Paulson letter- real or fake?

Dear American:

I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.

I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country
has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of
800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it
would be most profitable to you.

I am working with Mr. Phil Gram, lobbyist for UBS, who will be my
replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a Senator, you
may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation
movement in the 1990s. This transaction is 100% safe.

This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need
the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these
funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under
surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a
reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the
funds can be transferred.

Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund
account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov
so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I
receive that information, I will respond with detailed information
about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds. "

Yours Faithfully

Minister of Treasury

Paulson

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State Senator agrees to meet with father of two after almost running him down

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2008/09/18/new-york-state-senator-jeff-klein-impacts-no-impact-man-with-cus/

No-Impact Man, Colin Beavan, is famous for trying to live his life without any impact on our carbon footprint. As part of this commitment, he rides his bike to work in New York City. Yesterday, while riding his bike and wearing a purple helmet, he got in an altercation with New York state senator Jeff Klein -- who almost hit him with his large black Mercedes, and then called him a "f-cking a--hole" for knocking on his window to alert him of his presence.
************
As a result of an open letter
http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/2008/09/ny-state-senato.html
the state senator got so many calls that Jeff Klein agreed to a meeting with Colin.

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Three women, three bikes, 1600 miles and a whole lot of gardens and farms; and one movie trailer

In early 2007, three friends planned a three-month-long bicycle journey to tour and document food-producing garden projects from Washington D.C. to Montreal - and back again.

The trailer of their film is now out at
http://womensgardencycles.wordpress.com/watch-the-trailer

*********************

Thanks to those who have answered my question about urban landsharing--
I welcome more stories and anecdotes.
-- Jim

smithmillcreek@gmail.com

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Have you ever rented land from someone to food garden?

The usual model is:
You own land, and you grow things on it.

Has anyone ever been too busy to farm/garden their land,
and rented it out; or bartered use of it to someone else in exchange
for some portion of what is grown? Or have you been the landless grower?

I'm especially interested in people that might have done this inside city limits,
or with land less than 3/4 of an acre.

Please write me at smithmillcreek@gmail.com if you have any leads or tips.

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IMPactivism: Asset-based Community Development

Please pass this opportunity on to any potentially interested parties. Space is limited to 25 participants per session, but if there is adequate interest, additional dates can be arranged.

IMPactivism: Asset-based Community Development

Neighborhoods often are reactive rather than proactive, and try to deal with issues or conflicts rather than isolate the capacities, skills and resources they already possess.

This seminar series introduces a new way of thinking about community building that encourages directing effort at positive, concrete results. Case studies and examples of focusing energies internally into the neighborhood illustrate the benefits of utilizing this approach to strengthen sense of community and address quality of life issues.
Guidance and approaches to building cross-sector partnerships, along with "next steps" provide an in-depth introduction to a different way to think about and enhance community development from a neighborhood perspective.

The series is being presented over a 4 week period, and will meet once a week, from 11:30a.m. to 1:00p.m. You may select either:
• Wednesday session 7/23, 7/30, 8/6 and 8/13,
or
• Thursday session, 7/24, 7/31, 8/7, and 8/14.



Registration R.S.V.P. is required by Monday, July 21st at noon, and should be directed to kendrapenland@yahoo.com .

Payment should be made by check to Sustainable Development, LLC, and mailed to:
Sustainable Development
PO Box 8041
Asheville, NC 28814

Cost of series: pre-paid by Monday, July 21st: $150.00

payment first day of seminar : $175.00

Lunch, educational resources and materials are included.

AGENDAS:

DAY 1: IDENTIFYING AND UTILIZING INDIVIDUAL CAPACITIES
11:30 - Introduction to traditional vs. asset-based model of community development
12:00 - Q&A, clarification
12:30 - Exercise

DAY 2: THE POWER OF YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
11:30 - Case studies of how internal focus strengthens neighborhoods
12:00 - How a stronger community can be a safer, healthier community
12:30 - Q&A, brief exercise

DAY 3: UTILIZING LOCAL INSTITUTIONS FOR COMMUNITY BUILDING
11:30 - Building cross-sector partnerships: Why it's important and how to begin
12:00 - Neighborhood Planning, community service providers & churches
12:30 - Q&A, brief exercise



DAY 4: MOBILIZATION
11:30 - Next steps...getting started
12:00 - Organized for success
12:30 - Q&A, final exercise, evaluation





Feel free to contact me with any questions!
Kendra P. Turner
Sustainable Development, LLC
828-301-3162
"Depend not on fortune, but on conduct." Publilius Syrus

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Searching for a place to live

Can you post something like this on a blog?

I'm looking a place to live in West Asheville starting August 1st. Id prefer to rent a 2-3 bedroom house & populate it, but can also share a place with someone else.

If you have leads, email smithmillcreek at gmail dot com.

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Faulty Media Coverage of Rainbow Gathering Police Riot?

http://artvoice.com/issues/v7n29/getting_a_grip

Weirdos Riot: What's Wrong With the Buffalo News?

by Michael I. Niman

It doesn’t really seem like the kind of story that would make the national news—10
US Forest Service police officers arrest a man in Wyoming for crime of
being “uncooperative.” Add the freak show specter of “eccentrics” and
“hippie types” throwing rocks and sticks, however, and in the era of
Jerry Springer, you’ve got the makings of a national news story. Hence,
nearly 2,000 miles away, the Buffalo News ran the story under the headline, “5 arrested in Rainbow Family clash with feds.”

