Japanese journalist shot to death covering Burma protests

I'm doing a radio show about Burma's past and present on Monday at 10:00 am PST.

This is from USA Today. Be sure to click on the link and watch the videos posted on a number of Burmese blogs. Amazing and tragic:

Kenji Nagai of APF, a Japanese news service, continues to work after being shot during clashes today between Burmese security forces and anti-government protesters. Nagai later died of his wounds. The Japanese government expressed its outrage over the incident.

The photo of Nagai, 50, was taken by an unidentified person and distributed by Reuters.

Very few Americans eat enough fruits and vegetables

I've recently discovered an excellent health news service called News Target. They recently ran disgusting close-up photos of mystery meat. I have to post on that...

Today, they are running a story about a new study that found only one in seven people in the United States eats enough fruits and vegetables and gets enough exercise.

A great way to get enough fruits and veggies is by making green smoothies. Just blend 60 percent fruit and 40 percent veggies and you're set. I'm having a pear/celery smoothie now. To read more about this and the high amounts of protein you can get from greens, check out the book, Green for Life, by Victoria Boutenko. I promise, if you have just one green smoothie a day, you will feel amazing and be full of energy.

The benefits of being raw

That's lasagne from The Raw Chef Blog. Yum.

I'm on my third month of being raw! I've received a few emails from people asking me to spend more time writing about the raw lifestyle. Interestingly, I'm spending a lot more time researching the benefits of being raw than I am reading about politcs. It's been a nice change to say the least. The presidential campaign coverage has been a joke. I guess I didn't expect much, but the lack of substance has been insulting. No wonder half of this country doesn't vote and 30 percent of the population still believes Saddam Hussein had something to do with 9/11.

OK, back to raw. After being vegan for 11 years, the transformation to becoming 100 percent raw hasn't been as drastic as some might think. I didn't have any major detox experiences or cravings. Overall, it's been incredible, but truth be told, living a raw lifestyle is still pretty radical...for now.

But that's about to change. The raw food lifestyle made it on Oprah yesterday:

Dr. Oz showed clips from a new show that is on the Discovery Channel called ‘The Truth about Food’ which is a six part series that discusses how food can help benefit our overall health.

One study that ‘The Truth about Food’ looked into dietary changes for managing high blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Another benefit from this dietary study was weight loss.

Because it is for television they had participants that had high blood pressure spend time at the zoo for 12 days to emphasize that they will eat like apes. They are checked into the zoo and were given the food that they were to eat. Each day they were given 11 pounds of raw fruits and vegetables each day. It was a huge amount of food. Day after day they keep eating the 11 pound of fruits and vegetables. They showed the participants hand to run to the bathroom a lot due to the high fiber intake.

The benefits were very obvious. The results of this study showed a 25% reduction in cholesterol levels. There was a 10% reduction in blood pressure levels. They also lost an average 10 pounds. Dr. Oz suggests that when you eat these kinds of food we get calories plus nutrition. He said that the nutrition will satisfies the hunger by satisfying the nutrition. They did not have salt with this diet which may also reduce blood pressure levels.

Leave no trace...for your grandchildren

Speech by Iraq Vet against the occupation

My name is Adam Kokesh and I am a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War.

Today I wave the American flag with great pride. I wave it upside-down because I love my country, but it is in a state of distress. It is for my love of country that I am here today. I am here to return our democracy to its potential greatness.
I am against this war because it is bad for America. It is bad for our security. It is bad for our national defense. It is bad for our ability to fight terrorism. It is bad for our stature abroad. It is bad for our military. And it is bad for our brothers and sisters who continue to lose their lives every day in a futile occupation.

We recently heard the testimony of General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker. Unfortunately, General Petraeus was acting in his roll as a political appointee and not as a soldier. We heard the same spin from the President. The suggested draw-down is actually a forced withdrawal. When the five brigades of the surge come home, we will have no replacements available to replace them. They have attempted to spin this by saying that they could request more troops. They may be right. They could further destroy our military by doing so, but I pray they don’t.

