Haiku 053109

broken branches
and missing blossoms…
a late spring storm

***************

Recently, we read the following:

The Sun: “Britain's Got Talent sensation Susan Boyle was in the Priory clinic last night suffering from exhaustion” by Sara Nathan

“The singer, dubbed SuBo, had an "emotional breakdown" following Saturday's final in which she was runner-up. Boyle-mania has swept the country since the Scot stunned the judges with her performance of 'I Dream A Dream' seven weeks ago….

“The 48-year-old virgin, tipped to earn £8million, survived tears and a tantrum to finish second in Saturday's gripping final of telly's Britain's Got Talent (BGT). But the pressure finally told late yesterday as the Scots singer ... was rushed to the private clinic suffering from exhaustion. Show aides had contacted police to say she was acting strangely at her London hotel….

“Favourite Susan, beaten by dance act Diversity, faced a backlash last week when she was ushered from her previous hotel by worried show bosses after a rant in a bar. She was also spoken to by cops after arguing with her sister.

“Earlier, she had launched into a furious four-letter outburst when told her glittering stage costume had failed to arrive just 15 minutes before she was due to appear on stage…. ‘That was what set her off….They ushered her into a room, but we could still hear her swearing like a trooper….’ ”

***************

And we thought:

….Prima donna behavior? Even before being declared “prima”? Worse, Ms. Boyle actually came in second in the finals...

Will SuBo be able to survive the pressures of being a celebrity? Does she have the strength of character to complement her talent? Well, as Sid Hartman always says, time will tell...

a contemporary haiku and current events blog. occasional notes on [and pokes at] nature and society. and some of their maddening stuff…like the economy finance capital mergers energy health care insurers jobs retirement politics government congress courts conflicts united nations human rights lennon peace culture mores education alienation religion erving goffman artifacts history social change twitter scientific method sports travel environment wildlife carbon footprint global warming earth...

Haiku 052909

whirly seeds
attacking the yard –
spring winds

***************

Recently, we read the following:

Washington Post: “Pope on Facebook in attempt to woo young believers” by Philip Pullella

“You won't get an email saying Pope Benedict added you as a friend and you can't ‘poke’ him or write on his wall, but the Vatican is still keen to use the networking site Facebook to woo young people back to church.

“A new Vatican website, http://www.pope2you.net/ , has gone live, offering an application called ‘The pope meets you on Facebook,’ and another allowing the faithful to see the Pope's speeches and messages on their iPhones or iPods.

“The Vatican's World Communications Day this Sunday is devoted to communicating the gospel with new technologies.

" ‘We recognize that a church that does not communicate ceases to be a church,’ said Monsignor Paul Tighe, secretary of the Vatican's Social Communications department. ‘Many young people today are not turning to traditional media like newspapers and magazines any more for information and entertainment. They are looking to a different media culture, and this is our effort to ensure that the Church is present in that communications culture.’

“Users of the new site can select from more than a dozen ‘virtual postcards’ with pictures of the pope and messages from him on faith, love and life specifically aimed at young people, and send them to other users.

“The Catholic Church, which has seen vocations to religious life decline and church attendance fall, has already turned to the Internet. Last January the pope became one of the oldest people to have his own YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/vaticanit. The pope, known to write most of his speeches by hand, while his aides manage his forays into cyberspace, has even admitted that the Vatican does not use the Internet enough.

“The Vatican got egg on its face in January when the pope admitted that, if the Church had surfed the web more, it might have known that a traditionalist bishop whose excommunication was lifted had for years been a Holocaust denier.

“The new applications are currently available in Italian, English, Spanish, French and Dutch.”

***************

And we thought:

….The Vatican into Facebook, YouTube, messaging via iPhones and iPods, etc. -- all meant to reach out to young people. Is this part of some grand public relations offensive or media blitz by the Vatican? Communications-wise, this looks like the equivalent of saturation-bombing by the Holy See.

Hope the point of it all is to provide timely and concrete guidance for the youth -- and the rest of us -- about the Vatican’s positions on a variety of our “worldly” concerns and how to address them as believers. What’s the Vatican’s position on pedophile priests? Its position on hunger and child malnutrition? On regional conflicts, human rights abuses, and global climate change? On nuclear proliferation and rogue states? What’s the Vatican doing about these secular concerns -- given the wealth, authority, and influence that it has? How is it being relevant?….



a contemporary haiku and current events blog. occasional notes on [and pokes at] nature and society. and some of their maddening stuff…like the economy finance capital mergers energy health care insurers jobs retirement politics government congress courts conflicts united nations human rights peace culture& society education alienation religion erving goffman artifacts history social change twitter scientific method sports travel environment wildlife carbon footprint global warming earth...

