21 October 2007
21 October 2007
MUCKING OUT THE BLOGPILE…
1400 by Jeff Hess
I’m constantly tossing interesting websites into what I call my blogpile. Some of them find their way here in the form of regular posts, but more often than not they languish and get buried deeper in the pile. The end result is that I have to go back and do a bit of shoveling. Today’s item is How to blog a conference.
21 October 2007
FROM THE SANDBOX…
1200 by Jeff Hess
Toby Nunn: I try not to get on my high horse too often, but there are times when I just can’t help myself. The reason the United States Army has been so successful is LEADERSHIP. Our enemies have known for several centuries that we train, mentor and empower leaders at all levels, so that if a leader falters there is another ready to take his place instantly. I try…
21 October 2007
BEHAVE… OR THIS COULD BE YOU…
0834 by Jeff Hess
Others simply died. Of how many places in the World can this be said? Are there too many to comprehend? Do our minds seize and go blank because no human can grasp the immensity of the horror? Rabbi Tarfon (in Pirke Avot 2:16) teaches: It is not incumbent upon you to complete the work; yet, you are not free to desist from it. Don”t turn away.
From the New York Times:
Worshipers have begun returning to the Shwedagon Pagoda, the towering gold-coated landmark that had been cordoned off with soldiers and barbed wire only days before.
But at its four entrances, pictures of what appeared to be detainees, their faces harried or bruised from beatings, were posted as a warning. Soldiers in green uniforms lurked in the shade with their rifles. The surrounding area looked deserted, with the monks having fled and many shop workers, witnesses to the bloody crackdown, hauled away for questioning or told to relocate.
An ominous calm has settled here, less than a month after the military junta crushed an uprising for democracy led by the nation”s revered monks. People have quietly returned to the squalor and inflation that brought them to the streets in protest. There are even suggestions of peace: young couples embracing under trees around scenic Kandawgyi Lake; music from a restaurant drifting across the placid water.
But beneath the surface, anger, uncertainty, hopelessness – and above all, fear of the junta – prevail.
“It”s not peace you see here, it”s silence; it”s a forced silence,” said a 46-year-old writer who joined last month”s protests in Yangon and was now on the run, carrying with him a worn copy of his favorite book, George Orwell”s “1984.” “We are the military”s slaves. We want democracy. We want to wait no longer. But we are afraid of their guns.”
Perhaps it’s finally time to stop selling guns to other countries.
(More to come on this idea soon.)
21 October 2007
FROM MY DAD…
0800 by Jeff Hess
I could never bring myself to forward all the email jokes, cartoons and other Internet comedy that land in my inbox. But then I started posting the ones my dad sends me. Judging from my comments and emails, my dad has become one of my greatest blogging assets. So for your morning blog chuckle I present: From My Dad.
21 October 2007
FROM MY CHAPBOOK…
0400 by Jeff Hess
My name is Jeff Hess and I’m a biblioholic. I own hundreds of books. Not valuable books, mostly Science Fiction paperbacks and text books, tomes rescued by the bag from library book sales. A few years ago, in the interest of not burying myself, I began reading more books from the library and taking notes. My electronic chapbook was born.
This is a passage I copied from Sacred Geometry by Robert Lawlor.
The earliest mention of “zero” is the 8th century CE? Check Mathematics dictionary. Continued on page 18 is the notion that earlier “zeroes” were placeholders only and did not stand as numbers themselves with “empty” values. p. 17
21 October 2007
TIME POWER: TODAY…
0001 by Jeff HessToday, as I go about my tasks, I’ll think about: I recommend the following questions in prioritizing your unifying principles:
What do I value more than anything else in life?
What does my conscience tell me are the highest priorities, or values, or truths in my life?
Of all the world”s literature, what do I consider to contain the noblest principles?
If I could adhere to only three or four unifying principles, which would they be?
In a long-term perspective, which of these unifying principles will give the highest payoff to me, to my family, to my friends and to the company for which I work?
In what ways will I suffer or will others suffer if I don”t apply each unifying principle?
If I failed to adhere to any unifying principle, which would prove the greatest threat to my spiritual survival?
p. 38
20 October 2007
GOOD MORNING MYANMAR…
2030 by Jeff Hess
I’m doing my best to stay on top of events in Myanmar/Burma and it’s not surprising that the best sources are not inside the United States. I’m reading The Independent, The Guardian, The BBC, Irrawaddy, New Mandala and the Asia Times. I’ll daily post a digest of headlines from stories I just couldn’t get to.
Today’s batch includes:
US announces more sanctions on Burma
No Longer the Generals’ Burma
Burma holding 2500 in prison and arrests continue, UK says
Burma under fresh pressure after new US sanctions
Pants protest over Burma
Worldwide Day of Prayer for Burma on Oct. 21
Burma’s lose cannons
India’s Role in Burma’s Crisis
UN Official Says Millions Go Hungry in Burma…
Bush Imposes New Sanctions on Burma
HRW calls for Chinese action on Burma
Burma : The False Silence
Bush pressures Burma to release political prisoners
Burma woes should speak to America’s conscience
And from the blogosphere:
Crime against humanity under the ‘Shadow of Lord Buddha”
Mizoram urges India to pressure Burmese junta
Heroine of Burma – Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
Burma Update: October 20, 2007
Activists To Weaken Burma Junta With Panties
Burmese women activists demand Sonia Gandhi intervene
Executive Order: Blocking Property and Prohibiting Certain
Burma Designations
Burma: blog by “Finding George Orwell in Burma” author
20 October 2007
SOME LIGHT IN MYANMAR…
1910 by Jeff HessOthers simply died. Of how many places in the World can this be said? Are there too many to comprehend? Do our minds seize and go blank because no human can grasp the immensity of the horror? Rabbi Tarfon (in Pirke Avot 2:16) teaches: It is not incumbent upon you to complete the work; yet, you are not free to desist from it. Don”t turn away.
