Here's what it all comes down to. This is from today's paper. I'm afraid that most of the people around would rather see such things happen than change their minds about work, the market and human possibilities. And that's a damned shame. I've seen a rise in racism and anti-semitism, anti native thought and Gay bashing with all of this. I won't even go home to visit my relatives because of the gun atmosphere in Oklahoma. I've disagreed with people on the internet from home and the implication is that it's not safe for me or my family. I had a member of my board resign because he thought I was a superstitious idiot for my religion or even having one. I've never seen such rancor. I can tell you all that coming from the lead and zinc mines, the reservation and the poverty to working fifty years in the Arts. Producing major recording, Festivals and getting major awards. Change is just not that bad. The Shirley Sherrod case that embarrassed the government here was about work. She organized cooperatives in Georgia. Built them along the line of the Israeli Kibbutzes and fought the racists who called her a black commie and then won over a billion dollar settlement against the agriculture department for people being thrown out of their homes for the standard market practices. She found poverty had no race. As this upscale mother and son found as well. Looks like they needed a down home black mother from Georgia to rescue them and give them away out. A willingness to value people and to develop significance, a reason for living, in their lives. REH
Elderly Mother, Son Found Dead In Their Burned, Foreclosed Family Home SCOTT SONNER | 07/21/10 07:33 PM | AP RENO, Nev. - Two people found dead in a home that burned in an upscale Reno neighborhood had heavily fortified the foreclosed house, apparently anticipating the sheriff's deputies who came to evict them, police said Wednesday. An investigation continued into the cause of death of the two people whose bodies were removed from the charred rubble Wednesday morning and taken to the Washoe County medical examiner's office for an autopsy. They have not been positively identified but were believed to be Therese Christenson, 83, and her son, Gary "Axel" Christenson, 46, who had lived for decades in the house that was sold at a foreclosure auction in June. Deputies serving the eviction notice Tuesday heard what they thought were gunshots after they announced themselves at the front door about 10:40 a.m. They took cover and noticed the house was on fire. Police SWAT teams surrounded the area, pointing guns at the house while firefighters poured water on the flames from a distance for about eight hours. "It had been heavily fortified," Reno police Lt. Robert Nuttall said about the home, which sits in a gated community near a finely manicured golf course designed by famed architect Robert Trent Jones Sr. "All the windows and doors had been boarded up with pressboard and plywood from the inside. Later, we learned the front door had been barricaded with cases of ceramic tile," he told reporters Wednesday. No weapons were found, but investigators suspect an accelerant was used inside the house, Nuttall said. He said the bodies were found next to each other in the kitchen in a part of the house that had burned the least. Washoe County Sheriff's Deputy Armando Avina said the eviction notice served Tuesday should have come as no surprise to the residents. He said they had been warned several times that their home had sold following foreclosure. Utility companies and others also had posted several notices on their door. Citing court records, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported that Therese Christenson had filed for bankruptcy three times in the past three years, but each time, she withdrew the filing and the case was dismissed. A winning bid of $267,100 was made for Christenson's property at public auction June 3, with unpaid debt and costs of $173,228, county records show. Court records show the first of two five-day notices to vacate the house were served June 4. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ray Harrell Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2010 8:45 PM To: 'RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION' Subject: Re: [Futurework] Here's to mental health at 90! You could put that comment together with the term "Re-Designing Work". I've made many suggestions about that but basically we get the same old story about utilitarian economics, the market and widgets. No re-design there at all. Re-designing work would speak to the purpose of work in the evolution of more quality individuals, families, communities and Nations. Seems the Chinese are re-designing work but we are stuck in the old neo-classical economic model that has given us a decline in creativity, a near depression, poor healthcare, lousy education and a quality of life that is near feral. Kick the engine or just keep talking about cosmology. What kind of meat do you have in that Sandwich? REH -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Sandwichman Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2010 8:37 PM To: RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION Subject: Re: [Futurework] Here's to mental health at 90! This is all very interesting. Anybody care to speculate what it has to do with "redesigning work, income distribution and eduction"? On Thu, Jul 22, 2010 at 4:05 PM, Ray Harrell <[email protected]> wrote: > Wow! Is this because we are getting old or is it theoretical or what? > Cosmology has brought all of this back to the fore because we can generally > keep our environment stable. However the current economic situation with > all of the self-serving theories should put a lie to even that. > > > > I vote for Frank Herbert's version (The Heavenmakers) where he says that > there are these guys out in the Universe who have constructed a reality that > they can manipulate by turning the clock back and forth. They start a > story and then bet on the outcome. Their universe looks like the modern > opera house where you have the moles underneath working to provide the > manipulation required by the wealthy who sit around the balconies and > applaud. Those moles are called the orchestra and their foreman the > conductor. Some of the more well heeled betters will elect to sit in > the Orchestra for a more upfront personal view of the action. The humans > are on the stage and believe that they have free will even though the music > controls their time and their every move. > > > > REH > > > > > > > > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Darryl or > Natalia > Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2010 5:13 PM > To: RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION > Subject: Re: [Futurework] Here's to mental health at 90! > > > > No, you are interpreting incorrectly. Though I may believe in an afterlife, > I would never state that it is fact, despite ample anecdotal evidence. Even > despite most recent quantum physics research pointing in the direction of > ancient Vedic understanding that consciousness creates physiology, would I > state it as fact. Excitement, certainly. But you said below that you found > use of the journey theme hokey, deceptive, metaphorically regnant, and that > the husband looked as though he didn't care. Now, you're saying he was > entirely aware and lucid. I brought up the coma bit to suggest that perhaps > the audience was unaware of a possible state of awareness--because of how > you'd first described his indifference. > > The program (PBS?) on the Swiss facility showed that the people there were > using the metaphor of a "journey" -- death was simply the next stage. It > seemed pretty hokey to me, but the dying man's wife seemed to take comfort > from the metaphor. I didn't get the impression that the guy cared. > > > > As long as we need and use metaphors there will be something deceptive about > the whole process, I think. Am I being to harsh? > > > > (Harsh? Yes. Mocking.traditions/ceremonies that lend dignity to the dying > patient.) > > Belief, when based in informed decision, is also choice, and choosing to > believe that mind/consciousness cannot die is a choice for happiness, and > people are healthier and happier for it, and it harms no one in this light. > When the belief is merely memetic, imparted on the domestic front, > incorporated into every aspect of one's society, and fear of "sin" guides > your decisions, then there really isn't much choice. One will only recite by > rote what reality is. Which leads to your latest query of my position on who > might become the decider in your imagined scenario.... > > I believe the example you cite would be one of murder. The sufferer has made > his choice based on his perception of reality, despite desire of death to > alleviate suffering, and would consider the allegedly merciful action murder > nonetheless. He has no other theological or spiritual foundation to guide > him, so what can you do? Respect his beliefs because they will have great > bearing on why he thinks he should suffer. Further, presuming it's possible > that after death one goes initially to whatever version of heaven or hell > your belief system has shaped, then this guy will find himself going to > hell, and that his family will soon follow. We have no way of knowing how > long a purgatory could be--again, if that's true. Even if altogether false, > there's the actual moment in which said victim would experience a profound > personal negation of his entire life and soul for this act, however > unfounded this may be. Not acceptable. Even if they did this while he was > sleeping, he has voiced his choice. It might work out, however, if the guy > thought his wife went to hell. > > How 'bout you on the above? > Natalia > > > Lawrence de Bivort wrote: > > Dear Natalia, > > > > No, I don't know with certainty that there is no "journey" after death. I > am pretty sure, though thanatology is not a field that I follow, that there > is no evidence at all that there is, "near-death experiences" not > withstanding. Do you have any certain knowledge that there is a "journey"? > If I am reading your note correctly, you imply that you do. > > > > In the absence of ANY evidence to the contrary I choose to proceed on the > assumption