The Guest House
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whatever comes.
Because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
--Jelaluddin Rumi,
translation by Coleman Barks

The Pulse Of God
The limbs of a tree reached
down and lifted me, thinking
I was it's child,
and
in the meadows
my spirit becomes so quiet
that if I put my cheek
against the earth's body
I feel the pulse of God,
"tell me the way you
do that birds....
enter the private chambers
of my Lord?"
and they all sang,
they just SANG.
I gathered it was time
to become a musician,
and I did.
Years passed, and the
sky reached down
one day and lifted
me
and the birds noticed and spoke,
"how do you enter
the sun like
that and
know
the
pulse
of
God?"
From Saint Thomas Aquinas

Prince Michael Angel

an original Poem by Clarlita Zarate

In Memory of Michael Jackson


In a kingdom of all colors
dwells our beloved brother.
He has made his home in heaven
above where moments are made of
dreams come true.

It is where the greatest power is love.
Michael is dancing with angels now.
They sing his songs
because, my lord,
it pleases you.

The virgin calls out to him,
"Young Michael."
Her eyes are soft and kind.
Then she asks him as she takes his hands,
"Are you lonely for something you left behind?"

Michael answers, "I miss my fans."

By Clarita Zarate
written for Michael Jackson, forever.

Los Angeles police under scrutiny in Jackson death
By LINDA DEUTSCH and THOMAS WATKINS, AP
L. Michael Jackson.Investigation

The rented home of Michael Jackson seen from the air, Monday, June 29, 2009,...


LOS ANGELES — The investigation of Michael Jackson's death is widening as questions intensify about the drugs he took, the doctors who provided them and the actions of police.

Why didn't police seal the mansion where he had been living? Why were moving vans seen at the home, and were any items removed before police wrapped up their search? Why didn't they get immediate search warrants? Why did they tow away a doctor's car right after the death but not declare the home a crime scene?

Los Angeles police say proper procedures were followed based on the circumstances officers encountered when they were called to the home at 12:21 p.m. on June 25. A doctor was attending to Jackson and stayed with him when he was placed in an ambulance at 1:07 p.m. There was no sign of foul play.

Others say police should have assumed it was possible a crime occurred and taken precautions to ensure the scene was not disrupted so evidence wasn't lost or tainted.

"If I was the chief detective on the case, I would have said, 'We don't know what's going on. We should seal the scene,'" said defense attorney Harland Braun, who has represented celebrities including Robert Blake, Roseanne and Gary Busey. "You always have to think of the worst-case scenario and you have to think fast. I would have sealed the scene just because it was Michael Jackson."

Whether the Jackson probe turns into a criminal investigation hinges on what evidence emerges involving the drugs. Charges could be brought if authorities determine Jackson had been overly prescribed medications, if he had been given drugs inappropriate for his medical needs, or if doctors knowingly prescribed Jackson medications under an assumed name.

It's still not known what caused Jackson's death at age 50. The pop star went into cardiac arrest in his bedroom and his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, performed CPR while an ambulance was called, according to Murray's lawyers. Murray has spoken to police and authorities say he is not a suspect, though his actions have come under scrutiny because his own lawyers acknowledge it may have taken up to a half-hour for an ambulance to be summoned.

An autopsy was conducted but results are not expected for several weeks. The Jackson family had a second autopsy performed and those results also are pending.

On Wednesday, The Associated Press learned Los Angeles police asked the Drug Enforcement Administration to assist in the investigation.

DEA agents participated in the investigation of the 2007 overdose death of Anna Nicole Smith at a Florida hotel. California Attorney General Jerry Brown investigated her former boyfriend and two of her doctors.

Brown handed the investigation over to the Los Angeles district attorney's office, which filed charges of conspiring to provide Smith with prescription drugs.

Brown said the suspects broke the law because Smith was a "known addict." The former boyfriend and doctors denied the charges.

