It's my Brother's Birthday!!!!!

For your Holiday Message I'm going to allow one of my favorite astrologer/philosopher/shaman and capturer of Divine Ideas.....Rob Brezsney.....to speak my peace/piece.

I have sent many of you his Freewill Astrology messages thru the years. Rob is quite a unique individual and I consider him a special gift to my radical and unorthodox freedom loving Life.

In the photo of Rob at the column's head I hope that you can make out, that in his left hand extended towards the motorists, he's giving money away. Quite the opposite of today's usual scene at freeway exits, and stop lights. Rob's image moves us to think.

We're so used to the sight of a man or woman obviously going thru hardest of times, with a sign asking for assistance, that if we pulled up beside him, we might not even notice that his sign reads, "Love to Help. Need to Give. Please Take Some Money". He's 'flipped the switch on us'. Rob is well dressed, groomed, and giving it away.

Yep.....definately something my brother, Jesus, the Christ would do.......

So here's one Holiday Greeting from Rob and I, to encourage the fullest expression of Being the Divine, that you Are. May Grace and Joy be your reward, and continually inspire the Blessed seeking, freedom loving, resistence to no-longer-relevant dogma that limits, ....So that pursuit of Love that expands You....... may be your way of Being in the world~

Kentke

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS

Fundamentalist Christians send me hate mail. Religious zealots in ten cities have banned one of my books. Along with meditation, yoga, and sex for fun, the Vatican has declared astrology, one of my occupations, to be dangerous to your spiritual health.

All of these haters would be shocked if they learned that Jesus Christ is one of the Main High Dudes in my pantheon of gods. They seem to believe that people like me -- goddess-worshiping tantric sufi Qabalist Buddhist pagans who hang around with zen trickster witches and espouse a socialist libertarian political philosophy -- couldn't possibly have an intimate relationship with the cosmic hero they claim to own. They must think they have commandeered the trademark of one of the sweetest avatars in history!

But I do have an intimate relationship with Jesus. How could I not? He was a champion of women's rights, a threat to the established political order, and a radical spiritual activist who worked outside religious institutions. The dude owned nothing and was a passionate advocate for the poor and underprivileged. He was uncompromisingly opposed to violence and war. Besides that, he was a master of love and he devoted his life to serving the Divine Intelligence. I want to be like him when I grow up!

"It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle," he said, "than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." That's a pretty clear statement of his position towards rightwing accumulators of property and wealth.

"Love your enemies," he said, "do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." How any militarist promoting global arms sales and pre-emptive war could claim an affinity with Jesus is incomprehensible.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Rob's book- PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA:How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings is available for sale at http://tinyurl.com/qaj62To read news and features from the book, go here:http://tinyurl.com/lhwx2

I highly recommend you purchase and read the book. Great reading as you enter 2008. It would be excellent food for thought for the rest of your Life~

Truly do love & appreciate you~

Kentke

"There's no place like home. There's no place like home."

Close your eyes, and tap your heels three times, and think to yourself,

"There's no place like home".

I'm back from my week out of town, and my Life has been pretty busy since I returned. I barely had a chance to sleep in my own bed 4 nights, when I was again, thrown into new circumstances, in a different neighborhood. Taking the opportunity to give myself an indulgence I miss, I agreed to puppysit two very sweet dogs and an unusually affectionate cat for 5 days. The caretaking meant I had all the spacious amenities of living in a beautiful classic West Adams home.

The West Adams area of Los Angeles is home to one of the largest collections of historic homes west of the Mississippi River. The West Adams area was developed between 1880 and 1925, and contains many diverse architectural styles of the era. Architectural styles seen in West Adams include the Queen Anne, Shingle, Gothic Revival, Transitional Arts and Crafts, American Craftsman/Ultimate Bungalow, Craftsman Bungalow, Colonial Revival, Renaissance Revival, Mediterranean Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, Mission Revival, Egyptian Revival, Beaux-Arts and Neoclassical styles. West Adams boasts the only Greene and Greene house in Los Angeles.

Its historic homes are frequently used as locations for movies and TV shows including CSI, The Shield, Monk, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Of Mice and Men. Driving down Arlington Blvd., I'd often see them filming my old HBO favorite Six Feet Under which was shot at the beautiful mansion one block north of Adams on the west side of the street.

The community's rich history illustrates the demographic changes of major U. S. cities, that is still going on today. Areas that started out as all white communities, later became the homes of prosperous African-Americans. Time, changes in industry and business, and the lack of economic and social planning eventuate these neighborhoods descent into disarray. Urban renewal and gentrification projects sweep thru, reintroducing the same properties as upscale enclaves where the wealthy or whoever can afford them, once again become the residents.

West Adams was developed to provide elegant homes to Los Angeles’ entrepreneurial elites. Oils barons, vintners, railroad magnates, and real estate developers hired top architects of their day to create mansions in a variety of styles. Its wealthy residents of the 1920s included lawyers, doctors, oil baron Edward L. Doheny, Port of Los Angeles developer Randolph Huntington Minor, and a host of other prominent Los Angeles citizens.

During the 1930s depression era West Adams hit hard times. Homeowners were forced to either sell their homes, or to rent out rooms to boarders. Another change for West Adams occurred in the early 1940s as successful African-American entertainers moved into West Adams Heights and dubbed it “Sugar Hill.” But Whites opposed the integration of West Adams.

The development of the West Side and Hollywood, beginning in the 1920s, siphoned away much of West Adams' upper-class white population. Upper-class blacks began to move in around this time, although the district was off-limits to all but the very wealthiest African-Americans.

Just a slight diversion, as art inside and out, beckons~

One symbol of the area's emergence as a center of black wealth at this time is the 1948 headquarters of Golden State Life Mutual Insurance, a late-period Art Deco structure that housed what is still the nation's largest black-owned insurer. Founded by William Nickerson, Jr., Norman Oliver Houston and George Allen Beavers, Jr. with it's impressive current building designed by the great architect Paul R. Williams, Golden State Mutual Life Insurance sits at the intersection of Adams Blvd. and Western Ave. I grew up with the grandchildren of all three founders of Golden State, as well as the grandchildren of Paul Williams, so it's a great pleasure to bring the genius and creativity of my community to your attention.

The building has also been the home of Golden State's major collection of African-American art.

This work of art, depicting women in Ghana was one of the pieces offered for auction in Oct. 2007, when Golden State sold a major portion of it's extensive collection of works created by some of America's most noted African-American artists.