that there isn't a "journey", and to align my views and policies > and practices with that assumption. > > > > In any case and to the point of the PBS program, the dying husband seemed > entirely in possession of his mental capabilities, and quite aware of what > was happening and going to happen. At each step he actively stated his > desire to dir. His wife was supportive, but not in charge. So this program > sheds no light on the coma situation you discuss. > > > > You hint, I think, to something that intrigues me: should others ever have > the right/responsibility to plan for and in effect order someone else's > death? Supposing the subject is suffering terribly but, let us say, for > religious reasons unable to ask for their own death for fear, say, of "going > to Hell and not being reunited with his beloved dead wife." The subject > congruently states his desire to die, but for this > suicide-means-you-are-going-to-Hell. Should his loving family decide that he > should die, as he congruently wishes, and take the matter into their own > hands, thus freeing him from the burden and, in his mind, consequence of > suicide? > > > > Cheers, > > Lawry > > > > > > > > > > On Jul 22, 2010, at 1:38 PM, Darryl or Natalia wrote: > > Hi Lawry, > > Are you stating below that you know with certainty that there is no journey > after physical death? Perhaps I'm misinterpreting. > > You also speak as though you felt this ceremony was being done solely for > the wife's (and friends) benefit, yet most couples tend to honour the > wishes/wills of their spouses, issues discussed/penned well before demise. > That the husband seemed indifferent could be the indicator that his time to > be able to react to anything was pretty well up--possibly a vegetative > state, I don't know. That people even in coma states are often aware of > what's going on around them has been proven very recently by use of PET > scans. CBC did a show on it recently, and I've posted The Associated Press > Link below. > > I don't wish to throw a wrench into the Choice debate by raising the > following, as in, How do we really know if the person really wants to die? > My point is only that it's possible people are more aware of their > condition/journey/passage/dying than we may realize, and I hope that's the > case. Since it's a major event, it's best experienced with full knowledge, > and with luck, by choice if suffering unbearably. > > I believe that choice is crucial and an intrinsic right, and grieve for > those in higher numbers succumbing within morphine-induced finalities. > > Natalia > > Man in coma conscious for decades > > 'I screamed but there was nothing to hear,' Belgian patient says > > Last Updated: Monday, November 23, 2009 | 4:50 PM ET > > The Associated Press > > Patients in a vegetative state can't think, reason, respond, do anything on > purpose, chew or swallow. (CBC) > > A man who emerged from what doctors thought was a vegetative state says he > was fully conscious for 23 years but could not respond because he was > paralyzed, his mother said Monday. > > Rom Houben, 46, had a car crash in 1983 and doctors thought he had sunk into > a coma. His family continued to believe their son was conscious and sought > further medical advice. > > Professor Steven Laureys of Belgium's Coma Science Group realized that the > diagnosis was wrong and taught Houben how to communicate through a special > keyboard, said Dr. Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse, who is on Laureys' team. > > Rom used the device to tell a reporter for the German magazine Der Spiegel > that: "I screamed but there was nothing to hear." > > Belgian doctors who treated him early on said that Rom had gone from a coma > into a vegetative condition. > > Coma is a state of unconsciousness in which the eyes are closed and the > patient can't be roused, as if simply asleep. > > Vegetative state is a condition in which the eyes are open and can move, and > the patient has periods of sleep and periods of wakefulness, but remains > unconscious and unaware of him or herself or others. The patient can't > think, reason, respond, do anything on purpose, chew or swallow. > > But Rom's parents would not accept that he was comatose or vegetative. > > Indicating yes or no > > His mother, Fina Houben, said in a telephone interview that they took him > five times to the United States for tests. > > More searching finally got her in touch with Laureys, who put Houben through > a PET scan that indicated he was conscious. The family and doctors then > began trying to establish communication. > > An advance came when he was able to indicate yes or no by slightly moving > his foot to push a computer device placed there by Laureys' team. Then came > the spelling of words using his finger and a touch-screen attached to his > wheelchair. > > "You have to imagine yourself lying in bed wanting to speak and move but > unable to do so - while in your head you are OK," Vanhaudenhuyse said. "It > was extremely difficult for him and he showed a lot of anger, which is > normal since he was very frustrated," she said. > > The case came to light after Laureys published a