For the past two weeks, 500 Indigenous Peoples in Rapa Nui–a place more commonly known as Easter Island–have been occupying more than two dozen buildings over a land dispute that dates back to 1888.

In 1888, the remote island, known around the world for its monumental statues, called Moai, was annexed by a naval Officer, and turned into a province of the Chilean state.

From that point on, the Indigenous population was confined to the Hanga Roa settlement and the rest of the island was used as ranch land until 1953. 13 years later, in 1966, the Rapa Nui were given formal Chilean citizenship and the island was opened to the public for the first time.

In the years that followed, much of Easter Island was protected by the Rapa Nui National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site; and, in 2007, a constitutional reform gave the island the status of a “special territory”, which granted the Indigenous People at least a degree of internal sovereignty.

Despite the gradual–or, at least, partial–restoration of their freedoms and rights, the Rapa Nui are deeply troubled over the “uncontrollable influx of tourists and settlers” on the island; and the fact that the Chilean government appears to be taking their ancestral lands to build more and more state office buildings.

The protest itself was sparked when the newly-elected Chilean President Sebastian Pinera appointed Pedro Edmunds Paoa to be the new Governor of Easter Island. According to the Guardian, Paoa is “suspected of plotting land deals” on the island.

via Reclaiming Land and Dignity on Easter Island | Intercontinental Cry.

Was going through a mile of SL correspondence this morning, and found this… probably months old, but still powerful for me. Thought I’d share with ya’ll this rainy Saturday morning…

The Black Mother

Where can I find love that never changes
Smiles that are true and always just the same,
Caring not how the fierce tempest rages,
Willing ever to shield my honored name?

This I find at home, only with Mother,
Who cares for me with patient tenderness;
She from every human pain would rather
Save me, and drink the dregs of bitterness.

If on life’s way I happen to flounder,
My true thoughts should be of Mother dear,
She is the rock that ne’er rifts asunder,
The cry of her child, be it far or near.

This is love wonderful beyond compare;
It is God’s choicest gift to mortal man;
You, who know Mother, in this thought must share,
For, she, of all, is Angel of your Clan.

My Mother is black, loveliest of all;
Yes, she is as pure as the new made morn;
Her song of glee is a clear rythmic call
To these arms of love to which I was born.

I shall never forget you, sweet Mother,
Where’er in life I may happen to roam;
Thou shalt always be the Fairy Charmer
To turn my dearest thoughts to things at home.

– Marcus Garvey

I got this in my email this morning…

“We ask you to cast, anchor, and hold the Net of Light steady for the Gulf of Mexico,” the Grandmothers said. “This crisis is affecting the entire world, and humanity is asleep. Wake up!” they cried. “Animals are dying, plants are dying, and your Mother is writhing in agony. If you hold the Net of Light steady at this time you will help stave off further catastrophe.

“You have been lulled into a false sleep,” they said, “told that others (B.P.) will take care of this problem. This is not so,” they said. “And this is not the time for you to fall into oblivion. Determine now to stay awake, and once you have made that commitment, think of, cast, and hold the Net of Light. Hold it deep and hold it wide. Amplify its reach to penetrate the waters of the Gulf and dive deep beneath the crust of Mother Earth. Anchor it at the earth’s core and as you hold it there, ask it to unify with the mineral kingdom of this planet. It will do this and will harmonize with all the solid and liquid mineral states on earth-including oil and gas. The Net of Light will call these minerals back into harmony.

“Whatever human beings have damaged, human beings must correct,” the Grandmothers said. “This is the law. We repeat: This is the law.You cannot sit back and ask God to fix the mess humanity has created. Each of you must throw your shoulders to the wheel and work. We are asking for your help. Several years ago we gave you the Net of Light so you would be able to help the earth at times like this. Step forward now. This is the Net of Light that will hold the earth during the times of change that are upon you,” they said.
“First move into your heart and call on us. We will meet you there. The Net of Light is lit by the jewel of your heart,” they said, “so move into this lighted place within you and open to the Net of which you are a part. Bask in its calming presence. It holds you at the same time that you hold it.

