Sometimes it never seems to end. I finish one issue and then another one begins. Poetry comes in past my deadline and so I hold off, waiting to commence another issue. I suppose that is the motivation for all this, the fact more work comes in. I am not complaining, it is good for it becomes a source of feedback to me on how the ezine is doing.

There has been a few articles about this and I think we need to consider the ramifications of it all; the UN wants to wrestle control of the Internet away from the US. There is only a few problems with this, the first being it's the UN and secondly, the supposed control and influence the US has over the Internet is minimal. When you consider the 'Net, it is rather anarchistic; expressing the political views of the spectrum. There is no implicit or explicit attempt to give the US view of life or to use the Internet as a propaganda tool. This is not the Voice of America over the computer. If anything whatever control the US government has over it is minimal if anything. The joy of the Net has been the lack of control, in fact it flourishes best when there is no one dictating policy or determining what is right or wrong. Certainly this has led to abuse, and the litany of abuse is long, from extreme political views, racists, sexists outlook to pornography of all natures and styles. However those issues are being addressed; for example the police are going after those who peddle in child pornography, and rightly so. There is no place for the perverts to hide, eventually they are found.

There are a number of documents available that present the UN's view of the entire issue,all of which contain the usually flowery language that fills most UN documents. For example: 'Internet has evolved into a global facility available to the public and its governance should constitute a core issue of the Information Society agenda. The international management of the Internet should be multilateral, transparent and democratic, with the full involvement of governments, the private sector, civil society and international organizations. It should ensure an equitable distribution of resources, facilitate access for all and ensure a stable and secure functioning of the Internet, taking into account multilingualism'. Again the push is for an international management of the Internet. Right now the perceived problem is that the US government has too much control, one issue that is pointed out is the Bush Administration's veto of the ICANN establishing the domain .XXX. It could be said the ICANN does control the establishment of domain names, and yes they are looked at as under the control of the US government. However, John C. Dvorak pointed out that the people in ICANN are dedicated to their cause, which is to give order to domain names and do not have a particular ideology or viewpoint.

Now, with the UN bringing control what will it mean? First of all, with the language of order and openness we have this: 'Policy authority for Internet-related public policy issues is the sovereign right of States. They have rights and responsibilities for international Internet-related public policy issues'. Consider if States have sovereign rights for policy then they have the right to set a different policy that is relevant to their particular ideology. So a nation such as China which already censors Internet journalists, can decide their policy as it applies to them. Not only that, but they can put pressure on other nations. If you think about it China could demand other nations censor any and all opinion that is negative to China, especially if it pertains to its human rights records. Think this is far fetched, there was an article recently that Yahoo turned a dissident in to the authorities or at least made sure his work was not published or linked in China. There are a number of corporations and nation that will play whatever game China wants them to play.

This is only one, consider the censorship in the Middle East, again, the State has the right to establish policy.

Recent news releases point to the EU as supporting this move, probably more out of spite to the US as to anything else.

This begs the question, what nations will be members of the Committee that oversees the Internet? Let's recall a few years ago the ambassador from Libya was placed in charge of the Human Rights Committee of the UN. Libya is usually mentioned as violating human rights and yet someone from that government was placed in charge of the committee that had previously complained about Libya. So you take the Internet and divide it amongst the conflicting interests of various nation-states.

The potential is this, the Internet now becomes divided into little pieces that may or may not be compatible, as well who will decide domain names and registration? To be honest, the UN has degenerated into a body of corruption. Yes the declaration talks about expansion so that all will be included, but what is the chance of that happening? Honestly, what is holding nations back in the third and fourth world, is it the US domination of the Internet, or a lack of infrastructure? How can this be fixed? Here's a solution, instead of those nations squandering their resources, why not use it to prepare themselves to connect into the information age. Instead of buying guns, why not a communication that can bring the Internet to everyone in the nation?

The Internet works, precisely because the US for the most part does not meddle with it. As I said, it is not a propaganda tool it favours no particular opinion. It works, because it works. Now I do know part of the argument is that past performance is not indictative of future works; yes the US government could meddle in the workings of the Internet. However until that is proven a potential danger I say the system works. As well, are we willing to concede the future of the Internet on possible interference, when to change it now will guarantee interference by a number of nation-states?

