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We are considering various ways of making use of our oil and gas downstream industries. This is to be complemented with the import of oil and gas from other sources as raw materials.

quote by Hassanal Bolkiah
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The Impact Of Poverty On Education

THE IMPACT OF POVERTY ON EDUCATION.

INTRODUCTION

There are so many different tools that have been thought relevant in people’s developmental projects both at individual and societal levels. Education is one of such practical tools. Importantly to note, there are also various meanings that denote the broad term ‘education’. In this essay, however, we are mainly interested in defining formal education since our discussion will dwell much on it. According to Nwomonoh (1998) , formal education is the process of gaining knowledge, attitudes, information and skills during the course of life especially at school.

Though education is said to be so instrumental in human development but also in the revamping of world economies, it is very unfortunate that education systems, world wide, are being held to ransom all because of poverty at both governmental and household levels. According to Thibault (2009) , poverty means the shortage of common things such as food, clothing, shelter and safe drinking water, all of which determine our quality of life. It may also include lack of access to opportunities like education and employment which aid the escape of poverty.

Problems in our society are interconnected in one way or the other, just like poverty and personal family problems affect a student’s capability to learn. Improving education entails improving the living conditions of students. Having in mind that education is basically responsible for the development of many countries including Malawi, as the back ground suggests, we cannot afford to bypass such a vital element without a mention. Considering also the fact that poverty is one of the forces that come in the way; blocking the success of education, we feel it rational to look at how the two realities, education and poverty, affect each other both positively and negatively. That is also why we are convinced that this topic is worth studying. Our awareness of this source, poverty, and its impact on education will enable us devise some proper measures of intervention with the hope of minimizing the negative impact of poverty on education. This point, in short, explains the purpose of our investigation and why we are so passionate in getting into this research. During the whole discussion we are being guided by two questions thus, ‘does poverty really affect education? And if it does, what points do we have on the positive and negative impacts of poverty on education? ’

METHODOLOGY

The study was basically qualitative in approach because of the nature of the issue that was being addressed. This was the case because the issue of how poverty affects education, both positively and negatively is particularly very difficult to predict the conclusions without penetrating into the core of the issue. For instance, one may unreasonably rush into concluding that poverty affects education negatively only and we cannot even dare to speak of poverty affecting education positively. The study was conducted in three schools namely; Mulunguzi, Masongola and Chirunga Private Secondary schools in Zomba district between 24th April and 3rd May. In this research we used both government and private funded schools to have a more balanced result on how poverty affects formal education in these different institutions. The information required for the study was collected through group interviews of form three students and individual interviews with teachers using semi-structured interview schedules. We opted to use these interviews in the first place because we felt books are more theoretical whereas a field research is practical and it involves real life experiences. Nevertheless, we still used desk research as a supplementary source of information and for clarity in some areas.

RESULTS

Positive impacts of poverty on education
To begin with, poverty encourages one to get educated and of course work hard in class. This is because the problems faced due to poverty are very serious and therefore students who are from poverty stricken families strive to end the problems and one of the best solutions is through education. That is to say, if a person, for instance, due to poverty, is taking just a meal in a day instead of three meals, and again if he/she is sometimes sleeping on an empty stomach, he/she will resort to education bearing in mind that if he/she gets educated they will secure formal employment and eventually be able to make ends meet for themselves as well as fending for their families.

Not only does poverty encourage one to get educated, but also it helped in the introduction of free primary education. In Malawi, for instance, when Bakili Muluzi became president, he introduced free primary education and he had eliminated the requirements for school uniform forthwith (Kadzamira & Rose,2001) . This had increased the access to education dramatically as those pupils who were coming from less privileged families were also given access to this free primary education. It should also be noted that the free primary education system was not only implemented to fulfill an electoral pledge but also bearing in mind that some families were not able to send their children to school due to poverty. Free primary education was there to deal with illiteracy by reducing families’ direct costs of education. Again due to the influx in the number of pupils in primary schools; there was a lack of teachers. Sonani (2002) , testifies that the Ministry of Education re-employed all retired teachers below the age of 65. This also meant that the once retired teachers got back to their source of income which helped them support their families as well as hauling the economy of the country. The implementation of free primary education system in Malawi forced the government to provide infrastructures so as to accommodate the large number of pupils in these schools. Simply put, poverty had led to the introduction of free primary education which means that more children are going to school, and again more teachers are being trained and getting employed and finally the construction of school blocks culminating into infrastructural development, all these branching from poverty.

We may also look at poverty from a positive angle bearing in mind that when a country is poor more funds and donations come into it. These funds and donations are also given to the education sector to build new infrastructures and in the maintenance of already existing ones in the sector. These privileged countries also provide learning materials to schools that are poor as a result students in these less privileged schools perform well in accordance with the amount and quality of the learning materials that they have been provided with. For instance, a United States based non governmental organization known as “Water for People” handed over 44 water toilets they built to Chimwankhunda primary school. The school toilet facilities had been vandalized 11 years ago but because of poverty the school could not renovate them (Gausi,2007) .