These murals are part of those painted by Charles Alston, and Hale Woodruff and were not in the sale. They grace the walls of the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company lobby. The first mural is titled "The Negro in California History: Exploration and Colonization." Biddy Mason is in it, along with James Beckworth.

The second mural is "The Negro in California History: Settlement and Development." More information and pictures are available at LAMurals.com.

Back to our stroll......

West Adams' transformation into an affluent black area was sped up by the Supreme Court's 1948 invalidation of segregationist covenants on property ownership. The area was a favorite among black celebrities in the 1940s and 1950s. Among the famous residents of West Adams Heights/Sugar Hill were actresses Louise Beavers, Hattie McDaniel (the first African-American to win a Oscar), Joe Louis, Little Richard, Ray Charles and Earl Grant (jazz organist).


Their efforts were rewarded in 1948 when the United States Supreme Court declared racial restrictions housing unconstitutional. Soon West Adams was the place for wealthy African-Americans who quickly became the dominant group. The first African-American to run for city council was Courtland G. Mitchell who lived in West Adams Heights/Sugar Hill at 2048 South Oxford Avenue.


Years laters the area was brought back into the limelight when Motown great Marvin Gaye bought a family home in the community. Fans loved to drive past and show their out of town guests where Marvin lived. It sadly was also the site of his death, when he was fatally shot in the home by his father on April 1, 1984, one day before his 45th birthday.


Unique Architecture, History, and Central Location Created Highly Valued Properties and Neighborhoods of Great Diversity


The late 1950s/early 1960s the Santa Monica Freeway cut through part of West Adams. The Freeway also divided West Adams Heights/ Sugar Hill. Some of the most significant homes were lost to the freeway project and the area began to decline through the 1970s.

But in the beginning of the 1980s, with a healthy economy and many African-Americans in well-paying professions, homeowners started investing in the old mansions, remodeling and restoring the historic homes. Other professionals were attracted to the architecture and lush old neighborhood and brought increased diversity. And today, as whites have begun to seek to move back into inner-city Los Angeles, communications experts, writers, academics, artists and Hollywood talent have discovered the convenience of West Adams - making it one of Los Angeles' most diverse communities.


Here are a few links for more information.


Be sure to check this first one, for 2 pages of photos of homes in the area to allow you a physical impression of the community.
http://www.westadamsheritage.org/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=176


This link provides biographical sketches of the people that have lived in West Adams
http://westadamsheritage.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=9&Itemid=56


The West Adams Heights/Sugar Hill Neighborhood Association
http://www.westadamsheightssugarhill.com/index.html


This last link is the homepage of the WAHA- West Adams Heritage Association
http://westadamsheritage.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

These are some additional photos of the Orchard House Neighborhood which is further east on Adams Blvd. Captured here you'll see the architectural variety of that area, and the previously mentioned Doheny Mansion, of early oil baron Edward Doheny. http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~umin/09neighborhood.html

With the influx of new, younger, politically (as in civic government) astute homeowners, this association has a preservation focus that calls them to be environmental watchdogs for the area. As they pursue the aesthetic integrity and ecological protection of their neighborhood, everyone residing in the surrounding community is benefited by their knowledge, understanding and vigilance. They in turn are enjoying the caring and neighborly ambience African-American well tended neighborhoods are known for. The wisdom and experiences served up from the rich lives of West Adams' African-American older residents make potlucks , block parties and holiday gatherings great times for all.

Sounds like a good mix to me.......Many wonderful and necessary elements coming together......with lots of positive creative potential.

Happy Holidays to all~

Kentke

Got 20 minutes............? Check out "The Story of Stuff"

This short presentation is well worth your time, your attention, and your intellect's creative response.


http://www.storyofstuff.com/index.html

We're all in this 'stuff' together.......

Where are My Comments?!!? Rescued by the ERA

"Have you got 1,600 earthworms per square metre?"

Okay I'm here checking the blog, looking to see if anybody wrote.
Nothing yet......looking at my watch....I'll check my email.........whistling........Do a bit of surfing......Umph. Back to the blog to check....

Still nothing.

(now singing) Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, .....guess I'll eat some worms....looking at my watch again.........long thin slimy ones.....short fat juicy ones.....still nothing......Guess I'll eat some worms..... Surf some more.......Down goes the first one .....here goes the second one. Oh how they wiggle and the squirm .........Nope. No one is talking to me...... soooo I guess I'll eat some.........

What am I saying????!?!?!
I love Earthworms!
I am the founder and president of the ERA--- That's right! Me!!!!! The ERA----
the Earthworm Recovery Agency!

What? What is our Charter? What do we do?
We go out after a rainstorm...or rather I do....and help all the earthworms that have been dislodged from the earth by the deluge of falling rain water....I am very proud to say that we SAVE all the ones that have washed up on the pavement.

Well......actually we go out and RECOVER them, and gently replace them on the soil, so they can wiggle back into their habitat before the sun rises, heats up things to the point that the Sun's rays dry them and kills them. I know you've seen dried up Earthworms on the pavement as you walk after a rain.

We also do this after careless people have watered, their lawns to the point that the lawn is soaked, and water is running down the street. Besides being an incredible waste of water, this also threatens the worms habitats, dislodging them and they are again washed out onto pavements where sunshine dries and kills them. Earthworms require moisture for their survival, but direct sunlight on an Earthworm is like Kryptonite to Superman, garlic to the Wolfman (a werewolf), or sunlight to Dracula.

You see there's a big need for my organization.....the ERA.......


Wow! Now how's that for a comment!

So much for my attempt at light hearted truthful humor~

However if you are a gardener or simply wondering about my fascination with the lowly, but lofty Earthworm (my sentiments), here's a link that I just discovered that looks good for more information. http://www.wormdigest.org/content/view/243/2/ Below you'll find excerpts from an article I also ran across working quickly here (remember I am on the road with an agenda other than posting on my blog everyday) on the use of Earthworms in farms in New Zealand.

