"The very idea of going beyond the dream is illusory. Why go anywhere? Just realize that you are dreaming a dream you call theworld, and stop looking for ways out.

The dream is not your problem.Your problem is that you like one part of your dream and not another. Love all, or none of it, and stop complaining. When you have seen the dream as a dream, you have done all that need be done."

How To Avoid The DraftOr National Service From Cal Steinberger3-30-5

I think, that the majority of our research team is of the opinion that President Bush will be leading our nation to war again against Iran sometime this summer. And, when he does, the war will be just as "fraudulent, and illegal" as is the present war in Iraq. The difference this time, however, is that the Soviet Union and China will be drawn into the fray on the side of Iran. And, the war could escalate very quickly into a "nuclear event" of major proportions. The Zionist-controlled state of Israel will do whatever is necessary to draw us into their mid-East agenda. You may recall during the Presidential debates, Bush repeatedly stated that there would be "no draft of our young people". I would not rely on his integrity for this statement. The government has made many efforts recently to block Americans from fleeing to Canada to escape the draft. I would suggest to you that you make a copy of this e-mail to keep in your files in case any of your loved ones may be called up for their possible "volunteering" into the service.

Thanks Spartacus for alerting us to this.

Regards, Cal

How To Avoid The Draft Or National Service

By Rumor Mill News.com

No dodging. Just refuse to volunteer. Here's how -- I hope that you will not be offended if I tell you how the "draft" works. I realize that most people THINK they know how it works, but in most cases they are in error. And you can avoid the worry when 'College and Canada will not be options [because] in December 2001, Canada and the U.S. signed a "smart border declaration," which could be used to keep would-be draft dodgers in.' Being willing (and eager) to fight for one's country when it is truly in danger is one thing. Having the courage to refuse to fight in immoral and/or unconstitutional "wars" is quite another matter, I believe. No need to "dodge" the ball if they're not allowed to hit you with it, if you merely 'take your stand' and refuse to VOLUNTEER!

1. Mr. A receives a "draft notice" and is told to report on a certain date to a certain place where he receives his physical and mental tests...then he is classified with a number indicating whether he is A1(first called). Continued here: ...all the way down to 4F(unfit for duty).

2. Mr. A is told that he is to report for "induction" into the military and to appear at a certain military base for that purpose on a date specified.

3. By "LAW" he must appear there...or a warrant for his arrest will be issued.

4. Assuming he reports as directed he will have another brief physical and tests and then is told to "line up on the yellow line (painted on the floor)

5. A Recruiting Officer will then tell all those "joining the army (or whatever) to take one step forward... (Oh, oh, THOSE WHO DID THIS JUST "VOLUNTEERED!")This is done so that no one can "legally" claim they were "forced into involuntary servitude!" "RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND AND SWEAR ALLEGIANCE." (almost everyone does!...thinking it must be REQUIRED!): "I, (name) do solemnly swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America and will defend it against all enemies foreign and domestic, and will obey the orders of the President and the officers appointed over me, so help me God."

6. Those who "voluntarily" stepped forward CANNOT NOW CLAIM THEY WERE "DRAFTED"...they stepped forward voluntarily and took the Oath voluntarily!

7. Assume Mr. B was smarter than Mr. A and HE DID NOT STEP FORWARD ANDTHEREFORE DID NOT TAKE THE OATH OF ALLEGIANCE. (the recruiter will probably say something like this: "what's the matter with you, don't you know what' step forward' means?" Mr. B responds, "sure I do, but I AM NOT VOLUNTEERING TO SERVE IN THE MILITARY...If you want me you must 'take me' against my will by force!"

8. All of those who "volunteered" will now be excused from the room...and the Mr. B will be cajoled with persuasive arguments...at first...then, when nothing works to change his mind he will be called names and insulted, possibly even assaulted by one or more military people present there as witnesses.

