Loosely Speaking

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

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Terrorism: not about religion

http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/02/03/how-to-win-the-war-against-extremism-in-one-very-difficult-step/ And yet... how can American protest endemic high-level corruption in the rest of the world, before we do some major housekeeping at home. Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 10:30 AM | add or view comments (11) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

"The biggest communication problem

"...is we do not listen to understand: We listen to reply." Found this on Facebook yesterday. It's unattributed. I'll add to it another consideration that by no means originates with me: Most of us are not listening at all, we are busy preparing what we will say next. Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 9:46 AM | add or view comments (3) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Monday, January 26, 2015

A new zoo notion

I visualize a zoo where the environment is a vast open space with a few necessary fences to keep some of the inhabitants from eating others, and an overhead covered or contained walkway for human visitors to see and appreciate the animals in as natural a habitat as possible. Cages are prisons. But zoos don't have to be. They may be the only way to preserve some species that are preyed upon by poachers, for example, in the wild. In a zoo, life is easier: food is provided at regular intervals, and... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 2:26 PM | add or view comments (13) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

A new zoo notion

I visualize a zoo where the environment is a vast open space with a few necessary fences to keep some of the inhabitants from eating others, and an overhead covered or contained walkway for human visitors to see and appreciate the animals in as natural a habitat as possible. Cages are prisons. But zoos don't have to be. They may be the only way to preserve some species that are preyed upon by poachers, for example, in the wild. In a zoo, life is easier: food is provided at regular intervals, and... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 2:26 PM | add or view comments (0) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

The answer to the 'clicks' question:

Direct from the Greater Good website The GreaterGood network of websites started with one simple idea: take one action everyone does every day – a click on a website – and turn it into a force for good. The Hunger Site was the first to launch in 1999. Sponsors would pay to have their ads viewed on The Hunger Site’s thank-you page; each click would be recorded and generate sponsor funds, and those funds went directly to charity to provide food for people in need. In the first nine months, the... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 5:37 AM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Sunday, January 11, 2015

What do you care about?

A while back, there was a site where a single click on the logo would help to feed and shelter lost and abandoned pets. A single click, a few seconds of the day, to give relief to someone hurting. Pretty good deal! It turns out, as some of you found out before I did, probably, there is a site that has lined up a collection of needful causes, that we can each help one click at a time. It costs nothing, and if it is what it claims to be, that's great! And if it isn't, then it still costs nothing.... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 10:40 AM | add or view comments (13) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Lights, lights, LIGHTS!

If you are driving a whitish car in snow--turn on your headlights! If you are driving a... subtly colored car in dismal weather--turn on your headlights! If you are driving anything but a day-glo red, yellow or green car on a sunny day on roads with shadows- -turn on your headlights! If you are driving any kind of car at any time of day or night, in any kind of ambient conditions--TURN ON YOUR HEADLIGHTS!! If you can't be seen by someone whose glasses prescription is old, or someone who is... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 7:16 AM | add or view comments (9) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Sunday, December 28, 2014

The Non-Human Person

There have been several court cases in the US and other countries in the past several years regarding the defining of 'personhood' and of the rights of persons, non-human. These cases, briefly reported in the media, have stimulated a lot of knee-jerk reaction calling it ridiculous and inane, but there is a legitimate issue here that defines also who we are as human beings. I think most of us with a modicum of conscious humanity can easily agree that animals of all kind should be protected from... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 5:51 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, December 26, 2014

This is going to upset some people.

It's about dogs. Specifically, it is about the thousands of dogs that are rounded up and sold for meat in Asian markets. The Humane Society International is doing their best to end this illegal trade that is marked with incredible cruelty. Abusing dogs, some of you will agree, is like abusing children. They are profoundly emotional, self-aware creatures, and they want to love us, to bond with us.... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 12:56 PM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

A strange and wonderful musical interlude...

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbpi6ZahtOH7_zbZp2yJTcWfFUWoEuQ0u Ten unconventional instruments. Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 8:47 AM | add or view comments (1) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Headlines (What is this?)