You know if it's good for a bountiful healthy farm, it's also going to be good for your garden and lawn. New Zealand is where healthy beef and lamb is still raised and shipped all over the world, because the animals are grass fed and allowed to graze. This natural system of animal husbandry is quite contrary to the American way, which corrals and pens animals closely, feeding them grains filled with antibiotics and other chemicals that ultimately weigh in to 'fatten the profit' of the animal. American livestock ranching and industry pays little regard for an animal's 'quality of life', or for the natural needs of it's biological system. So if you are including meat in your diet, I highly recommend that you spend the extra money for meat that is from grass fed animals that were allowed to graze. Besides being of much greater nutritional value, the taste is even different. The fat content is lower, and the meat will contain healthy nutrients necessary to a wholesome human diet that you will not get from animals raised the American way.

And that all goes back to what the animal ingests from the grass it eats. That's right.....Nature's goodness in that slim green blade. Which again, is made nutritious by the soil, and the elements and minerals that it contains.....and oh my goodness....we're right back to how the soil gets good and can be made even richer ~~~~
----has ANYBODY written me a comment yet?!?!?!?

all by the work of my friend the humble
Earthworm

I will write again, on these creatures, which became my 'pets' after the loss of my Beloved Shetland Sheepdog Anubis, who was born on December 14, 1991 and passed July 13, 2004.

Now surely, my musings here should prompt some comments......maybe on the tracks that my 'train of thoughts' run?........... maybe even my sense of sanity~

EARTHWORMS

The understated livestock


Earthworms have been the measure of the value of land for the last thousand years. In the Sahara, the price of land is often determined by the amount of worm casts on the soil surface. Here in New Zealand, farmers still talk of getting good livestock under the ground before they can get good livestock above the ground.

We all know earthworms are important. They rapidly recycle dung, urine, run-off and dead vegetation, purifying the soil and assisting in the manufacture of humus – the end product that feeds the plant. They also provide aeration in the soil, help store moisture, and supply vermacasts. Hatuma clients have also proven that in large numbers earthworms assist in smoothing the soil after being stressed – on a survey farm in the Manawatu during 2003 on Marton silt loam soil, after heavy rain, very bad pugging, and a severe drought, it only took a matter of weeks after the first rain before the soil had smoothed itself out. The speed in which the farm recovered was amazing; a feat thought impossible by many authorities considering that soil type is synonymous with becoming dense and heavy once soil degradation has occurred, often taking years to fully recuperate.

This incredible resilience was largely due to the farm’s hefty population of earthworms at the time (1,125 per sq/m) moving masses amounts of dirt – a phenomenon that could only come from a combination of excellent soil management and approximately thirty years of conditioning the soil with dicalcic and lime (remarkably, scientists have traditionally recommended this soil type does not require lime). With all these benefits in mind, it is easy to see why the earthworm’s role in productive farming is crucial. But in this modern era of intensification, their function of being a simple indicator of true soil fertility is being ignored.

By creating an environment where the earthworms can thrive in abundance, farmers are giving their farming operation a huge advantage; a massive workforce running twenty-four hours a day. They are also an excellent indicator of soil health, so when they are found in abundance, like the average number above, farmers can have confidence that the rest of the soil is fertile with life. There is no limit of earthworms you can have in your soil where it starts to becomes wasteful – the higher the number the better! Take a closer look at the clod of soil at the top of today's blog.

Bless our Earth~~~Enjoy Gardening~~~Bless Yourself
Kentke

Having trouble leaving your Comments?

Some friends have said that they had run into problems trying to leave a comment. I'm going to post what Blogger has written up on the process first. I'll attempt it myself, and if I can see where their instructions are faulty or confusing, I'll try to find out what should be done to enable you to leave your thoughts. Also I could use your help in this...those of you that are computer/blog/myspace literate. At the very least, someone can go ask a youngster.......

It's lonely out here in cyberspace.......(yes, I am whining) I created this blog to enable like-minded and like interested Souls a place to meet, exchange, differ and agree. Lovingly of course, and all in the process of advancing our understanding.

This space is dedicated to confirming the Truth that you Already Knew ~ thus the name KNEWZ ~ Truth that is rarely acknowledged, spoken or supported, leaving you to feel like you're the only one that KNOWZ it !?!?!

May you find kindred Spirits here, affirming and confirming one another's Highest Consciousness. May our cyber embrace of each other's clarity, often expressed by way of the COMMENTS ~~~~ solidify the commitment to Live, Act and simply Be our Highest Selves.

How do I leave comments on a blog?

Since Kentke has "Comments" enabled on her blog, then you can usually find a "comments" link at the end of each post, like this:

If you click this link, you will go to the comment posting page. (Note: in some templates, this link may take you to the post page first. From there you should be able to find the "Post a Comment" link which will take you here.) The comment posting page looks like this:

In the upper left corner, there is an option to show or hide the original blog post that the comments relate to. The rest of the left-hand column contains any comments that have already been made. The profile photos of the comment authors may also display, depending on the blog's settings.

On the right hand side of the page is the space for you to enter your comment. Beneath that are the identity options. (Some of these may not be available, depending on the blog's settings.)

The options are these:

• Blogger username: Your display name will appear, along with a link to your profile and your photo (if you have one).
• Other: You can enter your name and a link to your website, without having to have a Blogger account.
• Anonymous: No identifying information is displayed. The comment is credited to "Anonymous" without a link.

The owner of a blog also has the option to have comments open in popup windows. In this case, all the primary features will still be present, just arranged a little differently:

Okay....so now you know how~
I look forward to hearing from you........We all do.
Kentke

Happy Trails to You ...........

I mounted a magical Palomino, and was transported to my ideal of 'Heaven'.

If you caught the post I threw up briefly last week that described my current living environment, then you probably got the gist that I am seeking to relocate. This week I'm on the road in pursuit of 'new places and new faces' where I can see and feel the affinity of my Heart's desires reflected back to me.

Atonement
At-one-ment

Perhaps one might regard the past several months of my Life as an atonement, for past transgressions. For I have definitely broken the laws that have been imposed upon us about what is valuable, what should be held as priorities, how one's time ought to be utilized, and most importantly to me, what or who is The Arbiter of my Choices?......The 'Designer of my Moments' ~ as I put it.

In these months, I have been the recipient of wonderful revelations about my own Being and the world around me. Though for all outward appearance, it has seemed to be a time marked by isolation from activities, ideas and people I cherish, for my normal ways of Being were not just interrupted, but in some instances actually halted. I dreaded the effect seeing the building I live in might have on my sisters, or friends venturing to visit. I have been ashamed of the apparent lack and poverty I lived in.