9. IF Mr. B does not weaken, stands his ground, eventually the tormentors will give up and have him arrested on some charge.

However, there is NO lawful way that they can MAKE him go into the military...because of the Constitutional prohibition against "involuntary servitude"...which is why NO ONE IS TRULY EVER "DRAFTED" AND MUST BE "SEDUCED " INTO VOLUNTEERING!

D. R. Graham Ret. Science Instructor and Ret. Military Officer - Australia **************** One thing to say at this point is what the cops are coached to say on the witness stand: "Am I ordered?" If the recruiter says "No" - then obviously you're OK. If the recruiter says "Yes" - then you say "By what authority do you, a military officer, order me, a civilian?" If the recruiter says anything else, repeat the question until you get Yes or No. If the recruiter says "I order you by the authority of the United States Government" then respond: "Which clause of the Constitution gives you, a military officer, to order me, a civilian?" Another thing to say is: "Am I free to go?" If the recruiter says "Yes" - then obviously leave. If the recruiter says "No" then say: "Am I under arrest?" "Am I your prisoner?" "Am I kidnapped?" "If I'm not free, then what am I?" and again, keep repeating the question.

Another thing to say is: "I want an attorney." Another thing to say is, of course, *nothing* at all. I think I would go with "Am I free to go?" because if you get to "Yes" then you can leave and he would look bad ordering an arrest. If you ask the question three times and don't get a yes or no, then say, "Well I must be free to go, because I asked you three times and you won't tell me I'm not." Then I would slowly turn around and leave, and if he keeps trying to interact I would just keep repeating the question. ===

Here's an excerpt from a book: The Army induction officer instructed the draftees to "take one step forward" as their names were called, and said that step would signify their induction into the Army. When reluctant Willie's name was called, he answered present, but did not step forward. After the ceremony, he went home instead of to camp. When the MP's came for him, he went to court for a writ of habeas corpus to retain his freedom. "The officer himself," Willie argued, "said the step forward is what would make me a soldier. As I didn't take the step, I'm still a civilian and the Army has no claim on me." Counsel for the Army replied, "The Army isn't being run by childish games. Willie and a hundred others appeared to be inducted, and he was inducted before the whole group as any fool there could plainly see." Willie retained his civilian status. The court ruled that the draft law required some definite ceremony to transform a civilian into a soldier. As the Army decided to have one step forward constitute the ceremony, and Willie didn't take the step, he wasn't a soldier. U.S. Court of Appeals, 1954 ***************

How To Stay Out of the Military (Draft Resistance) By David Wiggins The legal requirement to register for the draft demands a decision: give up your freedom and your conscience, or conscientiously resist. All the good reasons that would prevent a free man from volunteering for military service, also apply to resisting the draft. How in a "free country" can the first requirement of a young man, when he comes of age, be to sign up to accept orders to kill for the state in an organized way? There is never a need to compel a free man to take up a cause that is both necessary and just; but a man who is drafted is never free, and thus his cause can never be assumed to be either necessary or just. The draft is not simply an academic interest. There is not enough military manpower to sustain the commitments the President has already undertaken. We constantly hear that our troops are "stretched too thin." To assist the United States, both the President and Secretary of State have made serious requests for significant military manpower contributions from other nations. Continued here: These requests have largely fallen on deaf ears. The President has repeatedly stated he will not "back down" meaning, we must assume, that the military forces will continue to be "thinly stretched." Where will they find relief? It appears they are looking at young Americans who are free to volunteer for military duty, but in good conscience, choose not to do so. With certain exceptions, all men residing in the United States are required to register for the draft within 30 days of their 18th birthday. The obligation of a man to register is imposed by the Military Selective Service Act, which establishes and governs the operations of the Selective Service System. In addition to the Military Selective Service Act, the "Health Care Personnel Delivery System" was authorized by Congress in 1987 to deal with large-scale casualties that outstripped the active-duty military's ability to handle them. If implemented, the bill would require a mass registration of male and female health care workers between the ages of 20 and 45. At this time; however, the Selective Service has no statutory authority to draft medical personnel. That authorization would be provided by legislation to be introduced and passed in Congress at the time of a national defense mobilization. That "M-Day" legislative package has not been made available for public comment or congressional debate. See the Center on Conscience and Wars "Health Care Professionals and the Draft" for details regarding the Health Care Personnel Delivery System. The Pentagon is considering other "special skills" drafts, to include military linguists, computer experts, or engineers, which could arise from other immediate needs. "We're going to elevate that kind of draft to be a priority," said Lewis Brodsky, acting director of the Selective Service System. A bill before the House Armed Services Committee would require the induction of young men into the military "to receive basic military training and education for a period of up to one year." More

