COMPULSORY LIMITS ON BIRTHS “MAY BECOME UNAVOIDABLE” - OPT REPORT

Governments may be forced to introduce compulsory limits to family size if urgent action is not taken to restrain population growth through voluntary family planning, according to a report published today, World Population Day (Wednesday, July 11).

One-child policies, such as that now operating in China, are generally counter-productive and liable to discount human rights, the report says. But “in extreme situations, where states or regions may be almost uninhabitable through environmental damage, [they] may become unavoidable.”

The report, Youthquake, published by the Optimum Population Trust and written by Prof. John Guillebaud, a leading authority on family planning, points out that voluntary population stabilisation programmes, centring on education, awareness and removing the barriers to women’s control of their own fertility, have a proven record of success. A voluntary “two-child” population policy in Iran, for example, succeeded in halving fertility in eight years, as fast a rate of decrease as that of China, whose much-criticised one-child policy began in 1980.

However, worldwide there is still a “vast unmet need” for contraception. About 50 million of the roughly 190 million pregnancies worldwide each year end in abortions, half of the 380 women who become pregnant each minute did not plan to do so and at least 35 per cent of the estimated 550,000 women who die each year through abortions or childbirth are being killed by pregnancies they would have avoided if contraception had been available.

The report says the planet faces the biggest generation of young people in history – a “youthquake” with major social implications, “not least the creation of a huge cohort of young urban males who, through frustration and unemployment…seek an outlet in violence.”

A combination of high population and rising consumption levels means that humanity is currently outstripping the biological capacity of the Earth by 25 per cent each year. By 2050, when global population is projected to be 9.2 billion – an increase of 2.5 billion on today’s 6.7 billion - humans will be using the biocapacity of two Earths.

“Given that another habitable planet is not available, might humanity have to suffer the kind of death-dictated control to achieve stabilisation, or reduction by a “population crash” – a massive cull through violence, disease, starvation or natural disasters – which biology dictates for all other species when their numbers exceed the limits of their environment’s carrying capacity?

“Without action, longages of humans – the prime cause of all shortages of resources – may cause parts of the planet to become uninhabitable, with governments pushed towards coercive population control measures as a regrettable but lesser evil than unprecedented conflict and suffering.”

The report adds: “The continued inadequate resourcing of the voluntary approach [to population stabilisation] is arguably the best way to ensure that many more future governments will be forced, as they will then see it, through population pressure, to legislate for coercive birth control.”

Commenting on the report, Professor Guillebaud said: “No one is in favour of governments dictating family size but we need to act quickly to prevent it. Worldwide as this century progresses, those who continue to place obstacles in the way of women who want to control their fertility will have only themselves to blame, as more and more regimes bring in coercive measures. Despite the catastrophic current increase of an extra 1.5 million humans per week, there is still a slim chance that such measures can be avoided.”

Among other conclusions are:

*Every country, including the UK, needs a national population policy.

* A “stop at two children” (“replacement” level) or “have one child less” guideline for couples in the UK should be introduced by the Government, backed by schools, the media and environmental groups.

* New guidelines should be introduced for the portrayal of fertility issues by the media, aimed at countering the glamorisation of sex and stressing the responsibilities and frequent “sheer drudgery” of motherhood. Story-lines could demonstrate how teenage motherhood blights educational and earning prospects.

* A major new study is needed in the UK of the “perverse incentives” that lead some teenage girls to become pregnant. Britain’s record on teenage pregnancy is the worst in Europe while the performance of the NHS in this area has been “disastrous” and a “calamity.”

*Economic and political pressures to increase the birth rate are “hopelessly simplistic” and should be resisted. “Far from panicking about ‘baby shortages’, almost every country can welcome fertility rates at or slightly below replacement level.”

NOTES

The full report is available on the OPT’s website at ww.optimumpopulation.org/Youthquake.pdf .

John Guillebaud is emeritus professor of family planning and reproductive health at University College, London, and co-chair of the Optimum Population Trust.

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In contrast and addition to the above propositions and information, see the following important and truthful documents regarding overpopulation at http://www.figu.org/

"A Crusade Against Overpopulation"

"Population Statistics"

"Birth Rate Check"

"Overpopulation Bomb"

"A Surreptitious Environmental Catastrophe - The Desert Will Win"

"Parenthood and the Desire to Have a Baby"

"Torture and the Death Penalty"

The Children Amalgam Trial - Luring 8 Year Olds Into Mercury

The Children Amalgam Trials – Luring 8 year olds into mercury

In 1998, 1000 children were recruited into two similar dental amalgam mercury experiments. In these bold experiments, about half of the children were given dental amalgam fillings in order to determine whether such exposures were harmful. To this day, the lead experimenters insist that their mercury experiments were ethically sound and did not violate international ethical standards. Their defense of experimentation on human children would tend to be vindicated by their claimed results.

