Amazonía: siete visiones contemporáneas - Exhibition, Lima Peru

Seven Amazonian Artists present their visions of the Amazon Rainforest. It is an irony that this exhibition sponsored and hosted by Petroperu (the state owned oil corporation) , is to put it mildly not a friend to the Amazon rainforest, with a history of oil pollution, and state sanctioned land-grabbing that culminated in major protests by indigenous people with a significant loss of life (May 2009). For further reading on that;

http://www.tierramerica.info/nota.php?lang=eng&idnews=3114

http://www.amazonwatch.org/

Photo Gallery on Flickr of the Exhibition;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hgcharing/sets/72157622366131421/

To Read Exhibition Booklet

Ayahuasca Shaman - Artidoro Aro Cardenas

An interview with Ayahuasca Shaman – Artidoro Aro Cardenas, by Peter Cloudsley & Howard G Charing (2003)

This article has been revised to include plant classification names. An extract from this interview appeared in the book Plant Spirit Shamanism (Destiny Books USA).

Photos of Artidoro are in the photo set ‘Shamans of Peru’ on Flickr at;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hgcharing/sets/72157604598978083/

Codex Alimentarius – Dare you ignore it?

Codex Alimentarius - threat to freedom.

WHAT’S BEHIND CODEX ALMENTARIUS?
Behind the Codex Alimentarius Commission is the United Nations and the World Health Organization working in conjunction with the multinational pharmaceutical cartel and international banks. Its initial efforts in the US with the FDA were defeated, so it found another ally in the FTC. Now Codex, with the FTC and the pharmaceutical cartel behind it, it threatens to become a trade issue, using the campaign of Operation Cure-All to advance its goals.

Codex began simply enough when the U.N. authorized the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization to develop a universal food code. Their purpose was to ‘harmonize’ regulations for dietary supplements worldwide and set international safety standards for the purposes of increased trade. Pharmaceutical interests stepped in and began exerting their influence. Instead of focusing on food safety, Codex is using its power to promote worldwide restrictions on vitamins and food supplements, severely limiting their availability and dosages.

REAL GOALS OF CODEX
This is to bring about international ‘harmonization.’ While global harmony sounds benign, is that the real purpose of this plan? While the stated goal of Codex is to establish unilateral regulations for dietary supplements in every country, the actual goal is to outlaw health products and information on vitamins and dietary supplements, except those under their direct control. These regulations would supersede United States domestic laws without the American people’s voice or vote in the matter.

HOW CAN IT BE POSSIBLE?
Americans gasp at the thought. It goes against everything America stands for. Many believe this can’t be possible. The truth is, it’s not only possible, it’s required by the Codex Alimentarius agreement.

In fact, under the terms of the Uruguay Round of GATT, which created the World Trade Organization, the United States agreed to harmonize its domestic laws to the international standards. This includes standards for dietary supplements being developed by the United Nation’s Codex Alimentarius Commission’s Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Use.

The Uruguay Round Agreements carry explicit language clearly indicating that the U.S. must harmonize to international standards:

“Members are fully responsible under this Agreement for the observance of all provisions…. members shall formulate and implement positive measures and mechanisms in support of the observance of the provisions…. by other than central government bodies.” [WTO TBT Agreement at Article 3.5]“

In other words, the federal government must NOT ONLY CHANGE FEDERAL LAW, but must ALSO require state and local governments to change their laws as well to be in accordance with international law.

Not only that, but Codex Alimentarius is now enforceable through the World Trade Organization (WTO). If a country disagrees with or refuses to follow Codex standards, the WTO applies pressure by withdrawing trade privileges and imposing crippling trade sanctions. Congress has already bowed to this pressure several times and so have the governments of many countries.

While the exemption clause (USC 3512(a)(1) and (a)(2) was created to supposedly protect our laws from harmonization to international standards, it has proven to be totally ineffective. The United States has already lost seven trade disputes despite the exemption clause. Due to the enormous pressures put on them by lobbyists from multinational corporations (who contribute millions to congressional campaigns), Congress bowed to pressure and changed U.S. laws.

It appears our government (as well as al others) is being manipulated one way or another to serve the goals of the UN, the World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization. Food control equals people control — and population control. Is this beginning to sound like world government and one-world order? Could this be the real goal behind Codex Alimentarius?

The United States, Canada, the Europeans, Japan, most of Asia, and South America have already signed agreements pledging total harmonization of their laws including food and drug laws to these international standards in the future.

