Worth a thousand words...

Headline:
Highest Number Of Army Suicides In Nearly 2 Decades

and a picture:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

The Commentators

"Why are they so mad, Grandpa?"
The commentators.
"It is just a TV show," I explained, lamely.

What can you say to a four year old?
Agendas, affiliations, ratings?
So, I refer to my needful awareness:

Pixels of light on a screen
Not real. Profound enough
To answer a child.

In fact, it made me wonder,
Do they know our experience of them
Is image? That their posturing,

Rude words, and intimidating
Gestures visit my living room
In a 20 inch box?

I walked up to the TV.
"Look," I said, "they are only this big."
She giggled. I turned it off.

Obama mispronounces relative´s name

By Horace C. Gull, UN Appreciated Press Writer
3 AM EDT, May 29, 2008

Upper Sandusky, Ohio – The Barack Obama campaign said Tuesday the candidate mispronounced the name of a man 5 or 10 rows back in the crowd of 35000 at a rally in Ohio yesterday.
Mr. Tazaalin Ysameogo, who attended the rally with a group protesting the Senator´s opposition to oil subsidies, said, “While I understand people making mistakes, I can´t help wondering if it was because I am a Republican?”
The Democratic presidential candidate admitted that, while he did not know Mr. Tazaalin Ysameogo, he did have his name written on a cue card.
“Senator Obama is proud to have Republicans attend his rallies and often goes out of his way to welcome them and take their questions – he feels anyone who has the interest in hearing other points of view should be encouraged,” Campaign spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement. "Yesterday he simply made a slip of the tongue in calling on “Mr. I-say-mojo.” He noted that no one really noticed until the Fox news headline and interview two days later.
Obama's mispronunciation on Monday quickly generated outrage on Fox Talk Shows with Bill O'Reilly irate at the fact that the Senator "would denigrate a man who served for months in the kitchens at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico and whose 2nd cousin is serving our nation overseas."
Mr. Ysameogo´s cousin, who is currently stationed in Hawaii, could not be reached for comment.
“It is this sort of blatant disregard for the families of our soldiers that gives comfort to our enemies and saps the morale of the troops serving this nation so bravely. I wonder if Osama even realizes he made a mistake.”
Going further, the Republican Party demanded an explanation for failure to correct the mistaken in a timely manner.
“It was days before his spokesman even addressed the issue. It gives the impression that the Senator, in his desire to surrender Iraq, has become lackadaisical in his concern for the families and their sons and cousins serving in harm´s way.”

Navigating Age

“Ahoy, Salt!
Whar you from?
Never knew one like you.”

“I´m an old sailor,” I say. “This is how
old sailors are -
not swashbuckling, irrelevant and
beating to windward.
Should be, anyway.”

“Uh huh.”


“You know how it is?
Don´t you mate?
Think long and hard about it -
the winds that have wailed,
shredded sails
and worn the lashings
of this ship in its many seas?”

“Naw. Yar still Jack-Tar!”

“Seaman! Have you eyes? Ears?
You confuse sealegs
with youth, grappling with
passion? My certainty long drowned,
I navigate by current and breeze
following no particular star.”

Grades

Stained concrete walls and metal gates
suggest an imposing citadel against
invaders from the soul, arrows from the heart.

Inside, complex passages wind
like chill gray knotted accounts
of capitulation within which

are small scales of number,
where the children, pale with effort,
anticipate the rise or fall of a decimal.

Shastas

Sometimes, flowers remind us we are.

PLEASE HELP!!!