Best of luck to you! Remember to tell your parents that you never asked to be born into this world. You were perfectly satisfied in the void until their 15 seconds of satisfaction turned into your life of pain. That's what I tell my mom, anyway.

-Anon. internet

30 raccoons, I could not take on bare-handed.

The rules are:

- The raccoons have rabies
- You can only wear a tank top and shorts
- You are drenched with female raccoon hormones before the fight
- The raccoons are all male and roughly 12-16 months old
- The raccoons will have one day of claw-to-hand combat training by experts before the fight.
- You will have one hour of counter-raccoon training.
- The arena is roughly the size of a basketball court, the ground is asphalt
- There are no weapons whatsoever
- You win if all raccoons are unconscious/dead, you lose if you are unconscious/dead.

"The morning glory blooms for an hour. It differs not at heart from the giant pine, which lives for a thousand years."

How refreshing the whinny of a packhorse
unloaded of everything.
~ Zen saying

You need not fear who you are.
A lack of labels or identities does not cause fear.
It is just the reverse - labels cause fear.
Every new label is a new shudder,
for it must now be anxiously protected against all that seems to oppose it,
all that bears a different label.
Since labels are suppressed below the level of awareness,
we deny their existence emphatically.
Even the loud denial could be a clue for us, but it is also rejected.
The only answer to 層ho are you・is total silence.

~ Vernon Howard

"Someone once told Jane Hirshfield, a poet who'd been a nun at TassajaraZen Monastery, that they'd been assigned to write 3,000 words aboutBuddhism. She smiled and said she could say it all in seven. When askedto do it, she replied:
'It's all connected. Everything changes. Pay attention.'"

~ From Buddha-L list

"There are not many men in the world with any backbone left. Realmen got crowded out by weaklings who harnesses the power of financeand legal loopholes. Real power is what you can do in the parking lot after the meeting is over. If the shit were real, I would bedriving some lawyer's car right now. His scalp would be drying onthe grill. Civilization is nearly over with. Your bullshit is falling to the ground. Your little moral are worthless and I amgetting my kicks telling the truth as you drown in your lies andcowardly weakness You don't like the things I have to say? So? Survival species, motherfucker."

- anonymous internet writing

Some think this is a boxing match, others a dance class
We can dance or we can duke it out, but I'm personally
tired of boxing, I found out I can't fight finally and
I am so relieved to be unburdened finally of that delusion.

- anonymous

"Everybody wants to put you in a little box, wants you to have some grand epiphany and bolts in the sky when it comes to this," Sergeant Benderman said recently. "But it's not that way. Here's what happened: I spent six months over there, and I came back and thought about it. What I know is that it's inhumane. It's turning 18-year-old men and women into soulless people."

-Kevin Benderman

When you are completely fed up with it, temporary gratifications, self-centeredness, ambitions, hopes, intrigues, competitions, worries, agonies, sorrows and all, then you may be ready to let it all die, including the one who is at the center, the star of the movie, tragic or ludicrous or whatever. To let the "known," which is limited, completely die, is to make room for the unknown, which includes the known, but is infinitely larger and unpredictable and alive and clear and vibrant with energy! The unknown includes everything and literally has no boundaries, and it does not stay the same from one instant to the next.