The DEA also probed whether painkillers found in actor Heath Ledger's system after his death last year were obtained illegally. Federal prosecutors did not charge anyone.

Jean Rosenbluth, a University of Southern California law professor, said the agency's involvement in the Jackson case suggests authorities are looking into whether drugs came from out of state. Murray lives in Las Vegas and is licensed to practice in Texas, Nevada and California.

Federal drug regulations include controls over whether and how frequently a doctor can write prescriptions over the phone, and DEA agents could be looking to see if these rules were broken, Rosenbluth said.

"You can't just get on the phone and continue to prescribe something for someone without having seen them for a long period of time," she said.

Jackson had a well-known history of using prescription medications, especially painkillers. Following his death, Cherilyn Lee, a registered nurse who had worked for Jackson, told the AP she repeatedly rejected his demands for the drug Diprivan, also known as Propofol. It's a potent anesthetic used in operating rooms and it would be highly unusual to have it in a private home.

Uri Geller, a former Jackson confidant, said he tried to keep Jackson from abusing painkillers and other prescription drugs, but others in the singer's circle kept him supplied.

"When Michael asked for something, he got it," Geller said in a telephone interview from his suburban London home.

Jackson had multiple doctors and many others like Geller who came in and out of his life. Which people are being interviewed by police is unclear because the LAPD has said virtually nothing about the probe.

"I am not going to make any comments on the investigation," Commander Patrick Gannon, the designated police spokesman on the Jackson case, said by e-mail Thursday.

Any evidence would be turned over to the district attorney's office, which has final say on criminal charges.

One of the key questions is why it took four days for police to issue a search warrant and remove medications from Jackson's home.

Although the home wasn't declared a crime scene, police did tow Murray's car the evening of the death to look for potential evidence.

Vernon J. Geberth, former commanding officer of the Bronx Homicide Task force in New York, said police should have known they were dealing with an extraordinary situation.

"If it's a high-profile person, you have to do more than you would do ordinarily," he said.

Still, Geberth, who now acts as a private forensic consultant, said he believes the LAPD acted appropriately.

"Having a doctor present altered the equation. It was not a homicide scene. It was an emergency medical scene," he said.

Police spokesman Lt. John Romero declined to comment when asked if the LAPD was reviewing its handling of the investigation.

Rosenbluth said if the case ends up as a criminal prosecution, any defense attorney would seize on the LAPD's failure to immediately seal Jackson's home.

"If you can get even one juror think, I don't know, maybe somebody fiddled with the medicine before the police came in and collected it, that's reasonable doubt," she said. "All that the defense attorney needs is one juror."

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

It brings Joy to my heart to hear that Michael Jackson wills complete and sole custody of his children to his mother!!!.
I am grateful to him for the beautiful music and for leaving a third of his great fortune to charity. I pray that it goes straight to the needy children he wants it given to.
RIP dear Michael
I know you are with angels!
Clarita

Whatever My President decides is ok with me. It is the first time in my life I have ever trusted and felt affection for a president and his family!
May they always stay blessed!

Like all popular music groups, the Jukebox Trio has its own successful formula. Presenting a rich mix of classic covers and original material in an open, friendly, accessible style – with two singers and a human beatbox – it’s hard not to enjoy the experience of seeing them play.

“I don’t know any other a cappella bands with only three people,” says lead singer Vladimir Ivanov. “Usually they have six, but we cut it down to the main things: bass, rhythm and melody. And actually, that’s all you really need in music.” Clever live sampling techniques are also often used to create layered, harmonised soundscapes that give the impression of more voices.

The group formed in 2004, when brothers Vladimir and Ilya Ivanov met Kirill Sharafutdinov at a vocal studio where they learned jazz and funk fundamentals. “We had mutual interests, we were listening to a lot of the same music – Bobby McFerrin, Take 6, Queen, The Beatles. It’s different music but we like it all,” explains Vladimir.