In addition, these funds and donations help more people to get educated. This is so because people can use funds as school fees, pocket money and buy stationery. The donations may include library books, chairs and writing materials. These can make a conducive environment for one to learn since there will be enough facilities at the school. For instance, with funding from the “United States Agency for International Development” (USAID) ,3,300 needy Malawian primary school girls are being funded. They are being provided with food, clothing, school supplies and hygienic products like soap and body lotion (Muhaliwa,2005) . Likewise,500 pupils at Katoto primary school in Mzuzu no longer sit on the floors during lessons courtesy of Southern Bottlers Limited and Lions Club of Limbe. Before these funds and donations, pupils used to sit on the floor due to scarcity of desks. These donations improved the pupils’ school attendance in such a way that pupils have started going to school regularly.

In the same line, a needy student can be given a scholarship to go further with his/her education. In this case the scholarship is given to the person just because he/she cannot manage to pay school fees on her own. This in turn benefits the needy person and the community at large. In this situation poverty has assisted in the development of education in an area by beckoning funds and donations from rich countries and organisations.

Further more; in most cases poverty facilitates one’s ambitions to attain formal education. It becomes easier for a poor child to put much of his concentration on education as compared to a rich child. This is because a poverty stricken student will have less destructive materials for entertainment. He/she will also have less or no money to indulge him/herself in activities that require spending a lot of money for instance, drinking beer. Sometimes even if the child can find money he/she can buy basic needs and not just spending it anyhow. Contrast to this a rich child may obtain things like ipods, mp3s, games for entertainment. These things in most cases destruct the concentration of students in their studies. As a result, one’s class performance is negatively affected since most of his/her time is being spent on entertainment.

Negative impacts of poverty on education

Just as a coin has got two sides, a head and a tail, poverty also, apart from having positive impacts on education, it does have negative impacts on the same. We have talked much about the positive face of poverty on education. We shall surely do ourselves injustice if we do not look at the negative part. In spite of the fact that poverty has an impact on education that is worth complimenting, we cannot afford in this discussion to overlook the point that so many students have been forced to leave the corridors of learning institutions due to the same poverty. One of the reasons that force some students leave the learning institutions prematurely is pregnancy, which in most cases, come because of poverty. It is almost common knowledge that a good number of students who come from poor families wish they could be sailing in the same boat with those who come from well to do families as far as luxurious life is concerned. The poor students constantly feel that there is something missing at the core psychologically. With this feeling in their minds, they tend to regard themselves as incomplete and not accepted socially. Consequently, they envy the rich students and squarely want to posses the things that are associated with the rich students. Very unfortunate that the poor students’ parents cannot afford to fulfill their children’s desires like what the rich parents would provide. Because the pull towards recognition is too strong for the poor students to resist, they end up in indulging themselves into prostitution in their search for money. Pity indeed that instead of recreating, as anticipated, their promiscuous behavior sees most of them getting pregnant and for some very unfortunate ones get even HIV and other STIs. From this discussion, commonsense convinces us that this school dropp out due to pregnancy is one of the negative impacts of poverty on education.

Adding more flesh to this discussion, we can also appreciate that hunger has been so instrumental in bringing down the standards of education world wide, in general, and Malawi, in particular. Frankly speaking, there are very few students if not none, who concentrate on their studies on empty stomachs. Food is one of the basic needs that every person is obliged to have if he/she is to survive. It is not surprising, therefore, to see some students performing miserably in class simply because they have not taken enough food or they have taken none altogether. The question of hunger finds its way into the education system because the government has failed to provide adequate food in most of its boarding schools. This is poverty at governmental level. There are also some students who are not boarders but still endure the hostile reality of hunger right in their homes. This is due to poverty at household level. It is sad that poverty, both at governmental and household level, has helped in engineering the deteriorating of education standards in Malawi.

Bearing in mind that it is only the eagle that can tell us the real whisper of a cloud, we visited Masongola Secondary school with the hope of getting first hand information from the students and their teachers since they are the ones who mostly benefit or get destructed by poverty. The Masongola secondary school students and their teacher, Mr. Enock Abraham, testified to us during an interview that government’s inability to provide extra food, apart from the usual beans that the institution offers, has seen many students developing ulcers. It would sound bizarre to reason that one can attend classes whilst he/she is on a hospital bed battling with ulcers. The Masongola students further testified that most poor students who have ulcers just bow down out of the race of learning because they cannot afford to buy extra food whenever the institution is serving the students beans.

This pitiful development goes beyond the boundaries of Masongola secondary school. Mulunguzi secondary school as Mr……the head teacher at the institution testifies, has not been spared from the scourge of school dropp outs simply because the school has not been able to provide extra or adequate food to students who cannot take what their friends take on health grounds. Needless to say this leaves the education standards in Malawi vacillating. It is a pity that though we have wrestled with this question of poverty a dozen times, we have not been successful in the battle. At one point in time, the government attempted to minimize the chances of school dropout in primary schools through its provision of porridge to pupils in the junior section. This attempt was in itself a good gesture but the government has failed to implement the initiative further in other schools that up to now have not benefited from the program.