To let go of the known, to let it die, including the separate and ficticious mental "self" around which all of its activities revolve, is to come to terms with the simple and obvious fact that it does not exist, except in memory and fantasy. That memory and fantasy is none other than the endless ambition to become something better, to acquire something better, to make something better happen, and to hold on to what you are pretending you own and control. When even the feelings and sensations associated with this repetition are no longer enough, then you will realize you have nothing to lose. That could be in ten or twenty years, or it could be later on this week, or it could be right now. It's up to you.
- Scott Morrison

Are Your Children Crazy? By Jane Orient, M.D.Outside View Commentator

United Press International

3-16-5

TUCZON, AZ (UPI) -- Congress and President Bush apparently think that a lot of children have a "mental health" problem. Or that enough of them do to justify taking millions of dollars from taxpayers to fund a universal "mental health screening" for children, and eventually for everyone. Personally, I think -- from the perspective of a person who never had any -- that almost all children act crazy. Those who don't are, by definition, abnormal, because they don't act like the others.

The main problem with about half of them is that they are boys. Such children are obviously made of snips and snails and puppy dog tails. On the farm there is a solution for that: a procedure for turning boy lambs into non-ram lambs. After a quick little operation, they act like peaceful little lambs instead of aggressive, disruptive rams. We don't do surgery like that on little boys, of course, but we do have our methods: such as behavioral therapy and chemicals.

There are those who argue with some passion that society has to do something. Bad, disruptive, antisocial or depressed little kids make lots of trouble for parents and schoolteachers. Worse, they can grow up into dysfunctional, unhappy or troublemaking adults. That snotty little boy might become a dissenting, nonconformist or even a rebellious man, who could throw a monkey wrench into our smoothly functioning society. We have to catch them early -- for their own good.

Teams of experts are awaiting the infusion of cash. They'll be ensconced in your child's school before you even know it. A bonus is that your little darlings will probably give them quite a bit of information about you also, and then you too can receive therapy you didn't know you needed. Do you sometimes raise your voice? Ever spank them? Hug them inappropriately? Have politically incorrect attitudes? Use forbidden words? Own a gun? Smoke cigarettes, especially indoors? Read extremist literature? Refuse to recycle? Prepare for a knock on the door.

There are many tools at the disposal of the mental health squad. Counseling sessions. Drugs (Ritalin, antidepressants, tranquilizers, maybe some new ones that need to be tested on some experimental subjects of your child's age). Group therapy. Removing the child from the home. (This may be a "last resort," but often the mere threat can accomplish wonders.) If an interview with a child raises concerns, the next step might be a home visit. This could discover poor parenting skills, inadequate housekeeping, harmful literature, or a baby who is crying or has a bruise (signs of abuse?).

It is true that some interventions have potential side effects, say drug dependence or suicide, but to assure the health of the population some shared sacrifice and risk is needed. We will have excellent means of tracking outcomes to improve future therapies. The mental health workers' impressions will all be recorded in the school records. An added benefit could accrue to would-be employers or college recruiters.

Some cautions are in order. Democrats might think that potential future Republicans are crazy. Republicans might think the opposite. Should an extremist Christian be one of the screeners, he might think that nonbelievers are possessed by the devil. And an extremist secular humanist (if such exist) might think that an overly religious child is at risk for mental illness if not already impaired.

In fact, parents ought to be asking some very serious questions before the government experts interview the first child: What are the credentials of the screeners? Most importantly, how many children have they raised to adulthood, and with what outcome? What are the criteria for possible abnormality? What is the scientific validation? How often do different observers agree? Have any long-term studies shown a solid correlation with adult performance in life? Do today's oddball children fail, or might they turn into our greatest achievers? Will you be allowed to get a second opinion? Can you see the record and enter corrections if indicated? Will the record at any point be destroyed, or will the stigma of a diagnosis such as "personality disorder" follow the child throughout life?