Haiku 052709

I espy

more leaves from last fall –
late spring

***************

Recently, we read the following:

Global Post: “The slaves next door” by Mildrade Cherfils

“Yasmina was 12 years old when an aunt and uncle brought her to France from Mali to be a live-in nanny to their children. Once she was settled in a suburb near Paris, her new life consisted of 16 hours of household chores and regular beatings with electric cables. The first time she ran away, the couple found her, brought her home, stripped her nude, tied her hands behind her back and beat her bloody...

“Lakhdar said she is asked often, by police, for instance, why a person doesn’t leave the home when presented with the chance, while the family is on vacation or while out running an errand like picking up a child from school.

“ The barriers can be mental,’ she said. Victims are often told they’ll be arrested for being in the country illegally if caught by police. Most often, the abused know their abusers and likely come from the same social circle, village or even family. In cases involving high-ranking officials, the enslavement might occur with impunity because of diplomatic immunity. Often wives, who are more apt to deal with household matters, are complicit in the abuse against other women, Lakhdar said.

“In France, Lakhdar said about 10 to 20 percent of the cases she sees also involve sexual abuse and rape. Physical abuse can include smashing teeth, torturing with pepper, hitting with high heels on the arms and burning with cigarettes. Mental abuse can range from depriving a person of food, or only allowing her to eat only scraps; forcing her to sleep on the ground, while the rest of the household sleeps in beds, or allowing her to bathe only once or twice per week.

“ ‘I never imagined there were such cases in France,’ said Gillaume Herbaut, a French photojournalist whose work documenting the victims as a newspaper assignment turned into an ongoing project with Lakhdar and the committee….

“ ‘They’re lost when they’re enslaved, and they’re lost when they are free,’ he said. ‘They have to relearn freedom.’ ”

***************

And we thought:

….It’s nearly a decade into the 21st century and there are still “slaves” in our midst? We wonder whether this report datelined in France might be an isolated case. However, recent headlines from other parts of the world do echo similar or worse examples of how brutish we continue to be against one another. Consider the enforced starvation of displaced people in Darfur and other places with regional conflicts. The reports of torture and other human rights violations in repressive regimes. The suicide bombings that victimize innocent civilians.

No doubt some part of our being remains as primitive as it had been eons ago – except now our atavism is inflicted with more sophisticated gadgets and weapons. We have a less evolved side -- a dark side -- that periodically frustrates our noble side that’s been otherwise responsible for progressive and collective endeavors meant to advance our species, such as genome research and space exploration. Hatred, greed, utter disregard for human life -- we need to continue addressing this dark side....

a contemporary haiku and current events blog. occasional notes on [and pokes at] nature and society. and some of their maddening stuff…like the economy finance capital mergers energy health care insurers surplus labor jobs retirement politics government congress courts conflicts united nations human rights lennon peace culture mores education alienation religion erving goffman artifacts history social change twitter scientific method sports travel environment wildlife carbon footprint global warming earth...

Haiku 052509

for the night
the setting sun’s bed ...
squirrel's nest

***************

Recently, we read the following:

New York Times: "American Woman Is Freed After Philippines Abduction" by Carlos H. Conde

"An American woman was freed five days after armed and hooded men believed to be military agents abducted her and two companions in a Philippine province north of Manila, her colleagues said Monday.

"The woman, Melissa Roxas, 31, an activist from Los Angeles who had been doing volunteer health work in Tarlac Province, was kidnapped on May 19 along with two other health volunteers for a nongovernmental nationalist group called Bayan.

"She 'surfaced this morning,' said Renato Reyes Jr., secretary general of the group. Mr. Reyes said it was not yet clear why only Ms. Roxas was freed. The fate of the two other workers, Juanito Carabeo and John Edward Handoc, remained unknown.

"It was the first time that an American citizen had fallen victim to what Bayan and human rights groups here call 'enforced disappearances,' or the abduction of activists by those suspected of being military agents....

"According to the human rights group Karapatan, more than 200 Filipino activists have been kidnapped and never heard from since 2001, the year President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo came to power. Others have turned up dead or showing signs of torture.

"Groups like Human Rights Watch have said that activists’ disappearances are part of the government’s counterinsurgency campaign against leftist rebels. The military has consistently denied that charge, calling it propaganda by leftist groups sympathetic to the three-decade-old Communist movement in the Philippines.

"But the United Nations Human Rights Council, in a report last year prepared by its special rapporteur, Philip Alston, called on Ms. Arroyo to institute reforms within the military and to investigate thoroughly what Mr. Alston called 'credible allegations' that the military was behind most of these killings and abductions.