The studies’ data and published conclusions claim that there are no adverse health effects to children from amalgam fillings, which are half mercury. There was professional and personal pressure, no doubt, on the researchers to reach such a conclusion of safety; any other conclusion would have invited lawsuits by the children or their families and a shower of criticism for the researchers having experimented on unsuspecting vulnerable children. DAMS’ look at the details of these studies reveal just how these researchers may have cut corners, in their eagerness to reach their conclusion of amalgam safety; we have also learned just how unsuspecting and vulnerable the children were.

DAMS found that the analysis of data from the children studied is far from complete, even today. Researchers involved in the studies have revealed to DAMS that important data involving the toxicology of the mercury exposures and effects of the mercury on immune function have not yet been analyzed.

The Media Message

On April 19, 2006 the mass media reported widely that two large scientific studies had shown that dental amalgam fillings are safe for children. “Children aren’t harmed by fillings that have mercury, 2 new studies say,” headlined the Chicago Tribune. “Silver Fillings Found Kid Safe,” blared the Baltimore Sun, despite its mention, in the fine print, of a dissenting editorial by Dr. Herbert L. Needleman. Needleman’s dissent appeared in the same issue of the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) that published the two headlined studies. The ADA News, always pro-amalgam, further exaggerated the findings to imply that amalgams had been proven safe for everyone: “JAMA studies support safety of dental amalgam,” ADA News proclaimed.

Did the authors of the JAMA reports have a factual basis for concluding that amalgams had been found safe for children? They knew, or should have known, that a near-consensus exists among leading mercury scientists that amalgams are hazardous to health and should be banned!

A Biased Funder, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)

NIDCR, the source of the $11 million in grants that funded the two studies, is an agency that has been noted for its pro-amalgam bias. It has collaborated, hand-in-glove, with the ADA Health Foundation and the ADA itself. The dental research arm of the National Institute of Health, it is headed by Lawrence Tabak, DDS, PhD. His top assistant is Norman Braveman, PhD. It was Braveman who set up and was “Project Coordinator” for the Children Amalgam Trials.

Braveman and the LSRO flap

Norman Braveman set up an earlier project that has been regarded by critics as a whitewash of amalgam’s hazards. In 2004, Braveman sought a contractor to provide the NIDCR an assessment of the existing literature regarding amalgam’s safety. According to his critics, Braveman set up a secret committee to find the contractor in a no-bid fashion, a contractor who would be willing to declare that amalgams are safe, ignoring all studies to the contrary. A small and secretive committee consisting of Braveman, FDA’s Susan Runner, DDS, and a few others, picked out Life Sciences Research Office (LSRO) as the contractor. LSRO had already shown its use to the tobacco industry by producing a study down-playing the hazards of cigarettes. To avoid the need to seek bids for the research contract, Braveman apparently awarded the contract to a middleman, Beutah, with whom it had existing contracts.

Ironically, LSRO’s panel itself lacked the expertise to evaluate the mercury amalgam literature, so it needed to subcontract with a scientist with that expertise. It chose Thomas Clarkson, a pro-amalgam mercury scientist. For decades Clarkson had been a reputable mercury researcher but, late in his career, he morphed into a defender of amalgams, authoring studies of dubious merit and becoming a paid consultant to Kerr, the world’s largest manufacturer of amalgams. Needless to say, the NICDR’s and LSRO report found no reason to be concerned about amalgam’s safety.

As to questions about his involvement as Project Coordinator for the Children’s Amalgam Trials, Norm Braveman was unreachable. “Norm Braveman does not generally talk to reporters,” DAMS was told.

The Children Amalgam Trial in Lisbon, Portugal

Biased Investigators

Norman Braveman picked Timothy A. DeRouen, PhD, School of Dentistry, University of Washington, to lead the Portuguese study. His colleague, Michael Martin, DMD, PhD, was also on the team. Their pro-amalgam bias was on display in a 2002 public forum in Seattle where they sat on a pro-amalgam speaker panel. They were staunch in their defense of their firm conclusion that amalgams would be found to be safe for their experimental subjects – Portuguese children – even though their study was only half-way completed at the time. Other signs of bias on DeRouen’s team show up in the disclosure section (fine print) of DeRouen’s report in JAMA. There, it was disclosed that two of the investigators from Lisbon, Leitao and Bernardo, had received funds from amalgam manufacturers.

