Bits and Pieces to Engage and Challenge....

MotherSpeak is beginning a new project, "This is who I am, this is where I live." This project will raise and share the voices of indigenous people in the US, Vietnam, South Africa (the Zulu of Valley of a Thousand Hills) and Palestine. And we will look at the land upon which these communities live using the lens of what is happening to the land now and what there is to learn about how to apply lessons of history, ecology, and justice that gives us the tools to reconstitute and/or conserve other natural environments.
We will share the project's progress here and, in that spirit, invite you to learn more about US indigenous people. (If you did not see the Heron's Head article, here it is again.)

Meanwhile, here is an upcoming event in California:
Indians: Vallejo's plans for park desecration. Look for more on this event soon after it happens we'll report on it here!

Meanwhile, meet Ariel Luckey and Free Land, Shellmound Part 1 and Part 2. Hold onto your hat...and your heart! This is an amazing, honest, and emotional performance you do not want to miss.

Calling all sentient beings
MotherSpeak's basic premise is that we -- all sentient beings -- are connected as one living entity on a living planet. This video proves this point - again!

Say What? "...a relatively small leak compared to the volume of water in the Gulf..."
And, as usual Gary Trudeau of Doonesbury has a good way of getting his points across. Take his "statistically meaningless poll" as BP CEO Tony Hayward doesn't seem overly alarmed about the Gulf oil spill, noting "It's a relatively small leak compared to the volume of water in the Gulf." Following his lead, let's shake off the impulse to view the event negatively and look for a silver lining in the inky gloom.

Recognizing the connections: To Baghdad from Palestine to more destruction
...Rarely have a house and a man seemed to intersect so seamlessly. Born in 1919 to a Christian family, Mr. Jabra settled in Baghdad after the 1948 war that his fellow Palestinians call the nakba, or catastrophe.