Wednesday, October 31, 2018

IN DEFENSE OF...

Witness for Peace , an organization of solidarity came to Viterbo University  this past week and spoke about the work they do listening to people's stories and the impact multinational corporations have upon third world countries's indigenous populations... Today's talk was " In Defense of Land & Food Sovereignty."


Fermina Zarate Domínquez, a Mixteca farmer  represents indigenous farmers in 22 communities in southern Mexico around Oaxaca which has coordinators, facilitators and promoters. 

Maintaining biodiversity of the region's rich natural resources including water, wood, and edible flora and fauna also needs protection from foreign mining companies.

At present there are 344 concessions and 41 active projects. NAFTA newly renamed USMCA ( United States Mexico and Canada) never consulted nor properly informed the people who live on /are from the desired land/ resources .

The indigenous people are not benefitting from the extraction of these resources as local agriculture is being displaced for transportation , ie: highways and wind mills. Sound familiar?

Less nutritional corporate genetically manufactured corn (GMO) sold cheaper replacing native 36 varieties .

The group has 6 objectives:

1. Reforestation 
  
In its 16th year replanting native tree species providing residents with wood.

2. Water and Soil 

Filtering water and constructing rock walls to hold back earth and streams     

3. Harvesting Rainwater 

Cisterns have been built to hold water for garden usage.

4. Soil Fertility


Fertilization and composting leftover crops

 to add nutrients to soil.



5. Diversification of Crops


Planting and harvesting herbs for good health

Formation of Milpas, small forests with a variety of trees

and foods; ie: corn, beans, squash and sweet fruit

which can be eaten. 


6. Seed Preservation


Collecting previous crops's seeds in reusable liter soda

bottles, these seed banks will continue to feed a family

of 5-7. 

One such crop is amaranth whose nutritious leaves/ 

grain can be eaten in cereal, smoothies and cookies.  



The preservation of foods their ancestors ate is also 

important so the next generation learns their value

and the abundance of wealth with seed bank inter

changes.


Seed preservation guarantees the knowledge of its 

origen and if they're contaminated.


The  penultimate goal is to preserve their crops 

indigenous history for future generations of who they

are, from whence they came and to where they are 

going.


Going global is not what's always best for the people of

the land.


"The Center for Integral Campesino Development of the Mixteca (CEDICAM) is a community-run organization that works primarily in the Mixteca region of the state of Oaxaca, one of the most eroded areas in the world after since the Spanish deforested the region over 400 years ago. CEDICAM’s projects include reforestation efforts, native seed use, promotion of local markets, local food consumption and sustainable farming practices. One of their key models is farmer-to-farmer knowledge sharing. CEDICAM continues to build models that favor people and the environment. U.S. foreign policy including free trade agreements, the Drug War, and militarization play a role in displacing Oaxacan rural communities.  "

* Perhaps you'd like to read another article re:


Ecuador selling off 1/3 of  rainforest to China. 

Here's that link: SELLING OFF RAINFOREST








Tuesday, October 30, 2018

HATE HAS NO BUSINESS HERE... VOTE


October 17th Lecia Brooks, Outreach Director from the Southern Poverty Law Center was invited to speak at Viterbo University thanks to La Crosse's Interfaith Shoulder to Shoulder organization. Her talk was entitled "When Hate is Close to Home." 

Powerful and eyeopening were the Center's data which keeps track of hate crimes across our country and information on how we can work to stop them. Along with a concise informative Civil Rights history lesson spanning some 60+ years, the phrase 'Change is slow' resonated as we heard that Hate unfortunately is alive and living in our country, our cities and our towns. 

Did you know about the existence of 954 active hate groups and 114 Anti Muslim ones?




Did you know there had been a gradual decline in hate crimes until 2016 and since then antisemitic attacks have risen by 57% in the U.S.?

Did you know 41% of millennials don't know what Auschwitz is?


Did you know Islamophobia and domestic terrorism have been on the rise including fire bombs, homes and mosques marred by graffiti, refusal to allow mosques to be built, Muslims harassed in public places, etc...? 


Did you know White nationalists fear being a minority despite whites having a 66% standing of the population with people of color at 34% ? 

Did you know the anti- immigration rhetoric and populist actions from the White House administration are incendiary whether it's Trump, Sessions, Miller/ Breitbart's? 


Under 18 years old
Did you know it is not immigration changing the numbers but rather our country's birthrate? By 2050 the US Census cites Asians as being the fastest growing minority.  




Did you know we are separating families at the border and building separate detention facilities for children and their parents? 

Did you know the thousands coming towards our borders are not a caravan? These are human beings seeking asylum and don't need 14,000 armed U.S.military soldiers meeting them at our border. Where is our humanity?


Radicalization's real with a Troll Storm national movement. 

So what can we do?

  ACT. 