It took this depth of immersing my Life deeply in an environment of just about Everything that I find existentially displeasing, for me to learn to close my physical senses to it. And in doing so, I began to live as the embodiment of a dialectic awareness. A unity of opposites. A Life characterized by filth, crude ignorance, lack and poverty that I lived in....juxtaposed against the rich fulfilled constantly expanding Life that Lives in me.

And therein is the reason for this play on words.

Atonement
At-one-ment

Just as Buddhist teachings utilize the symbol of the lotus......that gorgeous blossom that can only grow in the muddiest, often smelly, funky ponds full of green slimy algae.....just as that plant needs it's roots to be embedded in that environment for the beauty of it's flower to come forth, ----it has been in this most challenging of environments that I have been gifted with some of my most glorious and profound revelations. My anxiety over my survival soon paled in importance, becoming an annoying intrusion, before receding altogether to the back of my consciousness. Somehow, everything was 'working out' and all without my needing to solve it, fix it, or spend hours worrying. And so my surrendering to my 'This is My What Is' flowed~~~~ from pools of moments of absolute fulfillment~~~~ into an ocean, that has become an entire period of greater personal transformation.





I know that many watching me thought (and some even said) they expected me to end up in a situation like this. Especially with, my choosing to not 'suit up' and go earn my daily bread "which you know Kentke ...Everybody has to work!!!"

So to some, that I was in such a building was perfect Atonement for my ridiculous sinful way of thinking and choice to not conform.

Little did those folks know how the very same letters in Atonement....just with emphasis placed on my chosen syllables..... have led me to greater At-One-Ment.

Enough for now~


Now....let's see how old you really are.......
Can you join Dale, Roy and I in singing the end of the today's title?

Happy Trails to You ~~~
'til we meet again~

Kentke

Marvelous Manifestations ~ Marian's Music.....Microsoft Money & Mentoring

I woke-up to a heartwarming email message from my brother. Being a part of his 'extended family' has been one of my Life's richest gifts and joys. His email brought what I consider 'Great Knewz' because it spoke of opportunities and wonderful openings in the world for our younger generations.

His talented daughter Marian is being featured this week on the web in a newsletter exposing her talent to millions. And hopefully this great exposure will urge some new fans to show up at this weekend's Album Release party in Los Angeles.


The Urban Professionals COMMUNIQUE' is a weekly adnewsletter that caters to the lifestyle of Urban Professional People.


MUSICAL TALENT OF THE WEEK ~ Marian Marie

For a taste of Marian's sound click here:http://www.marianmarie.com/music.html

Her voice is as sweet as her face.

Sunday, December 9th, 2007
"Simply Me" Album Release Concert & Party
Doors open at 6:30pm
Show starts at 7:30pm.

The El Rey Theater
5515 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles CA 90036
Between Fairfax & LaBrea

323-936-6400

Price: Pre-Sale $15.00 / $20.00 at Door
Party directly following concert.



The second Great Knewz was that Microsoft's Bill Gates is making some very generous gestures to invite African-American youth to study and get more deeply involved in the field of Computer Engineering and Technology.

NEWS - Lack of black engineers hurts U.S., Bill Gates says.

A recent study says that less than 10% of graduates of computer science programs in the U.S. are black -- a fact that will contribute to a shortage of technology professionals in the years ahead, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said. "The United States is not turning out from any group as many of the great engineers as there will be jobs for," said Gates, who added that blacks are particularly underrepresented in the tech industry because high school dropout rates in the black community exceed 50%.

"That is a stunning number ... the trends are very much working against somebody in that situation," said Gates, speaking Friday at a conference hosted by the National Society of Black Engineers at Microsoft's Redmond, Wash., headquarters.

"There will be a huge number of computer science jobs created over the next 10 years, and the number of people majoring in those subjects is falling short of that," said Gates. According to a study by the National Science Foundation, fewer than 6,000 of the 52,500 computer science graduates in the U.S. in 2004 were black. "The shallow pool of skills is due, in part, to the lack of minorities being drawn into technology," said NSBE executive director Carl Mack, in a statement.

Microsoft, named by the NSBE on Tuesday as the top employer for black engineers, said it's trying to change that by partnering with NSBE and hiring and promoting African-American programmers and engineers. The company also announced a software developer grant to the NSBE that gives its members a three-year membership in the Microsoft Developer Network Academic Alliance.

The memberships give NSBE faculty and students access to a range of Microsoft products and technologies, including Windows Vista, SQL Server, and Visual Studio. ****************************************************************************

"What do you want to be when you grow up? What career will you pursue?"

Do we really listen? Do we watch? Or does society dictate how we mold our own beloved young people, simply to try to ensure them a certain income bracket? How many hearts have we broken, spirits have we doused and dreams have we squashed, ignoring the In Born Gift of Genius that each Life possesses.

We don't do these things maliciously....we're just not sensitive ourselves, and we've been misprogrammed in regards to working with Nature, with Life, with Love.

Please, share the message of Bill Gates' comments and offers with someone. Encourage a young adult to check it out and take advantage of these opportunties. I'm sure you know someone that just loves computer games, Nintendo , XBox , or just hates to be pried away from the computer . Maybe there's a young lady that is always taking something a part, because her creativity wants to know how it works. Instead of getting upset and angry, lets learn to (quietly) pay attention, so as to deepen our understanding of these complex creatures we are given to nurture.


Still can't figure out how or what to do with them? Watch what animals in the wild do. TV/Cable is full of programs that show how the planets most successful parents 'do it'. The creatures of Earth still fortunate enough to live in their natural habitat are excellent teachers of how to support the young into becoming socially functioning mature members of the group.

Once we've got an understanding of the natural creative inquisitive urge that we are witnessing (in a person), we can then start the work to channel that urge. Let's use that attraction, that natural -already present- allure, as a lure to a stepping stone on a path that leads to creative and productive activites.

Working with the interests.....those in-born individual attractions....that one 'thing' that our youth already love, and do well. Then to see deeper than it's surface outplay, so as to identify it's functional significance or aspect in our everyday world. Then we can begin to enable the young person to see how this interest/talent/passion could develop into an expanded Life for them.