From USA Today:
Burma lifted a curfew on Saturday and ended a ban on assembly imposed during a deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protests – the latest sign the military rulers are confident they have fully crushed the largest demonstrations in two decades.
The White House dismissed the move as “cosmetic,” a day after President Bush announced new penalties against the military-run government.
“The actions of the regime are ‘cosmetic’. What we need are signs of serious intent to move toward a democratic transition,” presidential press secretary Dana Perino said.
I’m stunned. Not by the junta, but by President George Bush’s response. It’s exactly what I would have expected the leader of the free world to say.
This will stun my friends, but I have to say it: way to go Mr. President. (Or should I say, Laura?)
20 October 2007
YES THEY WILL… THE FECKS…
1700 by Jeff HessThey’ll repeat all the things
your preschool teacher said
in that squeaky too tight voice.
And when you slowly
let them go,
crack your suit,
ooze your soul
in the sun,
when you run through
the woods with your dog,
read poems to swaying cornfields,
pray in tall red oaks,
they’ll whisper
and pretend you’re crazy.
From They’ll by Cheryl Denise.
20 October 2007
20 October 2007
NONE OF US ARE… SO HOW MUCH BETTER TO ENJOY…?
1421 by Jeff HessForty years later, I’m still getting by.
I’ve planted trees and cleaned toilets
for the parks, but I never left the woods,
even when I had to sleep in my truck.
There’s still a place or two left
to pick mushrooms, and I get along
alright with the dope growers.
I’ll deliver illegal smoked salmon
if you get word from one of my regulars.
And when you hurry your kids along
in the grocery store, I understand;
I won’t be there long.
From Getting By by Gary L. Lark.
20 October 2007
MUCKING OUT THE BLOGPILE…
1400 by Jeff HessI’m constantly tossing interesting websites into what I call my blogpile. Some of them find their way here in the form of regular posts, but more often than not they languish and get buried deeper in the pile. The end result is that I have to go back and do a bit of shoveling. Today’s item is Sex and Coffee.
20 October 2007
12 PAIRS AND COUNTING…
1317 by Jeff Hess
20 October 2007
20 October 2007
FROM THE SANDBOX…
1200 by Jeff HessCAPT Doug Traversa: Without a doubt the stories people enjoy most are the discussions I had with Hamid, my friend and interpreter during my year in Afghanistan. I”ve gone into my archives to share some more with the readers of The Sandbox. This story took place a few days after I sent some cookies (snicker doodles) home with Hamid to share with his…
20 October 2007
LONG BEFORE MARRIAGE THERE WAS…
1110 by Jeff Hess[Relation] is not
a house or even a tent
it is before that, and colder:
the edge of the forest, the edge
of the desert
the unpainted stairs
at the back where we squat
outside, eating popcorn
the edge of the receding glacier
where painfully and with wonder
at having survived even
this far
we are learning to make fire
From Habitation by Margaret Atwood.
20 October 2007
20 October 2007
POVERTY, AGRICULTURE AND FARM SUBSIDIES…
1002 by Jeff Hess
I’ve been looking for a way to post about Robert Reich’s commentary last week on farm subsidies in the United States. In a nation where farms are humongous, corporate-owned, factory operations, paying $11 billion in corporate welfare to not grow crops just doesn’t make much sense. The World Bank agrees.
From this morning’s New York Times:
For the first time in a quarter century, the World Bank”s flagship annual report on development puts agriculture and the productivity of small farmers at the heart of a global agenda to reduce poverty. Three-quarters of the world”s poor still live in the countryside.
The World Development Report, released yesterday, is the first on agriculture since 1982. Just a week ago, an internal evaluation unit chided the bank for its neglect of agriculture in Africa and its plummeting financial support for that sector over the past 15 years – support that did not begin to grow significantly until last year.
More broadly, the report crystallizes an emerging consensus among wealthy countries, philanthropists and African governments: Increased public investment in scientific research, rural roads, irrigation, credit, fertilizer and seeds – the basics of an agricultural economy – is crucial to helping Africa”s poor farmers grow more sorghum, corn, millet, cassava and rice on their miniature plots.
This was Reich’s conclusion:
Message to the U.S. Senate: You want to fight global poverty and illegal immigration? You want to reduce the budget deficit? You want to give American consumers a break? There’s no simpler first step to accomplish all these things than to end farm subsidies and tariffs.
Makes sense to me.
I’m starting to think that whoever wins the Democratic nomination ought to seriously consider Reich as their vice president.
20 October 2007
FROM MY DAD…
0800 by Jeff HessI could never bring myself to forward all the email jokes, cartoons and other Internet comedy that land in my inbox. But then I started posting the ones my dad sends me. Judging from my comments and emails, my dad has become one of my greatest blogging assets. So for your morning blog chuckle I present: From My Dad.
Caller: “Directory assistance for Woven, please.”
Operator: “Woven? Are you sure?”
Caller: “Yes. That’s what it says on the label — Woven in Scotland.”
