How Gullible Do They Think We Are?

(from an article by Cosmicbear published in 2002)

Imagine, if you will, going on a blind date set up for you by a dear and trusted friend. You arrive on time at the specified restaurant, dressed to kill: new clothes, fresh haircut; you are looking sharp and feeling good…and no one shows up. The next day you call your friend who is quick to explain your date’s reason for not showing, whether it was work or traffic or whatever. But the person is truly sorry and wants to meet you tonight, at the same place and time, if that meets with your approval. Lets say you agree, and you are there on time ‘dressed to the nines’ once again, and again your date is a no show.

How many times would you put yourself through this scenario before you began to question this person’s veracity, or your friend’s integrity, for that matter? In a very real sense this was the position the early Church found themselves in concerning the promise of the return of their leader, Jesus. In the study of the Gospels we see the early followers expecting him to come back soon, and the longer it took the more elaborate the later writers explanations became, until finally they had to strip the Old Testament Scriptures of all sense and reason in order to establish a time frame for the still eminent return of their hero.

Down through the centuries there have been multitudes of Church leaders that have set hundreds of dates, and each and every one has been wrong. To name a few:

1889-The Jehovah’s Witnesses claimed, “The ‘battle of the great day of God Almighty’ (Rev.16:14) which will end in A.D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth’s present rulership, is already commenced.” The Time Is At Hand pg. 101.
1897-also, “Our Lord, the appointed King, is now present, since October 1874 A.D.” Studies in the Scriptures Vol. 4, pg 621, 1897 ed.
1916-“The six great 1000-year days beginning with Adam are ended, and the great 7th day, the 1000 years of Christ’s reign, began in 1873.” The Time Is At Hand pg. 2.
1920-“Therefore we may confidently expect that 1925 will mark the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful prophets of old.” Millions Now Living Will Never Die pg. 89.
1931-it seems some had come to their senses, as stated in the publication Vindication pg. 338 and 339; “There was a measure of disappointment on the part of Jehovah’s faithful ones on earth concerning the years 1914, 1918 & 1925, which disappointment lasted for a time…and they also learned to quit fixing dates.”
Or did they?
1966-“Six thousand years from man’s creation will end in 1975, and the seventh period of a thousand years of human history will begin in the fall of 1975 C.E. (Common Era).” Life Everlasting pg 29.
1968-“There are only about 90 months before 6000 years of mans existence on earth is completed. The majority of people living today will probably be alive when Armageddon breaks out.” KM 3/68

One has to wonder, how can there still be so many Jehovah’s Witnesses. I don’t care how much I love my friend; if that ‘date’ has not shown up in over a hundred years, chances are my friend is a liar.

However, this line of thought isn’t strictly limited to this little section of Christianity. It has become a focal point of most fundamentalist theology since J.N. Darby took the first wobbly steps toward modern day dispensationalism in the nineteenth century. The majority of Christian Denominations today have developed rather extensive doctrinal statements concerning the end times, many of them disagreeing on nearly every point. It seems the only point they agree on is that Jesus will return to earth. In the clouds? Maybe. On the Mount of Olives? Perhaps. When? Your guess is as good as mine…literally. Aside from the Seventh Day Adventist’s of the nineteenth century and the ‘pre-tribulation rapture’ movements that have filled the Christian bookshelves and airwaves since the early 70’s, this ‘date setting’ trend has become popular in any religion that is based on an eschatological (1) basis, including many aspects of the New Age movement.

For instance, in a magazine called Connecting Link, in issue 22, dated January/February of 1994, we find on pgs. 24 and 25, an advertisement by I AM AMERICA out of Payson Az., which publishes a bunch of books concerning earth changes prophesied to occur some time in the future which were channeled from St. Germain, Sananda, and an army of other masters of the Spiritual Hierarchy through Lori Wilkins Toye and her husband Len. They have also created a map of the United States showing the end result, including a new shoreline just above Phoenix. In the ad the question is asked, “When will this happen?” The answer they give is, “The unique message of this map goes beyond predicting earthquakes, volcanoes and sinking lands. It isn’t concerned about when this is going to happen, rather what are we going to do with our choices now.” This would seem to be the appropriate response to any question regarding the timing of ‘god’, or the Universe, or anyone claiming to speak for them. But let’s hold our applause. In their book New World Atlas, which was published in 1991, we find very specific timelines for very specific catastrophes. For instance, on December 17, 1988, concerning the sinking of central Oregon, it is stated, “They are indicating the first event occurring in the year 1992…and the final events are in 2000.” In a session on December 21, concerning the sinking of the Rockies near Denver, “Q-So that mountain range will not be there by 2000 then? A-No.” There are several other predictions with precise times stated, but these two will make my point. It comes as no surprise, then, that between the time the book was published and the advertisement came out in the magazine, about three uneventful years, the authors had to scale down the importance of the dates for the sake of credibility.