And never think that we only have one area of genius, ability, interest or gift. So sometimes the task is to prioritize, or relegate interests and talents to certain periods of time and growth in the continuuim of our Lives. A case in point is Marian's road to her present place in the spotlight. After graduating from UCLA, she worked for Conde Nast Publications, one of the world's major publishers of magazines such as Vogue, The New Yorker, Conde Nast Traveler and Wired. She used the experience gained in the publishing field to bring her closer to her passion, the love of music, when she joined the staff at Vibe Magazine, the publication launched by Quincy Jones. Intelligence, publishing business and music saavy, personality and beauty made marketing Vibe a magazine that covers the urban trends of music, fashion, cars and electronic gadgets, an easy sell for Marian. Working there for 10 years, she rose all the way to the executive ranks as the Northwest Regional Director of Sales, all the while continuing to gig, compose and 'do her thing' as a vocalist/composer/producer.

This as loving adults is our creative challenge. To identify the genius within our youth, and then work with Nature, that it may be manifested. For our part, it takes sensitivity, appreciation and open hearted willingness to discover.

This we do as parents, educators, neighbors, employers....and caring extended family members.

I got to witness and participate in this type of nurturing and parenting thru my extended family. And the proof of it's success hits the stage at the famous El Rey Theater on Wilshire Blvd., Saturday at 7:30 p.m.~

Kentke

Anger Management

Sometimes when you are angry with someone, it helps to sit down and think about the problem.