It may not sound an exaggeration if we may say poverty has also forced a good number of students to give up their hopes of getting educated simply because they find it so difficult traveling to and from their respective schools. Lack of transport means, in short, has pushed them well towards the blink of despair as far as attaining formal education is concerned. This point speaks for itself how poverty can sometimes work on the education’s disadvantage.

As we go further with this discussion, we also appreciate the fact that the problem that mostly hinders a student’s success is inadequate resources that include; few teachers and learning materials. It must be highlighted that these problems are not only in developing countries but they may also find their way in reasonably developed countries like South Africa. In a developing country like Malawi, the education system encounters these problems because of the government’s failure to look into problems of infrastructure, capacity and availability of teaching and learning materials (Nkawike,2005) . The Muluzi government did a little if any; in as far as infrastructure is concerned. Lack of school blocks facilitated by a large number of pupils due to the introduction of the free primary education in 1994, forced pupils to have lessons under trees. In 2003, for example, lack of school blocks resulted in a tragedy at Nkomachi in Lilongwe when a tree fell onto an outdoor class, resulting in injury and deaths of pupils (Mvula & Chanika,2004) . This problem of learning materials continues till date, in all levels of the education system. According to Abraham (2009) , the school has always had shortage of learning blocks to an extent that the Physical Science and Biology laboratories are used as classrooms. There is also great shortage of books in all departments, and some departments like the technical department needs new equipment and current books which are very expensive. With this unfortunate situation we cannot anticipate good performance from Masongola secondary school.

In order to deal with these issues, the Muluzi government thought it wise to disregard the provision of learning materials in schools. Instead the Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) pass mark was reduced to ensure the success of students in their examinations. Even the director of Basic Education, Nelson Kaperemera admitted that funds intended for learning materials were servicing the debts of government at the expense of improving quality education. Instead of reducing the pass mark, the government and other stake holders should strive to improve quality of education, improve teacher salaries, and provide adequate materials and train teachers properly (Malawi News,2006) .

In developing countries like Malawi, the schools are understaffed (teaching personnel) and they tend to be handling a large number of students for long hours. Furthermore, the teachers are subjected to meager salaries, which are even made late. The government does not seem to have the welfare of teachers at heart, for instance the education Manager for Phalombe, Enoch Ali says the district is facing a dire shortage of teachers, a situation that is contributing to low education standards. The teacher pupil ratio in Phalombe is 1: 120, whilst the recommended ratio is 1: 60 (The Nation,2006) . Due to low pay teachers resort to organizing part time classes, which demand an extra amount of money on top of the normal fees. These changes clearly affect those students who come from very poor families, as they do not receive adequate studies because of lack of money.
This does not only occur in secondary schools, but it also happens in universities. As the academic staff of the Universities go on strike because of the government’s reluctance to increase their salaries. One considers how this is supposed to retain staff in the University. As a result lecturers spend more time doing consultancies; instead of preparing lectures and doing University mandated research. If we are serious about fighting poverty, formal education is the hub of ideas to fight these problems by improving its standards (Kapasula,2008) .
Child labour is one of the major problems that contribute to school dropp out. The majority of child labour victims are children who are living in poverty. This is so because they lack basic needs, for this reason they are forced even against their will to do any kind of work in order to gain financial wealth. This, therefore, affects school attendance. Evidence of school dropp out due to child labour is found in central region where most children are being employed in estates. This region has high tobacco production. Since this crop demands a lot of work, children are at high demand because they do not claim high wages compared to adults. Research, therefore, showed that the percentage of children attending schools is lower compared to that of northern and southern region (Nyirongo,2004) . We have the case of two brothers aged between 12 and 15 who were forced to work at a tobacco farm at Mpherembe in Kasungu district, where they were receiving 150 kwacha a day due to poverty (Namangale,2005) . We can see that child labour has a great impact on education because through it, a lot of children are being deprived of their right to education as they spend most of their time working.

In addition to that, Chirwa (2003) found out that child labour is also taking place in people’s houses. In this case children are forced to dropp out of school either by parents or on their own, to work in neighbouring homes. Here one of the victims is a 12 year old girl Elizabeth Chalimba, who left school when she was in standard six to work as a nanny in order to support her siblings. Children from low income families are at risk because though school is their only hope for a better future, they dropp out because their parents are failing to provide them with basic needs. Apart from child labour, psychological problems due to poverty is also another cause of school dropp outs. Research shows that the impact of poverty is greater on children as opposed to adults. Firstly, the problem arises due to the environment in which these children are raised. These environments being impoverished, they are intellectually unstimulating, and lack of stimulation results in impaired intellectual development of a child. This in turn contributes to failure in class which can later on lead to school dropp out.