Any attempt to 'improve' will likely destroy it and future generations will look back at us and curse us doubly for our stupidity.

Music-
More than a simple word;
It dwells in me,
(And in you)
As
An encompassing yearning.
I close my eyes slowly
To touch it-
To let it take me-
My body lifting with each sweet note;
Breathing in deeply
The melodious new air
As it fills my soul
With life and reason to be.

Newfound Friendships--
More precious than any flower-
It blooms in me,
(And in you)
As something now we both share.
I opened my fingers slowly
To reach for it—
And found it lingering within
The keys of your piano.
Memories of your life and all of its stories
Will forevermore fill my house with love,
Harmony and laughter
Because long ago someone left for you a vase of Roses;
Its water stained wood leaving behind a gift of yourself to me.

Aaron LaFlora
21 enero 2002
thank you so much Gloria.
Day after I got the piano from Gloria….happy am I…

The beautiful Carnation flower
Ever I smell its awesome power
While digging grass and weeds
Under its dusky-green colored leaves

I stay and hoe the earth
Captivated by its aromatic birth
Of newly formed and opened blossoms
Allowing me their scent from varigated bosoms

I pray those plants will bloom again
Grass and weeds, I will attend
To smell the sweet Carnation flower
And enjoy again its aromatic power

And while under its sweet perfume
I labor for my words to bloom
While digging grass and weeds
Under its dusky-green colored leaves

Then, I harbored no love for weeds
While digging under dusky-Carnation leaves
But now, I appreciate weedy growing power
That brings me closer to the Carnation flower

I love the symetry of a tree
I believe God put them here for me
The give me seed for a thoughtful heart
A tree in nature, the highest work of art

My favorite pine, a dusty blue
In the family of Colorado Spruce
And indeed, their beauty sublime
And can stand alone, its living glory shines

In my father's house, are green pines found
Pines mighty tall, thick and round
Eighty feet taller, they conspire
A church's steeple, a tower, inspire

A humble blue spruce is planted near
Only a baby, not more than twenty-five year
I still see that tree in my mind, blue-grey
And long for its beauty, wherever I stray

A tree in nature, the highest work of art
They give me seed for a thoughtful heart
I believe God put them here for me
I love the symetry of a tree

The dust
settles imperceptively
falls
a soft down coat
of despair
to move
faster and faster
before the soft dust
welds us
in place.

I've almost
seen the day
but not quite
the world's evolving
and i am
already
out of sight.

For you are my core
My center of sweetness
Always enchanting with your tainted wings
The ink of your words
Stains my soul
For your truth
Is too real
And I am soothed yet scream at the sensation
Of you
Believe me my devotion
For you glorify my tales
My center of worship
Always haunting with your surreal wings
The imperfection of your feelings
Perfects my soul
For your lies
Are too fake
And I am frightened yet relived at the realization
Of you
Love me my faithfulness
For you allow me to adore
My center of emotion
Always warming me with your tender wings
The sensuality of your touch
Calms my soul
For your caress
Is too intense
And I am hesitant yet selfish at the affection
Of you
Find me my unconscious
For you are my innocence
My center of purity
Always oblivious with your lifeless wings
The passion of your soul
Is too bright
And I am intrigued yet unacquainted at the luminosity
Of you

The dampness of my after thought,
the regret of the pain
I pained you only to lose myself
for I now live in vain
Stained glass only reflects
the emptiness of you gone
The colours seep through the years
yet the shade of you is so dull
Have I forgotten of your beauty?
The way your eyes flashed
With a burning of forgiveness
and love that would forever last
The late nights we would sip
at the ideas in our glass
Our thoughts and feelings so in tune
that we forgot to hold our grasp
We believed we would always
be distinctive with ourselves
The absolute and knowing love
but now I’ve lost myself
You have become an after thought
though I believed you’d be my guide
Through this endless battle
of hard and careless times
I hurt you believing
that your love for me was a lie
Now I see that it was me
who was a bit too shy
I didn’t want to admit
that the truth was found in you
For then I would be pure
and I thought I wasn’t worth
Now I’m stuck with dampness
as I reflect upon our time
For I do not remember
if you were telling me a lie
I now you probably hate me
for I would hate me too
All I ask for you to remember is
the purity of truth

