Tuesday, June 21, 2005

The Solstice Wave FEATURED ARTICLES - Summer Solstice, Eric Weisstein's World of Astronomy - The 10th Annual World Peace and Prayer Day - How People View Solstice Celebrations, Religious Tolerance.org - BOTTOM LINE: June 2005: Phase II of the Anti-War Movement, by Medea Benjamin THE QUOTE: "The peace movement, demoralized after the unsuccessful efforts to both stop the war and get George Bush out of office, must lift itself out of the doldrums and into the streets and the corridors of power. We must push our representatives to sign on to the new legislation, keep demanding an investigation into the Downing Street Memo, and pressure the media to cover these new developments in a serious, respectful way. We should march in July 4 parades with the "Bring the Troops Home" message, reinvigorate our local vigils, step up the counter-recruitment efforts that are making it so difficult for the military to get enough new soldiers for this war. And the next big anti-war mobilization scheduled for September 24 in Washington DC, coupled with lobbying on September 26, must be huge. We've got new momentum. Now let's ride the wave." - - Medea Benjamin (From today's Bottom Line) THE HISTORY: June 21st -2183 BCE -- First Druid summer Solstice festival held at Stonehenge. 633 -- Galileo Galilei is forced by the Inquisition to "abjure, curse, & detest" his Copernican heliocentric views. Sentenced to walk around with his head up his ass, like the church. 1732 -- Martha Washington is born. Minded the hemp crops when George was away. 1940 -- US Marine General Smedley Butler died. Best remembered for his book "War is a Racket," Smedley Darlington Butler was one of the most conscience-driven & controversial men ever to wear the uniform of the U.S. Marines. Although he rose to the rank of Major General & was a two-time winner of the Medal of Honor, Butler is remembered today as a vocal critic of colonialism & American foreign policy. READ War Is A Racket ONLINE AT: http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/warisaracket.html RHINO HERE: The Summer Solstice brings an intensity of life, waves of oncoming changes. In the world of left leaning activism, there's lots afoot. As Media Benjamin, cofounder of CODEPINK & Global Exchange writes in today's Bottom Line, "We've got new momentum. Now let's ride the wave." Her essay is an excellent overview of the building Congressional efforts to force a timetable for getting out of Iraq, as well as Congressman Conyer's push to have the shrub gang own up to the Downing Street smoking gun hard copy proof of what so many knew all the time. She also gives a heads up on the next big anti-war mobilization scheduled for September 24 in Washington DC, coupled with lobbying on September 26. Check out Medea's new book: Stop the Next War Now AT: http://www.codepink4peace.org/article.php?list=type&type=45 The Summer Solstice is currently celebrated by many Indigenous Peoples & intuitive thinkers of all backgrounds. It's also known as: Alban Heflin, Alben Heruin, All-couples day, Feast of Epona, Feast of St. John the Baptist, Feill-Sheathain, Gathering Day, Johannistag, Litha, Midsummer, Sonnwend, Thing-Tide, Vestalia, etc. etc. etc. This is from Eric Weisstein's World of Astronomy ...In the northern hemisphere, the longest day of the year (near June 22) when the Sun is farthest north. In the southern hemisphere, winter and summer solstices are exchanged. The summer solstice marks the first day of the season of summer. The declination of the Sun on the (northern) summer solstice is known as the tropic of cancer (23° 27'). The summer solstice is the longest day of the year, respectively, in the sense that the length of time elapsed between sunrise and sunset on this day is a maximum for the year. Of course, daylight saving time means that the first Sunday in April has 23 hours and the last Sunday in October has 25 hours, but these human meddlings with the calendar and do not correspond to the actual number of daylight hours. In Chicago, there are 15 hours of daylight on June 21... MORE AT: http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/astronomy/SummerSolstice.html (o/)(o/)(o/) The 10th annual World Peace and Prayer Day Observed Tuesday, June 21, 2005 in the Sacred Black Hills of South Dakota. from Indianz.com (http://www.indianz.com/News/2005/008686.asp) ...founded by Arvol Looking Horse, keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Pipe. Get the Story at: World Peace Day Celebrates Decade The Rapid City Journal, 6/10 http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2005/06/10/news/local/news13.txt (o/)(o/)(o/) How People View Solstice Celebrations From Religious Tolerance.org ..."Solstice" is derived from two Latin words: "sol" meaning sun, and "sistere," to cause to stand still. This is because, as the summer solstice approaches, the noonday sun rises higher and higher in the sky on each successive day. On the day of the solstice, it rises an imperceptible amount, compared to the day before. In this sense, it "stands still."... ...How people view solstice celebrations: People view other religions in various ways, and thus treat the celebrations of other faiths differently: For some people, religious diversity is a positive factor. They enjoy the variety of June celebrations, because it is evidence of wide range of of beliefs within our common humanity. They respect both their own religious traditions and those of other faiths for their ability to inspire people to lead more ethical lives. Others reject the importance of all celebrations other than the holy day(s) recognized by their own religion. Some even reject their religion's traditional holy days if they are convinced that they have Pagan origins. This is a common occurrence with Easter and Christmas. Some view other religions as being inspired, controlled, or even led by Satan. Thus the solstice celebrations of other religions are rejected because they are viewed as Satanic in origin. LOTS MORE AT: http://www.religioustolerance.org/summer_solstice.htm (o/)(o/)(o/) 11:35:21 AM    comment

RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE - June 2005: Phase II of the Anti-War Movement June 2005: Phase II of the Anti-War Movement by Medea Benjamin, CommonDreams.org, June 20, 2005 For the history books, mark down June 2005 as the moment the US movement against the occupation of Iraq got its second wind. In June, the US public became solidly anti-war, Bush's approval rating took a nosedive, and a significant number of Congresspeople started to call for an exit strategy. This marks a seismic shift from just one month ago, when Congress overwhelmingly passed another $82 billion for war-with only 44 members of the House and not one Senator dissenting. The continued violence in Iraq, the daily deaths of US soldiers, and the non-stop drain of financial resources has finally moved the anti-war sentiment from a much-maligned minority position to a mainstream one. A Gallup poll June 6-8 found that 6 in 10 Americans advocated a partial or full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and for the first time, a majority said they would be upset with the president if he decided to send more troops. An Associated Press poll showed only 41% approved of Bush's handling of Iraq. With such negative perceptions of the war and 2006 midterm elections approaching, an increasing number of elected officials have finally started to listen to the public and push for an exit strategy... GET THE STORY AT: http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0620-20.htm (o/)(o/)(o/) Rhino's Blog is the responsibility of Gary Rhine. Feedback & requests to be added or deleted from the list are encouraged. (rhino@kifaru.com) See The Latest Greatest Political Cartoons      While You Read Rhino's Blog AT : http://www.rhinosblog.info Rhino's Other Web Sites: http://www.dreamcatchers.org  (Indigenous Assistance & Intercultural Dialog) http://www.kifaru.com  (Native American Relations Video Documentaries) Articles are reprinted under Fair Use Doctrine of international copyright law. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html All copyrights belong to original publisher. Tell a friend about Rhino's Blog 10:39:27 AM    comment

© Copyright 2005 Gary Rhine.