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poem by Innocent Masina Nkhonyo
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Raw Power

(pop/williamson)
(burp)
Dance to the beet of the living dead
Lose sleep baby and stay away from bed
Raw power is sure to come a runnin to you
If youre alone and you got the shakes
So am I baby and I got what it takes
Raw power wlll surely come a running to you
Raw power got a healin hand
Raw power can destroy a man
Raw power is more than soul
Has got a son called rock and roll
Raw power nohey just wont quit
Raw power I can feeeeeel it
Raw power baby cant be beat
Qpin eyes and flashin feet
Everybodys always tryin to tell me what to do
Dont you try
Don t you try to tell me what to do
Look in the eye of the savage girl
Fall deep in love in the underworld
Raw power is sure to come a runnin to you
If youre alone and you got the fear
So am I baby lets move on out of here
Raw power is sure to come a runnin to you
Raw power got a magic touch
Raw power is much too much
Happiness is guaranteed
It was made for you and me
Raw power honey just wont quit
Raw power I can feel it
Raw power honey cant be beat
Get down and kiss my feet
Raw powers got no place to go
Raw power honey
It dontwantto know
Raw power is a guaranteed o.d.
Raw power is laughin at you and me
And this is what I wanta know
Can you feeeeeel it
Can you feeeeeeeeel it
Can you feeeeeel it
Can you feeeeeeeeeeeel it
Raw power! raw powwwwwwer!
Raw power! raw powwwwwwwwer!
Can you feeeeeeeeeeeel it

song performed by Iggy Pop
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Lifes A Gas

Lifes a gas, lifes a gas, lifes a gas, a gas, oh yea
Lifes a gas, lifes a gas, lifes a gas, a gas, oh yea
So dont be sad cause Ill be there dont be sad at all
Lifes a gas, lifes a gas, lifes a gas, a gas, a gas, oh yea
Lifes a gas, lifes a gas, lifes a gas, a gas, a gas, oh yea
So dont be sad cause Ill be there dont be sad at all
Lifes a gas, lifes a gas, lifes a gas, a gas, oh yea
Lifes a gas, lifes a gas, lifes a gas, a gas, oh yea
So dont be sad cause Ill be there dont be sad at all

song performed by Ramones
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Oil Replaces Gold Standard

(Essay)

“Oil is the new gold standard. As international community becomes more oil dependent the closer mankind moves to global fascism.”
ROTMS

Securing all known oil reserves is the goal/long term plan of the United States, Britain and other conspirators. This gives them control over extraction, distribution and pricing.

“Peak oil” is a myth created to instill fear and create panic. There’s enough oil in Alaska alone to furnish the needs of the United States for more than enough time to develop alternate energy. The exploration, mapping, drilling and capping of oil wells on Gull Island located in the waters of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska is well known. The by-product of the Alaskan oil wells is an abundance of natural gas, indeed enough to supply heating needs in the U.S. for a very long time. The current administration dare not open this vast oil/natural gas reserve, lest their long term plans be spoiled.

In order to accomplish a global monopoly the conspirators must eliminate rogue producer/competitors like Iran, Venezuela and Russia. To this end, Bush-Cheney are currently pressing hard to start a war with Iran, by any means including lies and false accusations. They’re acutely aware that Iranian oil production readies to sell their oil for currencies other than the U.S. dollar. This could dramatically lower the price of gas at the pump and devastate the U.S. economy.

You may ask why/how could lower prices be harmful to the U.S. economy.
The simple truth resides in the deals cut with Saudi Arabia and other world oil producers by the USA. Indeed, the written and unwritten agreements that guarantee producers fabulous wealth, as long as they sell oil for dollars. The principal reason why Bush invaded Iraq was to curtail Hussein’s threat to sell oil for Euros. He’d still be in power today had he played ball with U.S. handlers.

As the largest oil producer in the world Saudi Arabia represents a classic example of how “One hand washes the other”. Big oil companies develop the oil fields and supervise extraction, Wall Street banking middlemen set oil barrel prices for dollars and collect huge profits, then as agreed Saudis plow their profits into the U.S. to help pay off debt. Should this delicate balance be disturbed, U.S. economic collapse would ensue. Now plug this scenario into other world producers and the conspiracy is exposed.

As it stands today, high prices at the gas pump are servicing national debt by we the consumers. To make things worse, offshore hedge funds are manipulating oil futures by speculating on the rise and fall of price of a barrel of oil, thus adding to volatility.

Planning and common sense have been thrown out the window for global control and profit…what follows is global fascism and “New World Order”.

As a global citizens and consumers we must seek the truth of what is taking place and then unite through national protest and organization. Knowledge is our true power and way out of a messy situation created by a greedy few.