You ask~

Open to me so that I may open. Provide me your inspiration So that I might see mine.

~~~~~~Mevlana Jelalu'ddin Rumi~~~~~~

My Life and Battles, by Boxing Champ and Legend Jack Johnson

I wanted to get word of this to you two weeks ago when it was announced, but was unable to do so. Here it is now, and just like the publication of these revelations of the candid thoughts and observations on race by World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Jack Johnson........better late than never.

Below is an article on the new autobiography which introduces English readers, to deeper aspects of the man which his 'legend' largely hasn't addressed. There are also many references to other biographic materials on Johnson. Consider this for your holiday gift giving.


Musings of boxing great Jack Johnson finally published for English readers
By STEPHANIE REITZ
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

Boxer Jack Johnson's 1914 memoir "Mes Combats" (My Fights) appears at Harvard University's Widener Library, in Cambridge, Mass., Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007. Johnson's largely unknown 1911 musings to a French sports magazine, including candid observations on racism likely never intended for American readers, have been translated to English in their entirety for the first time in the new autobiography "My Life & Battles."


Jack Johnson, addicted to attention and craving a colorful legacy, loved to chronicle his rise from a restless Texas teen to the world's first black heavyweight boxing champion. Now, nearly a century after his most famous bout - the 1910 defeat of "Great White Hope" Jim Jeffries - and decades after his death, Johnson has more tales to tell.

His largely unknown 1911 musings to a French sports magazine, including candid observations on racism likely never intended for American readers, have been translated to English in their entirety for the first time. The result, "My Life & Battles," is 127-page book by and about the man considered by many to be one of history's most important athletes.

"To get new material and new stories from Jack Johnson is significant not just in sports, but sociologically as a look into that whole era," said Bert Sugar, a boxing historian and author of dozens of books on the sport.

Johnson's 1908 championship and his 1910 defeat of Jeffries touched off race riots among downtrodden black Americans who considered him a hero and white separatist Americans who deemed him a threat.

"He really was a figure of great hatred and paranoia among many white Americans, and when he won the 1910 fight, it was considered on all sides to be a really monumental event," said Mount Holyoke College professor Christopher Rivers, who translated and published the 1911 memoirs.
Rivers, a boxing enthusiast who teaches French, first noted references to the French articles in Geoffrey Ward's 2004 biography, "Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson."

At Rivers' request, Ward sent him copies of all the French-language magazine articles. Rivers translated them and blended them with excerpts already used in Johnson's 1914 "Mes Combats" ("My Fights"), of which Harvard University's Widener Library owns the only known complete copy.

The result: Rivers was able to translate and publish the memoirs in their entirety, a rare glimpse into the life of a legend whose extravagant stories are his only descendants.
Johnson's 1927 memoir, "Jack Johnson: In the Ring and Out," touches lightly on racism, but only in brief and restrained language. The 1911 magazine articles, however, assess what he called the "color line" with more frankness, likely because his audience was the more laissez-faire French public and not the tensely divided American populace.

While rarely sounding bitter, Johnson made it clear he did not appreciate being painted as a dumb, brutal animal - a slur he defiantly tossed back in the faces of his critics by indulging in the finest tailored clothes, diamonds, cars and the best possessions his large winnings could buy.
He also questioned the hypocrisy of white fighters who avoided better-skilled black fighters, suggesting they were avoiding the embarrassment of a loss by rejecting the fights under the thin cloak of "scruples."

"A true fighter should be able to, and want to, fight with anyone with enough talent to aspire to the title," he said in the memoir. "And that means not building a wall around himself, the gate of which is strictly forbidden to anyone likely to beat him."

Johnson, renowned for the gusto of his storytelling, also could be counted on to boost a tale's entertainment value or to burnish his legacy, according to sports historians and his biographers.
"There's always that caution that Jack Johnson is constantly reinventing himself on the fly, changing stories in midstream, and he knew he could tell different stories to different audiences," Sugar said. "He was really one to put his finger in the pot and stir."

Yet for all of Johnson's amusing tales inside and outside the ring, the reality of his life after the 1911 magazine memoirs was darker. In 1913, he was convicted under the federal Mann Act of transporting a white woman across state lines for immoral purposes. That woman, Lucille Cameron, would later become his wife. He fled while his case was on appeal and spent seven years in exile in Canada, France, Great Britain and elsewhere in Europe.

He returned to the United States in 1920, a few years after losing a questionable title bout in Havana against Jess Willard. Johnson at various times asserted, then denied, that he had thrown the match. Once back on American soil, Johnson was arrested to serve eight months in prison for the 1913 immorality conviction.

Many supporters and boxing historians peg the charge as trumped-up punishment for his flouting of racial norms, notably his relationships with white women including Cameron and his previous wife, Etta Duryea, who committed suicide.

Various presidents have been petitioned over the decades to pardon Johnson posthumously, but none has. Johnson returned to the ring sporadically after his release from prison, but with limited success. He also owned a nightclub, tried acting and later got a job spinning tales and demonstrating jabs in an amusement arcade.

Johnson died June 10, 1946, at age 68 in a crash in Raleigh, N.C. News accounts at the time said he'd just sped away in his Lincoln Zephyr from a local restaurant, enraged that they refused to serve him unless he sat in the back.

Sugar, who was a young boy when he saw Johnson in his storytelling gig at Hubert's Museum and Flea Circus in New York's Times Square, said the newly published memoirs could introduce Johnson to a new generation and cement the legacy the boxer wanted so much to build.

"We owe a debt to understand Jack Johnson and what he stood for, what he came up against in that time and that place," Sugar said. "He's a seminal figure in many ways and his life really does transcend just boxing."

At least somebody is working on this mess....

I wanted to share this with you in case you've never been introduced to the nation of Qatar. Qatar fascinates me because I had the pleasure of meeting people from there many years ago. Stopping for a quick bite on the USC campus, I was totally surprised to encounter a group of beautifully dark brothers that hailed from this tiny Arab nation. I had to introduce myself and ask where they were from. They had just won top (silver I think) medals in their event the previous day at the Olympic games being held in Los Angeles. The USC campus was part of the Olypmic Village.

Hoping to return the hospitality I've always received in my travels, I decided to give them a 'feel' for the African-American presence in Los Angeles. So I invited the Qatar Shooting Team out for an evening at a local club on the then prominent Crenshaw Blvd. 'Strip'.
That evening we enjoyed live music and the atmosphere, where they were introduced and celebrated for their accomplishments. Everyone in the niteclub acknowledged them as the 'celebrities of the evening'. Our party was joined by high ranking African-American brothers from the Los Angeles Police Dept., most notably Bernard Parks, who later served Los Angeles as it's Chief of Police.

In pulling this blog together I notice the difficulty in finding information on the African presence in Qatar. Please include anything you might know about it's source, history, etc, in the Comment Section. I'm really curious as this is one of those Arab nations with a substantial African population.

Camel farm hand

Qatar Leads New Research into Cleaner Jet Fuel
Chris Kjelgaard Senior EditorAviation.com
Fri Nov 16, 9:45 AM ET

Four Qatar-based organizations are partnering with Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Shell International Petroleum to research the potential benefits of using synthetic, cleaner jet fuel in commercial aircraft engines. At this week's Dubai Airshow, Qatar Airways, Qatar Petroleum, Qatar Fuel Company and the Qatar Science and Technology Park signed an agreement with the three companies to study the feasibility of powering jetliners with gas-to-liquid (GTL) synthetic jet fuels created by converting natural gas to kerosene.

Qatari men

No equipment modification needed
According to the partners, the properties of GTL kerosene are largely similar to those of conventional jet fuel, making it a "drop in" replacement for oil-derived kerosene in aero engines and airports without requiring any modifications to equipment. Combustion of GTL kerosene in jet engines creates less particulate emissions than does petroleum-derived kerosene, they added.

Initially, the research project won't run jet engines purely on synthetic fuel - it will be mixed with regular jet fuel, probably in equal proportion, the partners said. The research will focus on evaluating potential improvements in local air quality, fuel economy and reductions in carbon dioxide and other emissions. Other studies will evaluate the operational benefits for airlines of using GTL kerosene, such as enhanced payload-range performance, reduced fuel burn and increased engine durability.