What will happen if your child fails the screen? What sort of treatment will be given? Who will supervise it? What if you don't approve of it? What's the very worst thing that the program will have the power to do to you or your child, say if your worst enemy was to gain control of it? Who might profit from the program (perhaps discoverable by asking who lobbied for it)? Do drug companies expect to have a large number of new consumers of their psychoactive drugs? What are the results of studies of long-term use of drugs like Ritalin, which has effects on the brain similar to those of cocaine? Have there even been any such studies? Can you refuse to participate in the program? If you do refuse, what are the repercussions? What is the evidence that the program, at best, will be anything other than a waste of millions of dollars?

Miraculously, throughout human history most of those crazy children have become stable, productive adults without federally mandated psychiatric treatment. Still more amazingly, their parents have managed also. Psychiatry in the hands of government, instead of independent physicians who are working for patients, reeks of Orwell's "1984" or the Soviet era. The very need to ask the questions should tell us the right answer for this program: It's crazy.

- Dr. Jane M. Orient is an internist practicing in Tucson, Ariz., and executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. Copyright 2004 United Press International

"That is a point we note all the time. If you are not operating in the Cause-State, and if, when you are training, you are not in the Cause State, then when that situation happens, when the panel door opens and the guys in black get out with the duct tape and weapons, you know what you are going to do? You are going to sit there and go, "Oh my god, this is for real." You are not going to immediately recognize the situation and immediately start picking your targets and go immediately into Cause-State. Because you didn't train that way."
-Tim Larkin (Target-Focus Training)

"Our everyday world often makes us too relaxed--careless--and the transition to the extreme situations is very difficult. It becomes so hard to comprehend that people are here to kill you."
- Vladimir Vasiliev (Systema)

Note about Vlad:
Since Vlad was actually an Alpha trooper for 10 years, he knows his stuff, he had to kill with it and survive, nothing better than that. Most "masters" who teach around Canada, I can mop the floor with them and their theoretical expertize, but Vlad trully scares me with the stuff he can do. He also takes his teachings into further than physical and explains a lot about the philosophy of the art, unlike most martial arts studios, and I liked that aspect. I think understanding the art and its philosophy as well as the physical application are needed to balance out a true martial artist.

Here is what was most interesting to me, the final knife work. Given my experience with tantojutsu, I began this drill with a high degree of skepticism. In all the years that I've practice tanto attacks, I've never met anyone who could effectively and consistently defend against a knife attack. Not because I'm so skilled, but because most defenses try to control the obvious global movements of your arms and body, and aren't very effective against the small local movements of your wrist. The subtle local movements that allows you to cut your opponent, even after they've begun their counter. So after practicing with one partner, and constantly reminding him that there wasn't any point in him continuing to disarm me, since I'd already severed all the muscles in his arm, he agreed that his counters weren't working and politely asked the head instructor, Vladimir Vasiliev, to come show me how it's done. Mr. Vasiliev handed me the knife and encouraged me to attack him, which I did. Even at half speed, and with limited force, it was clear that his counters addressed both my global and the local movements. His defenses first neutralized my local movement and range, then proceeded to disarm me by countering my global positioning, all with very little force exerted on his part. In all the years that I've practiced tanto attacks, this was the first person who'd ever done that. I was impressed. On that alone, in that one moment, I lost my skepticism of Systema, and have found a profound respect for Vladimir Vasiliev.

I discovered from off-list messages, that several
of you still don't understand the "selfish gene metaphor", and thus,
what kind of fundamental human behavior is selected. Do the
math. Here is another oversimplified example to illustrate the
principle.

Assume that two fundamental "genetic sets"
(strains of people) exist represented by ten pairs.
Further assume that this tribe looses 30%
of its population every ten or twenty years due to war, disease, and
famine.