Children in the Portuguese Study

507 disadvantaged, at-risk children in the Casa Pia school system in Lisbon, Portugal were recruited. They had never before received a dental filling. Aged 8 to 10, many were blind, deaf or had other disabilities; a hundred of them were orphans. There was a mean IQ of 85. They asked to sign a consent form disclosing that he/she will get dental fillings that are needed. Some children would get “shiny ones” and others will get “white ones” and “right now, we don’t know which ones you will get. It will be a surprise.” The child is not even told that the “shiny ones,” amalgams, are toxic or even that they contain mercury. The consent form’s only mention of mercury was oblique: a description of the study said “… we want to know if there is mercury or lead in your body in normal quantities.” In addition to the dental visits, the child would have “special visits” when he/she will be tested mentally, give urine samples – and receive a present.

Half of the recruits were randomly chosen to receive Dispersalloy, a mercury amalgam filling made by Dentsply for rear cavities; for the other children a composite filling, Z-100, made by 3M was used.

Unfinished Work, Odd Results

The investigators measured memory, attention/concentration, motor visuomotor performance, nerve conduction velocities, mercury in urine, glutathione transferases and porphyrins in urine. They found “no statistically significant difference in behavioral assessments or in nerve conduction velocities between the amalgam group and the composite group.” Urine mercury measures showed that the amalgam group had significantly higher levels of mercury in the urine, but urine mercury excretion dropped off markedly after the second year. The urine porphyrin results, regarded by mercury experts as giving the most accurate indication of mercury toxicity problems, were absent from the April report.

Oddly, starting five years after treatment, the children in the composite group had more caries and needed 50% more treatment than the amalgam group. DeRouen concluded that this showed that composites fail sooner than amalgams, adding to his argument for continuing the use of amalgams. But another explanation for greater decay with the composites suggests itself: perhaps the composites placed in Casa Pia children were not prepared or cured properly, causing them to fail sooner.

In spite of all the limitations and questions, DeRouen’s conclusion in JAMA was that “Amalgam should remain a viable dental restorative option for children.”

Ongoing Issues For the Portuguese Study

De Rouen’s own April 19th JAMA report included a possible indicator of mercury toxicity in the amalgam group of children: their urine mercury levels, dropping off after year two, suggests lessened ability to detoxify mercury.

The meaning of urine mercury levels was pointed out by Professor Haley. Urine mercury is a poor indicator of body burden, since at higher levels of mercury accumulation; people lose their ability to get rid of mercury through their kidneys. In fact, urine mercury is more an indicator of the person’s ability to excrete mercury. Figure 2 in DeRouen’s report suggests that the amalgam group is losing its ability to excrete mercury in the urine after the second year. This suggests that many, perhaps most, of the children are developing a “mercury retention” problem. “Were these children also becoming less able to excrete mercury through the liver/bile flow route and into the feces?” Haley asks. The liver’s bile flow is by far the major route of heavy metal elimination from the body, but fecal mercury tests were not taken.

James S. Woods, PhD, one of DeRouen’s co-authors, reveals that the Toxicology part of the study is far from complete.

Woods told DAMS that his role in the Portuguese study is the toxicology assessment. The urine mercury and urine porphyrin data, he said, was finally completely gathered only as of July 31 2006, and is just beginning to be analyzed in August, 2006. Woods said that the analysis of the urine porphyrin data is key to understanding toxicity issues in the children and he expected that it will be sometime in 2007 before a toxicity report would finally be completed. DAMS asked “Weren’t the announcements of amalgams as being safe for children therefore premature?” He did not directly answer, but he observed that the results in the April 19th JAMA articles did not actually make any claim as to toxicity results.

But in his JAMA report, chief author Tim DeRouen portrayed porphyrin readings as merely giving a measure of kidney function. He failed to acknowledge the important role of porphyrin testing and evaluation in evaluating mercury toxicity.

Major Medical Data Not Accessible to the Study

Two of the children in DeRouen’s amalgam group died during the course of the study. Responding to DAMS’ questions DeRouen indicated that he did not even know if there had been autopsies performed. Even if autopsies had been performed, he said, he would not have had access to the autopsy findings.

Child Abuse Scandal at Casa Pia School

In November 2002, news media revealed a child abuse scandal at the Casa Pia school system that had gone on for several decades and had involved large numbers of the students. Many of the children at Casa Pia had been sexually abused by school employees who also provided sexual access to the children for politicians, media personalities, academics, and others. In December 2003, international media disclosed criminal indictments of ten high profile people for the sexual abuse of an estimated 100 Casa Pia children.