“Now think of magnifying your union with us. We, the Great Council of the Grandmothers, are with you now, and all those who work with the Net of Light are also with you. There are thousands, even millions now connected in light,” they said. “Along with this union, call forth the power of the sacred places on earth. These will amplify the potency of our joint effort. Then call on the sacred beings that have come to prevent the catastrophe that threatens to overwhelm your planet. We will work together,” they said, nodding slowly.

“Think of, cast and magnify the presence of the Net of Light in the Gulf of Mexico. See, imagine or think of it holding the waters, holding the land, the plants, the sea life, and the people. Holding them all!” they said. “The Net of Light is holding them steady; it is returning them to balance. Let the love within your lighted heart keep pouring into the Net of Light and hold, hold, hold. Calmly and reverently watch as the light from your heart flows along the strands of the Net. It will follow your command and continuously move forth. As soon as you think of it, it will happen. We ask you to practice this for only a few minutes at a time, but to repeat it throughout the day and night.

“We promise that this work with the Net of Light will do untold good,” the Grandmothers said. “We are calling you to service now. You are needed. Do not miss this opportunity. We thank you and bless you.”

Prayers needed.

Please share this with all your prayer pals:

SIOUX PRAYER REQUEST
A letter from Chief Arvol Looking Horse
(Present Chief and Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe of the Lakota, Dakota, Nakota Nation of the Sioux)
Gulf Coast Oil Spill – Sioux Prayer Request

****** A Great Urgency ******
To All Nations

My Relatives,

Time has come to speak to the hearts of our Nations and their Leaders. I ask you this from the bottom of my heart, to come together from the Spirit of your Nations in prayer.

We, from the heart of Turtle Island, have a great message for the World; we are guided to speak from all the White Animals showing their sacred color, which have been signs for us to pray for the sacred life of all things. As I am sending this message to you, many Animal Nations are being threatened, those that swim, those that crawl, those that fly, and the plant Nations, eventually all will be affect from the oil disaster in the Gulf.

The dangers we are faced with at this time are not of spirit. The catastrophe that has happened with the oil spill which looks like the bleeding of Grandmother Earth, is made by human mistakes, mistakes that we cannot afford to continue to make.

I asked, as Spiritual Leaders, that we join together, united in prayer with the whole of our Global Communities. My concern is these serious issues will continue to worsen, as a domino effect that our Ancestors have warned us of in their Prophecies.

I know in my heart there are millions of people that feel our united prayers for the sake of our Grandmother Earth are long overdue. I believe we as Spiritual people must gather ourselves and focus our thoughts and prayers to allow the healing of the many wounds that have been inflicted on the Earth. As we honor the Cycle of Life, let us call for Prayer circles globally to assist in healing Grandmother Earth (our Unc’I Maka).

We ask for prayers that the oil spill, this bleeding, will stop. That the winds stay calm to assist in the work. Pray for the people to be guided in repairing this mistake, and that we may also seek to live in harmony, as we make the choice to change the destructive path we are on.

As we pray, we will fully understand that we are all connected. And that what we create can have lasting effects on all life.

So let us unite spiritually, All Nations, All Faiths, One Prayer. Along with this immediate effort, I also ask to please remember June 21st, World Peace and Prayer Day/Honoring Sacred Sites day. Whether it is a natural site, a temple, a church, a synagogue or just your own sacred space, let us make a prayer for all life, for good decision making by our Nations, for our children’s future and well-being, and the generations to come.

Kevin Powell is one of the nicest brothers I have ever met.

We met while standing in line to buy Chinese food @ Ho Kwong’s in DaCosta’s Mall, Bridgetown, Barbados back in 1998.

I saw him out of the corner of my eye, and said, “That guy looks like Kevin Powell,” in my mind and turned away. As the queue moved forward, and I happened to have another look, I said to myself again, “Well, well… this fella, REAL looking like Kevin Powell.”

You must understand: The only reason I knew who he was at all was a combination of being in Trinidad and having cable TV the season that he was on The Real World, and being a music writer in Trinidad and devouring many of the magazines he was then writing for.
Read more…

This is all too familiar. Aboriginal people’s ousted from their traditional living spaces, destroying culture, sacred spaces, dividing families… just too familiar.

We in the world must recognise, these evils are happening thousands of miles away, but what happens to the least of us, happens to all of us. We all pay the price.

