Goodnight Irene

In the youtube below, Goodnight Irene, an award winning short film from director Sterlin Harjo of the 1491s.  With tongue-in-cheek on a few existentialist classics, Sterlin Harjo tells a beautifully poignant, very funny, and "all too painfully real" short story about “3 ships in the night” (so to speak) waiting together in an emergency room serving a poor Native American community.  As an eternity seems to pass, tales are shared and truths emerge … touching the lives of these characters in important ways .. starring Casey Camp-Horinek, Robert A. Guthrie, and Jon Proudstar.

Holiday Hot Tumeric

Hot Tumeric  

(adapted from Dr. Sanjay Gupta's Calming, Creamy Tumeric Tea)

Ingredients

1 1/2 - 2 (8 oz) cups of plain almond milk or cow milk, regular, low-fat, or non-fat (Dr. Gupta's recipe uses almond milk)

1 teaspoon tumeric powder
1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

1 teaspoon honey

whipped cream & additional cinnamon sprinkled, a few almonds

Optional:  a shot of amaretto


Procedure

1.  Heat mug of milk in microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds.

2.  Stir in well, tumeric, ginger and cinnamon.  

3.  Then stir in honey.

4.  Heat in microwave another 30 seconds.

5.  Stir again, well.

6.  If using amaretto, now add the shot or portion thereof.

7.  Add whipped cream, sprinkle a bit more cinnamon, and a few almonds.

Enjoy!
 
Discussion

I seem to be acquiring a regular taste for this hot drink, and as long as I can dress it up, and with a "less intense" ratio of tumeric to milk, than the good doctor prescribes.  The drink is quite spicy, while creamy and comforting at the same time.  As Dr. Gupta discusses, the tumeric has anti-inflammatory health benefits, among others.  He emphasizes heart-health;  it occurred to me, however, that another consideration could be gum health since it's described as an anti-inflammatory.  Ginger, cinnamon, and honey also have their cited health benefits, along with the hot milk. 

Consider this drink, too, a substitute for hot cocoa, during the holiday season, and especially if it's challenging to find slavery-free hot cocoa mix in your area. 


Optional 

Adults, you can also dress this holiday hot tumeric up with a shot of alcohol;  amaretto blends in very nicely, and right before you add the whipped cream, a dash more of cinnamon, and some real almonds.  

And I'm sure it goes good with cookies!

I suppose cow milk or whipped cream that is not non-fat, would take this drink out of an entirely heart-healthy category, according to Dr. Gupta.  Though I have no idea what the good doctor (or yours, if you can even see one in the U.S.A.) would advise there, and as far as cookies, alcohol, or gum health, either. 

The almond milk is really good with it, as long as you get a good brand for the almond milk - otherwise, I found regular milk better than poor quality almond milk.  With the good stuff, I used plain, not these flavored kinds like vanilla, etc.
 

Photo credits: via wikipedia, top, Botanical view of Curcuma longa, second, photographer: John Hill, "Native turmeric in the bush near Cooktown, Queensland, Australia," third, photographer: Simon A. Eugster, "Turmeric rhizome and powder," fourth, photographer: Rajkumar6182, "Turmeric field in an Indian village."

¿Donde está mi hermano?

In the video below, Where is my brother?, written and sung by Arturo Leyva about the 43 missing students in Mexico, still missing.  Via Vox,

A project called Illustradores con Ayotzinapa (Illustrators with Ayotzinapa) invited artists to paint portraits of the victims, to humanize them as individuals. A musician named Arturo Leyva wrote a song about the students and used the portraits to create a video to accompany his music.

NPR reports that the normally festive and popular holiday, Day Of The Dead has turned somber this year, as the students' whereabouts is still unresolved.

Massive demonstrations have racked Mexico, protesters demanding return of the students alive, with supporting demonstrations taking place in major cities around the world.

#AyotzinapaSomosTodos #EPNBringThemBack #AyotzinapaNoSeOlvida #MexicoEstaENCABRONADO #Tamaulipas pic.twitter.com/qSlm945XB7
— Dante Alí (@DanteAliGlz) October 27, 2014

Prayers go out to the families of OUR 43 students. Mexico is rising against gov. Mex City #TodosSomosAyotzinapa pic.twitter.com/Xf6FIIIjUF
— Salvadore Barrios (@Salvadore308) October 29, 2014

 
Discussion of the missing students in videos below: 

Why Are Students Disappearing In Mexico? http://t.co/wYddceAZph #EPNBringThemBack #DondeEstan
— francesca fiorentini (@franifio) October 27, 2014

Harvard students tell you what's going on in #Ayotizinapa Mexico #EPNBringThemBack http://t.co/18YhXZvbwJ
— Genaro Lozano (@genarolozano) October 26, 2014

Video of Missing Ayotzinapa Students Before Their Disappearance: http://t.co/jaoMQSiiYD #Ayotzinapa #TodosSomosAyotzinapa
— Sergio López Dávila (@sergioLdavila) October 30, 2014

Poetry

Through the lens of Ferguson, on Poet Claudia Rankine's book, Citizen: An American Lyric.

