Xmas holidays are coming soon!
please suggest :
What would be the good gift for guy for these holidays?

I’m totally out of any ideas,tired thinking and i need help!

Im 19F, he is 20

Thanks all
for your
help and advice!

Im new here and just wanted to stop by and say hi

Im new to the forum and just wanted to introduce myself, i’m Donald form Canada. I look forward too makeing a contribution here.

Im new to the forum and just wanted to introduce myself, my name is Michael and I’m form Australia. I’ve been a long time lurker who has finally decided to make an account and contribute.

Im new to the forum and just wanted to introduce myself, i’m Eric . I’ve been lurking around the forum for quite some time looking up info but finally decided to make an account.

http://www.greenleaf.org/leadership/servant-leadership/What-is-Servant-Leadership.html

The question goes beyond what is leadership, to how we can tell if someone embodies a good leader and why we keep opting for bad ones. What needs to happen here so that we look for and hire truly good leaders? Are there any on the horizon?

(I’ll probably keep beating this drum whenever I can, so how about we just go for it…)

I would like to hear a show that explains his core beliefs and core values and indentifies who in America is following in his pattern.

So how about fifty shows, one a week, on each of the states? I think that the Seattle show was quite a success and might stand as a model for the series.

Thanks.

The subject I’d like to toss into the ring is the way people in the U.S. mourn a loss – particularly of a loved one (not some stupid show about people who miss their pets). I am struck that, essentially, we do not grieve – certainly not openly or “candidly.” I remember, in my youth, backpacking through Europe and being struck by the number of elderly women (widows) dressed in black in countries such as Greece. It was a symbol and did not keep the women from going about their daily lives – but try to imagine such a thing here. I think not. (I believe this ties into your idea about how few people in America are truly cognizant of the massive war we are fighting, except the loved ones of those in the Middle East.)

I lost my mom seven months ago and I avoided going to a grief session because most are run by “funeral homes” – which I suppose is a nice try but still not what is needed.

Plus Hugo Chavez the President of Venezuela has urged his country not to celebrate it. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4391166.stm)

Then there are the Ghost hunters who investigate which are now going mainstream and hitting the air waves, For instance the British TV show ‘Most Haunted’ (http://www.mosthauntedlive.net/) which has gathered an almost cult status and is beaming a live show on Halloween to the States. This time it is investigating ‘Jack the Ripper’ and other haunted London Sites. There are also other programs on Discovery about American ghost hunters.

There are the horror films and stories which get broadcasted and how people loved to be scarred out of their wits.

Also there is tradition, how did it start and why is it celebrated?

Plus there are Wiccan’s who Christians have feared through out the ages who are also going to be out and about tomorrow.

There are loads of different angles from parties to religion. To urban myths and folk lore.

Besides it is tomorrow after all.

One interesting and informed perspective on the issue is provided by Michael C. Ruppert, author of Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil (and the online newsletter From the Wilderness http://www.fromthewilderness.com/)

In a speech titled Five Rules for Survival of the Coming Collapse given on October 5, 2005 at the New York Petrocollapse Conference, Mr. Ruppert said, “The world’s key decision makers have been aware of and planning for this crisis for years…In fact, by understanding clearly that political, economic and business elites have been aware of Peak Oil and its deadly implications, we can see that remedial actions designed to save lives and minimize the effects of collapse can and will only be initiated by individuals working through and as part of local communities…it is foolish to believe that any governmental preparation for Peak Oil will be publicly labeled as such. Most preparations, so as to avoid panic and/or political risk, have been carefully concealed in other documents and legislation such as the PATRIOT Act and the Homeland Security Actâ€?

Mr. Ruppert went on to say, “Eighteen major [oil] exporting nations or regions including the North Sea, Mexico, Norway and Indonesia are showing steep and ever-increasing rates of decline [in oil production]…[a declassified 1977 CIA report] acknowledged that US domestic production had peaked and entered irreversible decline in 1970.

Mr. Ruppert continued with a quote from Richard Cheney, then CEO of Haliburton, in a speech given in 1999 to the London Petroleum Institute: “We as an industry have had to deal with the pesky problem that once you find oil and pump it out of the ground you’ve got to turn around and find more or go out of business…For the world as a whole, oil companies are expected to keep finding and developing enough oil to offset our 71 million-plus barrel a day of oil depletion [today it's 84 million], but also to meet new demand. By some estimates there will be an average of two percent annual growth in global oil demand over the years ahead along with conservatively a three percent natural decline in production from existing reserves. That means by 2010 we will need on the order of an additional 50 million barrels a day. So where is the oil going to come from?… Energy is truly fundamental to the world’s economy. The Gulf War was a reflection of that reality. It is the basic, fundamental building block of the world’s economyâ€?

Of course there is much more, but this post is perhaps too long already. Is there any possibility that peak oil and Operation Iraqi Freedom are related? Does this shed any light on why the Bush administration may have needed to fabricate “reasons� for the invasion/occupation of Iraq?

I have additional ideas for guests that may be of interest. Please let me know if I may be of assistance.

I just found out about a series of meetings and charrettes taking place at the upcoming US Green Building Council’s GreenBuild conference in Atlanta. They will be bringing together 30 gulf coast community leaders, along with Habitat for Humanity, The Enterprise Foundation, Trust for Public Land, and a whole host of green building and smart growth experts to talk about rebuilding the gulf coast and start creating real plans.

Here’s a link:

http://www.usgbc.org/News/usgbcnews_details.asp?ID=1906

I’ll be at the conference, very excited to attend some of these sessions and see what the outcomes are.

I recently heard a portion of a presentation by Robert Ballard of Clark Atlanta University speaking about environmental racism in Katrinas aftermath, its history in the area, effects on health, racism following other hurricanes etc. I think he would be able to help us extend the conversation about both problems.

I also saw part of a video of Michael Eric Dyson speaking recently but didn’t catch the venue. A former Baptist minister and Avalon Professor of Humanities at Penn State. He is author of a recent book; “Is Bill Cosby Crazy? Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost It’s Mind”.

I hope we will hear from them in future discussions.

http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm?fileName=141002a.xml

It ties in the myriad issues involved: smart growth and urban planning, brownfields, systems thinking, wetland/wildlife management, etc., etc., etc.

Could be a good lead in to a future show specific to green building.

The show trails a community of potential political candidates who want to run for, say, The House of Representative in D.C. Party Affiliations not needed.

The “Community” could be something like Opensource, and is basically holding a competition from which a real challanger emerges. It’s something like the realty tv shows only its interactive. The community creates it leaders.

My underlying assumption here is that a migration of TV Watching and Digital TV watching is accuring now. Any Contenders out there?

In this context, will the blogosphere have to grow up too fast? Can we count on stories getting broken in big blog diaries faster and more accurately and with better marked biases and with more accountability than in the pages of the New York Times? If so, we’ve moved into a world where amateurs will create the news climate.