I don’t mean by this that you have to cut off your left breast to facilitate your archery – no, what I am suggesting is, that, if you have a web presence, you could profit yourself substantially by joining the mega web-retailer, Amazon, in one of their ‘Associate Programmes’ (and if you haven’t got a web presence, you could at least entertain yourself gainfully by browsing their organic/environment books and reviews).
Those of you that thought the much-hyped Amazon had bombed like so many other dot.coms should think again. Having spent years living dangerously and running up multi-billion dollar debts, they have finally, to the amazement of the financial community in particular, turned in their first ever profit - albeit tiny in relation to its liabilities.

What the CEO, Jeff Bezos, doesn’t know yet (he will soon, when I ask him for shares!), is, that he probably owes a large amount of this startling turnaround to Planorganic.com. Since I started my little venture, I’ve had over 300,000 hits and many of them, I’m sure, followed the book reviews and recommendations and winged off to Amazon to make their purchases. I knew about their ‘Associates’ stuff, and the fact that you could earn as much as 15% of purchases made after clicking-on from your own site, but, through sloth/techno-fear or whatever, I never bothered. All that’s changed however as I now gear up to try to make a living from this caper. So, buddies, can you spare a dime? Help me continue my perfidy by buying heaps from Amazon through my site?

Webs of intrigue

On-the-run priest, Geoffrey Keating was hung, drawn and quartered in Clonmel in the 18^th century.

The priesthood was a meritocracy then when the harsh Penal Laws applied, and only those of outstanding ability, commitment and courage went into the priesthood, helped by a whole underground web of supportive contacts.

Keating, described as the ‘Irish Herodotus’, was a scholarly Tipperary man, who spent most of his life as a fugitive sheltering in ‘safe houses’, barns, caves and even hedges. Fired by a passion for history and the desire to re-establish an Irish perspective, he managed to collect and study a great number of rare manuscripts and books, out of which he forged his life’s-work, Fios Feasa ar Éirinn, the History of Ireland.

In the process however he committed the then (and now!), great, unpardonable, hanging-offence crime – he challenged the status quo and offered an alternative view of history!

In a few respects, my recent life has been a little bit like that of the unfortunate Keating. I wrote a thesis a few years ago which questioned the conventional wisdom about the Famine. It was received with that special brand of savage hostility that professional historians reserve for amateurs trespassing on their patch. In one, infamous incident I was threatened –in front of the Archbishop of Cashel! - with a ‘threshing’, ironically enough, in the home village of Kickham’s, Matt The Thresher. The element of the research that provoked this frothing-at-the-mouth anger was my contention that the majority of Irish people prospered during the Great Famine.

If you want to have a look at it, I will shortly publish it on the web.

Unlike the saintly Geoffrey though I haven’t yet been driven into the hedgerows. However, a mobile home without services in winter is the next best thing. Whereas during the other three seasons life in the semi-open can be quite tolerable, indeed at times very enjoyable, in our winters it can be dire. At the beginning of this month, we were lashed by Force 11s and bulging Spring tides, and in danger of getting a soggy laptop if not pneumonia, I had to avail of the ‘dry lie’ offered by a good friend.

Oh, and yes, to compare further with my fellow county-man, I’m being threatened with legal termination by a Monsanto mouth-piece!

Organic Matters matters.

Talking of good things being hounded, I see your very own magazine here is being threatened by a motion to the IOFGA, AGM this Feb.17^th.

I see a lot of publications these days both off and on the Web and, in particular, those published by organic organisations world-wide. Risking the brown-nosing accusation, I must however say this; Organic Matters ranks highly by any comparison. But taking into account its limited staff and tiny resources it does a truly superb job. Look at the Soil Association magazines for example - twenty, thirty times the resources – but better than OM? I don’t think so.

If you agree with me, know this and act accordingly.

Sites.

www.amazon.com and www.amazon.co.uk. Keating; www.newadvent.org/cathen/16048b. I mentioned www.organicts.com before as the best organic news site- they now have many new services on offer. But, as a sign of the times, you have to pay for them. In a few weeks try, www.planorganic.com/About_Us/Famine.

The big story this month is the Report of the policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food (UK) – get the 152 page, Full Monty at; www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/farming/pdf/PC%20Report2.pdf.