Do not believe in anything

Do not believe in anything (simply) because you have heard it.Do not believe in traditions, because they have been handed down for many generations. Do not believe in anything because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything (simply) because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.

But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all then accept it and live up to it.

To be aware of a single shortcoming within oneself is more useful thanto be aware of a thousand in somebody else.
- His Holiness The Dalai Lama

Rebel with a cause offers drought hope

For 30 years Peter Andrews' ideas about drought relief have been dismissed and he has been reviled and ignored. He has faced bankruptcy and family break up.

But now, at a minute to midnight, leading politicians, international scientists and businessmen are beating a path to his door as they grapple with how best to alleviate the affects of drought on Australia's farmers.

Last week, the Federal Government announced a $250 million relief package to help farmers devastated by prevailing dry conditions. But as Peter Andrews tells Australian Story, there are ways to put the landscape back together simply, quickly and cheaply.

www.abc.net.au/rural/content/2005/s1384063.htm

On this day

Sunday 5th June 2005
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY: 1939, Two authors were born on the same day of this year. Margaret Drabble went on to write 'The Needle's Eye'. Ken Follet later wrote 'The Eye of the Needle'.

Friday 3rd June 2005
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY: 1949 Humes High School in Memphis, Tennessee, issued a 14-year-old Elvis Presley with his school report. He achieved an 'A' in language but only managed a 'C' in music. In 2003, 85,000 British GCSE students discovered they had to take replacement question papers after a batch of the original exams was found opened in the street.

Thursday 2nd June 2005
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY: 1886, US President Grover Cleveland married Florence Folsom in a ceremony at the White House. She was 21 and he was 49. At 28 years his junior, she became the youngest first lady in US history. In 1989, Rolling Stones bass guitarist Bill Wyman married Mandy Smith in a secret ceremony at Bury St. Edmonds. He was 52, and she was 19. The marriage ended in divorce 3 years later.

Wednesday 1st June 2005
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY: 1966 Bob Dylan tried to rewrite the rules of folk music at the Albert Hall in London. He started playing an electric guitar and was booed by purists. In 1967, The Beatles rewrote the rules of popular music when they released "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" - one of the most influential and ground-breaking albums ever.

We don't want your money. We want you.

Bob Geldof faces a titanic challenge with his latest call to arms. Will his passion be enough to pull it off? Live 8 can't seem to make it's mind up whether it is a concert or an insurrection. The line-up is certainly impressive - well, in London anyway, where most of the major stars have agreed to perform. Dam'it love this stuff, go Bob stick it to globalisation.

as Bob Geldof was keen to point out at Tuesday's press conference, this is not a charity event. It is more like a call to arms. The organisers remain cagey about their plans beyond the day itself, but there is a spirit of civil disobedience in the air, hinted at by Geldof when he called on children to quit school and people to abandon their jobs in order to descend on Edinburgh for the G8 summit. Last time, he famously wanted your "f***ing money". This time, he specifically says: "We don't want your money. We want you."

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

How many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea?
Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.