She reads an excerpt in the video below:

Where Do We Go From Here?

 

October 17th is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.  So let's do it NOW.  #EndPoverty.

In the United States, this could be accomplished rather straightforwardly via expansion of the social security system to provide a guaranteed liveable income (a.k.a. basic income guarantee/B.I.G. or unconditional basic income/U.B.I.), along with passage of an improved and expanded Medicare for all.  
 
In the video below, in 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. advocates direct abolition of poverty via guaranteed basic income in Where Do We Go From Here - Chaos or Community?



In another powerful video below, Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaks out on behalf of direct abolition of poverty via guaranteed basic income, and in his address to the Basic Income Earth Network's 11th International Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, November 4, 2006.  




As blogged before, basic income is not a new idea, with supporters from different political persuasions and proposals for its implementation coming in various forms and amounts.  For the most part, however, BIEN advocates seem to agree that it must be unconditional (without regard to employment or income status or means testing), individual, and liveable. 

A recent article here by Naomi Klein advocating guaranteed basic income.

A video discussion below with Occupy Wall Street organizer and author David DeGraw who coined the now historic phrase, "We are the 99 percent."  He, too, advocates a basic income.  

From Dennis Traynor:

In his new book, The Economics of Revolution, DeGraw writes:

“Having that much wealth consolidated within a mere 1% of the population, while a record number of people toil in poverty and debt, is a crime against humanity. For example, it would only cost 0.5% of the 1%’s wealth to eliminate poverty nationwide. Also consider that at least 40% of the 1%’s accounted for wealth is sitting idle. That’s an astonishing $13 trillion in wealth hoarded away, unused.”

 
 

And a 2013 question and answer session with Allan Sheahen, U.S. Basic Income Guarantee Network Board Member and author of the book, Basic Income Guarantee: Your Right To Economic Security.

 

The basic income movement is reportedly gaining momentum, worldwide, with the 2016 Congress for the Basic Income Earth Network to be hosted by South Korea.   The 16th BIEN Congress took place at McGill University in Canada where François Blais, the Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity, recently announced his support for a basic income.  In Iceland, the Pirates Party is now proposing a guaranteed basic income.  And as blogged earlier, the Swiss will be voting on a guaranteed liveable income, having quickly gathered the requisite signatures for the ballot under Swiss law. 

A pro-business statement for a basic income:




Anonymous made a announcement, too:




Basic income pilots have been successfully implemented in communities ranging from Prince Edward Island, Canada to villages in India. 

On the Canadian pilot:


Why Basic Income? Campaign for a Basic Income Guarantee for PEI from C-BIG PEI on Vimeo.

On the pilot in India:




The 14th Annual North American Basic Income Congress is now scheduled for New York, 2015, with invitations for panel discussion proposals.

With November elections approaching in the U.S., and all the candidates who like to associate themselves with the ideals and vision of Dr. King - and sing his praises on Martin Luther King Day - well, I challenge them to "walk the talk" and outright declare support for his proposition in "Where do we go from here?" - and by strongly calling for direct abolition of poverty in the United States - through immediate passage of a guaranteed liveable income.
 
"If not now, when?"

1492

Reflections on Columbus Day from John Oliver.

 

Not still a thing, however, in Seattle this year, where it was outright abolished and replaced by Indigenous People's Day:

#IndigenousPeoplesDay #IdleNoMore Columbus Day abolished in Seattle! pic.twitter.com/N1TBc0puLR
— Alex Garland (@AGarlandPhoto) October 13, 2014

#IndigenousPeoplesDay #IdleNoMore #AbolishColumbusDay #Seattle See more http://t.co/f73rjyucfP pic.twitter.com/9hsgsaPxDL
— Alex Garland (@AGarlandPhoto) October 13, 2014

Written Notification

To the community, of the community's continuing demise. 




Received (minimally) by scores of motorists at the nearest freeway exit.