We are deeply indebted to Ram Dass, also known as Richard Alpert. We are indebted to him for his immense courage with psychedelics, for the deep wisdom he brought back from his journeys to the East, and especially for his enlightening concept of being in the here and the now.

This place in The Caldron is dedicated both to Ram Dass and to being in the here and the now. Let's keep it flowing, folks. Keep sending in your submissions, and we will keep posting them just as soon as we get them.

Iraqi Elections

You may say at this point: what about the Iraqi elections? Well, President Bush himself answered this question when he said: "We cannot accept that there can be free democratic elections in a country under foreign military occupation." I had to read that statement twice before I realized that he was talking about Lebanon and Syria. (Quote from Harold Pinter, Nobel Prize winner.)

A Century of Warming

High-resolution date from the most comprehensive computer climate model to date predicts more extreme temperatures and rainfall will occur across the United States during the next 100 years. The model takes into account many factors not previously considered, and required five months to run on a cluster of computers at Purdue University. Team leader Noah Diffenbaugh says the results show the entire continental United States will experience more intense heat waves, especially in the Desert Southwest, where they are predicted to increase by 500 percent. The Gulf Coast will be hotter and will receive precipitation in greater volumes over shorter time periods. Diffenbaugh says the Northwest will experience what are now the region's hottest summertime conditions for up to two months at a time. (Steve Newman's Earthweek in the Daily Camera, Friday, October 21, 2005, page 18A.)

Just a Thought

According to Stone, one of the Rainbow brothers working in the New Waveland Café in Waveland, Mississippi, "the Red Cross has officially made it known that the Rainbow group's facility is now serving as the largest relief facility along the Gulf Coast by far."

"If this is what these "non-official" volunteers are doing with one hand tied behind their backs ... they are certainly in the running for citizens of the year. And more importantly, showing the world what common sense and a structured plan with experience can do without having to wade through useless red tape and bureaucracy." (From Mark Proulx, Gulf Coast News. See "Real Help and a Model of Efficiency" below for full quote.)


When we compare the Rainbow Family and FEMA with respect to how they approached the Katrina crisis, how they related to the people they were helping, and why were they helping the people, the major difference is that the Rainbow Family came to help folks. None of them have been paid any money; in fact, many of them have donated not only their time but also their own money, both for the food they have served and for the medical supplies that they have furnished in their triage unit that they call CALM, or Center for Alternative Living Medicine.

The people in FEMA, on the other hand, came because they were paid to come and helped because they were paid to help.

"The problem with FEMA," says RJ, the newly appointed Communications Department (of the Rainbow folks working in Waveland, Mississippi,) "is that they work from the head ... not the heart. It's a job to them." (From Mark Proulx, Gulf Coast News. See "Real Help and a Model of Efficiency" below for full quote.)

The Rainbow Family in Waveland, Mississippi

Granola Funk, Iris, and Kiddie Village are setup at the "Wall-less Mart" in Waveland, Miss. This is on highway 90 as you go through town. You can't miss it, it's a large parking lot across the street from what's left of the police station, and down the road from the water tank on a tower that says Waveland on it. There is a curfew from 8pm - 6am, so don't arrive at that time or you can't get in. There are military roadblocks everywhere. It should also be recognizable due to the amount of buses around the site.

Last night many of the Rainbow folks there for a few days finally got to the same place. The folks there have joined with the BCBC, a Christian relief group out of Texas and the Salvation Army in providing aid. Supplies are finally flowing in. Last night they unloaded 3 semis of food, and fed somewhere over 6000 people today, and the food is gone already. More food and people are starting to pour in. They've also become the main distribution center for supplies of water, clothing, camping gear, and other support. And everything is free!

I hear the folks say it's interesting having cops and military people hanging out around the kitchen in a friendly manner, as we've all become used to a more adversarial relationship. Supposedly they love the food. I also hear that the other support groups are picking up Rainbow slang, and are learning to say "Welcome Home" and shout "We Love You!"

Anyway, they say they don't need any more donations of clothing, it's still way too hot and they have plenty. One thing they don't have is more experienced kitchen crew. There are about 18 Rainbow folks there now, and they've all been cranking for days... They say this is home for now, and welcome folks to this site that have been wondering where to go to plug in. Although there is now a support scene going on, please be self-sufficient, and plan to work hard. (Rob Savoye, personal communication, Tuesday evening, September 14, 2005.)