In 1986 Yvonne Cole began channeling a group of ET’s known as the Ashtar Command. In the early 90’s they (or ‘she’) made it known through an endless succession of articles in the Connecting Link that in the latter part of 1994 they would be unveiling themselves to humanity using the latest technology. As they were already in contact with the national leaders throughout the world, this coming out party would be broadcast with their full approval on every TV and radio station worldwide. These messages were carried for a couple of years in the Connecting Link magazine. The excuse they gave in 1995 was that we weren’t ready for such a grand event.

This next article, also from the January/February issue of Connecting Link, is under the title ‘News Bulletin from Mission Control.’ Now mind you, this is a direct quote from a person that expects you to take this seriously, although if I wrote a comical sci-fi novel I would have included this as part of the plot line. “The governing extraterrestrial councils of this planetary mission have interceded in the official schedule of catastrophes and have changed the changes. Instead of catapulting California into the ocean, a decision was recently made to keep it. In a close vote it was decided to preserve California “as is” and turn it into a theme park-a place to take your children on a tour of the old civilization and scare them, after you explain to them what “being scared” means.” Alright, so maybe Ashtar Command and Mission Control couldn’t decide what to do with California and therefore neither did anything and they both decided to take a vacation with Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.

These are some of the questions we need to ask ourselves: How many times do we allow someone to lie to us before we no longer trust them? If someone is channeling information that proves to be false, could they simply be hearing voices in their heads? If thirty people channel thirty energies and get thirty totally conflicting sets of facts, do we just pick a name out of a hat to see which is right? Is there a right or wrong? Do we have to give up our reasoning faculties to be spiritual? Can someone you trust in most things simply be wrong about something without losing your respect?

I will leave you with this quote from a little book called The Key, published by A Center for the Practice of Zen Buddhist Meditation. “A rat in a laboratory learns very quickly not to go down the tunnel if there is no longer cheese at the other end. A human being will continue to go down the tunnel even though there’s never been any cheese at the end.”

Note (1) - (es·cha·tol·o·gy n. 1. The branch of theology that is concerned with the end of the world or of humankind. 2. A belief or a doctrine concerning the ultimate or final things, such as death, the destiny of humanity, the Second Coming, or the Last Judgment.)

For a Catholic take on the Rapture go here.

Light up your life with electrolytes

“All cellular structures become alive through electrolytic activity. Life begins with electrolytes. Trace minerals carry the life force in our bodies more than any other substance.” Dr. Bernard Jensen

Summer is upon us now, with its heat and activity; vacations and fun; travel and play … did I mention the heat?

Although proper nutrition is important any time of year it is vital during the hot summer months. An imbalance of nutrients (specifically the minerals and trace minerals) in our blood stream and cellular structure can lead to a wide variety of symptoms and maladies which would include:

• irregular heartbeat (tachycardia)
• irritability
• fatigue
• lethargy
• heavy, labored breathing
• muscle twitching and/or seizures
• nausea, abdominal cramping, and/or vomiting
• headache
• edema (swelling)
• muscle weakness and/or tremor
• paralysis
• disorientation
• slowed breathing
• seizures
• coma
• death