At live shows, this diversity is evident. Re-worked Elvis Presley hits, silky Bossa Nova ballads and sermonising soulful serenades are all on the agenda. The penultimate track on the Trio’s debut album, Acappellipsis, features a list of influential artists: names as varied as Ozzy Ozbourne, John Coltrane, Jimi Hendrix and the Chemical Brothers are recited in comically exaggerated Russian accents.

However, copies of the CD are somewhat hard to come by. “We decided not to sell the album in shops, it’s only available at our concerts,” says Vladimir. Why? “It’s a big problem to make a good production with Russian record labels. They are really down now.” He also cites the mercenary nature of the country’s music industry as something the group wants to avoid. “Radio stations and TV channels play everything just for money, apart from maybe Western musicians – mainstream stuff. If you want to be big in Russia, you have to pay.

“The most important thing with Jukebox Trio is that, at first, it wasn’t for money – simply for pleasure. When we started to earn money with the music, it was a bonus. And that’s still the order of priorities.”

The fickle nature of the scene in their home city, Kazan, was another obstacle the group strove to overcome. “The funny thing about Kazan is that, as it’s the capital of Tatarstan, the Tatar public tend to like mostly Tatar singers. We were like some kind of circus for them. Breaking onto Moscow stages in 2006 was a really big step for us – people started to say we were musicians and not just a circus, we were getting real respect,” says Vladimir.

A subsequent string of gigs around Russia earned Jukebox many fine reviews, as well as a prize from pop heroine Alla Pugacheva and the chance to open Elton John’s show in Rostov-on-Don. They are already writing for a third CD, which will come after an album comprising cover versions of well-known Russian rock songs.

Ilya Ivanov, the Trio’s rhythmic engine, is optimistic about future prospects. “We’re hoping to collaborate with a suitable record label, which can help us produce great albums.” And in the long term, he makes no secret of lofty ambitions: “We want to become famous and be like rock stars all over the world – at least like The Beatles! I want to travel and perform in many different countries. And I think it is really possible, because I believe in the power of music.”

The Jukebox Trio take music down to its basic elements, focusing on the purity and versatility of the human voice – no instruments required. An online video for their song ‘So… Let Me Know’ emphatically illustrates this concept, as the group are shown smashing guitars into splinters at the tune’s climax. Don’t expect that to happen at every show, but, as Vladimir says, “you’ll be put in a good mood”.


Published in The Moscow Times, 9/6/09 - click here for original.

La ciudad de Zaragoza que rara... Su aire(cierzo) fatal para la migraña que tengo, pero es mía. No toda la ciudad... Sólo unas partes entre unos minutiCOs son mios... Ya os voy a contar lo que es mio, para que cuidéis el espacio entre yo y mi mundo...
Depende del autobús que llega al centro, tengo 20 minutos con mi gente que miro a sus ojos cada día.. Sólo hay unas 30-50 personas que cambian pero todos ellos dicen: todos somos iguales, somos diferentes.
Esta gente son los que están en cola del registro. Unos para solicitar la nacionalidad Española están allí desde la 08.00 de la mañana, unos para registrar a sus bebes, otros sólo quieren ir un paso más allá en la vida: para casarse... Si llego un poco antes, la cola no es muy grande, sin embargo siempre con gente con los doc. en la mano, quieren que abran la puerta ya y por lo menos esperan dentro... Si sigo en el mismo trabajo, igual dentro de unos años voy a tener mi tercer padre favorito en la Calle Alfonso... ¿Quien sabe?

La ALIANZA ARAGONESA CONTRA LA POBREZA, conformada por más de 30 organizaciones del ámbito social y de Cooperación al Desarrollo, con su campaña POBREZA CERO se vincula a la Feria del Libro de Zaragoza el sábado 6 junio de 11 a 20 horas a través de diferentes actos culturales y la instalación de una mesa informativa, los actos se celebrarán en Plaza España.