Mick Forey and Sjoerd Post, respectively Rolls-Royce's senior vice president - airlines and a vice president of Shell, explained to media at the Dubai Airshow that GTL kerosene burns more cleanly and possess higher energy density than oil-derived kerosene, allowing aircraft to burn less fuel to fly the same distance.
















Cosmopolitan Doha, Qatar's capital


Much cleaner air expected round airports
Forey and Post also explained that GTL kerosene produces no nitrate or sulfur emissions so, although using GTL kerosene in commercial jetliner engines won't reduce CO2 emissions enormously, it should provide large-scale improvements in air quality at and around airports.
Qatar Airways' aim, revealed publicly by CEO Akbar Al-Baker earlier this year in New York on the occasion of his airline introducing service to the U.S., and reiterated at the Dubai Airshow, is to become the first airline to perform a flight fueled solely by GTL kerosene. Its aim is consistent with the development of the Pearl GTL project at Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar, intended to make Qatar "the GTL capital of the world," according to the partners.

The conversion of natural gas to kerosene is performed using a variation of the Fischer-Tropsch catalyzed chemical process originally developed by Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Germany in the 1920s. Research into "drop in" GTL kerosene confirms to the framework set out by the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI), an international consortium including Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Shell among its members. CAAFI is coordinating the development and commercialization of "drop in" alternative fuels that can directly supplement or replace petroleum-derived jet fuels.

Timetable for synthetic fuel development
Under the FAA's oversight, CAAFI's Certification and Qualification Panel has outlined a roadmap for alternative-fuels airworthiness approvals, including synthetic fuels derived using the Fischer-Tropsch process. The roadmap supports the approval of a 50-50 semi-synthetic blend of Jet A/A1 kerosene and synthetic fuel by late 2008. It also supports development of a 100-percent synthetic fuel specification by the end of the decade, in time for the Pearl GTL plant coming online.

Pearl GTL will produce 120,000 barrels of oil's worth of condensate, liquefied petroleum gas and ethane a day, as well as 140,000 barrels a day of high-quality GTL fuels and products. The plant's production will include 12,000 barrels per day of GTL kerosene, an output equivalent to some 500,000 metric tonnes of GTL kerosene a year. Pearl GTL will be not only the largest integrated GTL project in the world, but also the largest energy project ever launched in Qatar.

Qatar Airways is a major customer of both Airbus and Boeing and -- along with Russia's Aeroflot and Vietnam Airlines --one of three airlines to order both the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the rival Airbus A350 XWB. Recent orders by the airline include a huge deal for 80 Airbus A350 XWBs and a big Boeing order for 30 Dreamliners and five Boeing 777F freighters to add to an order for 22 777s that Qatar Airways placed last year.



Click on the link for the U. S. Secretary of State, Dept. of Near Eastern Affairs Background Notes on the nation.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5437.htm

This link gives an excerpt from an article about Qatar's current ruler. On June 27, 1995, the Deputy Amir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa, deposed his father Amir Khalifa in a bloodless coup. They've since 'kissed and made-up'.:

http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0303/feature4/



This site offers information on the culture of Qatar:
http://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Qatar.html


This site has a nice array of photos to further introduce you to the nation and people of Qatar. I highly recommend a visit thru all the sites in his Gallery. http://qatarphotographs.com/

Noticed my absence, did you.....?

Are You alive?Are You angry with me?IF NOT,WHY DON'T YOU WRITE ME?

I received an email from a friend in Italy today. He was quite concerned if I was "alive or angry with him? If not, why don't you write?" All this because I hadn't communicated this week. I share my response with you, because I also haven't been posting to the Knewz either..... I think what I briefly wrote my friend, sums it up and explains it all nicely.

Dear Friend,

Yes I am very much alive. No, my friend I'm not angry. There's absolutely no reason that I could be angry with you. All is well in my world, and I'm hoping that you're realizing that all is well in yours also.

I haven't written because I'm just taking a break, and letting things 'sink in', to receive insight on the Life I'm living right now. I have many things going on here, and I'm trying not to get in the way with too much human/ego based self-confirming thinking and actions.

Also so much is happening in the world. What do you think of the exchange between 'King' Juan Carlos, and Pres. Hugo Chavez? Then ofcourse, Pakistan is vying for attention with all the antics between the players for power there. And my caring so much for the great ape primates of Earth, and the destruction of their main habitats in Africa, yesterday I began to try to sort out what the conflicts in the DRC Congo are all about. There are so many different rebel and militia leaders fighting the government, and each other?!? They battle across the landscape destroying so much Life, picking innocent villages, towns and lush forests as the sites of their rampaging and violence.

I am very sensitive to all of it.

Loving harmony, peace, and wanting people to have the opportunity to experience a high form of existence while here on Earth .....this is my passion and always, near my Heart in concerns. I always notice what events happen that get in the way of this objective, which is my vision for Humanity, and our Earth. Lots of people are always at work with their devious schemes, because of their ignorance of how Life works, and because of their greed and unwholesome desires for power. We talked of this a little last week, but on a personal, human level, when we spoke of how men and women are often attracted to each other for shallow reasons. The same dynamics exist in the macrocosm on a larger scale, between businesses, corporations, ethnic and religious groups and nations.

So you see, my mind is occupied with many things, as I am sure yours is too.

Hope your week is wonderful~

In the Posse of the Straight Shooters

The Latest Knewz from Meroe

Former U. S. Pres. Jimmy Carter shakes hands with Governor of North Darfur, Youssouf Kabir, accompanied by UN Diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi, right.

Back in July of this year, I circulated an email and article, announcing the creation of a group called, The Elders. Well I woke-up this morning to see, that they are moving forward to try to assist the resolution of peace in Darfur.

Today's action was led by wonderfully honest, to the point of being blunt, outspoken former Pres. Jimmy Carter. Pres. Carter is a man that has spent his days out of office putting his highly principled beliefs, and thoughts into immediate action. I love him for it. What a role model! He never bites his tongue, shoots from the hip, and always hits the target with his bullets of truth.

I'm going to present today's newz first, because it actually
focuses on the region this blog is named after. And that
is the region of the ancient Nubian Civilization of Meroe.
Meroe, the ancient capital was located on a tiny island at the
points where the waters of the Blue and the White Nile converge.


In the future I will share more of what I have received from Cosmic Consciousness about this ancient geographical site.



Meroe is located in the nation now known as Sudan. Meroe is also the source of my title, the name I was given at birth and that I am called here.....Kentke.

Right now, let's step away from the past, and as Michael J. Fox led us....go 'Back to the Future' or present......They are all contained in this moment,... and in this moment, we give our attention to the happenings in a region of the largest country in Africa,.... Darfur.


Following the article is my earlier email, introducing The Elders.


Oct 3, 12:00 PM (ET)By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU

KABKABIYA, Sudan (AP) - Former President Carter got in a shouting match Wednesday with Sudanese security services who blocked him from a town in Darfur where he was trying to meet with refugees from the ongoing conflict.

The 83-year-old Carter walked into this highly volatile pro-Sudanese government town to meet refugees too frightened to attend a scheduled meeting at a nearby compound. He was able to make it to a school where he met with one tribal representative and was preparing to go further into the town when Sudanese security officers stopped him.

"You can't go. It's not on the program!" the local security chief, who only gave his first name as Omar, yelled at Carter, who is in Darfur as part of a delegation of respected international figures known as "The Elders."

"We're going to anyway!" an angry Carter retorted as a crowd began to gather. "You don't have the power to stop me."


U.N. officials told Carter's entourage the Sudanese state police could bar his way. Carter's traveling companions, billionaire businessman Richard Branson and Graca Machel, the wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela, tried to ease his frustration and his Secret Service detail urged him to get into a car and leave.

"I'll tell President Bashir about this," Carter said, referring to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. Carter later agreed to a compromise by which tribal representatives would be brought to him at another location later Wednesday. But the refugee delegates never showed up.

The Darfur conflict began when ethnic African rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated Sudanese government, accusing it of decades of neglect. Sudan's government is accused of retaliating by unleashing a militia of Arab nomads known as the janjaweed - a charge it denies. More than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced in four years of violence.