Real Help and a Model of Efficiency

WAVELAND, MISS. - Across from the Waveland Police Department in the Fred's parking lot is a group of people set up to feed up to 5,000 people a day. Let me repeat that ... 5,000 people a DAY. They have a clinic set up like a battlefield triage center. They are giving out tetanus shots and vaccinations, prescribing heart medication, fully licensed medical practitioners who have made it a life style to camp out in national parks all over America every year surviving on nothing more than the land. They subscribe to no religion or political party, they have no hierarchical structure to speak of and they don't take "no" for an answer when it comes to helping those who desperately need it. They pitched a tent, started working with a Christian organization out of Texas who were already on the ground there by the second day after Hurricane Katrina hit, and began forming what may be the most efficiently run disaster relief center on the entire Gulf Coast. And who is funding this well-oiled machine, you ask?

No one.

Meet the "Rainbow Gathering" out of Asheville, NC. A group (more like a "tribe") of PhDs, MDs, nurses and other professionals who took it upon themselves to purposely take their survival skills and their medical and professional experience into the "battle zone" with nothing more than the small amount of money they raised between themselves and a small fund raiser in their town of Asheville, North Carolina. They have been braving unbearable heat, ungodly humidity and the sheer numbers of people coming to them for help. Feeding up to 5,000 people a day can take its toll on anyone ... but imagine doing so in one of the most inhospitable environments in the United States today? Even so, they have affectionately named their haven and hovel "The New Waveland Cafe". A fitting and friendly name, befitting a fitting and friendly group of people.

With little more than tents over their heads during the day, sleeping in the backs of their cars at night and pulling 16-hour shifts, Brad Stone, RJ, Scott and Hawker - along with about 30 other associates - are doing what no government or donor-funded organization has done so far ... gotten organized. And I don't mean just your average organization. This is a totally non-competitive, non-hierarchical, transparent accounting, complete sharing of lessons learned each and every day group. They have a plan of attack each and every day. They have a HAM radio set up to call out to the EOC for supplies (and thanks goes out to Mike Sweeney at the EOC who has been in touch with them, getting them all the supplies they ask for! Thanks, Mike!) They teamed up with the Bastrop Christian Outreach Center, out of Bastrop, TX.,who had been on the ground there from the very first days after Hurricane Katrina struck. What is interesting here is that a Christian ministry and a secular organization who holds to no set religious beliefs have come together, joined forces and are a powerhouse of efficiency! They have been gaining momentum in caring for the people of Waveland, including getting medical supplies, but they have received very little assistance from FEMA in any way.

"The problem with FEMA," says RJ, the newly appointed Communications Department, "is that they work from the head ... not the heart. It's a job to them and they don't know what it takes to work in this environment." Since the Rainbow group has for years been setting up camp in inhospitable climates, living off the land and surviving by honing their outdoor skills, they were able to set up directly on the asphalt pavement, where heat indexes rise to well over 100 degrees every day. "It's hot! We see dozens of people each and every day that are dehydrated and suffering from heat exhaustion. Water won't do in this heat, people need to replenish their electrolytes. We bought 84 boxes of emergency packets (multivitamins) with our own money. Mix this in with an eight-ounce glass of water and in about ten minutes, the person is fine again. We've gone through all of them in a matter of days and need to get more. We're used to this since we do this all the time, but these FEMA people don't have a clue. They can't manage what they don't understand."

Brad Stone (just call him "Stone") is a PhD / MD and spent $2,500 of his own money to purchase a defibrillator to have on hand, just in case. So far, the Rainbow volunteers have treated two heart attacks, provided neonatal care, wound dressings, dozens of vaccinations, tetanus shots, triage, dispensed medication and have written prescriptions for people who can then go to the Walmart, which had just opened up in Bay St Louis, to fill what the Rainbow people don't have in stock.

Even though they feel they have been hampered in their efforts to care for people, a representative meets with the EOC every morning a 9 a.m. to fill them in on what is happening. FEMA has actually inspected their "facility" and checked out their credentials. According to Stone, "Some guy from FEMA stormed in and demanded that I show him some credentials. So I showed him my medical license to practice. He said "Oh" and just left. I haven't seen him come back yet. We have been asked by the EOC to stay until Thanksgiving because we are providing such a necessary service."

Where are they in terms of this crisis, I asked? "We are in the middle of half-crisis, half-chronic problems now," says RJ. "We are working in sweltering heat with no break from it. We desperately need a van, large camper, blood mobile ... something air conditioned just to get people out of the heat for even a little while. They have plenty of trailers running over at the EOC but when we ask for them, the people just give us this stare and say 'we'll try to do something.' We need camping gear to get people back to a semblance of order in their lives. When we have cots or tents, people snap them up immediately. We could use a large circus tent, trailer with AC, propane stoves, pots and pans. We also need doctors and nurses ... we feel like we're working with one hand tied behind our back."