“The righteous many, shall reclaim power and freedom from an evil few”
ROTMS

poem by Ray Lucero
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Jumpin Jack Flash / Youngblood

(george: a couple of numbers from leon)
[jumpin jack flash]
I was born in a crossfire hurricane
And I howled at my mama in the driving rain
But its alright now in fact its a gas
And its alright, hey
Im jumping jack flash its a gas gas gas
I was raised by a toothless bearded hag
I was schooled with a strap right across my back
But its alright now in fact its a gas
And its alright, hey
Im jumping jack flash its a gas gas gas
But its alright now in fact its a gas
And its alright
Im jumping jack flash its a gas gas gas
[...]
But its alright now in fact its a gas
Its alright now in fact its a gas
But its alright now in fact its a gas
But its alright now, but its alright now
But its alright
[jumpin jack flash end - 3:48]
Well, you know that I love my woman
But just sometimes she just dont treat me right
Yeah, I woke up this morning and I looked her in the eye
She said sweet daddy, you got what I want
But you aint givin it to me
Oh, and it hurt me deep down into my soul
And I had [...] out of the door
I was [..] my heart [...]
Gonna ever see my baby no more
I went a-walkin down the street
And I was ashamed to look at anyoone I meet
Ooh, [..] and there she was standing
Leaning up against a lamp post
(well, tell it, tell it)
[youngblood - 4:35]
I saw her standing on the corner
A yellow ribbon in her hair
All night long my heart was shudder
Look at there, look at there
Youre the one, look at there
Youngblood, youngblood, youngblood
Woo, I cant get you out of my mind
And I couldnt sleep, I went on crying
And I saw the risin of the sun
All night long my heart was crying
Youre the one, youre the one
Youre the one, youre the one
Youngblood, youngblood, youngblood

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song performed by George Harrison
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Import and Export

Import the things more the country really need
For its economic development
Such as food, raw materials for various industries
Technology, electric power and so on.

Export the things that are surplus and competitive
And whose demand is in the foreign countries.

With a view to boost export
The government should minimize export duty
And encourage the exporters
By reducing tariff on import of associated raw materials.

The government must discourage import of nonessential items
By imposing higher import duty
And encourage production of luxury items in the country.

In the modern world international trade can play a vital role
In the economic development of any country
That’s why the governments must emphasize on it evermore.

poem by Asif Andalib
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Banapple Gas

Banapple gas, oh banapple gas
Everybodys sniffing it banapple gas
O-o alas!
All the world is stuck on it banapple gas.
Does it do you good, make you better
Set you healthy when youre bed-tied?
Well I dont know if it makes you well...
But it must be healthy
cause it dont smell.
Banapple gas, oh banapple gas
Everybodys living on banapple gas
O-o alas!
All the world is grooving on banapple gas.
Do you know what goes inside to make it
What kind of strange spice makes it right?
Well I dont know what kind of spice
But it must be healthy cause its sterilized.
Banapple gas...banapple gas
Give me more banapple gas
O-o...o-o-o
Does it help you smile more to wake up
Make you happy just to be alive?
Well I dont know if it makes you happy...
But it must be healthy
cause its certified.
Banapple gas, oh banapple gas
All the world is breathing banapple gas
O-o alas!
No one knows whats inside it banapple gas
Oh banapple gas.

song performed by Cat Stevens
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Jumpin Jack Flash

I was born in a cross-fire hurricane
And I howled at my ma in the driving rain,
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right. I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash,
It's a Gas! Gas! Gas!
I was raised by a toothless, bearded hag,
I was schooled with a strap right across my back,
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right, I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash,
It's a Gas! Gas! Gas!
I was drowned, I was washed up and left for dead.
I fell down to my feet and I saw they bled.
I frowned at the crumbs of a crust of bread.
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I was crowned with a spike right thru my head.
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right, I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash,
It's a Gas! Gas! Gas!
Jumping Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumping Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumping Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumping Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumping Jack Flash

song performed by Guns N' Roses
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GM Battle Earth Began In Eden

In Eden choices
between good evil
were desire made.

What fruit would you eat?
What choices will you make?
What life path decision walk?

Your actions carry implications
decisions have consequences
nature has laws as do societies;

when spoken written codes
of honour are foolish broken
fickle souls become cast outs.

Will you reap benefits
of your labour solid planted?
Will you curse this earth
despoil ground giving life?

Paradise waits in our hands
paradise is ours for taking.
Technology science wisdom frees
wise nations from animal labours.

Some corporations military nations
would rather dominate oil markets.
Spend waste their youth resources
seizing guarding oilfields pipelines.

General Motors Chevron greed lies
kills promise clean green electric cars;
to pump up huge greed oil profits
shredding technology enriching lives.

Japanese fuel economy hybrid cars
dominates resource saving efficiencies;
out distances American gas guzzling cars
while America reaps greenhouse storms.

Wise nations will embrace clean energies
while greed chokes on green house gases;
wind solar power rises eastern economies
China Japan Korea make wise electric cars.

Cry for American exploited poor stolen wages
oil companies sucked dry at life draining gas pumps;
weep blue American ice homes winter chill heat costs;
blessing stripped no free solar energy roof tiles.