“Indigenous Landowners have been stripped of their Constitutionally-protected land rights by the government of Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Without any warning or consultation, on 27 May 2010, the government of PNG introduced emergency legislation that dissolves the Constitutional rights of all landowners in PNG, including the right of Indigenous People to own land, challenge resource projects in court and receive any form compensation for environmental damage.

‘The legislation was passed by Parliament without anybody being allowed to see the Bill before it was presented’, comments ACT NOW!, an independent organization based in PNG. ‘Nobody was allowed to read or comment on the text. There was no scrutiny by a Select Committee and not even a Parliamentary debate.’

The driving force behind the legislation and its secrecy–like pretty much every draconian measure ever introduced into law–is ‘National Interest.’”

(Via Papua New Guinea: Indigenous People stripped of land rights : Intercontinental Cry.)

I’ve been re-watching “Taken” a 2002 mini-series, and I’m having a blast picking out minor characters from “Battlestar Glactica”.

Clearly Sy Fy (formerly Sci Fi and known fondly as Skiffy) has a pool of talent they dip into for everything.

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I’ve spotted Fergersky, Zak Adama, Socinus, the woman, King and Felix Gaeta (traitorous jackass), the doctor who see’s Allie in Part 10 of the series… did anyone else spot any others?

You might of missed this mini-series, but it’s pretty good. Dakato Fanning’s Allie, and her monologues are very good. I quite enjoyed it, and I watched the whole thing on the then-Sci Fi channel. One thing, I cannot stand the performance of the actress who plays Mary Crawford. She overacts and her attempts at ’sultry maniacal vixen’ miss the mark so often. A very hollow performance. Yet, overall, the series is very well acted and the special effects pretty good for television and 2002.

I just found this @ The Oatmeal: How to use a semicolon

Very funny… ya’ll know I’m turning into a punctuation Nazi in my old age, but check it out. Neatly explained, the proper use of the semicolon.

Bussa: Barbados' First National Hero

“…King William was a friend of Bussa, the overall slave leader who was tried and put to death for his crime.”

This was taken from page 18 of this year’s edition of The Ins and Outs of Barbados, where the preceding paragraph discusses King William being the leader of the slaves from Sunbury Plantation House (the actual subject of the article) who participated in the greater Rebellion that they were all put to death for.

My question to the editors of this publication: Tell me: What was the crime that Bussa committed exactly?

Your article, doesn’t qualify your comment or discuss SLAVERY in Barbados, only the house in which the slavers lived. So why even put that whole paragraph this quote ends into the piece at all? Only to add a bit of ‘colour’ to the piece, because well we’re in Barbados after all?
Read more…

Photo by Taran Rampersad

1. I appreciate that I know how to set goals and meet them.
2. I appreciate my ability to pray with my whole soul.
3. I appreciate my deep intuition and the ability to dream.
4. I appreciate my ability to reproduce.
5. I appreciate my capacity for self-healing.
6. I appreciate my brain’s thirst for information.
7. I appreciate my newly slender body.
8. I appreciate my ability to speak and knowing when to shut up.
9. I appreciate my vagina’s strength and my celibacy.
10. I appreciate my genetic material.

Original photo here, for the doubters that I was in Trinidad at all, check the date and time.

T&T Passport

Back in November of 2008, faced with the need to begin travelling again post-baby, I made a largely fruitless trip down to Trinidad to renew my passport.

After the easy, smooth, frictionless experience of having it extended while I was in London, I found the arduous two-to-four-day process in Trinidad horrifying, and as I mentioned before, without ultimate success.

Why, in 2010, with Trinidad’s 2020 deadline for ‘progress’ looming, the process being demanded for acquiring official paperwork needs to be so cryptic, so time consuming, so mired in pointless wasted bureaucratic niggly wiggly nonsense, is beyond me.

The worst part is, if you are a Trinidadian and living in Europe or North America, you can post in your passport and documentation, and have the whole kit and kaboodle posted back to you. If you are resident in the Caribbean, you are basically fucked.

You cannot post in your documentation, you must go to the expense of traveling to Trinidad and submitting yourself to the demoralising experience that is this unbelievably time consuming process to get your paperwork.
Read more…