  JOIN FORCES. 
  SUPPORT THE VICTIMS. 
  SPEAK UP. 
  EDUCATE YOURSELF. 
  CREATE AN ALTERNATIVE. 
  PRESSURE LEADERS.
  STAY ENGAGED.
  TEACH ACCEPTANCE.
  DIG DEEPER.


Voter registration
The Poverty Law Center's message was loud and clear: VOTE. 

To aid in those efforts one could register to vote in the lobby after the presentation.










*Update: The following weekend another anti-semite this time performs the heinous crime of murdering 11 Jewish adults while the victims were praying in Sabbath services in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Apparently the perpetrator wants to kill all the Jews due to HIAS, a resettlement group.  HIAS, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society,now helps resettle displaced people from all over the world. Ironically, the Genesis bible portion this past Sabbath was Vayera, where Abraham and Sarah have 3 men, strangers, who arrive at their tent whom they welcome, feed, give shade and wash their feet. Welcoming the foreigner is the ethical thing to do.  

Some ask what we can do monetarily. Make sure your school districts can afford  Anti Hate CurriculumDonate to Southern Poverty Law Center  / HIAS (Immigrant Aid Society).


"When one life is taken all our lives are affected in common grief and conviction to make the world a better place. May we go from strength to strength."


We as a country must rise above this ...  

Monday, October 29, 2018

I HESITATE...

I hesitate to post anything today on my blog as the past weekend murders in Pittsburgh need time for us to really think about who we are as a country, where we are going and what kind of society we will be leaving for future generations... That's a lot to ponder but also important before rushing to any decisions.

I have a couple of entries which need polishing but are really relevant to what is happening around us. So there will be entries this week re:  the Southern Poverty Law Center's speaker Lecia Brooks talk- When Hate is Close to Home just given to our community last week and also the Witness For Peace program I attended last Friday. 

Yesterday in Milwaukee we attended  In the Heights, a musical I saw on Broadway a decade ago right before it became Lin Manuel Miranda's first Tony for Best New Musical. The play is about Washington Heights, a latino community in New York. One hears the immigrants' story of coming to this country, why they left for a better world, the struggles faced as new immigrants and their futures. 

It'd be nice if we all could see it because we have forgotten how this country was/is a beacon of hope for peoples all over the world. 

A pre-play presentation about the play's history was given by one of the actors, a young Texan actor whose descent is Polish on his father's side and a mother with Mexican roots. Graduating from the U of Texas in Austin in theatre arts, he had only had the opportunity playing parts representing the white side of his heritage and was very excited to have this opportunity In the Heights to act as a latino character, his Latino side. In fact, not only were many of the actors in this troupe  of latino descent but so is the writer.  Lin Manuel Miranda's family is  Puerto Rican and he is presently working towards bringing Hamilton as a fundraiser for the Cultural Arts community after the hurricane's destruction and rebuilding. Residents will be able to attend a Broadway musical for free. 

*Fact given at the pretalk: In the decade since I first saw In the Heights, the latino community in Milwaukee has grown 213%.

Timely, yes and perhaps our memories can be jolted as to what has made our country great... We are a land of immigrants, we shouldn't have to be reminded.


Friday, October 26, 2018

FOTO FRIDAY: NOTHING BEATS SUNSHINE

FOTO FRIDAY this week is one of the stars of our San Francisco visit as he boldly begged for his picture to be taken as if saying " How can you not take my picture?




I've titled this " Nothing Beats Sunshine."

Sam the Sea Lion basking on the pier enjoying a gorgeous October day


Our weekend in the Bay came to an end all to soon. Any pics to share of you/anyone enjoying the October weather?

Last week's pic was :LIGHTING UP A LIFE . I promised a followed up which will be next week...

Thursday, October 25, 2018

TBT: '88 AND THE GOLDEN GATE


TBT this week since it's been about our visit to the California I went back to my former life in 1988 and a visit to the City of the Golden Gate Bridge and a trip to Alcatraz too. The kids didn't get to go on this trip but my son was not quite  2. Now he's living in California.  Time flies.

The bridge must have been recently repainted then too!





My Jazzercise buddies will get a kick out of this one at an Alcatraz cell. I wish this tee was still around.

LOL. 

Any pics for TBT to share?


Wednesday, October 24, 2018

PART 2: LEAVING ONE'S HEART IN SAN FRAN


Our last day of the weekend visit was to Huddart Park which sits in San Mateo County with over 900 acres of trails in its coastal mountains for all levels of hikers and equestrians too. 

Chickadee Nature Trail was a good sampling of the Redwoods for our two generations sprinkled amidst oaks and even poison oak.












These redwood groupings towered above us as we navigated the knobby paths with slopes exceeding 8%. 



Oh that's just a baby redwood







Peek a boo.