El objetivo de la campaña POBREZA CERO es concienciar a la población de la necesidad de conseguir los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio (ODM) para logar disminuir los índices de pobreza en el mundo. En este sentido, es importante llamar la atención sobre este tema, aún más en el contexto actual de crisis y aumento de los precios de los alimentos que pone en peligro muchos de los progresos conseguidos en la reducción de la pobreza y el hambre. Se estima que 100 millones de personas más vivirán en la pobreza extrema y 75 millones más pasarán hambre como consecuencia de la crisis económica mundial.

Por todo esto queremos aprovechar la celebración de la Feria del Libro para hacer énfasis en el segundo de los ODM “Lograr la enseñanza primaria universal”. Cuya meta es que todos los niños y niñas puedan terminar un ciclo completo de enseñanza primaria en 2015.

Los invitamos a estar presente el 6 de junio en la Plaza España exigiendo desde el espacio de la cultura y desde el poder de la palabra, el derecho a la educación y a una vida con justicia social y equidad económica.


Programa

Día: 6 de junio de 2009

Lugar: Plaza de España (escaleras de la DPZ), Zaragoza.

Horario:

11 a 13 y de 17 a 20 horas: Mesa informativa sobre la campaña Pobreza Cero. Con libros relacionados con el tema.

18.00 horas: Lectura manifiesto

18.05 horas: Cuentos Pobreza Cero, narradores de cuentos de diferentes países nos contarán historias de la lucha contra la pobreza

Como en todos los lugares del mundo, es un libro que cuenta que "mientras los hombres duermen la siesta, las mujeres airean el corazón."

Bueno, estaba sentada en el sofa, mis pies en el puff.. ¡Ahh que bien el fin de semana...!  Pero faltaba algo, siempre falta algo porque una parte mia está lejos. ¡Y vale ya! eso ya lo se... Para tapar los agujeros pequeños tengo mis libros, mi musica, mi te turco al lado...

The Scorpion and the Frog

One day, a scorpion looked around at the mountain where he lived and decided that he wanted a change. So he set out on a journey through the forests and hills. He climbed over rocks and under vines and kept going until he reached a river.

The river was wide and swift, and the scorpion stopped to reconsider the situation. He couldn't see any way across. So he ran upriver and then checked downriver, all the while thinking that he might have to turn back.

Suddenly, he saw a frog sitting in the rushes by the bank of the stream on the other side of the river. He decided to ask the frog for help getting across the stream.

"Hellooo Mr. Frog!" called the scorpion across the water, "Would you be so kind as to give me a ride on your back across the river?"

"Well now, Mr. Scorpion! How do I know that if I try to help you, you wont try to kill me?" asked the frog hesitantly.

"Because," the scorpion replied, "If I try to kill you, then I would die too, for you see I cannot swim!"

Now this seemed to make sense to the frog. But he asked. "What about when I get close to the bank? You could still try to kill me and get back to the shore!"

"This is true," agreed the scorpion, "But then I wouldn't be able to get to the other side of the river!"

"Alright then...how do I know you wont just wait till we get to the other side and THEN kill me?" said the frog.

"Ahh...," crooned the scorpion, "Because you see, once you've taken me to the other side of this river, I will be so grateful for your help, that it would hardly be fair to reward you with death, now would it?!"

So the frog agreed to take the scorpion across the river. He swam over to the bank and settled himself near the mud to pick up his passenger. The scorpion crawled onto the frog's back, his sharp claws prickling into the frog's soft hide, and the frog slid into the river. The muddy water swirled around them, but the frog stayed near the surface so the scorpion would not drown. He kicked strongly through the first half of the stream, his flippers paddling wildly against the current.

Halfway across the river, the frog suddenly felt a sharp sting in his back and, out of the corner of his eye, saw the scorpion remove his stinger from the frog's back. A deadening numbness began to creep into his limbs.

"You fool!" croaked the frog, "Now we shall both die! Why on earth did you do that?"

The scorpion shrugged, and did a little jig on the drownings frog's back.

"I could not help myself. It is my nature."