These macro and micro minerals are commonly known as ‘electrolytes’ and are often called the spark of life. Technically, electrolytes are substances that become ions in solution and acquire the capacity to conduct electricity. These ionized molecules are found throughout the blood, tissues, and cells of the body. These molecules, which are either positive (cations) or negative (anions), conduct an electric current and help to balance pH and acid-base levels in the body. Electrolytes also facilitate the passage of fluid between and within cells through a process known as osmosis and play a part in regulating the function of the neuromuscular, endocrine, and excretory systems.
The serum electrolytes include:
• Sodium (Na). A positively charged electrolyte that helps to balance fluid levels in the body and facilitates neuromuscular functioning.
• Potassium (K). A main component of cellular fluid, this positive electrolyte helps to regulate neuromuscular function and osmotic pressure.
• Calcium (Ca). A cation, or positive electrolyte, that affects neuromuscular performance and contributes to skeletal growth and blood coagulation.
• Magnesium (Mg). Influences muscle contractions and intracellular activity. A cation.
• Chloride (CI). An anion, or negative electrolyte, that regulates blood pressure.
• Phosphate (HPO4). Negative electrolyte that impacts metabolism and regulates acid-base balance and calcium levels.
• Bicarbonate (HCO3). A negatively charged electrolyte that assists in the regulation of blood pH levels. Bicarbonate insufficiencies and elevations cause acid-base disorders (i.e., acidosis, alkalosis).

With that in mind, it may cross your mind to ask, “But don’t we get these in the foods we eat?” The simple answer would be…no! Unless your diet consists primarily of fresh, raw or lightly cooked organic fruits and veggies, or take a high quality food based multiple vitamin/mineral supplement, chances are you are starting off the summer with a moderate to severe shortage of electrolytes. Below you will see the results to a study presented in THE JOURNAL OF ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE Volume 7, Number 2, 2001, pp. 161–173 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. titled:

Nutritional Quality of Organic Versus Conventional Fruits, Vegetables, and Grains
VIRGINIA WORTHINGTON, M.S., Sc.D., C.N.S.
Results: Organic crops contained significantly more vitamin C, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus and significantly less nitrates than conventional crops. There were non-significant trends showing less protein but of a better quality and a higher content of nutritionally significant minerals with lower amounts of some heavy metals in organic crops compared to conventional ones.

Conclusions: There appear to be genuine differences in the nutrient content of organic and conventional crops.

But these findings aren’t anything new. Below are some quotes from a Senate Document #264 released in 1936:

"Do you know that most of us today are suffering from certain dangerous diet deficiencies which cannot be remedied until the depleted soils from which our foods come from are brought into proper mineral balance ?"

"The alarming fact is that foods-fruits and vegetables-grains now being raised on millions of acres of land that no longer contains enough of certain minerals, are starving us...no matter how much of them we eat!"

"Laboratory tests prove that the fruits, the vegetables, the grains, the eggs and even the milk and meats of today are not what they were a few generations ago. No man of today can eat enough fruits and vegetables to supply his system with the minerals he requires for perfect health..."

"It is bad news to learn from our leading authorities that 99 percent of the American people are deficient in these minerals, and that a marked deficiency in any one of the more important minerals actually results in DISEASE. Any upset of the balance, any considerable lack of one or another element, however microscopic the body requirement may be, and we sicken, suffer, and shorten our lives".

"We know that vitamins are complex chemical substances which are indispensable to nutrition, and that each of them is important for the normal function of some special structure of the body. Disorder and disease result from any vitamin deficiency. It is not commonly realized, however, that vitamins control the body's appropriation of minerals, and that in the absence of minerals they have no function to perform. Lacking vitamins, the system can make some use of minerals, but lacking minerals, vitamins are useless".

"Our soils which are seriously deficient in trace minerals, cannot produce plant life competent to maintain our needs, and with the continuous cropping and shipping away of those trace minerals and concentrates, the condition becomes worse".

Your next question will undoubtedly be, “How can I protect myself and my family during the summer months?” Here are a few general suggestions and products that can help you beat the heat:

• For general health everyone needs to consume half their body weight in ounces of pure delicious water. This means, if you weigh 100 pounds you should drink 50 ounces of water per day. Naturally you will need more according to your physical activities and general health. For instance, anyone that suffers from respiratory ailments can expel as much as 4 quarts of water per day through their mouth and unless they are replenishing this liquid they can suffer dehydration and electrolyte depletion.
• Organically grown fruits and vegetables, predominately the ‘greens’, provide much in the way of a balanced mineral profile. Eating lush, cooling salads and raw or lightly cooked varieties of veggies is a delicious way to stay cool as well as recharged.
• Alacer’s Emergen-C and Electro Mix…nearly everyone knows this company.
• I would like to take a minute to introduce you to Cellfood by Lumina Health. Cellfood is a proprietary super-energized complex concentrate of 78 trace minerals, 34 enzymes, 17 amino acids, electrolytes and dissolved oxygen held in a negatively-charged suspension utilizing deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen. Its inventor, the legendary Everett Storey, called Cellfood an electromagnetic equation. Since the blood and lymph fluid are colloidal and negatively charged, the synchronicity between Cellfood and these vital fluids assures the bioavailability of Cellfood's nutrients to every cell in the body. It not only provides the nutrients the cells require, it also provides oxygen.

Visit you local health food market for these supplements and organic produce, preferably local grown.

Of the Religion of Deism Compared with the Christian Religion

By Thomas Paine, American Revolutionary Leader


Every person, of whatever religious denomination he may be, is a DEIST in the first article of his Creed. Deism, from the Latin word Deus, God, is the belief of a God, and this belief is the first article of every man's creed.

It is on this article, universally consented to by all mankind, that the Deist builds his church, and here he rests. Whenever we step aside from this article, by mixing it with articles of human invention, we wander into a labyrinth of uncertainty and fable, and become exposed to every kind of imposition by pretenders to revelation.

The Persian shows the Zend-Avesta of Zoroaster, the lawgiver of Persia, and calls it the divine law; the Brahmin shows the Shaster, revealed, he says, by God to Brahma, and given to him out of a cloud; the Jew shows what he calls the law of Moses, given, he says, by God, on the Mount Sinai; the Christian shows a collection of books and epistles, written by nobody knows who, and called the New Testament; and the Mahometan shows the Koran, given, he says, by God to Mahomet: each of these calls itself revealed religion, and the only true Word of God, and this the followers of each profess to believe from the habit of education, and each believes the others are imposed upon.

But when the divine gift of reason begins to expand itself in the mind and calls man to reflection, he then reads and contemplates God and His works, and not in the books pretending to be revelation. The creation is the Bible of the true believer in God. Everything in this vast volume inspires him with sublime ideas of the Creator. The little and paltry, and often obscene, tales of the Bible sink into wretchedness when put in comparison with this mighty work.

The Deist needs none of those tricks and shows called miracles to confirm his faith, for what can be a greater miracle than the creation itself, and his own existence?

There is a happiness in Deism, when rightly understood, that is not to be found in any other system of religion. All other systems have something in them that either shock our reason, or are repugnant to it, and man, if he thinks at all, must stifle his reason in order to force himself to believe them.

But in Deism our reason and our belief become happily united. The wonderful structure of the universe, and everything we behold in the system of the creation, prove to us, far better than books can do, the existence of a God, and at the same time proclaim His attributes.

It is by the exercise of our reason that we are enabled to contemplate God in His works, and imitate Him in His ways. When we see His care and goodness extended over all His creatures, it teaches us our duty toward each other, while it calls forth our gratitude to Him. It is by forgetting God in His works, and running after the books of pretended revelation, that man has wandered from the straight path of duty and happiness, and become by turns the victim of doubt and the dupe of delusion.

Except in the first article in the Christian creed, that of believing in God, there is not an article in it but fills the mind with doubt as to the truth of it, the instant man begins to think. Now every article in a creed that is necessary to the happiness and salvation of man, ought to be as evident to the reason and comprehension of man as the first article is, for God has not given us reason for the purpose of confounding us, but that we should use it for our own happiness and His glory.

The truth of the first article is proved by God Himself, and is universal; for the creation is of itself demonstration of the existence of a Creator. But the second article, that of God's begetting a son, is not proved in like manner, and stands on no other authority than that of a tale.

Certain books in what is called the New Testament tell us that Joseph dreamed that the angel told him so, (Matthew i, 20): "And behold the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph, in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost."

The evidence upon this article bears no comparison with the evidence upon the first article, and therefore is not entitled to the same credit, and ought not to be made an article in a creed, because the evidence of it is defective, and what evidence there is, is doubtful and suspicious. We do not believe the first article on the authority of books, whether called Bibles or Korans, nor yet on the visionary authority of dreams, but on the authority of God's own visible works in the creation.

