Cruise Ship Blues: A Cruise "Junkie" Exposes the Industry’s Dark Side by Ross A. Klein Cruising. A dream holiday. What could be better than lying on the deck of a modern cruise ship, soaking up the sun, and indulging whatever fits your mood? That is what sells cruises. But there are environmental and social costs one never discovers in a brochure. Over the years, I’ve been on close to a dozen different lines with cruises in the Mediterranean, Europe, the Caribbean, Hawaii, South America, and Alaska. As the ship was pulling into Cozumel, on one of my earliest cruises, one of the officers said: "You see that ship over there? The last time we were in the harbor, they took seven bodies off the ship." He explained that the crew’s dining room had run out of rice and a food riot had erupted. People had died. That’s a whole different perspective from what you read about. Feeling the Fear in Uncertain Times: Author Susan Jeffers’ Antidote to Uncertainty by Kam Kaminske Most Americans felt almost invulnerable to foreign invasion prior to 9/11. That day irrevocably shifted our perception of our level of safety. Once our country engaged in war in the Middle East, we began to hear regular reports of the anger and contempt people in some other countries are feeling towards us. We know that there is a fatwa (religious ruling) in the Muslim world calling for a jihad, or holy war, against Americans. The directive is "to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it." Add to that our domestic woes — slumped economy, rising gas prices, fear of travel — and it’s no wonder many of us are feeling anxious.   Publisher's Notes by Deverick Martin I have tons of news to report this month. Our friends at Consolidated Press and our new paper supplier, New Leaf, have teamed up to provide us with 100% post-consumer recycled paper, a product called "news," for our inside pages. I’m sure that makes us the first publication printed on a web press in Seattle on 100% post-consumer recycled content. I believe this change is another way that we can walk our talk and be more respectful of our planet. This is much more than a symbolic gesture. Although we were using one of the highest post-consumer recycled content papers readily available here before, for this issue alone this change saves 112 fully grown trees, 24,250 gallons of water, 96 million BTUs of energy, 5,624 pounds of solid waste and 17,511 pounds of greenhouse gases. Literally, tons of good news! Genetically Engineered Meals by Tami Jayne Jackson While those who shake hands might wish they knew who did and did not wash first, consumers of American grown foods could be running a much greater health risk by not knowing what genetically engineered (GE) products are in their shopping carts. Getting GE foods labeled to inform consumers is the thrust of Seattle-based political activist Craig Winters’ newest campaign. As the founding president of Citizens for Health, Winters won a landmark decision that President Clinton signed in 1994 to make sure the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did not restrict access to dietary supplements. This time around, Winters is once again putting the FDA to task with his organization called The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods.   StarWatch by James Jarvis By adding the universal year 2003, (2+0+0+3) = 5, to the 7th month of July we come up with the vibration 12/3. The 3-month is a time for tapping into joy through creative self-expression. What aspect of your creativity wants to come out this month? Are you a closet painter, writer, dancer or musician? Is there something that you are really passionate about that you would like to share with others but have been holding back? Use this month to discover your own form of creative expression. Let yourself be like the child and really get down and play this month!       Floating Inward: Watsu and Waterdance Therapy by Ceci Miller My consulting adventures and good fortune recently rewarded me with a meeting with Gary Jaeger, co-founder of Stillpoint Health Associates, an alternative health center on Stone Way. A massage therapist for over 15 years, Gary had pioneered the practice in Seattle of Watsu, a form of Shiatsu massage done in water, and was going to be interviewed for King 5 News’ HealthLink about this groundbreaking — and immensely enjoyable — health therapy. Listening to the great results Gary has gotten with Watsu, I get excited. I want to give people a broader look at this lesser-known form of massage than they can get from a one-and-a-half-minute segment on the news. I decide to do at least 3 Watsu sessions in the 97-degree pool (located at a wooded retreat site just outside Redmond). Environmental Feng Shui by David Abbot In ancient times, Chinese feng shui masters sensed the subtle energies within and around land, cities, neighborhoods, buildings, room layouts, furniture, and artwork. On the purely physical side, they tasted the water, sniffed the air, and looked at and smelled handfuls of earth to better understand the places their clients were considering for homes, businesses, or other purposes. They examined crops, native plants, and animals. In short, they were masters of the environmental arts and sciences that were appropriate for their times.