Then they both sank into the muddy waters of the swiftly flowing river.

Self destruction - "Its my Nature", said the Scorpion...
An Interesting article regarding this fable

The frog is altruistic I read somewhere and that is you and I. But we also need to be pragmatic and realistic. It is the nature of people to act as who they are. People do not change their basic character and it is not always easy to identify the scorpions as they disguise themselves very well. So you do what President Reagan said about the Russians when they agreed to dismantle their nuclear arsenal. You trust but verify. You never give strangers access to money or decision making with out a long time of proving themselves, that you always have two signatures and you have a board of directors approve all decisions. That is how NGO’s and business operates. You can trust with small things. If someone does not justify, explain, show proof in details, or defers or deflects and does not answer, that is not ethical, professional, in any culture of the world. People have different customs, but if they are sincere they will prove it that is culturally appropriate but they will show they are friends and trustworthy. Trust your instincts. You have a rare ability to see where so many are blind. Trust the sight that comes from your heart and not your eyes alone.

The Calf-Path

by Sam Walter Foss (1858-1911)

One day, through the primeval wood,
A calf walked home, as good calves should;
But made a trail all bent askew,
A crooked trail, as all calves do.

Since then three hundred years have fled,
And, I infer, the calf is dead.
But still he left behind his trail,
And thereby hangs my moral tale.

The trail was taken up next day
By a lone dog that passed that way;
And then a wise bellwether sheep
Pursued the trail o’er vale and steep,
And drew the flock behind him, too,
As good bellwethers always do.

And from that day, o’er hill and glade,
Through those old woods a path was made,
And many men wound in and out,
And dodged and turned and bent about,
And uttered words of righteous wrath
Because ’twas such a crooked path;
But still they followed — do not laugh —
The first migrations of that calf,
And through this winding wood-way stalked
Because he wobbled when he walked.

This forest path became a lane,
That bent, and turned, and turned again.
This crooked lane became a road,
Where many a poor horse with his load
Toiled on beneath the burning sun,
And traveled some three miles in one.
And thus a century and a half
They trod the footsteps of that calf.

The years passed on in swiftness fleet.
The road became a village street,
And this, before men were aware,
A city’s crowded thoroughfare,
And soon the central street was this
Of a renowned metropolis;
And men two centuries and a half
Trod in the footsteps of that calf.

Each day a hundred thousand rout
Followed that zigzag calf about,
And o’er his crooked journey went
The traffic of a continent.
A hundred thousand men were led
By one calf near three centuries dead.
They follow still his crooked way,
And lose one hundred years a day,
For thus such reverence is lent
To well-established precedent.

A moral lesson this might teach
Were I ordained and called to preach;
For men are prone to go it blind
Along the calf-paths of the mind,
And work away from sun to sun
To do what other men have done.
They follow in the beaten track,
And out and in, and forth and back,
And still their devious course pursue,
To keep the path that others do.

They keep the path a sacred groove,
Along which all their lives they move;
But how the wise old wood-gods laugh,
Who saw the first primeval calf!
Ah, many things this tale might teach —
But I am not ordained to preach.

“I always wanted to be a cosmonaut,” states Fyodor Yurchikhin without hesitation. “When I was a small boy, I jumped from a second floor balcony because I thought I was Gagarin! My father jumped after me, it all happened very fast, and luckily we were both OK.”

Born in January 1959, Yurchikhin grew up during the heyday of the Soviet space programme. Yuri Gagarin’s maiden flight in 1961 held mythical significance: “When we played in our yard, we would pretend to be Russian cosmonauts,” he recounts. “We knew all their names and I can’t tell you how much it meant to us. Gagarin was more than a name. For us, what he did was something like the impossible. He was an icon, a symbol – ‘Wow, Gagarin!’”

Yurchikhin’s face still glows with childlike enthusiasm as he talks, springing up to illustrate the balcony scenario or act out the process of spacewalking. His two missions to the International Space Station, in 2002 and 2007, amount to over 200 days, with nearly 19 hours working in open space.