The nations who never heard of such books, nor of such people as Jews, Christians, or Mahometans, believe the existence of a God as fully as we do, because it is self-evident. The work of man's hands is a proof of the existence of man as fully as his personal appearance would be.

When we see a watch, we have as positive evidence of the existence of a watchmaker, as if we saw him; and in like manner the creation is evidence to our reason and our senses of the existence of a Creator. But there is nothing in the works of God that is evidence that He begat a son, nor anything in the system of creation that corroborates such an idea, and, therefore, we are not authorized in believing it.

What truth there may be in the story that Mary, before she was married to Joseph, was kept by one of the Roman soldiers, and was with child by him, I leave to be settled between the Jews and Christians. The story however has probability on its side, for her husband Joseph suspected and was jealous of her, and was going to put her away. "Joseph, her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was going to put her away, privately." (Matt. i, 19).

I have already said that "whenever we step aside from the first article (that of believing in God), we wander into a labyrinth of uncertainty," and here is evidence of the justness of the remark, for it is impossible for us to decide who was Jesus Christ's father.

But presumption can assume anything, and therefore it makes Joseph's dream to be of equal authority with the existence of God, and to help it on calls it revelation. It is impossible for the mind of man in its serious moments, however it may have been entangled by education, or beset by priestcraft, not to stand still and doubt upon the truth of this article and of its creed.

But this is not all. The second article of the Christian creed having brought the son of Mary into the world (and this Mary, according to the chronological tables, was a girl of only fifteen years of age when this son was born), the next article goes on to account for his being begotten, which was, that when he grew a man he should be put to death, to expiate, they say, the sin that Adam brought into the world by eating an apple or some kind of forbidden fruit.

But though this is the creed of the Church of Rome, from whence the Protestants borrowed it, it is a creed which that Church has manufactured of itself, for it is not contained in nor derived from, the book called the New Testament.

The four books called the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, which give, or pretend to give, the birth, sayings, life, preaching, and death of Jesus Christ, make no mention of what is called the fall of man; nor is the name of Adam to be found in any of those books, which it certainly would be if the writers of them believed that Jesus was begotten, born, and died for the purpose of redeeming mankind from the sin which Adam had brought into the world. Jesus never speaks of Adam himself, of the garden of Eden, nor of what is called the fall of man.

But the Church of Rome having set up its new religion, which it called Christianity, invented the creed which it named the Apostles's Creed, in which it calls Jesus the only son of God, conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary; things of which it is impossible that man or woman can have any idea, and consequently no belief but in words; and for which there is no authority but the idle story of Joseph's dream in the first chapter of Matthew, which any designing impostor or foolish fanatic might make.

It then manufactured the allegories in the book of Genesis into fact, and the allegorical tree of life and the tree of knowledge into real trees, contrary to the belief of the first Christians, and for which there is not the least authority in any of the books of the New Testament; for in none of them is there any mention made of such place as the Garden of Eden, nor of anything that is said to have happened there.

But the Church of Rome could not erect the person called Jesus into a Savior of the world without making the allegories in the book of Genesis into fact, though the New Testament, as before observed, gives no authority for it. All at once the allegorical tree of knowledge became, according to the Church, a real tree, the fruit of it real fruit, and the eating of it sinful.

As priestcraft was always the enemy of knowledge, because priestcraft supports itself by keeping people in delusion and ignorance, it was consistent with its policy to make the acquisition of knowledge a real sin.

The Church of Rome having done this, it then brings forward Jesus the son of Mary as suffering death to redeem mankind from sin, which Adam, it says, had brought into the world by eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge. But as it is impossible for reason to believe such a story, because it can see no reason for it, nor have any evidence of it, the Church then tells us we must not regard our reason, but must believe, as it were, and that through thick and thin, as if God had given man reason like a plaything, or a rattle, on purpose to make fun of him.

Reason is the forbidden tree of priestcraft, and may serve to explain the allegory of the forbidden tree of knowledge, for we may reasonably suppose the allegory had some meaning and application at the time it was invented. It was the practice of the Eastern nations to convey their meaning by allegory, and relate it in the manner of fact. Jesus followed the same method, yet nobody ever supposed the allegory or parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the Prodigal Son, the ten Virgins, etc., were facts.