As you wonder why this world is grey, you listen for a voice
A voice that says no matter what you’ll overcome this strife
When tears strip down your precious face that feeling is overwhelming
You blame yourself for all your doubt, that life is overpowering
You take a deep breath and take a step forward , not knowing where to go
The twists and turns are so confusing down this dusty road
Sometimes you think to end it all when suddenly you get this chill
It reminds you of a better day when life was such a thrill
Then you hear this tiny voice that tells you of a beautiful path
But you’re still unsure of where to go to find your calm at last
Listen to your heart, it’ll show you where you can get some peace
hat voice is you inside yourself, there’s angels at your feet

Fire burning through the hole of our existence
And the stains are upon our humanity
Yet most do not slay
For we love the inferno that is life
Blood boils in some’s mind
And they would like to slaughter
That that has become over time
Upon the dragons tail the leaders of the spine
Have choose to enslave those that are not of their kind
The blood is spilt all over the dragons bloodshot eyes
And the humanity of earth
Becomes something no one requested
And they all hide in the dragon’s heart
Waiting for a stroke of fearlessness
The tainted wings are flown by the guide of oppression
And we are all to blame
Though most ingest the guilt
Some have no where to turn
So they find the dragons tail
And ask for a direction
And they become one of un-worth
The dragon’s blood is spilt
And the heart is drained
Now with no where to go
We all start to slay
The dragon has been assassinated
And can not find his way
For we are all part of this
Yet we asked not to go this way

18 miles from town, I count
2 brown towhees,
a coyote who makes low/short of centerline
with his next meal between his jaws
and me in the corner of his eye;

15 miles from town, 6 crows
hunker on fenceposts, discussing the weather;
3 wild turkeys grub for acorns
dropped overnight from a cloudy sky;

13 miles from town, a gold-
finch with tarnished summer plumage;
2 mourning doves take sunlight on the fly;

on the outskirts of town,
a red-combed white rooster;
a dozen blackbirds peck-strut a vacant lot,
& half as many pigeons on a phone line
that murmurs, whispers, sighs;

Eyeless room of hands and music
weaving nets of sound and darkness
over anywhere my feet might go,
locked in this exercise of counting
muscles caught up in the massage
of meditation to a mesmerizing rhythm.
How many beats for breathing? How
many knots in the shoulders can these
pairs of fingers tie? The catgut
strings give up a tune, repeated in
the woodwinds, burden taken over
by the keyboard’s invisible keys
to this room that seeks a key.

County blacktop starts to pock;
gets rutty with an edge of washout.
Sand-trap in a low spot; a speed-bump
engineered by the hills themselves,
a slab of bedrock juts up granite-gray.

Stop your car. Get out
and walk around. You might find caves
with rough stick figures etched
in charcoal, history of a folk who,
in the end, moved on.

In their place came men on horseback,
men in pickups. They turned out
their cattle for free-range forage.
Then, they climbed back in their trucks,
swung into their saddles, rode away.

Who could feel at home here
where only wind sings through?
Is there an owner’s manual for this
piece of ground? Listen. What
do the storm clouds say?

Fixed:
lagoon, mist, trees,
piles of corded wood.
The air is balancing
so not even a bird dare loose one feather - gravity
is grave.

It was just one moment -
dogs break out,
4WD door slams.
Wet veils lower on the forest
& the smothered canopy is kicking.

This is the condition
that television has cured.
We all see threat
in any lake so passive...
yearn for our crarking boats, jet skis
& a spiked breeze up from the city.