WHAT CODEX WILL BRING
What can we expect under Codex? To give you an idea, here are some important points:

• Dietary supplements could not be sold for preventive (prophylactic) or therapeutic use.
• Potencies would be limited to extremely low dosages. Only the drug companies and the big phytopharmaceutical companies would have the right to produce and sell the higher potency products (at inflated prices).
• Prescriptions would be required for anything above the extremely low doses allowed (such as 35 mg. on niacin).
• Common foods such as garlic and peppermint would be classified as drugs or a third category (neither food nor drugs) that only big pharmaceutical companies could regulate and sell. Any food with any therapeutic effect can be considered a drug, even benign everyday substances like water.
• Codex regulations for dietary supplements would become binding (escape clauses would be eliminated).
• All new dietary supplements would be banned unless they go through Codex testing and approval.
• Genetically altered food would be sold worldwide without labeling.

According to John Hammell, a legislative advocate and the founder of International Advocates for Health Freedom (IAHF), here is what we have to look forward to:

“If Codex Alimentarius has its way, then herbs, vitamins, minerals, homeopathic remedies, amino acids and other natural remedies you have taken for granted most of your life will be gone. The name of the game for Codex Alimentarius is to shift all remedies into the prescription category so they can be controlled exclusively by the medical monopoly and its bosses, the major pharmaceutical firms. Predictably, this scenario has been denied by both the Canadian Health Food Association and the Health Protection Branch of Canada (HPB).

The Codex Alimentarius proposals already exist as law in Norway and Germany where the entire health food industry has literally been taken over by the drug companies. In these countries, vitamin C above 200 mg is illegal as is vitamin E above 45 IU, vitamin B1 over 2.4 mg and so on. Shering-Plough, the Norway pharmaceutical giant, now controls an Echinacea tincture, which is being sold there as an over the counter drug at grossly inflated prices. The same is true of ginkgo and many other herbs, and only one government controlled pharmacy has the right to import supplements as medicines which they can sell to health food stores, convenience stores or pharmacies.”

It is now a criminal offence in parts of Europe to sell herbs as foods. An agreement called EEC6565 equates selling herbs as foods to selling other illegal drugs. Action is being taken to accelerate other European countries into ‘harmonization’ as well.

Paul Hellyer in his book, “The Evil Empire,” states: “Codex Alimentarius is supported by international banks and multinational corporations including some in Canada, and is in reality a bill of rights for these banks and the corporations they control. It will hand over our sovereign rights concerning who may or may not invest in our countries to an unelected world organization run by big business. The treaty would make it impossible for Canadian legislators either federal or provincial to alter or improve environmental standards for fear of being sued by multinational corporations whether operating in Canada or not.

This will create a world without borders ruled by a virtual dictatorship of the world’s most powerful central banks and multinational companies. This world is an absolute certainty if we all sit on our hands and do nothing.”

This is the future the FDA and FTC are striving to bring us via Codex harmonization. Is this a future we are going to willingly accept or prevent?

WHY TARGET THE INTERNET?
It is no accident that the FDA and FTC are targeting Internet health sites through Operation Cure-All. We are standing in the doorway of an unprecedented revolution — the information revolution brought about by the Internet.

Now all people everywhere have the ability to learn about anything that interests them with just a few clicks. History has shown that informed, educated people change civilizations — they change the flow of thought and they change the flow of money. They can even change the direction of a country. When similar transitions have happened in the past, the powers that existed did not give up willingly. The Catholic Church fiercely protected its practice of selling ‘indulgences’ as a forgiveness of sin. When the practice was abolished, the Catholic Church lost a great deal of power and money.

When the printing press was invented, books were banned and printers were imprisoned by the authorities, who feared an educated public could not be governed. In the same way, the medical monopoly (and the UN) now fears that a public educated in health and privy to the shortcomings of modern medicine could not be controlled. Loss of control means loss of revenue and loss of power. And they are doing everything they can to stop progress so they can contain their losses and strengthen their power.

The printing press changed the world. Can you imagine what life would be like today if the book banners had their way? But because the printing press won out, society progressed and freedom was embraced. The Internet is changing the world in an equally significant way. While the entire Internet can hardly be suppressed, the pharma-cartels and their backers are looking to protect their interests by restricting as much information as they can on the Internet.

Will we, the people, win out again — or will the UN and the World Health Organization agenda and the pharmaceutical cartel change the course of history and take us back to the “dark ages” of medicine?