"Eduardo Ermita, Ms. Arroyo’s executive secretary and spokesman, called the rapporteur’s report inaccurate and said Mr. Alston was biased toward leftists."

***************

And we thought:

…. Most find a place for the night on their own. Some appear to find a place for the night on their own. Others are forced to spend the night in secret detention cells by agents of repressive governments -- sometimes for days or months on end. Sometimes they end up joining the ranks of Los Desaparecidos.

The Philippines is one of those countries where forced disappearances continue to occur. Ms. Melissa Roxas is fortunate; she is an American citizen….

Haiku 052309

after rain
piercing the rainbow
a wedge of geese

***************

Recently, we read the following:

The Guardian: “Thousands raped and abused in Catholic schools in Ireland” by Henry McDonald

“The shocking scale of sexual and physical abuse in educational institutions in Ireland run by the Catholic church was revealed today in a report describing how thousands of boys and girls were raped, abused and exploited by the religious brothers and nuns who were supposed to look after them.

“The 2,600-page report by Ireland's Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse found that for decades rape was "endemic" in more than 250 Irish Catholic care institutions from the 1930s to the 1990s, and that the church in Ireland protected paedophiles in its ranks from arrest….

“Children in industrial schools and reformatories were treated more like convicts and slaves than people with human rights, it said. Rape was particularly common in boys homes and industrial schools run by the Christian Brothers….

“It also criticised the failure of the Irish state, most notably the department of education, for allowing the abuse and exploitation to continue for decades. The department aided this culture ‘through infrequent, toothless inspectors’ that always deferred to the Catholic's church's authority, the report said. The inspections even failed to ensure that children were adequately fed, clothed and educated….

“The commission investigated more than 100 schools run by Catholic religious orders – the majority by the Christian Brothers and Sisters of Mercy….

“A second damning report, due to be published by the end of June, will detail the abuse of hundreds of children in the Dublin archdiocese from 1940 onwards. More than 100 priests are facing allegations and 400 people have been identified as victims.”

***************

And we thought:

.... It will not be enough for the Christian Brothers, the Sisters of Mercy and other religious orders to apologize and “express their sorrow” over the tragedy their members visited on thousands of Irish children. For one, the names of the abusers and pedophiles among them should be made public. They should not be spared the shame and embarrassment of their deeds yet another time. It should also serve as a warning to others that they can no longer hide behind their soutanes and habits.

Finally, the Pope, as the spiritual head of these Catholic religious orders, should himself issue a public apology to the faith communities in Ireland and other parts of the world where similar abuses have occurred. He should, without reservation, apologize for all those Catholic priests, brothers, and nuns who, over the decades, had abused children ironically placed under their care for guidance and nurturing.

This “holocaust” of Catholic children -- these profoundly shameful acts inflicted by Catholic clergy on innocents -- should be publicly acknowledged and condemned. The Pope cannot duck the responsibility of setting right this spiritual and psychic slaying of thousands of vulnerable children by deviant clergy. The Vatican needs to burst this bubble of deceit and hypocrisy, finally -- for the sake of the good guys, those who have been keeping their religious vows….

Haiku 052109

heat rising
from the blacktop --
spring afternoon?

***************

Recently, we read the following:

New York Times: “In Britain, Scandal Flows From Modest Request” by John F Burns

“It began modestly enough back in 2005, when an American freelance writer and journalism teacher living in London, Heather Brooke, entered a request under Britain’s newly promulgated freedom of information act for details of the expense claims of British members of Parliament. Ms. Brooke’s initiative to expose the politicians’ greed, now led by one of the country’s principal newspapers, The Daily Telegraph, has led to the biggest scandal to hit the House of Commons in decades. On Tuesday, the affair claimed its biggest victim yet when the speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, became the first man to be ousted from that job in more than 300 years.

“At one level, the scandal is a rich tale of politicians exploiting a lax system of expenses to claim a mind-boggling array of benefits. The claims have centered on so-called second-home allowances, which have allowed some members of Parliament to use nearly $40,000 a year in taxpayers’ money to renovate and even sell properties for profit, while others have claimed monthly payments for mortgages that had already been paid off. Still others claimed ‘necessities’ like the clearing of a country house moat, an electrical massage chair and even a Kit Kat bar….

“In response, they have made groveling apologies, waved reimbursement checks before television cameras and pledged to restore 'respect for Parliament'....

“For readers of The Telegraph, many of them staunch Conservatives, the revelations have carried an irony of their own. The day-by-day exposures have raised questions about the integrity of many Conservatives, as well as members of Labor and the Liberal Democrats, the third major party in the Commons, making for what some commentators have called an ‘equal opportunity’ scandal....”