The Children Amalgam Trial in America

The chief author was David Bellinger, PhD, Dept. of Neurology, Children’s Hospital, Boston, and Harvard Medical School and Dept. of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health. His team recruited 534 children found at community health dental clinics in Boston, Massachusetts and and Farmington, Maine. Using gifts and cash incentives, children aged six to ten at baseline were recruited. Recruits were required to have had no prior amalgam fillings and needed to have two or more caries filled. Half were randomly picked to receive Dispersalloy mercury amalgams and the others received Z-100 composites.

The Consent Form

The consent form implied that the amalgam fillings contain some mercury, but did not disclose that amalgams are half mercury. The form mentions that “mercury in large amounts can cause health problems” such as tremors, memory loss, insomnia, fatigue, headaches, irritability …” But the form wrongly adds there “is no evidence that any of these health effects happen with the small amounts of mercury from dental fillings.”

The consent form required parents to waive claims for damages due to injury to their children from the study, other than for immediate emergency care.

Methods, Findings

The investigators measured the following every year: IQ scores, memory, visuomotor ability, mercury in urine, and albumin in urine. They found no statistically significant difference in IQ test, memory index, visuomotor scores or urinary albumin. It down played their finding that urine mercury was significantly higher in the amalgam group. Its over-reaching conclusion was “health effects of amalgams in children need not be the basis of treatment decisions when choosing dental materials.”

Failure to Properly Assess the Mercury Toxicology Issue

Urine mercury and hair mercury levels do not reliably correlate with body burden of mercury. The American study had no valid measure of mercury body burden. Porphyrin testing would have been helpful, but the American study did not include urine porphorin testing.

Immune Function Analysis Still Far From Complete

Bruche Shenker, PhD, had been slated to investigate immune function, but tests of immune function were not even mentioned in the April 19th report by Bellinger; and Shenker was not even listed then as an investigator on the American team. Yet Shenker’s analysis of immune function would likely yield significant results. Indeed, based on Shenker’s own earlier research, there is reason to suspect that adverse effects of immune function would show up, in blood tests, for the amalgam group. In 2002, for example, a Shenker study concluded “there is growing evidence that heavy metals in general and mercurial compounds in particular, are toxic to the human immune system.”

DAMS asked Shenker if he were still working on the children’s study. “Yes,” he told DAMS, he intends to analyze immune function data from the study. “That code (for immune function data) is being broken by the statisticians and it is then being analyzed.” We asked Shenker, if his findings on the immune function of the children will be published. “I don’t know, but I assume so,” he replied.

Thomas Clarkson’s Role Suppressed?

Thomas Clarkson, PhD, was undoubtedly the most experienced of the American team of investigators. His credentials on mercury research far exceed those of lead author, Bellinger. Undeniably, Clarkson has been involved: he was listed as a co-author in a report done some years ago, describing the design of the American study. But, Clarkson was dropped from the list of authors of the April 19th JAMA report. Did Clarkson design and guide this study along for years and then disappear as a listed author? Was Clarkson dropped as an author to avoid the need to disclose, in the JAMA report, that he has been a paid consultant to Kerr, the world’s largest amalgam manufacturer?

Apparent Failure to Assess the Health Status of the Children and Failure to Stop the Study to Protect Sickened Children

There appeared to be no in-depth medical assessments for adverse events beyond superficial testing – urinary mercury and urinary albumin. Rather, Bellinger relied on adverse reports by the primary caregiver; there were numerous disorders reported, including sensory disorders (36 in the amalgam group), psychological disorders (24 in the amalgam group), asthma (19 cases in the amalgam group), and neurological disorders (4 in the amalgam group). Why were none of these sick children pulled, even as a precautionary step? Mercury exposure is linked to such disorders and the fact that many children were reported as having these disorders suggests a lack of child protection measures.

Weaknesses in Both Studies

Reliance on Averages: By focusing on statistical averages, DeRouen and Bellinger may have obscured or missed the damage that individual children were having.

No Mercury Free Control Group: The mercury history of the control group and the amalgam groups was poorly investigated. Many of the American children, for example, would surely have been exposed to mercury through the mother
- dental amalgams, flu-shots, rho-gam shots, etc.
- and the children themselves would have been exposed to substantial amounts of thimerosal, the toxic mercury compound, if fully vaccinated. But by excluding from the study all the children who have already been mercury injured due to the unwise childhood vaccination mania of the 1990’s, the selected experimental group became non-representative of the larger population.