WHAT CAN WE DO?
Step number one is learn as much as possible about this issue. Here are some websites where you will find a great deal of information:

John Hammell’s International Advocates for Health Freedom
website: http://www.iahf.com

“The Health Movement Against Codex Alimentarius” – article from Dr. Rath’s website: http://www4.dr-rath-foundation.org/PHARMACEUTICAL_BUSINESS/health_movement_against_codex/index.htm#top

‘U.S. and European Leaders Agree on Principles to Harmonize Dietary Supplement Regulations: ‘http://www.crnusa.org/shellnr112000.html

Federal Register where the FDA states its intention to harmonize with Codex standards: http://iahf.com/codx-fda.txt

Read, “WHOSE TRADE ORGANIZATION? Corporate Globalization and the Erosion of Democracy” by By Lori Wallach and Michelle Sforza,

Public Citizens Global Trade Watch:
http://www.tradewatch.org/publications/wtobook.htm

Sign the petition – Click on ‘Sign Health Freedom Petition:’
http://www.iahf.com/index2.html

Also sign the European Anti-Codex petition at: www.laleva.cc

Signing petitions is fine, but not nearly as effective as writing to your congressmen and congresswomen. Write to them insisting we hold a PROPER Oversight Hearing on Codex. An oversight hearing was held in March, but the truth was not allowed to come out. Witness who could have exposed what was going on, and who wanted to testify, were denied the opportunity to testify. Congress is strongly resisting another Codex hearing, telling their constituents it is not necessary. This could not be further from the truth.

Contact information for representatives: http://www.house.gov
Contact information for senators: http://www.senate.gov

Copyright 2001 Ruth James rjames@therealessentials.com
www.therealessentials.com

CTM Comment: Codex is of course the single most virulent assault on human freedoms in recent times. The desire to control of vitamins, minerals, herbs and other nutritional factors has ironically come about as a result of the inability of orthodox medicine to destroy the practice of the public practicing health without drugs. Now government and the chemical industry will seek to control and profit from that which was available directly to the public in times gone by.

Overturning the Codex by a mass public backlash is CTM’s sworn goal. This can be accomplished only with large numbers of the public all committed to this endeavor. As the above article states, the Internet itself has been able to grant access to information freely to anyone seeking it, and this has destabilized the flow of money and profits to institutions which have traditionally believed their highly lucrative monopolies to be safe. There can be no more pressing reason to join the Campaign for Truth in Medicine for FREE than to assist us in pressuring for the scrapping of Codex.

For more information go to: http://www.campaignfortruth.com

Posted in Uncategorized ]]> http://shamanism.wordpress.com/2009/08/18/codex-alimentarius-dare-you-ignore-it/feed/ 0 shamanism Codex Alimentarius - United Nations http://shamanism.wordpress.com/2009/08/16/paintings-from-ayahuasca-visions-by-pablo-amaringo/ http://shamanism.wordpress.com/2009/08/16/paintings-from-ayahuasca-visions-by-pablo-amaringo/#comments Sun, 16 Aug 2009 02:59:44 +0000 Howard G Charing http://shamanism.wordpress.com/?p=388 ]]>

Ayahuasca Visions

I’ve posted some of my Ayahuasca inspired art on Imagekind.com. You can purchase these paintings in different formats including greeting cards.
Click on the link to view;
http://HGCharing.imagekind.com/

Ayahuasca shaman and Mystic - Alonso del Rio

Alonso del Rio is a powerful maestro who interweaves Shipibo and other icaros with sacred music of his own to lead you on your journey; he is both a talented musician and an inspiring communicator of the Amazonian shamanic world. He first came into contact with ayahuasca in 1979 after spending three years working with huachuma (San Pedro). This was when he met Don Benito Arevalo (the father of Guillermo Arevalo), a grand Shipibo shaman with whom he developed a long relationship, and who gave him his first teachings in ayahuasca and other medicinal plants.

Underlying the intricate geometric patterns of great complexity displayed in the art of the Shipibo people is a concept of an all pervading magical reality which can challenge the Western linguistic heritage and rational mind.

Interview with San Pedro (Huachuma) Shaman - Juan Navarro

The use of San Pedro cactus and healing altars in the shamanic tradition of Northern Peru.

Shamans from different cultures and traditions have been using psychoactive plants since the dawn of human emergence. These plants have been used traditionally for guidance divination, healing, maintaining a balance with the spirit or consciousness of the living world.

HOWARD G. CHARING & PETER CLOUDSLEY, talk with Maestro JUAN NAVARRO.

Article first published, in Sacred Hoop Magazine, Summer 2004.

SHIPIBO AYAHUASCA SHAMANS – Part 1

The Shipibo are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Peruvian Amazon. These ethnic groups each have their own languages, traditions and culture. The Shipibo which currently number about 20,000 are spread out in communities through the Pucallpa / Ucayali river region. They are highly regarded in the Amazon as being masters of Ayahuasca .

This booklet contains original source interviews with three Shipibo ayahuasca shamans. By Howard G Charing and Peter Cloudsley.