This autumn

This autumn has not wanted
to be my friend
She did not call me to attend her party
and celebrations were very much,
even very much of warming
and little light for me.
All my beautiful flowers on my balcony have faded.
But the flight of many birds is so disturbing,
And red fires of leaves blaze around.
The pain will be dissolved in bad weather,
And someone will play under my window
a solo of song of guitar which is crying.
When the evening lights will arrive
They will spread the stars generously
to a balcony, to the street, into an old garden.
The drunken wind will break leaves from many trees,
and a falling of leaves will begin in the city.

And I smile again

As I have tired of myself
I am the white crow plus 33 misfortunes!
The dark blots are in my destiny.
Hope and Belief do not want to communicate with me.
They have become tired.
I do not condemn them -- they have clients
who are more successful and easy to hear.
But I have remained alone, and I sit
On the edge of silent grove.
How and when did I arrive here?
How did I know the road?
Perhaps, at last, Trouble has regretted
what he has done to me
and has brought of me here.
Perhaps this is closer to God?
Ah! How the heavens here are affable and kind!
I feel love from trees and their friendship!
The gold forests and the crimson forests stand up
in an autumn temple service, and I am among them.
And I - already almost same as they:
I am not failure person
not the outsider! I am a part of earth!
I, too, am the Birch with gold hair!
I bend down my crown to the ground
and I smile again.

Dina Televitskaya

After being so earnest in the opening, I thought I would change the mood and say a few words about a subject near and dear to my heart and that is the subject of stickers. I love stickers, the sight of vinyl and adhesive surface just brings a smile to my face and a song to my heart. I truly believe a blank surface was created to adhere a sticker on. If you could see my laptop, I have decided to decorate the otherwise black surface. On it I have a Creative Commonist sticker, the flag of the Independents/Browncoats from Firefly and two small ones from Indie 103.1, an alternative radio station out of Los Angelos/ Orange County. They add colour and express some sort of individuality and both should be allowed to be expressed. I have placed stickers on my boom box and on any Tupperware© container that I use for my personal effects. One object that has been on the receiving end of stickers is this notepad-clipboard that I own. Now this thing I have owned for over 20 years, and over the years it has been home to many stickers. Right now I have stickers of various radio stations and programs, plus a picture of Noam Chomsky with the saying Read Chomsky. There's another one that states 51% think democracy is great, which begs the question, what do the other 49% think, that democracy is not great. I know its a joke but it does make a person think, did I believe for one moment that totalitarianism is so willingly accepted by people? Were the majority of respondents from fascists governments?

So this is my life, an accumulation of stickers, denoting my opinion on various matters and stations I've listened to. From classic rock, rock alternative to jazz, all there for people to read. With my laptop, I'm getting a bit more sophisticated and also attempting to keep things down to a nice level. On it, I have a Creative Commonist sticker, denoting that the owner of this laptop is a creative commonist. You might remember a few months ago, actually about a year, Bill Gates stated that there are those people who have a different view of copyright and that they were similar to communists. So someone people took the statement and turned it around, telling Bill they weren't communists, but rather commonists, which is a play on the Creatvie Commons licence.

Then there is the flag of the independents, from the show Firefly. Yes, colourful and needed when dealing with a black case. I mean computers are so colourful and need colour on the case.

So those are some of my stickers, if you want to do something nice for me, send me a sticker. I collect them, I display I just like them a whole lot.

Paul Gilbert

I received an email from Walter Ruhlmann he writes:

I publish an e-zine from France in French. I translated poems from 
Teresinka Pereira (Bluffton, OH) Erich von Neff (LA, CA), Harry Wilkens 
(Switzerland), etc. I would like to get in touch with American and any 
English speaking poets to know if they wish to appear on my webzine, 
which I give you the URL below. All the best.


http://mgversion2.free.fr

I took a look at the site and it is good. So if you are interested, contact him, and let him know where you found the information. The publisher is seeking poets who are interested in having their works translated into french for circulation in his ezine. The name of his ezine is MGV2.

An interesting website has appeared and it's called Frapper. What Frapper provides is a map and what you can do with this map is place a virtual pin on your home town. It will give me an idea where the readers of this ezine live, so click on the box and follow the instructions.