“My first time on the ISS, the biggest problem was orientation. There’s no gravity, everything is floating around; until you adjust to that, you have to move very slowly, holding onto things.”

“When I first looked down out at the earth, I realised it’s impossible to understand this view from pictures. It’s black of course, but when you get there you see it’s not a normal black – it has infinite depth. I wanted to touch the colours, they are so bright and clear. No photos can convey the beauty of that sight.”

Nevertheless, Yurchikhin keenly uses orbital photography to spread his ideals for the future of humanity. His work has been exhibited around Russia[?]. “The name of my gallery is ‘Our House on Earth,’ because everybody should understand it’s very small. Yes, very big for us, but in reality very small. You need to keep your house clean and beautiful, we need to understand this; otherwise, we may destroy the house. It’s terrible.”

He applies this approach to both environmental and social concerns, as well as international relations. “People need to understand each other. We need to stop settling problems with weapons and war. It’s quite probable there is life on other planets. I think contact could be valuable for both sides if we understand and respect each other. But this doesn’t happen on earth, a planet where people have been living together for thousands of years.”

“I think the international space programme can be used as a model for the future: many different countries, different languages and different levels of technology all working together. America and Russia in particular have very different ways of thinking. For example, there’s an old joke that when the Americans found it was a problem to write in space, they spent a million dollars to invent a special space pen. The Russians used pencils!”

Yurchikhin picks a potent analogy to look at these varying national standards. In the first class at school, children arrive knowing different things. Even if some start off being able to count higher numbers, for example, this doesn’t mean they’ll finish in first place. “I don’t know how we will graduate the ISS school. Russia and America too should understand we are all still in school, we must continue and share knowledge.”

“If we’re doing complex work in a difficult area, like cosmic research, it is very useful to work with others. Views can become clouded. Including different people can bring new perspectives to old problems.”

Looking to the future, Yurchikhin believes the next step is colonisation. “We should go to a planet, build something and live there. The moon should come first, then possibly Mars. We should also continue developing ideas for a new spacecraft.”

On April 12, Russian Cosmonauts’ Day, the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics opened its refurbished doors in northeast Moscow. It is situated beneath a towering, angular monument with a soaring rocket at the peak. More than 3,000 exhibits include a life-size replica of the space station Mir, Gagarin’s legendary orange spacesuit and all kinds of lunar vehicles – in short, a fascinating stroll through Russian space history.

“It’s a good idea,” says Yurchikhin. “I hope lots of kids will go. I love meeting children who have this dream, just like I did. Maybe now more people will talk about cosmonautics as well – it’s not as popular as it used to be.”

Again emphasising the spirit of unity he so desires, Yurchikhin remains an optimist at heart. “For a while I wanted the Russian space programme to be number one, but perhaps now we should change our minds now. It’s better if our national programme is part of a wider international project. Being first isn’t important. We’re all going to fly into space together.”

“Going to space, every one of us went as a patriot of our own country. But we came back as patriots of our earth.”

RIR Dossier
Fyodor Nikolaevich Yurchikhin was born on 3/1/1959 in the autonomous Republic of Ajara, Georgia. On graduating high school in 1976, he entered the Moscow Aviation Institute. He qualified as a mechanical engineer in 1983 and joined Energia, the Russian Space Corporation, where he rose to the position of lead engineer. In November 1999 he completed his basic cosmonaut training course. In January 2000, he started training for the ISS programme. In October 2002, Yurchikhin flew aboard STS-112; his first space flight logged a total of 10 days, 19 hours, and 58 minutes. His second flight, in April 2007, was a 197-day tour of duty commanding the Expedition-15 mission aboard the ISS. He was honoured as a Hero of Russia on October 23, 2008. Yurchikhin also holds a PhD in economics and enjoys reading, sports, stamp-collecting and space history.


Published in Russia Now / Russia & India Report, March 2009, with The Economic Times (India)...