"The Earth Path" by Starhawk

"Phantom Parks: The Struggle to Save Canada's National Parks" by Rick Searle

Interesting Links:
Utne Reader
David Suzuki Foundation
New Scientist
Discover Magazine
The Medical Post Online
Ad Busters!
New Internationalist
Mother Jones.com
Salon.com
NOVA On-line
The Book of Zines
Killing the Buddha
London Review of Books
American Council on Exercise
Runner's World
The Great Illusion


Recent reads:
"A Deepness in the Sky" by Vernor Vinge

"Celtic Folklore Cooking" by Joanne Asala

"Power Spellcraft for Life" by Arin Murphy-Hiscock

"Reinventing Medicine" by Larry Dossey

"Wicca: A Year and a Day" by Timothy Roderick

"The Science of the Craft" by William H Keith

"50 Years of Wicca" by Frederic Lamond

"The Magical Life" by Vivianne Crowley

"Which Witch is Which?" by Patricia Telesco

"Perdido Street Station" by China Mieville

"Cyberhenge: Modern Pagans on the Internet" by Douglas E. Cowan

"An Ye Harm None: Magical Morality and Modern Ethics" by Shelley Rabinovitch

"Crystal Ball" by Sibyll Fergusen, revised and expanded by Witch Bree

"Gaia Eros: Reconnecting to the Magic and Sprit of Nature" by Jesse Wolf Hardin

"A Century of Spells" by Draja Mickaharic

"Evolutionary Witchcraft" by T. Thorn Coyle

"Witching Culture: Folklore and Neo-Paganism in America" by Sabina Magliocco

"Kundalini for Beginners" by Ravindra Kumar

"Ka: Stories of the Mind and Gods of India" by Roberto Calasso

"Magical Tattwa Cards" by Dr. John Mumford

"WitchCraft Today (Expanded edition)" by Gerald B. Gardner

"Self-Initiation for the Solitary Witch" by Shanddaramon

"The Second Circle: Tools for the Advancing Pagan" by Vanecia Rauls

"Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard" by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart

"Black Magick Woman: The Sinister Side of the Song of Solomon" by Janet Tyson

"Everyday Moon Magic" by Dorothy Morrisson

"Advanced Witchcraft" by Edain McCoy"

"Handfasting and Wedding Rituals" by Raven Kaldera and Tannin Schwartzstein

"Joing Hearts and Hands: Interfaith, Intercultural Wedding Celebrations" by Rev Susanna Stefanachi Macomb

"Handfasted and Heartjoined" by Lady Maeve Rhea

"Handfasting: A practical Guide" bu Mary Neasham

" Goddess in the Grass: Sperpentine Mythology and the great Goddess" by Linda Fourbister

"Theories of the Chakras: Bridges to Higher Conciousness" by Hiroshi Motoyama

"The Knife Thrower" by Steven Millhauser

"Schizophrenia: A Very Short Introduction" by Christopher Finn and Eve Johnstone

"Schizophrenia: The Facts" by Ming T. Tsuang and Stephen V. Faraone

"A Community of Witches" by Helen Berger and Colleagues

"American Gods" by Neil Gaiman"

"Scherzo" by Jim Williams"

"Goddess in the Grass: Serpentine Mythology and the Great Goddess" by Linda Fourbister

"The Forest of Souls" by Rachel Pollack

"Wiccan Roots" by Philip Heselton

"A User's Guide to the Brain" by John J Ratey, MD

"A Goddess Arrives" by Gerald Gardner

"A Community of Witches" by Helen Berger

"Nature Spirits" Selected lectures by Rudolf Steiner

"Fatal Majesty" by Reay Tannahill

"Myths to Live By" by Joseph Campbell

"The Secret Life of Germs" by Philip M Tierno Jr, PhD

"Adam, Eve, and the Serpent" by Elaine Pagels

"Whiteout: Melt" by Greg Rucka illustrated by Steve Lieber

"Whiteout" by Greg Rucka illustrated by Steve Lieber

"Queen and Country-Operation: Crystal Ball" by Greg Rucka illustrated by Leandro Fernandez

"Tunnel in the Sky" by Robert Heinlein

"The Sex Chronicles" by Zane

"The Black Man's Guide to Good Health" by Reed, Schulman and Shucker

"The Withdrawing Room" by Charlotte MacLoed

"Queen and Country-Operation: Morningstar" by Greg Rucka illustrated by Brian Hurtt

"The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2000" edited by David Quammen

"The Bourne Identity" by Robert Ludlum

"Gerald Gardner: Witch" by J.L. Bracelin

"Queen and Country-Operation: Broken Ground" by Greg Rucka illustrated by Steve Rolston

"The Ferryman Will Be There" by Rosemary Aubert

"Philosophy of Wicca" by Amber Laine Fisher

"Wilderness Tips" by Margaret Atwood

"Origins of Modern Witchcraft" by Anne Moura

Friday, January 31, 2003

Hell in a handbasket

I am really tired of hearing the term ‘weapons of mass destruction.’ But it seems that it’s everywhere these days. From the weapons inspections in Iraq, to terrorist bioweapon programs, to the plight of those affected by radiation fallout at the U.S. military test sites in Nevada, I’m surrounded by reports of weapons of mass destruction. I can’t escape.