Myanmar’s disaster from Cyclone Nargis is unprecedented; never before in the country’s recent history has there been a natural disaster of this magnitude. It is a disaster of international proportions. People living in the populous Irrawaddy Delta have lived on the periphery of cyclones where they have typically hit Bangladesh or been localized in the Bay of Bengal. People and villages in Myanmar, including the city of Yangon, have never been in the direct path of a cyclone until Nargis. The country was caught totally unaware and unprepared.
The cyclone cut a huge swath of destruction about 50 miles wide across 200 miles in Lower Myanmar, killing an estimated more than 150,000 people and thousands of animals, while destroying homes, crops and property. Entire villages were washed away by 12 foot waves and violent winds. Families lost many members, especially small children and the elderly who could not cling to trees for survival. Over a million people are estimated to be homeless. These numbers of deaths and homeless are preliminary estimates and may go much higher. For example, the township of Bogalay alone had a population of over 425,000 people; the majority of villages in this southern tip of the Delta were washed away.
Funds needed
The emergency, recovery and rehabilitation phases over the next six months will require significant resources. Your contribution will go directly to help victims and their families.
Method of transfer
1. Funds for the relief effort can be deposited directly in IDE’s bank account at the Bangkok Bank in Bangkok ,Thailand. They will then be transferred into Myanmar for expenses as needed.
Name of Bank: Bangkok Bank Public Co., Ltd.
Head Office, Foreign Currency Deposit Account Service.
Address: 333 Silom Road, Bangkok 10500 Thailand
Account Name: International Development Enterprises Stiftung
Account Number: 840-101-0017538638-001
Swift Code: BKKBTHBK
Telephone Number: 02-230-1321

2. Checks made payable to International Development Enterprises can be sent to IDE, Contact person: Zenia Tata, 10403 West Colfax, Suite 500, Lakewood, CO 80215. Please indicate on the check that the funds are designated for Myanmar. The funds will be sent directly to us.
3. Donations can be made directly on the web at www.ideorg.org. contact person: Zenia Tata at ztata@ideorg.org.

Accountability and Transparency
IDE adheres to the highest international standards for financial accountability. We will provide audited financial statements for the uses of all donations. Monthly update narrative reports on the use of funds will be provided during the crisis.
Contact Information
Debbie Aung Din and Jim Taylor, Country Directors
IDE Myanmar office in Yangon ++95-1-555-221 or ++95-1-555-270
Debbie Aung Din and Jim Taylor ++95-1-09-501-8244, ++95-1-535-659

Email: taylor@yangon.net.mm; dadtay@gmail.com; james18a@gmail.com
Note: the local ISP has frequent disruptions in their email services, so it is advised to cc one of the gmail accounts on all emails.

REPUBLICAN WAY

There are companies in my computer
And they're callin' me on the phone
They’ve taken over my TV set
They're invadin' my old home
And outside my door a politician
He's askin’ for my vote
He wants another 4 years
And a new Brooks Brother’s coat
And all I can do is sit here
Eatin’ a hostess cake
Maybe next week I'll fight back
If I can just stay awake

The president walks like a cowboy
And he wants to lasso Iran
Then goes back to his tax return
He's doin' all that he can
We all know he is certain
That soon the world will end
With a bang not a whimper
Its just around the bend
And all I can do is sit here
Drinkin’ Budweiser beer
Maybe next week I'll fight back
Or maybe next year

On Fox we got more Terror
And the anchorman lookin’ wild
His manic mouth keeps movin'
He's a grown up child
In the newspaper, it's so important
To keep up with the score
The fuckin' Yankees keep winning
Sellin’ big bats galore
And all I can do is sit here
Barbequing my ribs
Maybe next week I'll fight back
Or root for Joe Gibbs

Our mothers shop at Wal-Mart
Our sisters work for Enron
They’re both on fixed incomes
They got no magic wand
Our brothers are dying in Iraq
While we cheer them on
The Saudis are hording hummus
And China’s watching James Bond
And all I can do is sit here
My computer tuned to some porn
Maybe next week I'll fight back
Or move to Cape Horn

There are 15000 children
Who starve to death each week
While Halliburton stocks baby food
until the market peaks
The ice cap is melting faster
and our cars burn more and more fuel
I love reality TV
It is so very cool
So, I guess I'll just lie down
ask my wife for a lay
Hire Blackwater to fight back
It's the Republican way