Many Types of Possible Mercury Damage Were Not Tested For

Consider the past work of Lars Barregard, PhD, a Swedish researcher listed on the American study. In 1995, Barregard authored a kidney biopsy study that showed that the subjects with dental amalgams had three times higher levels of mercury in the kidneys than did the controls! In 1995, Barregard published noteworthy findings that some people with amalgams … “have daily uptake of mercury as high as 100 micrograms.” In 1994, Barregard published an occupational study which showed that mercury is able to interfere with conversion of the thyroid hormone, T4, to T3, the more active form of the hormone. These prior Barregard findings point to two conclusions: (1) These experiments – placing amalgam in these young children – unnecessarily put them in harm’s way and (2) The conclusions announced on April 19th were misleading, having glossed over mercury health concerns that had not been addressed. The authors failed to acknowledge what they well knew: the recognized toxicity, immune and hormonal issues had not yet been addressed.

Many Major Problems Are Seen Mostly with Adult Onset

Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, MS, depression, ALS, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular disease and other chronic illness linked to mercury show up primarily as adult-onset diseases. Other recognized dangers linked to mercury include infertility and birth defects. Obviously, these important and well known risks cannot be assessed in the time frame of the Children Amalgam Trials.

Unsafe Amalgam Removal Looms Ahead as a Threat

Because of the false assurances that the amalgams are “kid-safe,” these children are not apt to seek out safe amalgam removal when the amalgams are to be replaced. Amalgams simply do not last forever and unsafe amalgam removal likely awaits these vulnerable children. Ideally, the children in the amalgam group should be fully informed of this looming trouble and should be offered safe amalgam removal at government expense.

In Summary:

The limited data published with these studies do not support the conclusion that amalgam poses no significant health effects for children. Further, vulnerable children were put at risk due to these studies and the children were recruited using methods that were deceptive.

Above Report from DAMS Intl. Newsletter Summer 2006

Dams Intl. (Non-Profit Organization)
1079 Summit Ave
St. Paul, MN 55105
USA
Phone: 800-311-6265
www.dams.cc
www.amalgam.org
www.fluoridealert.org

To all the governments and other responsible ones of the world

Letter to all Governments and other responsible ones of the world.

"Already on the 5th of July, 1951 and on the 25th of August 1958 I sent warnings to all the governments and other responsible persons of the world concerning the coming events on Earth with respect to the climate and human beings as well as their behavior." ....

Click to read the rest of this most urgent and important letter from Mr. "Billy" Eduard A. Meier of the FIGU in Switzerland. (You will need the most recent version of Adobe Acrobat)

Live Earth Goes Live Tomorrow!!! 07-07-07

Dear ...,

Live Earth is tomorrow and even if you're not coming to one of the concerts, there's still a way for you to be a part of this historic event.

Click Here to Attend a Live Earth House Party

Live Earth is tomorrow and even if you're not coming to one of the concerts, there's still a way for you to be a part of this historic event. Right now there are thousands of Live Earth parties taking place in 129 countries. (It's pretty unbelievable, actually.)

From the beginning, you have been the driving force behind our work here at AlGore.com.

That's why it's so vital that as many AlGore.com members as possible attend these parties.

So don't miss this incredible event -- sign up to attend a Live Earth party near you by visiting:
http://friendsofliveearth.com/page/event/search_simple

Just as important as attending a Live Earth Party is making sure that you sign the Live Earth Pledge. It's through this document that we will show our leaders how united we are behind solving the climate crisis.

Sign the Live Earth Pledge by visiting:
http://liveearthpledge.org/algore.php

Thank you,
Al Gore

Albert Einstein on Overpopulation

A quote by Albert Einstein on overpopulation ...

"I am convinced that some political and social activities and practices of the Catholic organizations are detrimental and even dangerous for the community as a whole, here and everywhere. I mention here only the fight against birth control at a time when overpopulation in various countries has become a serious threat to the health of people and a grave obstacle to any attempt to organize peace on this planet." [Albert Einstein -- letter, 1954]"

I think that sums it up nicely.

The main cause of overpopulation can be found by examining the Industrial Revolution.

More information about the causes and repercussions of unstemmed overpopulation may be found in Guido Moosbrugger's book "And Yet ... They Fly". Available in FIGU's online bookstore.

To The People Of Earth!

