Support the Say NO to Drug Ads Act!

Representative Jerrold Nadler, Democrat of New York, has introduced a bill called the Say No to Drug Ads Act. It would amend the federal tax code to prevent pharmaceutical companies from deducting the cost of direct-to-consumer drug advertisements as a business expense.

TransMilenio in Miami!!! We can do it if Bogota can!

Miami and the tri-county south Florida area need a real public transportation system that is the priority of the government and the people, not the neglected and not well thought out system we currently have. The government of the world are not really doing enough to combat climate change due to carbon emissions. Even Obama is not as aggresive as he could be. So it is up to us the people to demand to our leaders that they take the requisite measures. One such measure is to prioritize public transportation which can run on bio-diesel or diesel, and to de-prioritize and make a bit more difficult the use of private transportation. We all have to pitch in and deal with the change to our precious habit of transporting ourselves in a personal bubble. We have to step up and embrace this opportunity to keep the earth a livable place for the next few generations.

TransMilenio is the name of the public transportation system in Bogota, Colombia.

It is basically a train system but above ground and with no tracks! It has indoor stations and completely dedicated roadway space guarded by 2 foot high barriers. It is possible to foresee the fleet of diesel vehicles using bio-diesel and not creating any carbon emissions.

Miami has no truly functional public transportation system. Why can't i easily take a bus from South Beach direclty to the airport? There are so many inexplicable routes and so much room for improvement.

We need to prepare ourselves for the radical transportation shift that will be a key to our evolution in care for the earth. We all, myself included, must break free of our addiction to our own cars and put faith in the idea of a solid and working public transportation system in Miami. If these other very chaotic cities can do it successfully so can we for sure! We must!

We cant build a subway anyway so we can save the resources needed to build a rail line and direct them to the design and execution of the bus ways thru the city. The buses get all the priority, they never wait at traffic lights, they only stop at their bus-stops. All payments are done inside the stations to there is no delay in the boarding. The system pays for itself and creates lots of jobs.

Tolls should be enforced for driving your own car. It should be more expensive to drive your car than to take the public transportation. All of these measure also work to increase revenue for the county. This really should be a tri-county network. Every part of the tri-county area should be easily reached through the system of effecient buses.

On certain routes, double-decker london style buses may be possible.

If you would like to be on an organizing campaign with me with regards to this subject, please email me to fredb@miamiyoga.com and we can assemble a team and we can work together to uncover and navigate the way to its realization.

I have a strong feeling that when the time is at hand, it just takes a few dedicated and intelligent people to create that tipping point and turn the tide. Lets try. Even if it takes years, as i would expect it may.

Look at how this Micro Loan thing WORKS!!!

Hi everyone... i decided to put an email sent to me below. Reading this email just made me smile because of how much sense this model makes! It is so easy to participate in this and make a HUGE difference for people with an almost insignificant amount of money (like $25 or more). Just check out the below and see what i am talking about!


Hi Fred Busch,
We'd like to give you a repayment update on the loans you've made
through Kiva.

A total of $3.57 has been repaid over the past month! As of 2009-05-17,
you now have $7.14 in Kiva Credit in your account.

Click here to re-lend, withdraw or donate these funds! (The minimum
lending amount is $25, but you can easily add new funds to existing Kiva
Credit to complete a loan purchase.)


Below is the repayment update on your Kiva Portfolio:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gladys Nimako in Ghana (Activity: Food Production/Sales)
You Loaned: $25.00
Newly Repaid: $3.57
Total Repaid So Far: $7.14 (28.56% of your loan)
View loan profile at:


To view your Kiva loan portfolio go to:


Want to receive these updates more/less often? You can change the
frequency at which you receive repayment updates under Kiva Email
Preferences:


If you have any questions, you can find our Frequently Asked questions
and our contact info at the Kiva Help Center:
http://www.kiva.org/about/help?_te=ru .

Best Wishes,
Kiva Staff

Sacred Time in the Peruvian Rainforest! Rainforest Yoga

I just spent three tremendous days exploring the Peruvian Rainforest near the border with Brazil. I flew from Lima to Puerto Maldonado which is the Jungle town on the edge of the Rainforest.

I arrived at was met at the airport by my students and friends Cata and Oscar who live there now and they took me to their wonderful eco-lodge named Capiveri. It was so nice to live at a slower pace and enjoy the small details of living quietly on the land. We did yoga each day in the "Maloca" which resembles a beautiful and spiritual Tree House and listened to sounds of the forest as we meditated. The jungle as a very special spiritual energy. Our first stop was to a piece of land that may become a Yoga Ashram and Eco-Lodge located on the Tamopata River. We hiked throuh the property and discussed the vision.

From there we stopped by Oscar's Moms Amazon Animal Shelter and Rescue center located deeper in the forest. I saw lots of Monkeys and Birds being prepared for release back into the wild.

I can pretty fairly say that one highlight of that amazing place for me was playing, petting and interacting with a 9-month old Mountain Lion (PUMA). We envision that this center will be one of the beneficiaries of the possible Yoga and Rainforest Retreat Center. I know that Yoga students are keenly interested in Nature and its preservation and conservation and i want to offer programs that offer meaningful benefits the Rain-Forest through Yoga and Enlightenment training.

We had a wonderful dinner in the town and prepared to go deep into Jungle for the next two nights. We went to the dock the next day and boarded a thin but stable river boat to take us three hours up river to the Inotowa Lodge. It was wonderfully primitive up there with only light by lantern and candles but with the basic necessities and great food. The jungle is alive all the time and making sounds that just penetrate me. I heard so many birds and monkeys just the sounds of nature that are so absorbing and clarifying.

We went on night hikes and night riverboat rides where we saw Caimans (alligator cousins) and Pirhanas. I even jumped in the lake where we were feeding the pirhanas earlier... i did get out kind of quickly i have to admit.

The rainforest recharged me as time in Nature has the ability to do. I could not resist the opportunity to see a place like the Amazon rainforest and i can't wait to return to bring Yoga students and nature lovers for the ultimate spiritual weeklong or longer retreats to benefit yourself and the earth.

blessings!
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Lima Yoga Teacher Training 2009 Update

I arrived directly from London to begin the training in Lima, and that was not so easy. But it was made much easier when i saw the great group of people assembled at Lima Yogashala ready to begin their training.

We have just finished the first two weeks of Full Time training and everyone is learning so much so quickly. I will post pictures as soon as i get back to Miami and recharge the camera. It is such a blessing to come to South America and meet the pioneer Power Yoga students and be able to share so much about not just Power Yoga, but also the deeper aspects of Traditional Yoga.

In a few days we will begin again for some full time days together and i cant wait to see everyone!