need to be rebuilt--and many have been already.

This rebuilding is something local people are adept at as a community without much outside support. Many have already accomplished this rebuilding of their own homes through their own and community-wide efforts. This is something they have done since time immemorial without a single rupee or nod from any outside source or consultation. 

Still, pleas for schools pull at donors' heartstrings. What human with red blood can withstand a plea for a school--ultimately for kids, for education and opportunity...Schools have become the target as they are the most likely to reach a soft spot in potential donors' judgment.

But what exactly will be rebuilt here with regards to schools..will they become the same as they were pre-quake...many empty shells where education was desired but not often delivered for want of teachers, staff, salaries, supplies and for want of material, administrative and economic support necessary for a school to function. Basically, will it just be a building with the name of 'school' on the outside?

What I mean to point out is, what of these schools after they are built? Who will staff them, supply salaries and instructional materials and a decent curriculum? Material support was a major issue in most schools pre-quake. Who will follow up once the newly erected structures are in place? Or, is the structure the only goal and education an assumed side-effect that has been greatly missing all along in many rural areas? Is this overlooked or do aid workers believe education will materialize on its own after a basic framework is established (and after hefty salaries and photo opportunities are collected by I/NGO entrepreneurs and administrators)?

Certainly, outside funds might make re-building, education, and nearly everything else easier if they truly hit the target in a transparent way and have proper, unbiased oversight and rigorous follow-up and most importantly community support, too. And that is precisely what is suspicious about the aid paradigm up to now...how infrequently they have hit targets (do most of them even know their targets if not the local language and cultures they are affecting?) and can provide concrete stories of success.

Moreover, at this point, it is not going to kill anyone to not receive more outside funds, whereas, on the other hand, a vast amount of money that helps subsidize and endow a dysfunctional system could potentially do vast harm as it continues to oppress the majority of vulnerable people in a way that results in illness, suffering and yes, even death...one outrageously tragic example, over thirty Nepalis are coming home in body bags a month after perishing abroad in hideous work mostly in Malaysia and the Gulf for lack of opportunity at home--a direct outcome of the flawed establishment that is greatly enabled and endowed by the aid industry. Knowingly and most often unknowingly aid is helping to keep a dysfunctional system in place.

No, now is not the time to defend Nepal's aid paradigm as 'not Haiti' --if that is the best claim and the catchphrase the aid business chooses to put forth right now. They already have 100,000-plus spokespeople on salaries in favor of aid (i.e., Nepal has over 100,000 I/NGOs and therefore, that many CEOs of I/NGOs). Given the tide in favor of a dubious industry, that industry might very well benefit from a few more critics.

In fact, focusing on the rare few in the aid industry doing things right does a disservice to the Nepali people at a time when billions are at stake and more oversight and care is most needed, not less. Overlooking the faults is not the answer if it means overlooking the suffering, the backbreaking suffering that aid has been a party to for the foreseeable past.

Now is the time to #FreeNepal and demand of I/NGOs at the very least transparency (in amounts received, amounts spent and on what and substantial proof of it including amounts of salaries of all members in said aid organization), accountability, oversight...or better yet, free Nepal of foreign intervention altogether by throwing a malnourished, abused baby out with the bathwater and pull the plug on a dysfunctional status quo rather than inoculating the zombies with billions...billions...

Lack of money is likely not the root of problems, nor are funds the likely solution. Will more money lead to any resolution and progress and if so, can the aid industry provide substantial proof of that?  
Until evidence arrives, more funding seems to have had the opposite effect...which leaves me to ponder the earnestness in proclaiming that 'Nepal is not Haiti'? 

"The [aid industry] doth protest too much, methinks" -- paraphrase of Hamlet, Shakespeare

"There are good deeds and good intentions and the distance between them is as far as heaven and hell...and you're working your way from the ground on down." --Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals

Live from Mars, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals
"There are good deeds and good intentions and the distance between them is a far as heaven and hell."