Survivors of Chickadee Trail... 30-76

After hiking the loop we returned to the monster SUV and headed toward the favorite and 'only' eatery nearby. Wouldn't you know once again other folks had the same idea?  The place was packed so we opted to eat closer to home. Our stomachs could hold out but the question was whether we'd arrive. A missed turn added way too much excitement in just a 3 mile white knuckle downhill as GPS directed us down the narrowest hairpin curves with both cyclists and cars coming up on the opposite side. 3 miles never seemed so long until we hit the 2 laned road.

Lunch in a new eatery with American Fare awaited us followed by a stop home to recoup and rest a bit before taking the 'newest' member of our family, Cobalt also know as Coby to the doggy park.  If I say so myself I have the 2 cutest grand puppies in the world. 

Coby had fun stretching his legs and wouldn't you know the other dogs were just leaving when we arrived. If you haven't ever visited a doggy park, it's really great for the dogs to socialize.

I had spotted a household en route who really loves Halloween so my son indulged me in stopping so I could get some photos. The homeowner was still working setting up more scenarios with a witch who tells fortunes.


I have some other friends who really get into the holiday too. Some of still spread the joy of this wonderful fall holiday.




There were interactive displays where one pushes buttons / a motion detector starts a character into motion. It must be something else at night with the lights.

It was time to head home watch a Nature show about the Andes. My future daughter in law's parents don't speak English so the program's amazing photography spoke for itself.

Wouldn't you know it before we knew it, it was time to eat again and we were all happy to help polish off leftovers and relive the weekend.   We even got to try another delicious new home grown fruit from the future in-laws's garden- one which I've only had in juice form, guava. Texture wise it 's like an apple. 


We experienced Dragon fruit, persimmons, longan berries-Dragon's eyes pictured in the foreground during our wonderful weekend in the Bay area. 

The weekend had to come to an end and we headed to the airport for a red eye flight at midnight arriving at 6 am in Chicago and an on time flight at 8:15 to La Crosse arriving by 9:30, grabbing our car and having me in place to teach with 10 minutes to spare. Whew, we made it. BUT I think I left something behind. I know it will be safe until my next visit because I left a part of my 'heart ' in San Francisco, Redwood City to be exact...

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Seriously, Best Climate?

Thank goodness for a mid semester day break on Friday which allowed us traveling time to be able to enjoy half a day more for our Bay stay.

This was the first time to visit my youngest in his new California environs, Redwood City, a Bay bedroom community in San Mateo county which boasts the 'best climate.' This visit's purpose besides getting to see my son and his fiancee was to meet future in-laws who had flown in from L.A. The kids had all our activities planned and even rented a SUV so we could all travel in one vehicle. 

The only transportation issue was the desired SUV was unavailable and the rental place replaced it with an Infinity SUV. It was a monster since its height made underground parking virtually impossible in the old city and its girth was a challenge for parallel hillside parking besides navigating narrow streets.

Dinners were eclectic and  Friday night we walked through busy downtown Redwood for Szechuan food  after lighting Sabbath candles and blessing the wine and bread. We made a good dent in each dish but had leftovers.  Need I say we ate well all weekend...


Saturday's weather was also splendid and after breakfast we headed to the city to enjoy Fisherman's Wharf, its crowds, vendors, seafood restaurants and 

                                    infamous sea lions. 


Those sea lion loungers have grown to an impressive community of 700  since my last visit many moons ago...


After perusing  the tourist walkways sprinkled with entertainers, booths and shops surrounding  Pier 39 we collected our reserved tickets for a boat tour of the Golden Gate Bridge and 
Alcatraz





The fog was lifting and it was a spectacular day for sailing and our harbor tour.





They are repainting the Golden Gate bridge once again which is quite an endeavor.

One can see the scaffolding on the underside as the last level of the underside is being completed.


 Alcatraz is agin' but still as haunting as ever... 

On our return walk to the car we got a good whiff of the infamous San Francisco sour dough bread being made.



After leaving Fisherman's Wharf we drove through China Town up and down the big hills but ended up not eating there due to parking and the same happened when trying to visit the Japanese Gardens. It was Saturday after all and everybody else had the same idea to be outside.  All was not lost as we just  headed to a different neighborhood to enjoy Vietnamese Pho soup. At 2:30 in the afternoon it was packed and obviously a favorite of the locals. Yummy.

Our next stop would be the spectacular ocean views where hang gliders take off and folks bring their dogs to enjoy the scenic trails at Fort Fundston.  

 Impressive to say the least.

The late afternoon sun was trying to reappear...


We made the most of a beautiful 70 degree day. We returned to Redwood City and after a homemade dinner of tender bar b que short ribs,  kale and lentils accompanied by good conversation .
we slept well after a very enjoyable full day of Bay air.

Tomorrow more California fun with the Family before we head home...