SEND THIS APPEAL TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES

There are times where the sky is burning; -- there are times where the earth is torn apart, oceans flood the country and thousands lose their lives; there are times, where mothers are forever separated from their children, times, where lovers see each other for the last time, friends say definitely good-bye and the dearest die in a blazing inferno. There are times, where the hope for a safe future is robbed by the greed for power. Times, where a fanatic philosophy of life strangles the desire for love, hate abandons the endeavour for living harmoniously together and the will to kill is stronger than the will to respect and to protect the splendor of the gift of life.

In spite of these times of darkness and madness, never forget to smile if you have the possibility; never forget to be amazed when the sun rises behind the horizon and a new day is dawning. Never forget to love yourself and the ground whereupon you stand. Never forget your own name and who you are. Don’t forget that you are a human being born into this world to live a unique life, never to be experienced a second time like this. Every day there are green sprouts breaking through the burned earth to announce a new beginning -- don’t forget to be grateful for this.

There are many cultures on this earth, many peoples and ethnic groups. All are different from each other. All have another understanding of this world and all have their own philosophy. Some of these philosophies drastically differ in their content whereas others differ only a little. Some of them correspond, others contradict one another. Many people and many doctrines. An ardent disciple will follow his doctrine eagerly. A fanatical disciple will follow his doctrine fanatically. But what does ‘fanatical’ mean? It means that two human beings can’t talk in friendship anymore about their opinions. It means that they don’t shake hands if they meet in the desert but that they try to strangle each other, and it means that they would rather die than ask for help from the other.

Fanaticism is an epidemic that spreads quickly. The one who becomes infected will soon communicate it to others. It is a blazing fire that spreads among people, that consumes reason and eliminates their view for variety allowing themselves to be intolerant of opposing beliefs. Fanaticism is like an arrow that races through the air towards its destination. Never would it stop voluntarily. Never would it deviate from its path and never would it let go of its sharp point. Finally it bores deep into its target and nobody can ever pull it out again.

Lots of those people live on our planet. Blindly they fight for their ideas, caught up in an ideal for which they can’t let go of. Neither do they respect the life of their fellow creatures nor do they respect their own life. Stringently they follow the path on which they once decided to go on. On the paths that they walk you’ll find great harm. On the streets where their armies march you’ll find emptiness.

Who has seen them will ask himself how one can be so ruthless, so mad and so devilish. Upon their deeds you’ll become infuriated but at the same time there will be deep mourning. It is the mourning of the victims. A mourning of those who have lost their families and their friends; the mourning that people on earth can’t exist next to each other in peace, that it is impossible to solve a conflict without using force. Everybody will look inside themselves and understand that nothing is built for eternity, nothing lasts forever, that there is no safety and no protection against the fatal ideas of the obsessed revolutionaries and world-changers. You’ll understand how fragile the dream of an undamaged world is, and how quickly the most wonderful palaces and buildings can lie in ashes. The wonders of the forests, lakes and the landscapes -- these unique great creations -- can be bombed and burned down within a few seconds. And the mourning will move everybody and tears will fill the oceans.

But this mourning has a seed inside that starts growing profusely from the tears that water it, and the plant gets bigger and more powerful. It is here hate finds good soil. Like mist it surrounds the thoughts, it stuns like the smoke of opium, and in the giddiness of hate the desire for retribution gets stronger and the will to take revenge substitutes reason. The victims aren’t victims anymore but avengers and they become so engrossed in their plan to hunt down the originator of their suffering that their senses are clouded and their sympathy is numbed but their mad ideas are powerful and drives them unstoppably, relentlessly -- they turn fanatical.

The circle is closed.

The sky will burn and the earth will shake. Armies will fight against each other without knowing what they are fighting for, without knowing what they are dying for, without knowing why they live. Stop this war! Don’t let madness determine your action! Decide wisely and just!

Defend yourselves if you are attacked, but don’t kill without reason. Be consistent with your resolutions but only go so far as it is necessary. Fight for your rights and your freedom but don’t do this at the cost of innocent lives. Live your life as you think it is good but don’t forget that there are lots of people with many lives. Be free in the things you do, but still allowing everybody to breath in their own personal space. Believe what you need to believe, but don’t put your belief above that of others. Be patriots in your own country but also think about being a citizen of earth. Say your opinion but don’t say it so loud that you are unable to hear others. And whatever you do don’t forget that no crime stays unpunished; that’s why you shouldn’t act like criminals but like brothers and sisters sitting in a small boat and sailing towards an unknown country. There are lots of dangers out there, but you are your own biggest danger. Don’t let the boat capsize. Row gently down the stream of life ...

Atlant Bieri

Switzerland

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Saalome gam naan ben uurda, gan njjber asaala hesporoona!

Peace be on Earth, and among all beings!

