B e t r a y T h e A g e

New weekly's first issue set to hit streets Friday - Rutland Herald Article Also, The Vermont Guardian Web Page

A Manifesto for a Life-Changing Conclusion "There Is No More Important Social Change Work You Can Do Than Cooperative Development (hereinafter, TINMISCWYCDTCD). "

A huge part of that consumption is our insistence on huge cars, symbolized by Hummers and Caddys. But almost everything about our lifestyles, from our obesity epidemic to our homes, reeks of not giving one whit about being only 4 percent of the planet's population yet creating a quarter of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

(excerpt from the Story of B)"there are many among you who are burning to know why not a single one of you has ever heard a word about the Great Forgetting (by any name whatsoever) in any class you have ever attended at any school at any level, from kindergarten to graduate school. If you have this question, be assured that it's not an academic one by any means. It's a vital question, and I don't hesitate to say that our species' future on this planet depends on it."

In just a few centuries, the people of Easter Island wiped out their forest, drove their plants and animals to extinction, and saw their complex society spiral into chaos and cannibalism. Are we about to follow their lead ?

NEW YORK - New voters are flooding local election offices with paperwork, registering in significantly higher numbers than four years ago as attention to the presidential election runs high and an array of activist groups recruit would-be voters who could prove critical come Nov. 2.

"The glacier has receded a lot since 2002, which is very surprising and new since it had been relatively stable, almost unchanged since the 1950s,"

Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train documents the life and times of the historian, activist and author of the best selling classic A People’s History of the United States.

I believe that properly grown food is superior, safer and healthier. I further believe good, fresh food, grown locally by committed growers, is the very best to be found.

The Chinese Government has set a target to meet 12 percent of its power generation capacity from renewables by 2020.

"this presidential contest resembles a grotesque, media-focused war in which two sides skirmish for the attention of ill-informed voters"

In the quest for quality of life people are seeking voluntary simplicity.

How political science understands voters.It's alot worse than you can imagine.

American workers are stressed out, and in an unforgiving economy, they are becoming more so every day.Sixty-two percent say their workload has increased over the last six months; 53 percent say work leaves them "overtired and overwhelmed."

Climate change will soon make the Arctic regions of the world nearly unrecognisable, dramatically disrupting traditional Inuit and other northern native peoples' way of life, according to a new report that has yet to be publicly released.

"The Uses of History". Historian and writer, Howard Zinn has been active the civil rights movement, and in the movement against the Vietnam War. 7 p.m. at the Fine Arts Center. Free If you are unfamiliar with Howard, check out this site for more information http://www.geocities.com/howardzinnfans/. Howard offers intriguing information and perspectives on important matters of the day. The Rutland Community is lucky to have a teacher and writer of his magnitude here. Not to be missed.

Students squeamish about dissecting frogs and worms in biology class would be allowed to opt out of the well known rite of passage and instead learn about the anatomy of animals on computer software programs under a measure approved by the Massachusetts Legislature last night.

Harry Segil designs a future with less stuff and more room for fresh ideas. Is downsizing easy? No way. (LA Times, you must register to read.)

Why so much hunger? What can we do about it? To answer these questions we must unlearn much of what we have been taught. Only by freeing ourselves from the grip of widely held myths can we grasp the roots of hunger and see what we can do to end it.

We spend more money per person on health care than every other country. Why then are we willing to accept a ranking of 48th in life expectancy, behind others including Macau, Israel and Jordan?

This is an op-ed piece from the NY times (you have to sign up if you are not a member). A short overview of what we bought then and what we can buy now.

What We Work For Now: Changing Household Consumption Patterns in the 20th Centery "Despite all our concerns with self-fulfillment, most Americans work to earn money, just as their forebears did 100 years ago. The relative costs of necessities have changed, and so has a fair definition of what is necessary. But even with all our economic growth, and even with some items much cheaper than they once were, families still spend about four-fifths of their budgets for core needs, just as their counterparts did a century ago. Perhaps there should be some national introspection about how much we have really gained."