The conflict has also affected Darfur's neighbors, Chad and Central African Republic. On Wednesday, French officials said a force of 3,000 European troops could begin deploying to those countries next month to protect refugees and other civilians caught up in the spillover violence.

One official said the operation would coincide with the start of the long-awaited deployment, expected this month, of a 26,000-member joint African Union-UN force in Darfur itself.
Tensions are running high after rebels overran an AU peacekeeping base in northern Darfur over the weekend, killing 10 in the deadliest attack on the beleaguered force since it arrived in the region three years ago.

Most of the Darfur refugees appeared too frightened to speak to Carter's team in Kabkabiya, a North Darfur town that has long been a stronghold of the pro-government janjaweed militia.
Branson said some refugees had slipped notes in his pockets. "We (are) still suffering from the war as our girls are being raped on a daily basis," read one of the notes, translated from Arabic, that Branson handed to The Associated Press. The note said that on Sept. 26, a group of girls had been raped, and a refugee had also been shot two days ago. Branson said it had been handed over by an ethnic African man.

The visit by "The Elders," which is headed by Nobel Peace laureates Carter and Desmond Tutu, is largely a symbolic move by a host of respected figures to push all sides to make peace.
Tutu led a separate group to a refugee camp in South Darfur, where he told British Broadcasting Corp. radio that the joint AU-U.N. force was needed immediately to bolster the overwhelmed African force on the ground and help restore stability to the area.

"It's awful that AMIS (African Mission in Sudan) should be allowed to be here when it is so inadequately equipped - I mean they couldn't evacuate their injured from the camp after the attack because they don't have military helicopters," he said, referring to the rebel attack on the AU base in northern Darfur.

The U.N. mission in Sudan deemed it too dangerous for Carter to visit the refugee camp. Instead, he flew to the World Food Program compound in Kabkabiya, where he was supposed to meet with refugees, many of whom were chased from their homes by militias and government forces. But as the meeting was set to get under way, none of the nongovernment refugee representatives arrived, and Carter decided to walk out into the town to try to talk with them.

"We are in the security field. We're not that flexible," said the security chief, Omar, after the confrontation ended. He said Carter already breached security once by walking to the school and would not be allowed to breach security again.

"This illustrates the challenges that communities and humanitarian workers face in Darfur," said Orla Clinton, spokeswoman for the U.N. Mission in Sudan who witnessed the incident.
Carter later returned to the North Darfur capital of El Fasher and where he was planning to meet with community representatives later Wednesday.

"The Elders" delegation is trying to use their influence at a crucial time - with peace talks in Libya and the deployment of the AU-U.N. peacekeeping force to begin later this month.
Carter said he felt the trip was proving effective. He said al-Bashir told him this week that Sudan has committed $100 million to a fund for Darfur's reconstruction and another $200 million has been pledged by Chinese diplomatic allies.

Carter said the main goal of the three-day visit to Sudan was to seek guarantees for free and fair elections throughout the country in 2009. Observes fear the elections could be postponed and warn this would imperil the fragile peace in southern Sudan and worsen the conflict in Darfur.
The 2009 vote would be the first democratic election in Sudan since al-Bashir came to power in a military and Islamist coup in 1989. Carter said al-Bashir vowed to allow the election to take place during a private meeting between the two in Khartoum.

"If the CPA fails to fulfill its commitment to free and fair elections and democracy in this country, all other efforts will be futile," Carter said, referring to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended 21 years of civil war between the government and Christian and animist rebels in the south.
---
Associated Press Writer John Leicester contributed to this report in Paris.
Click this link to see the photos that accompanied the article.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hwDgA5DI3HWtqNkkqqBLcGSr3iCgD8S1PTH00


My email sent 7/27-07:
Lastly, here's an article showing how some senior Statesmen and women might make good use of their knowledge, experience, charisma and I hope (most importently) creative genius. We really need some completley new ways to look at our existence, and then freedom to create completely new responses. If these folks just recycle capitalism and tout the greatness of representative democracy(?), which they all come out of....we'll just be swimmin' in the same ol' swamp.
Kentke

Published on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 by ABC News
Mandela and ‘The Elders’ Aim to Save the World
by Kate Snow
JOHANNESBURG — The Elders, a new alliance made up of an elite group of senior statesmen dedicated to solving thorny global problems, unveiled itself today in Johannesburg.The rollout coincided with founding member Nelson Mandela’s 89th birthday.
After a grand entrance, Mandela, the former South African president, announced the rest of the Elders.
The members include Desmond Tutu, South African archbishop emeritus of Capetown; former U.S. President Jimmy Carter; former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan; Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and Mohammed Yunus, the Nobel laureate and founder of the Green Bank in Bangladesh.
The group plans to get involved in some of the world’s most pressing problems — climate change, pandemics like AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, violent conflicts.
It was an extraordinary gathering; a who’s who of famous international leaders, with enough emotion to move some of them to tears.
Under a large white futuristic dome, British billionaire Richard Branson and rock star Peter Gabriel, who conceived the idea for the Elders, gathered enough star power to change the world, or at least that’s the hope.
“The structures we have to deal with these problems are often tied down by political, economic and geographic constraints,” Mandela said. The Elders, he argued, will face no such constraints.
Seven years ago, Branson and Gabriel approached Mandela about the Elders idea, and he agreed to help them recruit others. “This group of elders will bring hope and wisdom back into the world,” Branson said. “They’ll play a role in bringing us together.
“Using their collective experience, their moral courage and their ability to rise above the parochial concerns of nations ? they can help make our planet a more peaceful, healthy and equitable place to live, ” Branson said. ” Let us call them ‘global elders,’ not because of their age but because of individual and collective wisdom.”
Calling it “the most extraordinary day” of his life, Gabriel said, “The dream was there might still be a body of people in whom the world could place their trust.”
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who moderated the event and will serve as its leader, was moved to tears after Gabriel sang an impromptu accapella version of his hit song “Biko,” written about a famous South African political prisoner.
Branson and Gabriel have raised enough money — some $18 million — to fund this group for three years.
Also onboard are names less well known in the United States, including Indian microfinance leader Ela Bhatt; former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland; former Chinese ambassador to the United States Li Zhaoxing.
The group left an empty seat onstage — symbolically — for an elder who was invited, but could not attend because she is under house arrest in Burma, Nobel laureate and human rights advocate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Mandela and Carter emphasized the group’s ability to talk to anyone without risk.
“We will be able to risk failure in worthy causes, and we will not need to claim credit for any successes that might be achieved,” said Carter.
Carter said the group does not want to step on or interfere with other positive work that nations or organizations are doing but wants to supplement that work.
Several members acknowledged that the actual activities and actions of the group remain to be determined. There are no titles, no ranking of the members. And it is not clear if they will travel as a group, deploy individual members to global hot spots, or simply sit in a room together to develop strategies or assist those who are suffering find help.
But they certainly have high hopes.
“I didn’t like the title “elders,” because I didn’t feel like an elder,” said Yunus to laughter, “but I like the idea.”
Yunus said the world is without direction and he hopes the Elders can provide some direction.
Speaking of the Elders, almost in the way one would describe a cartoon about superheroes, Mandela said, “The Elders can become a fiercely independent and positive force for good.”
Annan added that the group does not “intend to go and take on Darfur or Somalia and resolve it singlehandedly. We don’t have a magic wand,” he said. But he argued that the group could intervene and perhaps force parties to honor agreements.
“There are certain crimes that shame us all,” said Annan. “We all have a responsibility, and I hope the Elders will take the lead in asking the question: What can we do to move the situation forward?
“Sometimes by saying ‘this is enough we can’t take this anymore it must stop,’ we are making a difference,” Annan continued
Mandela and Branson both celebrated birthdays today. At 89, Mandela looked frail. He walked with a cane and Carter helped him to the podium. But once Mandela got there, he stood tall and easily delivered some 10 minutes of remarks.
“He, as you know, walks sedately,” Tutu joked.

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