Why then should the tree of knowledge, which is far more romantic in idea than the parables in the New Testament are, be supposed to be a real tree? The answer to this is, because the Church could not make its new-fangled system, which it called Christianity, hold together without it. To have made Christ to die on account of an allegorical tree would have been too barefaced a fable.

But the account, as it is given of Jesus in the New Testament, even visionary as it is, does not support the creed of the Church that he died for the redemption of the world. According to that account he was crucified and buried on the Friday, and rose again in good health on the Sunday morning, for we do not hear that he was sick. This cannot be called dying, and is rather making fun of death than suffering it.

There are thousands of men and women also, who if they could know they should come back again in good health in about thirty-six hours, would prefer such kind of death for the sake of the experiment, and to know what the other side of the grave was. Why then should that which would be only a voyage of curious amusement to us, be magnified into merit and suffering in him? If a God, he could not suffer death, for immortality cannot die, and as a man his death could be no more than the death of any other person.

The belief of the redemption of Jesus Christ is altogether an invention of the Church of Rome, not the doctrine of the New Testament. What the writers of the New Testament attempted to prove by the story of Jesus is the resurrection of the same body from the grave, which was the belief of the Pharisees, in opposition to the Sadducees (a sect of Jews) who denied it.

Paul, who was brought up a Pharisee, labors hard at this for it was the creed of his own Pharisaical Church: I Corinthians xv is full of supposed cases and assertions about the resurrection of the same body, but there is not a word in it about redemption. This chapter makes part of the funeral service of the Episcopal Church. The dogma of the redemption is the fable of priestcraft invented since the time the New Testament was compiled, and the agreeable delusion of it suited with the depravity of immoral livers. When men are taught to ascribe all their crimes and vices to the temptations of the devil, and to believe that Jesus, by his death, rubs all off, and pays their passage to heaven gratis, they become as careless in morals as a spendthrift would be of money, were he told that his father had engaged to pay off all his scores.

It is a doctrine not only dangerous to morals in this world, but to our happiness in the next world, because it holds out such a cheap, easy, and lazy way of getting to heaven, as has a tendency to induce men to hug the delusion of it to their own injury.

But there are times when men have serious thoughts, and it is at such times, when they begin to think, that they begin to doubt the truth of the Christian religion; and well they may, for it is too fanciful and too full of conjecture, inconsistency, improbability and irrationality, to afford consolation to the thoughtful man. His reason revolts against his creed. He sees that none of its articles are proved, or can be proved.

He may believe that such a person as is called Jesus (for Christ was not his name) was born and grew to be a man, because it is no more than a natural and probable case. But who is to prove he is the son of God, that he was begotten by the Holy Ghost? Of these things there can be no proof; and that which admits not of proof, and is against the laws of probability and the order of nature, which God Himself has established, is not an object for belief. God has not given man reason to embarrass him, but to prevent his being imposed upon.

He may believe that Jesus was crucified, because many others were crucified, but who is to prove he was crucified for the sins of the world? This article has no evidence, not even in the New Testament; and if it had, where is the proof that the New Testament, in relating things neither probable nor provable, is to be believed as true?

When an article in a creed does not admit of proof nor of probability, the salvo is to call it revelation; but this is only putting one difficulty in the place of another, for it is as impossible to prove a thing to be revelation as it is to prove that Mary was gotten with child by the Holy Ghost.

Here it is that the religion of Deism is superior to the Christian Religion. It is free from all those invented and torturing articles that shock our reason or injure our humanity, and with which the Christian religion abounds. Its creed is pure, and sublimely simple. It believes in God, and there it rests.

It honors reason as the choicest gift of God to man, and the faculty by which he is enabled to contemplate the power, wisdom and goodness of the Creator displayed in the creation; and reposing itself on His protection, both here and hereafter, it avoids all presumptuous beliefs, and rejects, as the fabulous inventions of men, all books pretending to revelation.