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poem by Terence George Craddock
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The Drummer

1
The drummer beats slowly, the drummer beats loud
As he beats of Humanity wrapped in a shroud.
Well he beats of the bone bags Dame Famine's designed
As she ravished and plagued us since dawn of mankind;
And he beats of Lord Boss letting oranges decay
While a child suffers scurvy and passes away;
And he beats of the beasts we've so needlessly slain
And of critters and creatures cast off in distain;
And he beats of combatants who're dying deceived
As the merchants of murder count profits received;
And he beats of the rape and the killing of war
And the mind blinding sorrow we blithely ignore.
He beats and he pounds till our consciences gnaw
And his fingers are battered and bloody and raw
And his hands are all broken and bleeding and raw.
2
The drummer beats slowly, the drummer beats loud
As he beats of abuse that we try to becloud.
Well he beats of the barons and princes and kings
Who have broken our backs while crushing our wings
And he beats of the bribes that the powerful make
To key politicians who fawn in their wake;
And he beats of the waifs bound and chained to machines
And of slaves in the fields and other such scenes;
And he beats of decrees stating all men are free
While ignoring the blacks and their agonised plea;
And he beats of the tyrants in clerical garb
Who have tortured with faggots and thumbscrews and barb.
He beats and he pounds till revealing the flaw
And his fingers are battered and bloody and raw
And his hands are all broken and bleeding and raw.
3
The drummer beats slowly, the drummer beats loud
As he beats of the strength of the rebels so proud.
Well he beats of the spirit the rack couldn't break,
And the flame of the flesh that was burned at the stake;
And he beats of the minds that could never be chained
By the faith that was living while ignorance reigned;
And he beats of the struggles when Spartacus rose
Having tired of shackles and slavery's woes;
And he beats of the women who'll die to be freed
And will never give up till they finally succeed;
And he beats of the progress outliving the jeers
So belying the pessimist's fatuous sneers.
He beats and he pounds till we stand back in awe
And his fingers are battered and bloody and raw
And his hands are all broken and bleeding and raw.
4
The drummer beats slowly, the drummer beats loud

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poem by Terry O'Leary
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Is That Asking Too Much

(donny lowery/craig wiseman)
Some people say theres no american dream
I hear them talking but they dont say a thing
I still believe youve got to give it to get
Baptize your every aspiration in sweat
I vow my head each night and roll up my sleeves
cause buddy its a long hard road to easy street
Where all the cars go
Fast, fast, fast
When you step on the gas, gas, gas
Nobody else is gonna pass me up going down the road
I want a great big house on the hill
Every pocket full of hundred dollar bills
Givin me a thrill, thrill, thrill I aint never known
Is that asking too much
Am I over the line
Am I way out of touch
Tell me am I losing my mind
I know I wont never get enough
Is that asking too much
Ive never been accused of dreaming too small
I never saw no shame in wanting it all
I guess thats just the curse of being born poor
No matter what you got you always want more
Everybody wants a lot, a little inside
Im not the only one with hungry eyes
That wants a car that goes
Fast, fast, fast
When you step on the gas, gas, gas
Nobody else is gonna pass me up going down the road
I want a great bid house on the hill
Every pocket full of hundred dollar bills
Man, givin me a thrill, thrill, thrill I aint never known
Is that asking too much
Am I over the line
Am I way out of touch
Tell me am I losing my mind
I know I wont never get enough
Is that asking too much
I just wanna go fast, fast, fast
When I step on the gas, gas, gas
Nobody else is gonna pass me up going down the road
I want a great big house on the hill
Every pocket full of hundred dollar bills
Man givin me a thrill, thrill, thrill I aint never known
When I step on the gas, gas, gas
You know I wanna go fast, fast, fast
Nobody better ever pass me up going down the road
I gotta build me a house on the hill
Every pocket full of hundred dollar bills

[...] Read more

song performed by Diamond Rio
Added by Lucian Velea
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Is That Askin' Too Much

(Donny Lowery/Craig Wiseman)
Some people say theres no American dream
I hear them talkin' but they dont say a thing
I still believe youve got to give it to get
Baptize your every aspiration in sweat
I vow my head each night and roll up my sleeves
Cause buddy its a long hard road to Easy Street
Where all the cars go
Fast, fast, fast
When you step on the gas, gas, gas
Nobody else is gonna pass me up going down the road
I want a great big house on the hill
Every pocket full of hundred dollar bills
Givin me a thrill, thrill, thrill I aint never known
Is that asking too much
Am I over the line
Am I way out of touch
Tell me am I losing my mind
I know I wont never get enough
Is that asking too much
Ive never been accused of dreaming too small
I never saw no shame in wanting it all
I guess thats just the curse of being born poor
No matter what you got you always want more
Everybody wants a lot, a little inside
Im not the only one with hungry eyes
That wants a car that goes
Fast, fast, fast
When you step on the gas, gas, gas
Nobody else is gonna pass me up going down the road
I want a great bid house on the hill
Every pocket full of hundred dollar bills
Man, givin me a thrill, thrill, thrill I aint never known
Is that asking too much
Am I over the line
Am I way out of touch
Tell me am I losing my mind
I know I wont never get enough
Is that asking too much
I just wanna go fast, fast, fast
When I step on the gas, gas, gas
Nobody else is gonna pass me up going down the road
I want a great big house on the hill
Every pocket full of hundred dollar bills
Man givin me a thrill, thrill, thrill I aint never known
When I step on the gas, gas, gas
You know I wanna go fast, fast, fast
Nobody better ever pass me up going down the road
I gotta build me a house on the hill
Every pocket full of hundred dollar bills

[...] Read more

song performed by Diamond Rio
Added by Lucian Velea
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A Gallon Of Gas

Ive been waiting for years to buy a brand new cadillac
But now that Ive got one I want to send it right back
I cant afford the gas to fill my luxury limousine
But even if I had the dough no ones got no gasoline
I went to my local dealer to see if he could set me straight
He said theres a little gas going but Id have to wait
But he offered some red hot speed and some really high grade hash
But a gallon of gas cant be purchased anywhere for any amount of cash
I can score you some coke and some grade one grass
But I cant get a gallon of gas
Ive got some downers some speed all the drugs that you need
But I cant get a gallon of gas
Theres no more left to buy or sell
Theres no more oil left in the well
A gallon of gas cant be purchased anywhere
For any amount of cash
Two extra verses from long version:
I love your body-work, but youre really no use
How can I drive you when I got no juice?
Because its stuck in neutral and my engines got no speed
And the highways are deserted
And the air smells unnaturally clean.
Its got power-assisted overdrive and carpets on the floor,
But its parked out front just like a dead dinosaur.
And Ill be paying off the bank for 45 years or more.
It should go 100 miles an hour,
But its never moved away from my door.
Who needs a car and a seven-forty-seven
When you cant buy a gallon of gas
Who needs a highway, an airport or a jet
When you cant get a gallon of gas
Theres no more left to buy or sell
Theres no more oil left in the well
A gallon of gas cant be purchased anywhere
For any amount of cash
You cant buy a gallon of gas

song performed by Kinks
Added by Lucian Velea
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Gas Hed Goes West

If I was half alive
Then you were dead
Subsistin' on that same old bread

It's the memory that hides
The whole wide world
It's the gas hed's love of america

It's the memory that hides
Take your photographs back
For the love of all gods
Our gas hed marches on
Our gas hed marches on

He's a bonified man
A star amongst his clan
And the only one that let me ride

It's the memory that dies
Our gas hed was right
When they lanced his skull
There was puss and light

It's the memory that dies
So take your photographs back
For the love of all gods
Our gas hed marches on
Our gas hed marches

It's the memory that dies
And make your photographs black
For the love of all gods
Our gas hed marches on
Our gas hed marches on

It's the memory that dies
So take your photographs back
For the love of all gods
Our gas hed marches on
Our gas hed marches

Gas hed is on the radio

song performed by Live from Secret Samadhi
Added by Lucian Velea
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Gas Head Goes West

If I was half alive
and you were dead
subsisiting on that same old bread
it's the memory that hides
the whole wide world
it's the gas hed's love of america
it's the memory that hides
take your photographs back
for the love of all gods
our gas hed marches on
our gas hed marches on
he's a bona fide man
a star amongst his clan
and the only one that let me ride
it's the memory that dies
our gas hed was right
when they lanced his skull
there was puss and light
it's the memory that dies
so take your photographs back
for the love of all gods
our gas hed marches on
our gas hed marches on
it's the memory that dies
and make your photographs black
for the love all gods
gas hed marches on
gas hed marches on
it's the memory that dies
so take your photographs back
for the love of all gods
our gas hed marches on
our gas hed marches on
gas hed is on the radio, radio, radio

song performed by Live
Added by Lucian Velea
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Soccer–Passion Song

Soccer–Passion Song

Soccer in the evening;
Soccer in the morning;
Soccer in spring and fall.

Soccer in the raining;
Soccer in the snowing;
Soccer in winter and summer.

Soccer in between my feet,
where I walk;
Soccer in my heart and mind,
how I live;
Soccer my love and life.

Soccer I wake up and play;
Soccer I hold it to sleep;
Soccer my work and rest.

Soccer I sing a new song;
Soccer I dance the magic steps;
Soccer my tears and joy.

Soccer my Mom buys it for me to play;
Soccer my Dad brings me to the game;
Soccer my dear Love watches me to score.

Soccer I dribble and shoot;
Soccer I pass and fall;
Soccer my glory and downfall.

Soccer I strike to attack;
Soccer I tackle to defend;
Soccer my struggle and survival.

Soccer I receive the flags and the whistles;
Soccer I get the yellow and red card;
Soccer my moves and stop.

Soccer I meet my friends;
Soccer I make my enemies;
Soccer my conflict and peace.

Soccer I play and watch;
Soccer I watch but cannot play;
Soccer my dream and reality.