Precise instructions for participating in FIGU's Peace Meditation

Imagine ...

"Imagine" is a utopian song performed by John Lennon, which appears on his 1971 album, Imagine. Although originally credited solely to Lennon, in recent years Yoko Ono's contribution to the song has become more widely acknowledged. The song was produced by Phil Spector.

"Imagine" is widely considered as one of the greatest songs of all time. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine voted "Imagine" the third greatest song of all time. Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter said, "In many countries around the world — my wife and I have visited about 125 countries — you hear John Lennon's song 'Imagine' used almost equally with national anthems."

In the book Lennon in America, written by Geoffrey Giuliano, Lennon commented that the song was "an anti-religious, anti-nationalistic, anti-conventional, anti-capitalistic song, but because it's sugar-coated, it's accepted."

The lyrics were thought to be inspired by Lennon's hopes for a more peaceful world, though their origins are not known for certain. In 1963 Lennon penned the lyrics to "I'll Get You" with an opening verse of, "Imagine I'm in love with you, it's easy cause I know." The first verse of "Imagine" would seem to be a reworking of this. But the song's refrain may have been partly inspired by Yoko Ono's poetry, in reaction to her childhood in Japan during World War II. According to The Guardian, primordial versions of the song's refrain can be found in her 1965 book Grapefruit, where she penned lines such as, "imagine a raindrop" and "imagine the clouds dripping."

The following is a quote by John Lennon on the message of "Imagine", interviewed by David Sheff for Playboy magazine in 1980:

Sheff: On a new album, you close with "Hard Times Are Over (For a While)". Why?
Lennon: It's not a new message: "Give Peace a Chance" — we're not being unreasonable, just saying, "Give it a chance." With "Imagine," we're saying, "Can you imagine a world without countries or religions?" It's the same message over and over. And it's positive.

Yoko Ono said that the lyrical content of "Imagine" was " just what John believed — that we are all one country, one world, one people. He wanted to get that idea out."

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Thank you John & Yoko and thank you to Maynard of "A Perfect Circle" who revived this great song for our modern age, and the genius-inspired video you produced to showcase it's true meaning. I think if John were alive today, he would truly approve of the message portrayed in Maynard's video of his song. (View the interview with Maynard about the making of the "Imagine" video)

Desiderata - by Billy Meier

Desiderata

Dear reader,

In today's times, which are rife with emotion and yet emotionally cold, we offer you these unique passages (Desiderata = desirable and vital items) of beautiful and poignant words by "Billy" Eduard Albert Meier, and wish you all that is expressed herein.

Included with our sincere wishes is a request that you photocopy these words of Billy as often as possible and as you deem appropriate. Please mail the text to your family members, relatives, friends, colleagues, acquaintances – simply to everyone whose address you may have.

If you are fluent in French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Japanese or any other language, and are interested in translating the Desiderata passages from the German original (!) please send for a free copy from FIGU. Only when this letter and its precious content circulate throughout the world will we consider our efforts a success, as these words kindle some peace within the thoughts and feelings of people everywhere.

With our friendly greetings and sincerest best wishes for the remainder of your life,

FIGU
Semjase-Silver-Star-Center Hinterschmidrüti
CH-8495 Schmidrüti
Fax 0041 (0)52 385 42 89