study in the journal BMC > Neurology this year showing that about four out of 10 patients with > consciousness disorders are wrongly diagnosed as being a vegetative state. > Houben, although not specifically mentioned, was part of the study. > > Houben has started writing a book on his experiences. > > Read more: > http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/11/23/coma-recovery-belgium.html#ixzz0uQ s3yo4q > > > > > > Lawrence de Bivort wrote: > > The program (PBS?) on the Swiss facility showed that the people there were > using the metaphor of a "journey" -- death was simply the next stage. It > seemed pretty hokey to me, but the dying man's wife seemed to take comfort > from the metaphor. I didn't get the impression that the guy cared. > > > > As long as we need and use metaphors there will be something deceptive about > the whole process, I think. Am I being to harsh? > > > > Friends in a little, religious, and poor town in Colorado threw a farewell > bash for the dying man, and then after they left he took poisons. I was told > that everyone knew what was going to happen, and they all thought it was the > right decision, and were glad that their friend had not only the choice but > the moral ability to implement it. > > > > Cheers, > > Lawry > > > > > > On Jul 21, 2010, at 2:50 PM, Ed Weick wrote: > > The movie Soylent Green has a passage about this kind of thing. When they > are ready to die and leave the abysmal place the world has become, people > can go to a place in which they are put onto a comfortable stretcher and > wheeled into theater. They are then given chemicals that will make them > close down. As they are doing so, beautiful music is played (parts of > Beethoven's Pastoral in the movie) and scenes of deer in pastures and > bounding through woods are projected onto a large screen above them. What a > way to go! > > > > Ed > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: Lawrence de Bivort > > To: RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION,EDUCATION > > Cc: 'Keith Hudson' > > Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 9:31 AM > > Subject: Re: [Futurework] Here's to mental health at 90! > > > > > > Agreed, Keith, Though I don't know about the bludgeoning! More and more, > people seem less fearful of death. Perhaps that fear was derived from the > religiously promoted threats of heaven and hell? My sense is that many > people have attained such a level of quality in their lives that losing much > of that quality in the face of the infirmities of age is unacceptable. And > with our longer live-spans it may be easier to conclude that one has led a > good life and that it is time to wrap it up. Some of my friends talk about > pacts among themselves to make sure that their last days are not spent in > hopeless agony. Going to a service in Switzerland may be the best option now > -- though a program I saw about it some time ago made it seem too austere > for my tastes -- is an expensive option and like so much else, the virtues > of 'grow and buy local' may extend themselves to this end-of-life realm. > > > > Cheers, > > Lawry > > > > Arthur, > > Over here the idea of euthanasia is proceeding far faster than I would have > expected even as recently as a year or two ago. My partner and I have both > signed a legal Advance Notices (requesting non-resuscitation in case of > severe debilitation, etc), and there are increasing numbers of press stories > about individuals (usually the totally paralysed with locked-in minds who > can only communicate by blinking) who want to be sent on their way, retired > doctors who confess to mercy killings when they practised, and there's a > growing stream of people leaving for the clinic in Switzerland that does > this thing. > > I think that well within 20 years -- when there'll be huge numbers of the > old -- we'll see voluntary euthanasia on a large scale. I think we'll start > to see a lot more involuntary euthanasia than already goes on in our nursing > homes. My guess is that, already, hundreds, if not thousands, of cases go on > every year that are never revealed. > > As recently as 200 years ago when Scandinavian families in the far north had > had a bad summer and insufficient food to see them through the winter if > they had an aged parent on board, they would hold a ceremony (usually on a > particular family rock) whereby the ancient was clubbed to death (with their > permission). Once we get this Christian thing about souls and so forth out > of our head then euthanasia of anybody who's become a severe economic drain > will become culturally acceptable. It will take generations but, I think, > inevitable. It seems terribly shocking to us now but it will be normal then. > > Keith > > > > > > ________________________________ > > > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > > > ________________________________ > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Futurework mailing list > > [email protected] > > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > > > ________________________________ > > > > > > > > --- > > avast! 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