Five Important Indigenous People's Issues for the Weeks of August 13 - August 19, 2008 INDIGENOUS PEOPLE: U.S. and Canada Found Guilty of Racism The international community now fully recognizes the native peoples' right to protect their lands and live distinct lifestyles. Yet, most of the world's 370 million indigenous peoples continue to face abuse and injustices at the hands of state authorities and commercial concerns. "We must look at the substantial successes we have been able to... Read Full Story

Today I'm pleased to have a guest post from Paul Kiritsis. He has just released a very interesting book called Hermetica: Myths, Legends, and Poems, and his website contains a bunch of fascinating stuff concerning his astrology work. I asked him to share some thoughts on his writing process, and especially on how astrology plays a role in his work. Hi there, thanks for having me! Yes I am a true Cancerian – emotional, loving, intuitive, imaginative, shrewd, cautious, protective and... Read Full Story

The No Complaining Rule I’m pretty sure everyone has heard of “energy vampires” – those people who can suck the very life and energy out of a room the moment they walk in. I’m also pretty sure people understand the basic concept of being positive. If we put positive thoughts into the world, positive results will come back to us. But what do we do when we encounter a complainer? Someone who simply can’t seem to find the positive in any situation and always has something to complain about... Read Full Story

I was sent an urgent request from a indigenous colleague in India about their current situation, and thought I would try and help get the word out. Please, if you can email this entry to friends and colleagues, or help spread it around so that word gets out on the current situation in India concerning indigenous peoples. Dear Friend, I belong to the Gond tribe of India and you must be aware that in India tribal are being systematically displaced and killed in the name of development by... Read Full Story

Five Important Indigenous People's Issues for the Weeks of August 5 - August 12, 2008 Kaka-Does New Era of Indigenous Tourism Kakadu traditional owner Freddy Hunter has the most wondrous stories to tell, if only tourists could drop their obsession with crocs. "Of course we see them, but I tell people, it's not always about looking for crocodiles," he says. "When we get out there we see birds, the creation mother – it's beautiful out there in the pitch black with millions of stars." The... Read Full Story

Vietnam Air Rescues EAVESDROP, as a father recounts to his adult children his exploits as an Air Force "Jolly Green" combat rescue helicopter pilot in Vietnam. BE THERE to see what it was really like. RIDE ALONG and determine what you would have done when another man's life was literally hanging in the balance. FEEL what it meant to save a life, and what it meant to lose one. EXPERIENCE heart pounding action in Vietnam Air Rescues. The book begins with the authors’ ‘Unauthorized... Read Full Story

I'm working on several large-scale Natural Resource Damage Assessments (NRDAs), both as a Principal Investigator (PI) and as an expert consultant. These are big projects mandated by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) in which a site is being cleaned up after a major toxic spill or disaster. An example that most people are familiar with is the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska in 1989. As part of this process, there is a remediation step whereby... Read Full Story

I began writing what would eventually become my first novel, Suffering Madness, in 1995. My design goals at the time were fairly small - I was targeting the short story market in magazines to try to develop a name. After enough rejections to wallpaper my office, I realized my writing was pretty bad. Fortunately, my desire to write and tell stories overshadowed any detail like the mechanics of writing, and I was dumb enough to press past the rejections telling me I was clueless. I joined... Read Full Story

Five Important Indigenous People's Issues for the Weeks of July 29 - August 4, 2008 Division In The House: Indigenous Peoples In Fiji Shabbat Shalom! I was at an Indigenous Tourism Resources Owners workshop yesterday morning in Suva. The presentations by representatives of government departments and the Native (or indigenous but not 'Fijian') Land Trust Board, had to be cut short because we spent too long in the 'devotion' conducted by my tauvu, the fiery motivator who kept the... Read Full Story

Alisa Valdes-Rodriquez Dirty Girls on Top Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez jump-started the Latina chick-lit movement when she published the best-selling Dirty Girls Social Club five years ago. Now she's back with a sequel, Dirty Girls on Top,which follows Lauren, Usnavys, Rebecca, Amber, Sara and Elizabeth as they navigate through marriage, kids, careers and boyfriends during their mid-30s. It's easy to want to call the breezy, sexy book a Latina version of Sex and the City. But Ms. Valdes... Read Full Story