Desiderata by Billy Pay heed to freedom, for it is the privilege and prerogative of every human being and all other life forms. Pay heed to love, for it is the essence of Creation, of human beings and of life. Pay heed to peace, for it is the assurance of all positive development and unrestricted evolution. Pay heed to harmony, for therein lies the equilibrium of every thought, feeling, deed and everything else. Do not allow yourself to be rushed by the din, burdens or bustle of daily living, but remain always composed under every circumstance life presents. Seek tranquility, peace, love and freedom - each is a valuable element of harmony. Allot some time every day to finding tranquility, for it affords you respite and time to contemplate. Practice getting along well with everyone but do not lose yourself in the process and always remain within the limits of your ability. Always respect your fellowmen as fellow human beings, although they may have dispositions that differ from yours; indeed, even the worst among them is a creation of Creation, hence, everyone is just like you - a human being. State your truths freely, clearly, calmly and candidly, for only in this manner is an authentic picture created which defines the true nature of everything. Allow other people to freely express their opinions, for they are allotted the same rights as you. Listen to others, to the bright and intellectual individuals, and also to the obtuse, the foolish and those who lack learning, for they, too, have opinions and statements to offer. But distance yourself from aggressive, boisterous and obstinate individuals so as not to become embroiled in their pointless disputes, for such people insult one's consciousness, humaneness and refinement; and yet, at the same time, forget not that they too are beings of Creation, whom you, as a fellow human being, must show appropriate respect, even though you may find their thoughts, feelings, deeds and actions unacceptable. Should you draw comparisons between yourself and others, you will inevitably realize that others are either stronger or weaker than you in certain matters; this, however, is no justification for you to feel superior or inferior to them. Therefore, neither vain nor arrogant become, neither bitter nor ashamed, for there will always be someone who is more eminent or less advanced than you in learning, morality, character and the like. Refrain not from enjoying achievements you have gained through your own honest efforts. Delight in these accomplishments as much as you do in setting positive objectives and bringing them to successful completions. Always be mindful of continuing your development in every possible matter, including both your personal and consciousness-related evolutions. Therefore be perpetually and humbly attentive to your personal progress, but only in a righteous manner, because integrity is the only, truly positive possession you have as a human being in these changing times. Approach your work and your business with forethought and circumspection, for good work is worthy of proper compensation; circumspection, forethought and honesty offer sound long-term rewards in business, even in a world of guile. When you achieve positive, remarkable successes keep from becoming blinded and deafened by them and proceed toward those things of virtuous substance. Be attentive also to the means and ways of the people with whom you deal; though many strive for lofty ideals, few reach their goals. Life appears filled with heroism wherever you gaze, but when you glance behind the scenes you find only fear enveloped in a haze and someone's craving for pretending to be greater than he or she really is. Hence, heed not these matters to the degree where you wish to imitate them; instead, recognize your true self. Positively realize yourself within your own Self. And allow these traits to permeate your entire nature. Do not feign affection for someone if, in reality, you fail to hold such feelings for the person. Make no pretense to your fellowmen that bears no truth, for honesty is a directive which, together with knowledge, is undeniably the path to wisdom. Never be cynical about sincere love, for love provides you with the certainty of coexisting within everything there is, in both the spiritual and the physical realms. And love is the true essence of Creation; it will endure for ur-eternity and all Great Times beyond every conceivable hardship and disappointment. Love is the actual cornerstone and the true incentive of life where the aspirations form to reach higher, indeed, to the very highest levels possible. Love will never die, it will survive eternally as it pulsates in the everlasting rhythm of Creational harmony. Forfeit every negative trait in your life with dignity and, through self-knowledge, leave yourself open to counsel for self-realization. Cheerfully accept what your positive knowledge and balanced wisdom counsel you to do, and gain control over your thoughts, feelings, indeed, your entire consciousness, for in so doing you strengthen yourself for unavoidable predicaments, and you will never lose heart even when faced with unexpected misfortune. Always practice loyalty and integrity, and never make yourself unhappy over unrighteous things or those you merely imagine. Free yourself from alarm and fear, which oftentimes originate from loneliness, mental exhaustion and idleness. Loneliness, mental exhaustion and idleness are enemies of progress. Seek, therefore, the company of those who are knowledgeable and wise, for they will teach you how to stimulate and utilize your thoughts, and how to actively evolve. Always practice healthy self-discipline while being kind to yourself at all times, for you are an individual, an independent person, who requires not only the pleasant kindness of others but also the consideration you provide yourself. You are a creation of Creation, the universe, and in no way are you any less than your fellowman, the trees, plants, all animal species or the celestial bodies in the infinite vastness of universal space. You have the right to be alive and to exist on this Earth, regardless of who and what you may be, and it matters not if you comprehend the unfolding of the universe in the way Creation, the Universal Consciousness, intends it. Nothing unfolds without Creation's love, and it will not do so unless it is within the framework of the Creation-given laws and directives. Accept, then, that you only exist because this is how it was intended to be and because it is predetermined for you through the ur-eternally everlasting, Creational plan. Live, therefore, in freedom, love, peace and harmony among similar-minded individuals and with all of Creation's creatures. Live also in peace, love, freedom and harmony with Creation, regardless of what you may perceive Creation to be. Live also in peace, love, freedom, and harmony with yourself, your psyche and your personality - regardless of your deeds, thoughts, feelings, contemplations and aspirations throughout the rigors of daily life. Never lose sight of this, regardless of all the hurriedness, drudgery, disappointments, broken dreams, negations and tears. In spite of the turmoil surrounding you, the world is indeed beautiful and life is worth living. Billy

Although this document bears the same name as the well-known DESIDERATA by Max Ehrmann (1872-1945), Billy's DESIDERATA contains a completely new and expanded text, which is not identical with the old work. [Desiderata = desirable and vital items] - FIGU