Loosely Speaking

By Ciel - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in Everything Else

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Years ago, I had to define "peace."

Rumor has reminded me of it, with his latest two posts. Another woman in Olympia, who had been working with a group on a peace project, invited me to join, to write the newsletter and the mission statement. That called for a concise defining of our intent and ideals, our terms. We realized that very few people who want peace actually have a clear idea what they are asking for. In THE LION IN WINTER, an exceptional play about England's first Plantagenet king, Henry II, and his wife and chief... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

In response to Annicita's post:

In July last year, here in Colorado Springs, a woman was gang raped by a group of young Iraqi nationals: they drugged her drink, and two of the five men raped her with such extreme brutality, the scene was covered with blood, and her injuries were shocking to the Emergency Room people who took care of her. She had been sexually assaulted, violently with, among other things, a fist. This was not a woman whom anyone could say "was asking for it" with flirtatious teasing behavior or dress: she was... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Someone shared this with me... I offer it to the cat lovers here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw1C5T-fH2Y&feature=youtu.be Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, July 8, 2013

Out of ear-shot, out of mind...?

Adnohr asks if things are really worse, as they seem to be... It's a common impression, and as I commented to her post, it's partly due to the way we move information around, with speed unimagined by people even 50 years ago. Natural and other disasters happened then, too, but we didn't hear about it. I think it's also the great determination of the media to throw around the most shocking, devastating, titilating stories they can, making the most of the side of human nature that feeds on the... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

All children are Our Children

I've known several couples who chose not to have children. I don't know all their reasons, but some have shared their reasons with me. One of the women feels that she would not make a good mother. She recognizes that she does not want to be saddled with the costs and demands of parenthood. Another stated outright that she has no hopes for the world's future, and declines to make any investment in that future. It is a sign of a society's decadence and decline when childbirth in the upper classes... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

It's the 2nd of July!

Raise a cheer today, July 2, for the day the Founders actually signed the Declaration of Independence, though it took a couple more days for the news to get out. This nation is 237 years old today (if my head-math has figured it accurately) which is not at all a bad age for any nation to remain intact. As in any life, it's had its moments both of glory and ignominy, of celebration and regret, energy and weariness, victory and embarrassment. No one is perfect. I attribute its long life to one... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, June 24, 2013

If you get the Word A Day from Anu Garg

you may have seen this already... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6uL0WURuZ4 Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

and a HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all!

Even if you aren't a father, you probably have one, and chances are, he'd be glad for you to have a happy day, too! Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Thinking more about CCT's comment

So many people live in risky areas, as if nothing will happen to them. People return to the slopes of active volcanoes, like Vesuvius and Lassen. People live in Seattle and Tacoma, the whole southern end of Puget Sound, as if Mt Rainier will never erupt again, although we know it will. (When that day comes, downtown Seattle and much of Tacoma will be gone, like Pompei and Herculaneum. I've seen the projected devastation maps.) In California, it's the San Andreas Fault--one of many that run up... Sign in to see full entry.

over 8000 acres burned, 360 homes

That makes it more devastating and costly than last summer's Waldo Canyon fire. No cause has been determined, but lightning strike is about ruled out. In fact, no cause has been determined for the Waldo Canyon fire, either, though it is pretty certain it was human-caused. Deliberate or accidental, they don't know. It was originally feared that several people did not get out of their homes in time, but now there is only one person on the 'missing' list. (Two people died in Waldo Canyon, an older... Sign in to see full entry.

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