Members of gene set #1 are intelligent, honest, and forward looking.
The mating pairs in this set only have two children because they know
the tribe is over carrying capacity (many die of starvation every ten
or twenty years).

Members of gene set #2 are stupid, corrupt,
chronic liars, and only care about the present.
The mating pairs in this set have an average
of ten children before the female dies.

After 20 years, set # 1 has 20 adults + 20
children = 40 members. Set
# 2 has 10 adults (females dead) + 100 children =
110 members.

A famine kills 30% of the tribe. Now, set # 1 has
only 28 members, while set # 2 has 77 members. T
This is a total of 105 tribe members.

If carrying capacity is maxed out, then set # 1
will quickly die out. If not, then the fraction of gene set #1
will continue to shrink till it encounters max carrying capacity,
then dies out.

What kind of behavior will be selected? The
behavior that puts the most genes into the next generation (if they don't
go into the next generation, they don't go anywhere).

The ancestors of everyone alive today was selected
by a process something like the one described above. We should
expect ourselves -- and those around us -- to be stupid, corrupt,
chronic liars, and only care about the present.

Next time you look in the mirror, take a close
look...

Jay Hanson

The Whole Universe is Plastic One Sunday, while Seung Sahn Soen-sa was staying at the International Zen Center of New York, there was a big ceremony marking the end of one hundred days of chanting Kwanseum Bosal. Many Korean women came, with shopping bags full of food and presents. One woman brought a large bouquet of plastic flowers, which she presented smilingly to an American student of Soen-sa's. As soon as he could, the student hid the flowers under a pile of coats. But soon, another woman found them and, with the greatest delight, walked into the Dharma Room and put them in a vase on the altar. The student was very upset.

He went to Soen-sa and said, "Those plastic flowers are awful. Can't I take them off the altar and dump them somewhere?' Soen-sa said, "It is your mind that is plastic. The whole universe is plastic." The student said, "What do you mean?"

Soen-sa said, 'Buddha said, "When one mind is pure, the whole universe is pure; when one mind is tainted, the whole universe is tainted." Every day we meet people who are unhappy. When their minds are sad, everything that they see, hear, smell, taste, and touch is sad. The whole universe is sad. When the mind is happy, the whole universe is happy. If you desire something, then you are attached to it. If you reject it, you are just as attached to it. Being attached to a thing means that it becomes a hindrance in your mind. So "I don't like plastic" is the same as "I like plastic" -- both are attachments. You don't like plastic flowers, so your mind has become plastic, and the whole universe is plastic. Put it all down. Then you won't be hindered by anything. You won't care whether the flowers are plastic or real, whether they are on the altar or in the garbage pail. This is true freedom. A plastic flower is just a plastic flower. A real flower is just a real flower. You mustn't be attached to name and form."

The student said, "But we are trying to make a beautiful Zen center here, for all people. How can I not care? Those flowers spoil the whole room." Soen-sa said, "If somebody gives real flowers to Buddha, Buddha is happy. If somebody else likes plastic flowers and gives them to Buddha, Buddha is also happy. Buddha is not attached to name and form, he doesn't care whether the flowers are real or plastic, he only cares about the person's mind.

These women who are offering plastic flowers have very pure minds, and their action is Bodhisattva action. Your mind rejects plastic flowers, so you have separated the universe into good and bad, beautiful and ugly. So your action is not Bodhisattva action. Only keep Buddha's mind. Then you will have no hindrance. Real flowers are good; plastic flowers are good. This mind is like the great sea, into which all waters flow -- the Hudson River, the Charles River, the Yellow River, Chinese water, American water, clean water, dirty water, salt water, clear water. The sea doesn't say, "Your water is dirty, you can't flow into me." It accepts all waters and mixes them and all become sea. So if you keep the Buddha mind, your mind will be like the great sea. This is the great sea of enlightenment."

- Zen Master Seung Sahn