As we all know now, we were lied into this war and it is lies that are keeping us there. They lied about Weapons of Mass Destruction, they lied about Jessica Lynch, they lied about Pat Tillman, and they lied about Al Qaeda and Saddam. And those are just the lies we know about!

But I’m not so mad that I was lied to, as I am that I cannot trust my government any more. It astounds me that yet so many Americans want more than anything to trust our government. When will we wake up, and realize that the power of the truth is greater than any force brought to bear by any Army ever fielded?

But there are some lies that are being told to our children every day in order to convince them to sign up to be sent into the Baghdad meat grinder. Proponents of the policy in Iraq are quick to point out that everyone in the military volunteered, but what does that mean if most of them were tricked into enlisting by the lies that recruiters tell every day? It means that to support the troops means to cut through the lies, bring them home, and stop this criminal occupation!

Since joining the military came to mean fighting for a lie, they have become so desperate, that the age and weight standards have been raised; there are a record number of “morality waivers” for convicted felons; it is now easy to get in without a high school diploma; even convicted rapists are allowed to enlist. With the standards lowered at the highest levels of decision-making, we can only imagine what recruiters are resorting to when they have trouble meeting their monthly quotas.
We have come to a point in history when our government’s intents are so far from the will of the people that we have to rise up! WHEN INJUSTICE BECOMES LAW, RESISTANCE BECOMES DUTY!

How do you resist liars? Speak the truth. How do you stop a war based on lies? It starts with the truth! When we take away these lies, we can force our government to choose between no military or one based on truth, that truly represents the will of the people. Iraq Veterans Against the War are kicking off our Truth In Recruiting Campaign with National Truth In Recruiting Day on Monday and asking concerned citizens to share our truth with those affected by our government’s lies the most. If you will be in the DC area on Monday, be in front of Union Station between 7am and 1pm for instructions and materials.
In the immortal words of Dave Cline, a dedicated warrior for peace and justice who passed away yesterday suffering from the effects of Agent Orange and three bullet wounds suffered in Vietnam: There is something you should know before you go. They wave the flag when you attack, when you come home they turn their backs.”

Iraq Veterans Against the War has put the truth in your hands. In the words of Mark Twain, “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” Start walking America, because it is our lies that are now ravaging a sovereign nation on the other side of the world.

Today, we are marching to deliver a message to Congress. We will be dying-in to portray for them the cost of this war in human lives, and to send a clear message that we the people are rising up. This action is in solidarity with the people marching today in Baghdad who peacefully oppose the occupation of their country. Unfortunately, for those who have witnessed the occupation first hand, the deaths we will be portraying are all too real. The message reads:

Dear Congress,
We have come before you today with a simple message: as a representation of the people you have failed us and you have blood on your hands. This is blood that the American people will not allow to continue to be spilled in our name any longer. Today we are marching in solidarity with the Iraqi people who want the occupation to end. It is fully within your power to stop this tragedy.

You have just heard the testimony of General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker. General Casey was replaced by General Petraeus because he would not support the President’s agenda of keeping as many troops deployed as long as possible, keeping our military teetering at the breaking point. General Petraeus was selected for this position not only because of his abilities as a soldier, but also for political purposes. When he testified before you he was acting in his role as a political appointee. He told you the surge was working. This is the same absurd optimism that we have been hearing since the beginning of this occupation from its proponents: the insurgency is in its last throes; we are turning the corner. Why do you still believe these people?

We have come before you to ask that you consider the cost in human life of this conflict so far. We are also here to tell you that we will not stand for this corruption of our democracy any longer. We the people are in the streets. We the people are fed up. We the people are ready to rise up and take back our democracy.

Signed,
The Empowered Patriots

Today marks a turning point for our movement. Today we make the shift from protesting to direct action. Today we begin to restore the rightful order in our democracy. Today is the day the people stop fearing the government, and the government starts fearing the people!

