Taliban kill Afghan boy
He was 16, all he did was teach his friends and classmates how to speak English, and for that he was dragged out of school and shot. Dead. Not because he was doing anything illegal but because he was doing something religious leaders didn't like. And they aren't even theoretically in charge of the country.
It's just wrong.
Actually he is probably one reason to have hope that there might be a more peaceful future out there for Afghanistan, while his death is one more reason to consider that a forlorn hope. I could almost wish that for every person who suffers his fate for similarly hopeful reasons, two more take his place. Be it girls learning to read or wanting to be doctors, or boys teaching their friends English.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Bossy Bishops
So the Catholic church is instructing it's congregation on how they should vote in the presidential elections - nothing surprising there - they like to dictate all other aspects of life so why not the democratic voting process as well?
Bishops and voting advice
So many things I'd like to say when they come as coherent sentences. Then again I'm no lover of the Catholic Church as an institution.
The part that makes me want to go WTF?
The bishops said that voting for a candidate specifically because he or she supported "an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or racism" amounted to "formal co-operation in grave evil".
Talk about playing on fear and using such as a means to get your own way and retain control over those who look to you for guidance. In other words, all those devout Catholics who truly believe that their eternal souls can be forfeit, or banished to Hell for eternity if they sin, are being told that the only way to ensure that they don't suffer such a fate is to vote in accordance with the wishes of the bishops of their church.
That's applying a very large stick of fear to all those who truly believe the doctrine of their church - please note I don't have a problem with people who are catholic per se, (I may disagree with them but it's their right to believe whatever they want) just with the Catholic Church and much organized religion generally, as institutions. To stick to the point, for now, so much for the free and democratic process.
If this was being done in any other name than that of religion it'd be called oppression, or interfering with the democratic process or some such. But since it's religion, that's ok. Now there's hypocrisy for you.
Bishops and voting advice
So many things I'd like to say when they come as coherent sentences. Then again I'm no lover of the Catholic Church as an institution.
The part that makes me want to go WTF?
The bishops said that voting for a candidate specifically because he or she supported "an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or racism" amounted to "formal co-operation in grave evil".
Talk about playing on fear and using such as a means to get your own way and retain control over those who look to you for guidance. In other words, all those devout Catholics who truly believe that their eternal souls can be forfeit, or banished to Hell for eternity if they sin, are being told that the only way to ensure that they don't suffer such a fate is to vote in accordance with the wishes of the bishops of their church.
That's applying a very large stick of fear to all those who truly believe the doctrine of their church - please note I don't have a problem with people who are catholic per se, (I may disagree with them but it's their right to believe whatever they want) just with the Catholic Church and much organized religion generally, as institutions. To stick to the point, for now, so much for the free and democratic process.
If this was being done in any other name than that of religion it'd be called oppression, or interfering with the democratic process or some such. But since it's religion, that's ok. Now there's hypocrisy for you.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Children are not Collateral Damage
All around the world children carry on dying, not just from disease or malnutrition or more normal causes, but also from war.
Somali children
And it seems like too many people simply don't care, don't pay attention, don't look, don't listen, because it's not THEIR children dying, so why should they care?
Children shouldn't be collateral damage, innocent victims, accidental casualties. They shouldn't be afraid to sleep or play because of the things going on around them, because of the things they have seen. children should be more than another statistic nameless faceless on a chart. They have a right to sleep and play, a chance to be able to go to school, they deserve a safe place to do those things just like they have a right to air to breathe and food to eat. children should be able to sleep, eat, go to school and play, they deserve a childhood.
We expect no less for our children, why should they be any different?
Somali children
And it seems like too many people simply don't care, don't pay attention, don't look, don't listen, because it's not THEIR children dying, so why should they care?
Children shouldn't be collateral damage, innocent victims, accidental casualties. They shouldn't be afraid to sleep or play because of the things going on around them, because of the things they have seen. children should be more than another statistic nameless faceless on a chart. They have a right to sleep and play, a chance to be able to go to school, they deserve a safe place to do those things just like they have a right to air to breathe and food to eat. children should be able to sleep, eat, go to school and play, they deserve a childhood.
We expect no less for our children, why should they be any different?
ZIP code of death
Memphis babies
Zip code 38108
How can any place in America, in the civilized western world, have a higher infant mortality rate than many third world countries? And more than that, how can it be repeatedly ignored? Little seems to have changed since the local paper brought the subject to light in March 2005.
Actually reading the original article makes me want to ask some serious questions about toxins and pollutants BUT I'll leave that for now.
How can it be necessary for a western city to institute a program called "Get to One" just to try and help children live to see their first birthday? How can there be such a lack of care, education, support, everything that such a thing is needed? And how did it get to be like this, for so long, without anyone noticing or saying anything?
The exception being Dr Korones (see Unsung Heroes )
Infant mortality, death before the age of one, is something like 25 in every 1000 live births in zip 38108, with three times as many o those being black babies as white babies. How does this happen in arguably the richest and most powerful country in the world?
Something is wrong with this picture, people need to sit up and take notice and then DO something about it. ALL babies deserve to get to one, no matter what their zip code.
Zip code 38108
How can any place in America, in the civilized western world, have a higher infant mortality rate than many third world countries? And more than that, how can it be repeatedly ignored? Little seems to have changed since the local paper brought the subject to light in March 2005.
Actually reading the original article makes me want to ask some serious questions about toxins and pollutants BUT I'll leave that for now.
How can it be necessary for a western city to institute a program called "Get to One" just to try and help children live to see their first birthday? How can there be such a lack of care, education, support, everything that such a thing is needed? And how did it get to be like this, for so long, without anyone noticing or saying anything?
The exception being Dr Korones (see Unsung Heroes )
Infant mortality, death before the age of one, is something like 25 in every 1000 live births in zip 38108, with three times as many o those being black babies as white babies. How does this happen in arguably the richest and most powerful country in the world?
Something is wrong with this picture, people need to sit up and take notice and then DO something about it. ALL babies deserve to get to one, no matter what their zip code.
Perfection - who needs it?
I am not Martha Stewart - a Pagan Martha Stewart or otherwise. (Oh to kill the first person who made out a kitchen witch should be like some kind of Pagan version of Martha) I never have been and I never will be, more to the point, I wouldn't want to be. And I've never made any secret of that fact. So, why am I currently having so much angst over feeling like a failure because I'm not Martha Stewart? Because I'm not perfect? Because for every step I try to take forward, life and my darling demonic assistant seem to be immediately making me take a step backwards again? As fast as I clean, tidy or sort one thing, he is destructing, messing and upending somewhere else. Usually in the place I was in one minute earlier. Was it really like this last time? And if so, howinhell did I manage with TWO toddlers at once? Or am I just getting old?
More to the point, since the logical part of me knows that it's perfectly normal, why am I being so hard on myself over it? Once again I'm reminded of the question, why do we all strive to be perfect?
Far too often we become so tied up in being who other people want and expect us to be, however unrealistic those expectations might be, that we forget that we are, from the moment we are born, us. Individual, unique, living, thinking, feeling, breathing individuals, who are not necessarily perfect, but who are us.
Too often society expects us to be perfect, and when we fail to meet it's usually impossibly high standards, we become disillusioned and disheartened and then we feel guilty, we feel as if we have failed. We feel ashamed of our perceived failings and we begin to dislike ourselves.
Which begs the question, who needs perfection anyway?
Do we really need to be perfect or do we simply need to be good enough? Good enough to take care of ourselves and those we care about and make us, and them, happy.
Perfection, as defined by society and the media, is very much over-rated and unnecessary. Much as they would like us to believe that perfection is an essential ingredient to happiness, it isn't. Nobody can be perfect, be the best at everything, never fail, never get anything wrong. Forget the media images of the perfect wife or the perfect father or the perfect cook. That's all they are, images. Caricatures if you will that you could argue are there simply to make us feel inferior. Not that those who create those images would say that. They'd come up with some line as to why those images are good or real or something to strive for - but there's always a catch - just buy this, just do that this way, and then you'll be perfect, then you'll be happy. Bullshit.
A lot of people would be a lot happier if they stopped believing the hype and stopped trying to attain some mythical unreachable perfection and instead settled for 'good enough', for realistic goals and escaped the failed-perfection guilt and enjoyed what they have, what they can do and what they are. Certainly many people would be a lot happier if they didn't have a perpetual guilt cloud on their shoulder because society and the media make them feel inferior failures for not being perfect.
So I'm no Martha Stewart and I never will be. I try, that's all I can do, sometimes it goes right, and sometimes it doesn't - just ask the roll of distressed toilet paper adorning the rocking horse yesterday. I can live with not being perfect, what I don't need is that stupid damn guilt cloud on my shoulder. so I'm sending it on it's way. Maybe Martha would like it as a Christmas present with my compliments. Me, I'm going to drink my peach tea and remind myself "Who needs perfection anyway?" Not me.
More to the point, since the logical part of me knows that it's perfectly normal, why am I being so hard on myself over it? Once again I'm reminded of the question, why do we all strive to be perfect?
Far too often we become so tied up in being who other people want and expect us to be, however unrealistic those expectations might be, that we forget that we are, from the moment we are born, us. Individual, unique, living, thinking, feeling, breathing individuals, who are not necessarily perfect, but who are us.
Too often society expects us to be perfect, and when we fail to meet it's usually impossibly high standards, we become disillusioned and disheartened and then we feel guilty, we feel as if we have failed. We feel ashamed of our perceived failings and we begin to dislike ourselves.
Which begs the question, who needs perfection anyway?
Do we really need to be perfect or do we simply need to be good enough? Good enough to take care of ourselves and those we care about and make us, and them, happy.
Perfection, as defined by society and the media, is very much over-rated and unnecessary. Much as they would like us to believe that perfection is an essential ingredient to happiness, it isn't. Nobody can be perfect, be the best at everything, never fail, never get anything wrong. Forget the media images of the perfect wife or the perfect father or the perfect cook. That's all they are, images. Caricatures if you will that you could argue are there simply to make us feel inferior. Not that those who create those images would say that. They'd come up with some line as to why those images are good or real or something to strive for - but there's always a catch - just buy this, just do that this way, and then you'll be perfect, then you'll be happy. Bullshit.
A lot of people would be a lot happier if they stopped believing the hype and stopped trying to attain some mythical unreachable perfection and instead settled for 'good enough', for realistic goals and escaped the failed-perfection guilt and enjoyed what they have, what they can do and what they are. Certainly many people would be a lot happier if they didn't have a perpetual guilt cloud on their shoulder because society and the media make them feel inferior failures for not being perfect.
So I'm no Martha Stewart and I never will be. I try, that's all I can do, sometimes it goes right, and sometimes it doesn't - just ask the roll of distressed toilet paper adorning the rocking horse yesterday. I can live with not being perfect, what I don't need is that stupid damn guilt cloud on my shoulder. so I'm sending it on it's way. Maybe Martha would like it as a Christmas present with my compliments. Me, I'm going to drink my peach tea and remind myself "Who needs perfection anyway?" Not me.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Unsung Hero
Heroes don't only come from war. Heroes mostly don't get sung about. They do what they do without fanfare or parade. They don't get medals, they often don't get awards. But, they make a difference. And that's the bottom line - they make a difference.
Memphis babies
Dr. Sheldon Korones, who started The Med’s newborn intensive care unit in 1968 and is 83 years old,
He filled out a psychiatric questionnaire once. One of the questions was: What gives you the most pleasure?
His answer was: Turning blue babies pink.
Now if you want unsung heroes, then maybe Dr Korones is deserving of the title.
Memphis babies
Dr. Sheldon Korones, who started The Med’s newborn intensive care unit in 1968 and is 83 years old,
He filled out a psychiatric questionnaire once. One of the questions was: What gives you the most pleasure?
His answer was: Turning blue babies pink.
Now if you want unsung heroes, then maybe Dr Korones is deserving of the title.
Remembrance Day, Veteran day, Armistice Day, whatever you call it, was upon us again.
A day to remember those who fought, and those who died, for country, cause, family, home and the often mentioned freedom. Not the day to be politically incorrect about the decision makers and policies behind all the fighting, but a day to remember the simple men and women who fought and survived or who fought and died. Policies, decisions, myths, misconceptions, truth and lies are all for a different day.
Maybe I can't avoid commenting on the larger issues but I can postpone doing so and leave only a quote for now.
"Had a dream, it was war,
and they couldn't tell me what it was for.
It was something they could lie about,
something we could die about..."
Today is a day to acknowledge and remember those who fought, those who fight now, and those who will fight, those who died and those who survived. In all the wars that have been fought, and still are being fought, and perhaps to wonder how many more wars are waiting to happen. In the meantime, a handful of the forgotten.
Ernest Walter Oliver, Sr, Royal Guernsey Light Infantry, WWI - awarded the Croix de Guerre Belge.
Herbert Walter Oliver - who fought in the RAF in WWII in Italy, Sicily and north Africa
Cecil Ernest Hamel, Royal Guernsey Light Infantry, WWI - Whose campaign and discharge medals I will one day pass to my son.
Creed Patton, 29th Virginia Infantry, CSA, company commander for two years during the civil war, and his brother, Leftwich Patton, 29th Virginia Infantry, CSA, who was killed at the Battle of Middle Creek, Kentucky.
And yes, I wear a poppy, I do every year. I also had a hand in the reinstatement of a WWI memorial for fallen RGLI soldiers, once upon a time, just because it seemed necessary. It was a PR exercise that finally got the new memorial created and installed, and mine certainly wasn't the only hand involved, nor is it known by many people, and that's fine. It was just another example of a question that needed asking - in that instance being "What happened to the memorial?"
And speaking of memorials, Labrys's Walk of the Fallen is deserving of mention.
Maybe I can't avoid commenting on the larger issues but I can postpone doing so and leave only a quote for now.
"Had a dream, it was war,
and they couldn't tell me what it was for.
It was something they could lie about,
something we could die about..."
Today is a day to acknowledge and remember those who fought, those who fight now, and those who will fight, those who died and those who survived. In all the wars that have been fought, and still are being fought, and perhaps to wonder how many more wars are waiting to happen. In the meantime, a handful of the forgotten.
Ernest Walter Oliver, Sr, Royal Guernsey Light Infantry, WWI - awarded the Croix de Guerre Belge.
Herbert Walter Oliver - who fought in the RAF in WWII in Italy, Sicily and north Africa
Cecil Ernest Hamel, Royal Guernsey Light Infantry, WWI - Whose campaign and discharge medals I will one day pass to my son.
Creed Patton, 29th Virginia Infantry, CSA, company commander for two years during the civil war, and his brother, Leftwich Patton, 29th Virginia Infantry, CSA, who was killed at the Battle of Middle Creek, Kentucky.
And yes, I wear a poppy, I do every year. I also had a hand in the reinstatement of a WWI memorial for fallen RGLI soldiers, once upon a time, just because it seemed necessary. It was a PR exercise that finally got the new memorial created and installed, and mine certainly wasn't the only hand involved, nor is it known by many people, and that's fine. It was just another example of a question that needed asking - in that instance being "What happened to the memorial?"
And speaking of memorials, Labrys's Walk of the Fallen is deserving of mention.
Opinionated? Me?
As has been said before, I can be an opinionated bitch. Not that i claim to always be right, or to have all the answers - at least half the time I don't think I have any of them! But I am definitely an opinionated bitch, and an opinionated witch.
Such is one of the privileges of living in an allegedly civilized society, the right to freedom of speech - alongside a few others. And what's the point in having a right to free speech of you don't use it? So, that's what I'm going to do. Whether anyone reads it is a totally different matter but that's ok. It's about the speaking not about how far it's heard. It's about not being a sheep and accepting everything you hear or are told without question or comment. It's not about claiming to have all the answers, sometimes all you have is a question, an inconsistency, an incongruity, an opinion, a thought.
From The Logical Song - Roger Hodgson
"There are times when all the world's asleep
The questions run too deep
For such a simple man
Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned
I know it sounds absurd
But please tell me who I am
Now watch what you say
Or they'll be calling you a radical
A liberal, oh fanatical, criminal
Oh won't you sign up your name
We'd like to feel you're
Acceptable, respectable, oh presentable, a vegetable."
Interestingly, today's tarot card was:
The King of Pentacles card suggests that my power today lies in responsibility. I surround myself with the conditions I wish to create and therefore have everything I need to be successful and independent according to my values and purpose. I consider the welfare of others and am a master in production. I am empowered by, and it is my honour to be, generous in offering or reproducing security, stability, and protection by my virile and reliable example. My assets are perennial trust, respect, and validation that is well deserved.
There's a lot more to it than that but for now, it will have to suffice to say that just like back in the days of amateur radio broadcasting, and in the days of the Alternative website, sometimes, you just have something to say and it doesn't matter whether or not anyone is listening because you just need to say it.
Such is one of the privileges of living in an allegedly civilized society, the right to freedom of speech - alongside a few others. And what's the point in having a right to free speech of you don't use it? So, that's what I'm going to do. Whether anyone reads it is a totally different matter but that's ok. It's about the speaking not about how far it's heard. It's about not being a sheep and accepting everything you hear or are told without question or comment. It's not about claiming to have all the answers, sometimes all you have is a question, an inconsistency, an incongruity, an opinion, a thought.
From The Logical Song - Roger Hodgson
"There are times when all the world's asleep
The questions run too deep
For such a simple man
Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned
I know it sounds absurd
But please tell me who I am
Now watch what you say
Or they'll be calling you a radical
A liberal, oh fanatical, criminal
Oh won't you sign up your name
We'd like to feel you're
Acceptable, respectable, oh presentable, a vegetable."
Interestingly, today's tarot card was:
The King of Pentacles card suggests that my power today lies in responsibility. I surround myself with the conditions I wish to create and therefore have everything I need to be successful and independent according to my values and purpose. I consider the welfare of others and am a master in production. I am empowered by, and it is my honour to be, generous in offering or reproducing security, stability, and protection by my virile and reliable example. My assets are perennial trust, respect, and validation that is well deserved.
There's a lot more to it than that but for now, it will have to suffice to say that just like back in the days of amateur radio broadcasting, and in the days of the Alternative website, sometimes, you just have something to say and it doesn't matter whether or not anyone is listening because you just need to say it.
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