If this is what these "non-official" volunteers are doing with one hand tied behind their backs ... they are certainly in the running for citizens of the year. And more importantly, showing the world what common sense and a structured plan with experience can do without having to wade through useless red tape and bureaucracy.

The Rainbow Gathering, on their own and donated funds from Asheville, have sent ANOTHER fully stocked kitchen to Lake Charles, LA to help the citizens there, as well. "We have yet another fully stocked kitchen that we asked for and is being delivered down here to Waveland, too," says RJ. "We're thinking of sending it over to Pass Christian where we know there is a huge need over there, especially with the Vietnamese population there that is not being cared for." How are you going to handle all three sites, I asked. "We are getting some volunteers coming down from North Carolina to help us out, but we're gonna do this any way we can. We're not asking for a hundred doctors or nurses or volunteers because we do things a little bit different from regular organizations, but we could sure use the help."

Any medical person or volunteer wishing to donate their time to a truly outstanding cause, please contact the Rainbow Gathering's medical contact, Stone at 773-407-0854. For those who wish to get more information, donate money to help them continue on working, or volunteer to help, contact RJ at 828-280-6338.

Want to know more about the Rainbow Gathering, go to http://www.newwavelandcafe.blogspot.com/, RJ has been posting some interesting blog entries and photos when he can.

When I investigated this group and had a chance to talk with the different members, I felt it was all important to focus an entire article on them, simply because this was the kind of effort we were expecting from the larger, more well-funded formal organizations. Since this support never materialized, even after FOUR WEEKS, it was apparent that energy and funds needed to be pushed in the direction that was doing the most good. According to Stone, the Red Cross has officially made it known that the Rainbow group's facility is now serving as the largest relief facility along the Gulf Coast by far. I can honestly say that when I got off the phone from talking to Stone, Scott, Hawker and RJ, I was singularly impressed. In addition to the fine donations sites addressed below, I will also be including the Rainbow Gathering as a truly exceptional and worthwhile donations cause, as well. As soon as I receive word that they are set up to receive donations, I will post the information immediately.

FEMA, Red Cross ... take notice. THIS is how to operate. Friends reading this...help them in any way you possibly can. They deserve it! (Mark Proulx, Gulf Coast News,)

Countdown to Global Catastrophe

Climate scientists warned that a vast expanse of western Siberia has begun an unprecedented thaw, which could cause a 'tipping point' in global warming. The area spans nearly 400,000 square miles and is melting for the first time since it formed 11,000 years ago. The discovery, made by Sergei Kirpotin at Tomsk State University in western Siberia and Judith Marquand at Oxford University, was published in New Scientist. The researchers say that as the world's largest frozen peat bog melts, it will release vast amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times for potent in global warming than carbon dioxide. (Steve Newman's Earthweek in the Daily Camera, Friday, August 19, 2005, page 14A.) >

Warming Disasters

The head of Switzerland's environment agency cautioned that Hurricane Katrina, and storms that have recently hit Europe, are clear indications of global warming. "These are typically phenomena described by the models for climate change. So the link is for me personally really evident," said Philippe Roch. But he also feels that human development expanding into disaster prone areas is contributing to the amount of damage and number of fatalities caused by increasingly severe weather.

Global Warming and Our National Economy

President Bush and the Republican dominated congress told us that signing the Kyoto Protocol would drastically hurt our national economy. They are still trying to convince us that global warming is not an immediate or even a real danger.

However, global warming has already directly led to an increased temperature in our oceans. This increased temperature has in turn led to higher category hurricanes such as Katerina, which has just devastated New Orleans, and not just New Orleans either.

I have seen estimates that the cost will be at least $185 billion, as well as up to $100 billion for federal relief monies. A city has been ruined. Families have been torn asunder. 400,000 American citizen are now out of work. Many are homeless. This is economic disaster, far greater than signing the Kyoto Protocol would have brought.

We need to wake up and stop listening to those Spin City folks who call themselves Republicans. We need to wake up and become responsible for our own future as well as our children's future. (Eugene Marks, personal communication, September 11, 2005.)

Report: Warming Might Hit Hard on West's Rivers
Study finds higher temperatures, lower snowpack possible.

DENVER - Global warming is showing signs of heating and drying the Rocky Mountain river basins that supply 70 percent of the water to the American West, says a new report by the Louisville-based Rocky Mountain Climate Organization. (Daily Camera, Thursday, September 22, 2005, page 2A.)