God's Tight End

It’s true, man. I mean, like it or not, here is the truth:
It is God who makes me a great football player. It is so obvious, right. I can feel it all the time but especially when that ball floats into my hands. Everybody is taken care of every minute if they want to be. All you got to do is accept Him into your life and he is there. That’s it, man - The Truth.
Think about it, if he weren’t always there he wouldn’t be all knowing, would he. He sees you, man. He sees you when you’re sleeping; he knows when you’re awake. He even sees you when you’re taking a dump. He sees you when you walk around the house naked. You can bet on it. God is the ultimate voyeur.
I mean your life is just a like replay film for God, ya know? I mean, you know this deep down – you are a star in your own film and God is watching.
You know he is there. Think of all the times you talk to him without even realizing it. When you get angry, you ask him to damn something, right? And how many times do you ask him, “why me?” And what do you say when you are having an orgasm, huh? "Oh, baby, oh, yes, Oh God! Oh, Jesus,"Oh."
I mean look at the fine chicks he sends me, man. You think that has nothing to do with the fact that I give him credit for my touchdowns. He likes to see me score. And who do you think makes that orgasm so fine? Man, he is so proud of that piece of work, he makes you holler his name.
Now some of you are going to hell because of what you say to God. Why, ‘cause it pisses him off when you say shit he doesn’t like and don’t give him his due sometimes. Did you ever notice how you feel the next day after you been drinking and carousing all night? Huh. You think maybe he is sending you a little message. He wants you to say, "thank you", man. Not ask him, "why me?" It is his way of reminding you that he's the man.
Just look at all the houses of worship in the world. There are more churches and temples and stuff than MacDonald’s and KFC combined. You think he doesn’t want that? Who inspired all those architects and builders and decorators and goldsmiths and carpenters and stuff? Some people think they are doing it for money, but it is God who is paying them, dig? He is sitting up there going, “Dig another foundation, put up another stone tower, dig some more marble, cut down some more oaks, make it bigger and grander and higher and – oh by the way, add a little more air-conditioning this time. And make sure you pay those athletes right, they are my people.
You know it’s true that he has a master plan, you know it. That is one reason there are so many different religions - ways to worship him. It creates competition. Just like we have so many teams. He invented capitalism, religions and sports for this reason, and he made us competitive for the same reason. Sports stadiums are kinda like churches, think about it. And look at the attendance.
That’s why he is helping me win games, man. God gets the credit. That’s why he cares about my touchdowns, you see?

Dear Ted!

You do so much good thinking! I have nothing to add to it but I have been doing some serious thinking about your thoughts. And writing about them on my own blog. In Swedish, sorry! But you can look at some nice pictures of you, Elaine and Lil. And Oliver!

I am sitting here(*) wondering why I am the only one who is posting to this blog? Could it be that I am the only member who thinks he has something to share? Could it be that I have set a ineffective tone? Could it be that no one reads or writes anymore? Could it be that you all hate me. That's it. I knew it. I... I... Aye, yi, yi, yi!
Perhaps I should burn some incense to the buddhas of blab, the gurus of gab, the lamas of lyrics, the roshis of rhetoric, the Samgha of singers, the Pratyekabuddhas of Poetry, the Samurais of song, the...
Well, you get the picture. right? Why not post a photo, write a limerick, rant about Hillary or just plain express yourself (or someone else - if you have been cloned or suffer from multiple personality disorder.)

(*) here" being an existential state of anysomenowhere determinable only by applying some highly esoteric equations (not yet solved) involving quantum probablities of placetime.

Forms of Thinking (Strategies for Change)

How the individual can re-formulate his/her thinking
• Be aware of common words and themes that you hear in your thinking (and speaking): Words such as: would, could, should, need, love, shopping, etc. Be aware of any thought that contains a judgement or assumption about someone else.
• Avoid negative emotional expressions such as “I hate”, “Why am I so sad”, “I don´t feel good.” “I´m tired” “That fool”
• Avoid cursing in thought or speech (unless it is needed and useful) – (damn, shit, fuck, etc.)
• Meditate
• When you become aware of an energy draining thought try to reflect on it. Where did it come from? How would someone else see it? Do you often think this way?
• When you find yourself thinking “I am…” Ask yourself what part of you is expressing it. For instance, “I want some chocolate” – is it the body talking? Or is it the emotions?