Today may very well mark the beginning of the American anti-fascism revolution. March with us. Honor the dead with us. If you are willing to risk arrest, lie in the street, if not, lie in the grass. Die-in when you hear the air raid sirens. Raise your voice and your fist with us in defiance to send a message to our leadership. If you will not make peace for us, we will make it for ourselves! Power to the people!

190 Arrested in DC

From a friend:

The individual Capitol Cops were great over all but whoever was running the whole show of our incarceration was not. They held us in buses with cuffs for about 5 hours then had us a garage with metal chairs, not able to lie down, no food (but water) for another 5 hours (till 3:30 in the morning). Then when we started to cause a scene, chanting and clapping, they finally let us move around, lay down and eventually fed us bologna sandwiches at 6 am. I got out at 6:30 am after being arrested at 4pm the previous day. A lot of the veteran activists said it was one of the worst arresting experiences in a long while. It was a drag but well worth it.

Iraq war protestors Christina Cauterucci, of Bedford, N.H., right foreground, and Christopher Dicks of Worcester, Mass., left foreground, join a 'die In' protest on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, Saturday, Sep. 15, 2007, in Washington. At least 150 protesters were arrested Saturday as thousands of demonstrators marched to the Capitol demanding an end to the Iraq war. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

A Park Police officer, right, arrests Adam Kokesh of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2006, in Lafayette Park across from the White House in Washington, after he put up anti-war posters. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

Iraq Veterans Against the War lead thousands of anti-war demonstrators on a march through the streets of Washington to the steps of the Capitol Building on September 15. (Photo and caption submitted by Fiona A. Wilkinson)

Generals Lie, Soldiers Die

A protester holds up a sign before being escorted out by Capitol Hill Police during testimony from the US Commander in Iraq General David Petraeus before a joint hearing of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees on the state of the war on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. What was billed as the most electrifying day of testimony in Congress for many years lurched into farce Monday as Petraeus struggled to be heard and members of the anti-war group Code Pink were dragged kicking from the room. (AFP/Tim Sloan)

Iraq vets to hold a Die-In in DC

Iraq war veteran U.S. Army Specialist Evan Knappenberger pauses during an anti-war rally on the National Mall in Washington August 28, 2007. REUTERS/Stelios Varias (UNITED STATES)

A week of events meant to crank up a national demonstration against the war in Iraq is set to begin Saturday, with a 1,000-person "die-in" at the U.S. Capitol led by current and former American troops and accompanied by taps and a mock 21-gun salute.

The die-in will be the culmination of a march and rally. Organizers hope the event will spur people in the antiwar movement to move from protesting to performing acts of civil disobedience that "get in the way of the war machine," said Brian Becker, national coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition, at a news conference yesterday at the National Press Club.

This week on Your Call Radio

I took a few days off last week to go to Burning Man and I'm trying to limit my time online as my right arm is experiencing major pain. I think it's from hitting the delete and backpace buttons with my middle finger. Be sure your setup is comfortable. I've had mild cases of repetitive stress injury for the past 12 years and it isn't fun...

Here's what's coming up this week on my radio show. We'll take a break from the Petraeus/Crocker Senate hearings tomorrow with NY Times columnist Paul Krugman.

The show airs from 10:00-11:00 am PST on 91.7 FM. We're currently in the middle of our pledge drive. One hundred percent of your pledge goes to the show.

Here's what's coming up:

Tuesday, 9/11 - Paul Krugman, NY Times columnist, and author of the forthcoming book, "The Conscience of a Liberal"

Wednesday, 9/12 – Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of The Center for Food Safety, and author of "Your Right to Know: Genetic Engineering and the Secret Changes in Your Food"

Thursday, 9/13 – Ned Hallowell, author of "Crazy Busy: Overstretched, Overbooked, and About to Snap!"

Friday, 9/14 – Charlie Savage, Pulitzer Prize winning Boston Globe reporter, and author of "Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy"

Monday, 9/17 – Lonely Planet editors and writers discuss responsible travel

Tuesday, 9/18 – Robert Reich, professor of public policy at UC Berkeley, and author of "Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday Life"

Wednesday, 9/19 – Naomi Wolf, author of "The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot"