Bombing the Great Barrier Reef

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The Guardian has this up on the U.S. bombing of the Great Barrier Reef.  <sigh>  What in the world were we doing there in the first place?  It would seem to me that common sense should have been used to avoid the area. Running low on fuel? Seriously?  Whose fault was that?  Don’t they monitor their fuel gauges during these exercises?

I mean, really, who thought this would be a great place to even carry bombs, let alone do war exercises with them?  The aussie asks “have we gone mad?”  Yes, yes we have.

The decline in the environment was already happening, according to  this.

So….this latest catastrophe will already add to a burdened environment that is struggling to maintain itself.

Give ourselves a pat on the back.  Good goin’ /snark

 

 

 

The baby

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Well, unless you’re living under a rock, you probably know that the royal baby is on the way–the Duchess is in active labor.  It brought back memories of my first baby.  He took 24 hours to come out into the world.  My mother told me that I, too, took 24 hours of labor.  Both my son and I have the German cheekbones…I can only surmise they were the hold up. :p

I don’t, however, think this baby is any more special than any other and the worldwide attention is so over the top.  Good Grief.  Poor Kate for having to deal with the pains of labor with the whole world watching!

It’s bad enough when you’re in labor in a hospital and the staff puts their hands up your crotch every hour, forces you to take an enema, and then when you’re in so much pain you think your head is going to explode, they tell you to “blow it out”…

I had one honest nurse tell me she’d like to tell the male doctor to blow something else out. Haha.

Anyway, good wishes to Kate and William, and the baby.  And to all the new Moms and Dads welcoming their babies in the world.  May you all be safe and warm and dry.  What a perfect world that would be…

 

Blackfish

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Dave Neiwert has this up on the documentary “Blackfish” that exposes the truth behind captive whales.

Back in the 70s, the TV Show “The Partridge Family” had an episode called “Whale Song”  with a recording of a whale.  I was flipping through the channels recently, and saw it again.  I don’t know why, but the whale’s song makes me cry.   It’s on youtube, (partridge family whale song) but I don’t think it’s official, so can’t post it here.  Unfortunately, it’s at a Sea World type park, and it’s not advocating letting the whales go free. Or better yet–not capturing them to begin with.

My blog here on the orangutan Fu Manchu whom left no doubt he wanted to be free…and not only himself, but his cage mates, as well.  How can anyone argue against something so blatantly obvious?

The garden

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The garden gate swings open, beckoning me to walk the smooth stone path that is laid out.

I take off my shoes before entering the garden…a nudge to show respect from the gentle wind.

The stones feel cool under my feet with moss rebels poking up between them.

The sun is just coming up over the horizon.  It’s alighting on plant leaves that welcome the warmth.

Trumpet vines cling to trees, beckoning hummingbirds to a feast.  Ferns’ fingers lift up from the Earth, hiding their companions of nature.

A cardinal sings its song before becoming aware of the intruder…

I sit in quiet.

 

 

 

 

A Hard Day’s Night

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(PERSONAL BLOG)

I usually like to listen to smooth classical music on Sunday morning as a quiet and meditative state.  So…I turned on the boom box radio to pop in the Bach CD I have, and the radio was playing “A Hard Day’s Night”….

Well, now, who am I to resist rocking that?  :p

It turns out they were having a Beatles Sunday at the station, so, naturally, I was obligated to listen to a few more tunes and one of my favorites, “Let It Be” came on.  I read somewhere that Paul McCartney wrote that song after his mother, who had passed, came to him in a dream.  He was struggling with an issue, and her words were “Let it be…”  Wonderful.

 

President Obama’s speech

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Diane Ravitch has this up on the President’s “I could have been Trayvon” speech yesterday.  Lots of passion on both sides about his thoughts.  Of course, educators are up in arms that he does not address education in raising up poor black boys (and girls), and that the destruction of public schools going on will do more damage than good.

I, myself, am a jumble of feelings about it.

I understand the educator’s feelings.  I also know that just because someone is better educated, doesn’t necessarily mean they will not resort to violence to get their way.  Look at all the world leaders who are educated and still promote and advocate violence….

I also understand, as best I can as a white woman, President Obama’s passionate response.  He has been the target of racial profiling.  He knows what Trayvon Martin was experiencing in those moments of being followed by George Zimmerman.  He was innocently walking home, doing nothing wrong….and yet, here was this guy, who for all Trayvon knew, was going to rob him.

But I would argue with President Obama’s  assumption that white folks don’t know what it’s like to be profiled….as my recent experience in FW has proven.  It’s not criminal profiling, but the effect is still the same.

Racism, by either side, is wrong.  Like I said, I felt hopeless.  Despair.  I had treated folks as I wish to be treated.  I was respectful to the elders, addressing them as “Miss” or “Mr.”, as I would my white elders.  If I didn’t particularly care for someone, I wasn’t disrespectful…but I also didn’t have anything to do with them.  It had nothing to do with the color of their skin, but everything to do with their personality.

You know, someone gave me some advice once that resonates here–I had been the subject of bullying after my divorce.  The viciousness is really something someone has to experience in order to understand it.  After being a victim, you tend to take on the victim persona and see yourself in that light.  You begin to believe what others say about you.

The advice I was given was this:  There is no doubt that you were victimized.  But you need to break away from the victim mindset.

In other words:  don’t let others define who you are.  Only you get to do that.  Don’t let others’ actions define your actions–rise above it and be the person you wish to be, not the person they are trying to make you out to be.

Again,speaking as a white woman, it seems to me that black folks have adopted the victim mindset and sometimes think people are being racist when a) they’re just ignorant ; or b) they don’t like someone not because they’re black, but because they’re being a jerk.

I hope this makes some sense–like I said, I’m a jumble of emotions this morning.  Why is it so hard for us to cut each other some slack and try to see each other’s point of view and try to find some common ground?

 

The Bullying Society

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Diane Ravitch has this up.

As I said in my comment there, bullying from children is just a reflection of the adults and culture around them.  We have shows like “Survivor” that encourage groups to pick apart others and zero in on a target.  My Boomer generation didn’t have violent video games which desensitizes one to violence.

I think these all feed into the bullying mentality. Pick on those that are different or weaker. Keep at it until they disappear–either through suicide or crushing their soul until their light goes out…the effect is still the same.

It has even broader implications than “just” bullying–creativity comes from thinking differently.  Bullying will crush the ones that think differently, limiting the greater impact they might have had on the world.

I don’t think the solutions are campaigns telling kids to stop bullying.  It’s too complicated a problem.  And it’s not the kids fault as much as it is society’s.

Light on the Horizon

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…for Sudan.

I think this is brilliant.  It’s going to be grown in a sustainable fashion.  And through fair trade practices, the farmers will be paid a good price for their coffee.  The economic support will help them fend off the outside forces (and inside forces) that seek to divide them.

There are other reports of millions of dollars leaving the country while the public struggles to survive.  (Probably took their cue from Mitt Romney)

And what do power players always fall back on when they want to start trouble?  Bring up religion.  After the discover of oil in the region, suddenly religion became an issue, although the many different religions of the region didn’t make anyone uncomfortable before the oil discovery.

Here’s a map on the prominent religions of different areas in Sudan.

Detroit, Broke City

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(I didn’t get much sleep last night, and my ADD is always worse when I’m tired, so forgive any faux pas.)

I’m flipping through the channels this morning and land on CNBC with Dan Gilbert, the grand pooh bah wizard of rejuvenating Detroit.  I only caught the last part of his schpiel, but what I was hearing made me sick.  He spoke of bringing in “interns”.  Interns? Yep, he’s bringing in young minds that can be manipulated into believing what they’re doing is innovative and exciting and the right thing to do….

…I find it more than mildly curious that 50-somethings are by appearances being ignored.

And it’s disturbing how the article below reads that the sharks are circling to see how much they can get away with–everyone is watching to see who wins the “tug of war” between the unions and the moneyed interests.

From the NYTimes article:

….Detroit officials have proposed paying off small fractions of what the city owes, they have indicated they intend to treat investors holding general obligation bonds as having no higher priority for payment than, for instance, city workers — a notion that conflicts with the conventions of the market…

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An obligation is an obligation.  I don’t know why the city would be any less obligated to the workers who labored and were made a promise than to bond holders who were also made promises but did nothing to earn that but sit on their butts?  In my view, EVERYBODY should be made to give a little.  Everybody loses a little bit for the good of the whole.

Now I know folks will be saying that “investors won’t invest if they aren’t getting top dollar…”  I don’t believe that if they are still making money for doing nothing that they are going to pass on that opportunity.  Investing is a risk….why shouldn’t the investors share in the losses as well as the gains?

(Ironically, or not, I’m playing David Crosby’s “Hero”  )

My other blogs on Detroit here and here . Note the link to Dan Gilbert profiteering off of the carcass of Detroit.

Background on the “Emergency Manager”