Soccer I learn the rights;
Soccer I confess the fouls;

[...] Read more

poem by Laijon Liu
Added by Poetry Lover
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What the Frack?

high pressure enemas
millions of gallons
crude solution fracking-fluid
25 to 75 percent resurfaces waste-water deluge

clastic fractures giving rise to
subterranean chemical carcinogens
fissile shale releases methane into
underground drinking water supply

Pavillion, Wyoming 2010,

EPA investigation finds 39
rural ground water wells
fresh drinking water contaminated

benzene and methane
fracking fluid additive
2-butoexythanol phosphate

recommending residents
avoid their tap

Cabot Oil and Gas
three spills at one well
within a week in Dimmock Penn

8,420 gallons leaked
wetland spills kill local fish
Cabot fined $240,000 plus

to transport safe water
the affected homeowners
more than $10 million in costs

EnCana Oil and Gas
faulty well casings allow
methane to migrate through
natural faults into Colorado water supplies

75-foot tall geyser of gas
and drilling fluid
chloride, sodium,
barium and strontium,
hydrochloric acid

air toxin smog formation
benzene delivering funereal flowers
death's frankincense to the marrow

[...] Read more

poem by Gregory Allen Uhan
Added by Poetry Lover
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The Drug's Not Working

I was shooting in the back of the car
When the windows smashed on the police cars
I was swimming through the streets of New York
With my cocaine dagger and throats to cut
And it was making her cry
And it was making her cry
And it was making her cry
But it was making me high
She was a hooker at the age of 16
All she wanted was the money
She didn't need an I.D.
She was a junkie and I know its clich
But then so was her life
I mean, she lived in L.A.
And it was making her cry
And it was making her cry
And it was making her cry
But it was making her high
And it was making her cry
And it was making her cry
And it was making her cry
But it was making her high
And it was making her cry
And it was making her cry
(Riot in my skull, demons are coming)
And it was making her cry
(Los Angeles is dead, the drugs ain't working)
And it was making her cry
(Painted it all black, the chains are jerking)
And it was making her cry
(Los Angeles is dead, the drugs ain't working)
And it was making her cry
(Riot in my skull, demons are coming)
And it was making her cry
(Los Angeles is dead, the drugs ain't working)
And it was making her cry
(Los Angeles is dead, the drugs ain't working)
Riot in my skull, demons are coming
L.A. your dead, the drugs ain't working
Painted it all black, the chains are jerking
L.A. is dead, the drugs ain't working
L.A. your dead, the drugs ain't working
L.A. your dead, the drugs ain't working
The drugs ain't working
The drugs ain't working

song performed by Ryan Adams
Added by Lucian Velea
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Ill Oil Wells Love You

I met a man in texas
And oh, he was so fine
And I said to myself
Self, Im gonna make him mine
He owned a lot of oil wells and his bank roll sure was healthy
And I new if I married him Id suddenly be wealthy
Oh Ill oil wells love you
Ill oil wells care
Ill oil wells need you
I want you oil wells dear
Well I never had no money
Not a penny to my name
And I said Id find a rich man
And Id love my way to fame
So he took mt in his arms
And I cuddled up real near
The money bug then bit me and I wispered in his ear
Oh, Ill oil wells love you
Ill oil wells care
Ill oil wells need you
I want you oil wells dear
He looked in to my eyes and thought he saw a love light shine
Nearly did he know that that light was dollar signs
Now that we are married there aint nothin left to tell
Well live happily ever after because all is well that ends well
Oh, Ill oil wells love you
Ill oil wells care
Ill oil wells need you
I want you oil wells dear

song performed by Dolly Parton
Added by Lucian Velea
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Quatrains Of Life

What has my youth been that I love it thus,
Sad youth, to all but one grown tedious,
Stale as the news which last week wearied us,
Or a tired actor's tale told to an empty house?

What did it bring me that I loved it, even
With joy before it and that dream of Heaven,
Boyhood's first rapture of requited bliss,
What did it give? What ever has it given?

'Let me recount the value of my days,
Call up each witness, mete out blame and praise,
Set life itself before me as it was,
And--for I love it--list to what it says.

Oh, I will judge it fairly. Each old pleasure
Shared with dead lips shall stand a separate treasure.
Each untold grief, which now seems lesser pain,
Shall here be weighed and argued of at leisure.

I will not mark mere follies. These would make
The count too large and in the telling take
More tears than I can spare from seemlier themes
To cure its laughter when my heart should ache.

Only the griefs which are essential things,
The bitter fruit which all experience brings;
Nor only of crossed pleasures, but the creed
Men learn who deal with nations and with kings.

All shall be counted fairly, griefs and joys,
Solely distinguishing 'twixt mirth and noise,
The thing which was and that which falsely seemed,
Pleasure and vanity, man's bliss and boy's.

So I shall learn the reason of my trust
In this poor life, these particles of dust
Made sentient for a little while with tears,
Till the great ``may--be'' ends for me in ``must.''

My childhood? Ah, my childhood! What of it
Stripped of all fancy, bare of all conceit?
Where is the infancy the poets sang?
Which was the true and which the counterfeit?

I see it now, alas, with eyes unsealed,
That age of innocence too well revealed.
The flowers I gathered--for I gathered flowers--
Were not more vain than I in that far field.

[...] Read more

poem by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
Added by Poetry Lover
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