In actuality, there was a national story, only it wasn’t the one that appeared in the Buffalo News.
I was at the scene, conducting research and working with a film crew
producing a documentary about the group, which was the subject of my
doctoral research and subsequent book, People of the Rainbow (Univ. of Tennessee Press). The alleged hippie riot reported by the News and dozens of other media outlets around the United States never happened. This Buffalo News
story, gleaned from the Associated Press wire service, like much of
what we read in mainstream newspapers, was based entirely on an
official government source, with no “on the ground” reporting or source
verification, no independent eyewitness reports, and no quotes from the
group in question.

The main problem here, as legendary investigative reporter
I.F. Stone put it, is that “all governments lie.” It’s a chronic
problem that reporters face—and a point journalism professors have been
trying to drive home for at least three generations. You can’t base
stories entirely on the narrative provided by one party to a conflict.
You can’t base stories entirely on government or corporate press
releases or official documents. News stories need to be based on
reporting, not stenography.

Keep Reading

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Net Zero Bungalow Presentation

from Asheville architect/planner Joe Minicozzi

Hello all:
The Asheville Design Center (ADC) is sponsoring a presentation next week that should be pretty cool. The architect is from Portland, though she is an Asheville native. She will show some of her work that is "net zero", which means that the houses that she works on produce as much energy to the grid as they consume. Also, much of this is 'renewably' produced energy.

One of her projects is a conversion of a 1923 Bungalow to a "net zero" house. Please pass this on to all that may be interested, see attached poster. See you at the ADC next week (8 College Street in downtown Asheville - on Pritchard Park - Wednesday July 9th, at 6PM sharp).
Cheers,
Joe


-------- Original Message --------

Attached is a poster for the July 9 Forum. The presenter, Kathy Bash, is architect Joe Wakefield's daughter. There is more information on this web page: http://www.solaroregon.org/resources_education/goal-net-zero-home-tour/goal-net-zero-home-tour

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Four ways to make it easier to raise chickens in Asheville

Hi Folks-
Would you like to make it easier to raise chickens in Asheville?
Here are four things you could do:

1- Attend the hearing on this topic at 4:30 PM, Tuesday, July 8th.
It will be in the city conference room in the Fire Station next to Asheville City Hall (different from Public Works or the City Hall itself)

2- Call or email a city councilperson to express your support for easing the ordinances, which lag behind those of Raleigh. We are not talking about making it easier to have roosters in the city, just chickens:
local, low-cost healthy food in a time of rising food prices. For contact info, visit
http://www.ashevillenc.gov/government/mayor_city_council/city_council/default.aspx?id=1354

3- Join the listserv devoted to discussing this topic. More info at
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ashevillecitychickens

4- Last, and something to do TODAY-- take part in the Asheville Citizen-Times poll at
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage
(middle of the page, to the left). It asks
"Are you in favor of easing restrictions on raising chickens inside city limits?"

Thank you,
-- Jim
*****************************
From an email I got recently:

I am writing you because you have indicated an interest in changing
the existing Asheville city chicken ordinance. There is now something
very important, and easy, that you can do.

Just to catch you up on the city chicken work, there is a group who
has been meeting for some time, gathering friendly NC ordinances,
writing a draft ordinance for the council to consider, and meeting
with council members.
We are putting together information to support our assertion that a
few chickens are positive and not a nuisance, a solution to the high
cost of food, environmentally friendly as they are very local, an
excellent experience for the family, the eggs are very nutritious, and
Asheville has historically allowed small flocks for families.

Many other NC municipalities allow them, even Raleigh, within a
reasonable distance from a neighbor¹s home, typically 25 ft, and our
ordinance requires 100ft, and our permit requires 150 ft. Impossible.

We have been told that the city is holding a public hearing to discuss
animal ordinances July 8, Tuesday, 5:30 at the 4th floor training room
of the police department, not city hall.

If you could be there, please do! If not, please e-mail city council
and ask for a more favorable ordinance. You don¹t have to ask for
specific provisions.
Better yet, come to the hearing, and e-mail city council.
Could you please forward your e-mail to me and let me know if you plan
to attend the hearing?

Please forward this to anyone who would be supportive.

Thanks,
Jenny Mercer

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Infectious Pessimism

Robert Shiller on Infectious Exuberance (and infectious pessimism):
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/housing



"Benjamin M. Friedman, in his 2005 book, The Moral Consequences of
Economic Growth, cites abundant historical evidence that when economic
prospects look bleak—especially for long periods of time—intolerance,
racism, and other reactionary impulses flourish. As more people
experience hardship, trust between them tends to diminish, and the
social fabric itself seems to fray....



We recently lived through two epidemics of excessive financial
optimism. I believe that we are close to a third epidemic, only this
one would spread irrational pessimism and mistrust—not exuberance. If
that happens, our economic problems will become much worse than they
need to be, and our social problems will multiply. Only if we heed the
lessons of the boom can we keep the bust from causing lasting damage."

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