Globalists To Formally Propose Merger Of U.S., Canada, Mexico
July 6, 2007
Globalist political heavyweights are preparing to formally propose to Congress the merger of the U.S., Canada and Mexico into a North American Union at the end of summer after they held secret meetings to devise a plan that will be presented to representatives of all three governments. "A powerful think tank chaired by former Sen. Sam Nunn and guided by trustees including Richard Armitage, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Harold Brown, William Cohen and Henry Kissinger, is in the final stages of preparing a report to the White House and U.S. Congress on the benefits of integrating the U.S., Mexico and Canada into one political, economic and security bloc." Full Story

Rainforest Villages Unify to Protect and Preserve their Land, Traditions and Way of Life

Deep within the Amazon Rainforest in Peru lies a river known as the Rio Pisqui. This isolated river begins at the foot of the Andes and flows to the Rio Ucayali. Along its banks live a number of native communities. For these communities, the future has been changed forever by the official formation of the Rio Pisqui Federation, also known as FECONACURPI, an acronym for Federaction do Communidades Nativas de la Cuenca del Rio Pisqui, and translated as “Federation of Native Communities of the Pisqui River Basin.” The federation consists of 10 communities along a 100-mile stretch of the Rio Pisqui, and is a major step in the unification and empowerment of these communities.

The establishment of this federation legally empowers these 10 villages to have greater sovereignty over the region. It grants them greater authority to protect and preserve the land, plants, animals and bodies of water there, as well as their traditional knowledge and way of life. Part of their objective is to also provide better education for their children and advocate for laws favoring native communities.

April 26, 2006 - The Founding Decree of the Rio Pisqui Federation is Established

The process of establishing the Rio Pisqui Federation was initiated by six native leaders from the region, and involved years of careful consideration and discussion. The first, major milestone in the process was reached on April 26, 2006 when the Founding Decree of the Rio Pisqui Federation was composed. This document, under rights clarified in Peru’s political constitution, established 10 Indigenous communities along the Rio Pisqui as comprising a unified body. The objectives and goals were set forth and a 17-member board of directors was elected on this day.

The Objectives and Goals of the Rio Pisqui Federation

The Founding Decree outlines the specific objectives and goals of the federation. These include, among others:

• Protect and promote the integrity of the region while conserving its natural resources
• Promote bilingual education while maintaining ethnic identity
• Renew and strengthen traditional and spiritual medicine, including medicinal plants, healers, practices and songs
• Protect traditional knowledge.
• Watch over the social dignity and integrity of the native community and its members, food, shelter, health, education and labor
• Strengthen ties between the communities of the Rio Pisqui, as well as with other native communities and national and international sectors.
• Work toward a constitution of a native Amazonian organization
• Promote the organizing of multi-communal enterprises creating a consciousness of solidarity and efficiency.
• Promote community work and participation through incentives.

The Ten Communities of the Rio Pisqui Federation

Neuvo Eden, La Cumbre, Manco Capac, Charasmana, Tupac Amaru, Vencedor, Irazola, Santa Rosa, 9 do Cotubre, Tres Unidos

June 24, 2006 - Amazon Herb Representatives Help Celebrate the Founding of the Rio Pisqui Federation

After the creation of the Founding Decree, Amazon Herb Company Founder and CEO John Easterling was invited to Nuevo Eden to “swear in” the 17-member board of directors of the new Rio Pisqui Federation. Easterling was invited due to the contributions Amazon Herb Company has made to several native communities in the area including sustainable business partnerships, solar radios and a radio station, naturopathic health care, water filters, and legal support against tree poachers. Upon his return to the USA, Esterling received a formal letter of appreciation from the Rio Pisqui Federation.

Here are the contents of that letter:

June 24, 2006

Mr. John Easterling
Amazon Herb Company

Dear Sir,
As soon as we returned from our business trip to the city of Iquitos, the first thing I am doing is to take the pleasure in writing you these few words of gratitude and to once more express our deepest gratitude for the many attentions received from your worthy company. Words do not suffice to express that your kindness and supportive spirit have eternally sealed our gratitude.

Thank you for all that you and your worthy company have done for us. My only desire and good fortune game me the opportunity of having you in our Native Communities of the Pisqui River, and I know that we will never be able to repay the exquisite care of which we have been the object.

Your friend, Hidelfonso Del Aguila Flores, President of the Federation fo the Rio Pisqui, affectionately greets you.

Reprinted from Amazon Spirit, August 2006 issue, published by The Amazon Herb Company.