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Yes, its usually about a centimeter from where the phyllode joins the pulvinus (stalk), there is frequently a sharp bend in the shape of the phyllode at this point.

Wonder if that nut was Betel nut.

OK this is a late entry but with so many developments occuring at a rapid pace at various occupy locations around the world it can be difficult to keep on top of things. Anyway tomorrow 10th Dec is World Human Rights day with gatherings across the country. As part of World Human Rights Day, Occupy Melbourne is calling for Occupy protesters around the world to wear their tents for Human Rights. In Melbourne, Occupiers will gather from 1pm at Flagstaff Gardens. A time to bring greater awareness to Human Rights while we still supposedly have some. Besides being in our own interest, I,m sure the occupiers who have been fighting for us all will appeciate the support. An interesting article elucidating the global financial situation and why we should be concerned for our Human Rights. Comments on the article also good. Global Rebellion: The Coming Chaos?

Damp-rid (calcium chloride) available at most hardwares is probably the most readily available source of dessicant and cheap too.

There is an interesting discusion on the Thrive movement at Reality Sandwich Here. It seems that many there are less than impressed. I thought the sections on money power in the Zeitgist film quite good.

Most enlightening. Thanks.

Exactly. This young girl was committing no crime and was therefore not arrested and charged. Instead she was sexually assaulted on a whim, no escuse and totally unnecessary. I am absolutely disgusted. Not one of these cowardly scum had the balls to stand up to wrongdoing.

Thanks for your posts regarding Venezuela Amanito especially in relation to media. I've found them most interesting as I'm quite used to the media demonizing things at comvienience and defending the indefensible. I think that a major reason why many look favorably upon Venezuela is because of reports of major public support from Vebezuela's population. What do you say of these reports?

Best wishes Nabraxas. My thoughts are with you. Much love sent your way.

Article is somewhat sensationalistic. BF should be prepared to kick the shit out of them gals if that is what it takes to protect those he loves. That the gang were let off comparitively lightly most likely had nothing to do with being muslims but with them being gals.

Three cheers for democracy. Shoulda voted for Hitler.

Take it to PM for Gods sake.

How does this relate to shrooms in Japan?

Those who say they will die first and then rise are in error. If they do not first receive the resurrection while they live, when they die they will receive nothing. ~ Gnostic Gospel of Philip ~ Strive to discover the mystery before life is taken from you. If while living you fail to find yourself, to know yourself, how will you be able to understand the secret of your existence when you die? ~ Attar ~

My problem with Wikipedia is that many believe that because it is moderated that it approaches something akin to gospel. While it backs up many entries with secondary sources these are not always neccessarily of high quality in the sense of being verifiable or reputable. Indeed it took me only a few minutes to find a blatant error. Peer reviewed papers in the scientific literature would likely rate the highest in terms of reputability and in many cases these are absent in regards to the entries. Even in this case errors have at times occured or findings disputed. Confidence in sources outside the scientific literature often have to be considered on a case by case basis. For example one of the sources quoted "Ratsch" has recieved a fair amount of criticism over the years for errors in his work. Additionally a good number of entries lack any quantitative analysis so that compounds may well be present in only minute trace amounts. Without indicating this these same entries often generate unwarrented exitement in the entheogenic community. Wikipedia may have improved over the years, however I would like to see a lot more scientific research and scientific papers published. Welcome to the corroboree despite the rocky start.

Most of the research with A.longifolia has found it to be devoid of tryptamines and there is a thread here that mentions that species being used for poisoning waterholes. Wikipedia information on many acacia species have to be taken with a grain of salt.

a number of folks that have used A.obtusifolia phyllodes in aya brews without problems. While a number of acacia species do contain hydrocyanic glycocides I know of no original research that has detected their presence in A.obtusifolia. It has been listed as occuring in A.obtusifolia in a book on Australian trees and this may possibly be in error. Erring on the side of caution one may wish to for-go using this species in brews until further information comes to light.

An update. This past week has seen no lack of police harrassment of the Australian protests in Australian cities. The Australian protesters are not letting up and I commend them on their courage and resilience. This Saturday at 3.00pm Occupy Sydney are holding an occupicnic at Hyde Park. Bring picnic stuff. Up until very recently I had little idea that Joe Rogan was more than my favorite MMA sports commentator. He's made a few pieces on the occupy movement(all worth checking out) of which the following is my favorite. Inspirational. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6nzi0h0nuc A rather shocking vid on political corruption(a little US orientated but by no means confined to that nation).

Maidenii is generally a little more difficult since there are few high alkaloid strains although they do exist. A lot of maidenii strains have only about 0.1% alkaloid. Good results have been obtained by many researchers with A.obtusifolia phyllodes.

No reason why one should not use the phyllodes straight as is in a brew. The water should be a touch acidic. Dry the phyllodes out well if intending to store them for any lenght of time to inhibit enzymatic breakdown. Dry weight of the phyllodes I'd guess to be approximatelly 50% of the wet weight. You may have to experiment a little to get the dosage right as the potency of the phyllodes may vary with the younger phyllodes likely to be at least a little more potent than older phyllodes. One can still work out rough ball park figures to start working out how much material is required. Count the required amount of alkaloid to be between 60mg and 150mg. The amount of alkaloid in the leaves will likely fall between 0.5% and 1.5% of the dry weight. One can work out an approximate amount of material to use from this. One approach that will give some more flexibility is that if the first dose is insufficient to bring about an effect after three quarters of an hour one could take a second. Repeated small doses is a common practice in a number of ayahuasca traditions of South America.

All in all I find working with most grains troublesome to work with for a good number of different reasons. I'm rarely happy with the results and I'm not making things easy for myself. I swapped over to working with popcorn some time ago and have never looked back. Less problems with collonization and heaps easier to shake. Working with other grains is practically obsolete in my book these days. Do yourself a favor and use a popcorn tek, you won't regret it.

After the police actions in Melbourne and Sydney, Occupy Brisbane has been the latest target to be harrassed. We must not allow freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and right to protest be repressed and curtailed. *********** A significant day for the movement this Saturday especially for Sydney. Yep, its Guy Fawkes Day. Occupy Sydney will continue their protest this Saturday with a two thousand strong march through the city. The group is scheduled to meet at the Sydney Town Hall at midday for speeches then march to Wynyard and Martin Place. The rally will take place on the same day as the British celebration Guy Fawkes Day. The tradition dates back to the burning of Guy Fawkes dummies on bonfires to commemorate the failed attempt by Fawkes to blow up the House of Lords – an act of rebellion against the British Government. Ms Theresia said the date is a “neat coincidence” and that the rally will be held on Saturday as it’s a convenient time for the movement. Occupy Sydney

I remember one time jumping into a very icey stream above waist level. I do not recomend this, very painfull to the gonads, hard to describe. On the other hand I can dig cold even icey showers having a beneficial effect on health. Utilising waterfalls gives the practice a somewhat aesthetic quality. Indeed this is a practice of several martial arts sytems most principally karate. One advantage of doing the practice this way is that the concentration helps to take one's mind off the cold.

I likewise hope you are alright.

I really know next to nothing about the man. I haven't even got round to veiwing any of his stuff. I did however very much enjoy his essay.