A source for products that are made in Vermont ! Support your community buy purchasing locally made and grown products. Why immediately send your hard earned cash out of state when purchasing items at out of state chain stores? Local products reduce the impact on our environment and helps to stenghten our local community by supporting our neighbors and helps build a higher quality life for us and our children. It's also fun!

Have you ever thought about how much useless packaging goes into the products you purchase at the grocery store? A good percentage of the total purchase price goes into packaging for that item. If you are concerned about where all of that trash goes and how much petrochemicals it has taken to produce it, a buying club might help reduce your contribution to this stream of trash by buying bulk items. At the United Buying Clubs Webpage, you find all kinds of information about how to join a local club or start one yourself. Small groups of people pool their orders and receive shipments of natural and organic foods at a predetermined time and location.

"They Loaded up The Trunks and They Moved to Tennessee". The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.

“There’s a truly great Irish poet; his name is Brendan Kennelly. He has this epic poem called ‘The Book of Judas.’ There’s a line in that poem that never leaves my mind. It says, ‘If you want to serve the age, betray it.’ What does that mean to betray the age? Well, to me betraying the age means exposing its conceits, its foibles, its phony moral certitudes. It means telling the secrets of the age and facing harsher truths. Every age has its massive moral blind spots,” Bono

The Good Soldier and Film Critic Delivers a Broadside by Michael Moore

How did the Party of Lincoln and Liberty transmogrify into the Party of Newt Gingrich’s Evil Spawn and their Etch-A-Sketch President, a Dull and Rigid Man, whose Philosophy is a Jumble of badly sutured Body Parts trying to Walk? by Garrison Keillor

Check out George Nostrands New Chatauqua Project for information on "The Risk of Normalcy" and "Breaking the Cycle". George presents powerful insights into how people with mental health barriers can overcome them. He has an interesting website discussing his music as well. Worth a tour. The Chatauqua Project

For a good laugh about GW's war on words click on the following link for a look at this hilarious clip

A Free 8 week course is being offered by the Vermont Earth Institute entitled " Voluntary Simplicity" at the Education and Wellness Center, 78 South Main Street, Rutland Vermont. This discussion group will explore the concept of Voluntary Simplicity in a casual relaxed atmosphere and is open to everyone. The date and time has not been established but will be based on the needs of the participants. To sign up or to obtain more information, please contact Patty Searles at 775-2395, ext.123. To review more information about the course content, please go to the Vermont Earth Institute

The Vermont Earth Institute is sponsoring a discussion group entitled " Choices For Sustainable Living" at the Education and Wellness Center at 78 South Main Street, Rutland, Vermont beginning at 7:00 P.M.on Tuesday evening September 28th. This discussion group is Free and open to everyone and will meet for 9 weeks from 7:00 to 8:30 PM on Tuesday evenings. For more information contact Mike O'Brien at 775-4340, 104. For discussion group readings go to the Vermont Earth Institute

Twenty Eight Words That Could Change The World - Robert Hinckley http://www.rachel.org/library/getfile.cfm?ID=237

Coming to Rutland Cineplex October 29th. THE CORPORATION -- a film by Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott and Joel Bakan-- is coming to a theater near you. Visit http://www.TheCorporation.com/usa for more details. Check out thetrailer at http://www.thecorporation.com/trailer/ Winner of the AUDIENCE AWARD for DOCUMENTARY in WORLD CINEMA at the 2004SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL and numerous other awards including 7 audiencechoice awards. Based on the book: "The Corporation: The PathologicalPursuit of Profit and Power" by Joel Bakan. Available at the Store.A darkly amusing account of the institution's evolution as a legal"person," THE CORPORATION is a powerful indictment of the roots ofcorporate power. So, what kind of person is it? The filmmakers concludethat a person whose prime directive is to produce ever-increasing profitfor it's shareholders -- regardless of the cost to people or the planet-- fits the diagnostic criteria of a psychopath. Featuring interviewswith CE...