Every time I hear the term ‘weapons of mass destruction,’ I feel like I’m reading a comic book or watching a cartoon. As I read the words on paper, my mind creates this dramatic, booming voice like the ones created for action cartoons when the announcer says “stay tuned for more…{dramatic voice starts here} Weapons of Mass Destruction {cut to commercial here.} Or perhaps the voice is more like the one used for those cheesy reality shows: “Coming up next in Weapons of Mass Destruction.”

In my naivety, or perhaps my frustration with almost everything post ‘nine-eleven,’ I had assumed that the term ‘weapons of mass destruction’ was a post nine-eleven thing. Actually it’s not. It’s a term that has been around for a while, and is apparently affectionately shorted to WMD by national security experts. Weapons of mass destruction describe any weapon capable of, well, mass destruction. They include atomic or nuclear weapons, dirty bombs—conventional explosives wrapped in radioactive material—chemical weapons, and biological weapons. Some people even include computer hacking to attack a nation’s water or food supply, energy infrastructure, or financial and communications systems into the category of a weapon of mass destruction. So if a weapon of mass destruction is one that massively destroys, what does it have to massively destroy to be considered a weapon of mass destruction?

Nuclear, biological and chemical weapons all have the capacity to directly destroy people. That’s simple enough. Biological and chemical weapons also have the capacity to indirectly destroy people if they are used to destroy crops or food supply, resulting in starvation of a population. Computer hacking to attack water or food supply would also be an indirect method to kill people. But what about attacking energy, financial or communications systems? That’s would result in the destruction or incapacitation of constructs of our society. Such and attack might destroy societal life as we know it now, and certainly has the potential to cause mass amounts of chaos and make life difficult, but it does not destroy people. So a weapon of mass destruction, I guess, does not have to actually kill anyone.

What about something that causes society to communicate poorly with each other, or retreat from physical interaction with each other, resulting in the mass destruction of language and social interaction? Would that be a weapon of mass destruction? This would make email, text messaging and the internet a weapon of mass destruction, because I certainly feel that in some ways these things are resulting in a society that communicates and interacts less effectively and eloquently than out forefathers. I guess if used as a weapon, it would be a WMD. But I don’t think email, internet and messaging fit the definition of weapon. Perhaps we could call it an instrument of mass destruction?

Into the instruments of mass destruction pot I can also throw other practices that while not weapons are ultimately doing exactly what some weapons of mass destruction could be designed to do: reduce or disrupt resources like water, food and energy. Take a look at the irrigation and farming practices in California and the impact those practices have had on water supply in that state; take a look at the way monoculture in farming is reducing biodiversity and resistance to disease in food crops; take a look at GM technologies that create crops that can not reproduce; take a look at the way western society wastes non-renewable energy. All of these tings, if continued, have the potential to create the same end-point as some of the weapons of mass destruction defined above. But I digress… (this is a ramble of course…)

Getting back to the term ‘weapon of mass destruction’ that I have become so tired of these days: I guess the term separates these new weapons of our era from handguns, rifles, grenades and more traditional bombs, but the phrase sounds sensationalistic to me. Weapons of mass destruction elicits a more emotional response from me compared to just ‘weapons.’ And I guess as well as being a descriptive term, that’s what its supposed to do. Make me angry. Make me afraid. Make me indignant.

I wish we could all stop talking about weapons of mass destruction. I wish that we didn’t have to consider the fact that some people would be so ego-centric and simple-minded as to intentionally create weapons capable of destroying entire cities, countries, and the planet, including themselves. I wish combat was restricted to a healthy game and sport and not as a means to gain power and exert control. I wish we could live in a peaceful, utopian society. But that’s not going to happen. We’re all going to hell in a hand basket, and it’s the pettiness and short-sightedness of the world leaders and corporate moguls who are driving. Hold on tight, it’s a bumpy ride.

p.s. If anyone is interested in signing a petition to send weapons inspectors into the United states to see what George Bush is hiding, here is an interesting link:
http://www.rootingoutevil.org/

Amanda 11:15 AM
E-mail your comments to: ramblingraven@cosmic-muse.com