***************

And we thought:

…. In the face of such greed and arrogance, Ms. Brooke’s expose appears a proper public flogging of these so-called proper members of the British Parliament. These errant politicians -- representa-thieves -- brought this scandal upon themselves and deserve the heat they're getting from the public. Expense claims for "KitKat" bars?...

Haiku 051909

waiting still
on the patio chair –
a cardinal

***************

Recently, we read the following:

Washington Post: “After Years of Fighting, Questions of Reconciliation” by Emily Wax

"In a triumphant address to parliament Tuesday, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared that his country had been ‘liberated’ from terrorism with the reported death of Tamil Tiger chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, one of the world's most ruthless and elusive rebel leaders.

“Even as a spokesman for the rebel group insisted that Prabhakaran was still alive, Rajapaksa reached out to the country's ethnic Tamil minority, using their native language during his victory speech to promise that after nearly 30 years of civil war, ‘we all must now live as equals in this free country'....

“Top military commanders bearing bouquets of flowers met Rajapaksa in his living room Monday to deliver the news that the war was over. The Tamil Tigers, who had been fighting for a separate Tamil homeland, were officially defeated, they said, and the entire island was reunited under one flag….

" ‘The end of this war is something that we genuinely didn't think could ever happen,’ said Rajinda Jayasinghe, 27, a civil society leader who is Sinhalese and works in the northern Tamil aid camps. ‘With the death of Prabhakaran, the symbol of the divisions between Sri Lankan people is gone. The real question now is, will there be goodwill towards Tamils? Will Tamils feel the government has their best interest in their hearts?’….

“Prabhakaran was widely seen by Tamils as their only hope against the discrimination and alleged human rights abuses by the Sinhalese-dominated government....

“The Sri Lankan government has been criticized by human rights groups for overstepping its powers. Officials marshaled public opinion to their cause by painting the conflict as a war against terrorism…. They skirted dissent by journalists, aid workers and civil society groups, denouncing their scrutiny of the government and its war efforts as treasonous, rights groups said. ‘There needs to be a look at the real causes of this war,’ said Jehan Perera, executive director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka. ‘Otherwise there could be a second Prabhakaran….”

***************

And we thought:

….What Mr. Perera of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka said is worth repeating: Unless the root causes of the Tamil disaffection with the central government are addressed, there will be others who will take Prabhakaran’s place. History has taught us this lesson very well.

If the Tamils want a separate homeland, why wouldn’t that be a better situation overall than the continuing tension and conflict between the Sinhalese and the Tamils? As it is, Sri Lanka will continue to be “one island” only in geographic terms. And it will remain so until the minority Tamils feel they are being treated fairly and equally.

Hopefully, the Tamils will not have to wait too long for concrete changes to their situation this time around. Otherwise it should come as no surprise that the idea of a separate Tamil homeland will refuse to die....

Haiku 051709

shadows
of fluttering leaves --
spring winds

***************

Recently, we read the following:


New York Times: "After Years of Isolation, a Dissident Still Torments Her Tormentors" by Seth Mydans

“ ‘Why are you so afraid of us?’ Aung San Suu Kyi called out, taunting the military government of Myanmar as thousands of rapturous supporters listened in the rain, whistling and cheering from under a sea of black umbrellas.

“That was 13 years ago, during a temporary period of freedom from house arrest, and Suu Kyi was putting into words the dynamic that has kept her under detention for most of the past two decades.

“The seemingly all-powerful junta, which jails its opponents and crushes popular uprisings by force, is afraid of Suu Kyi, 63, the pro-democracy opposition leader in the country formerly known as Burma, and of the continuing undercurrent of support she commands among the people.

" ‘Her achievement has been to concentrate the values that are associated with democracy and freedom into one person,’ said David Steinberg, an expert on Myanmar at Georgetown University.

“On Thursday, the generals who rule the country demonstrated their continuing fear of this lone challenger by charging Suu Kyi with violating the terms of her most recent, six-year term of house arrest and locking her inside what it calls a prison 'guesthouse.'

“She faces a hearing on Monday on charges that could result in a prison term of up to five years, a harsher form of the isolation she has endured for 13 of the past 19 years….

“But the circumstances of the latest charges against her have a touch of the absurd. They stem from the capture of an American adventurer, John Yettaw, 53, who twice swam across a lake to her house where, according to her lawyer, he delivered her a Bible, although she is a Buddhist.

“Suu Kyi is on trial for violating the terms of her house arrest, though her lawyer describes the American as an intruder, not a guest….”

***************

And we thought:

…. Who knows: this alleged American intruder, John Yettaw, could in fact be working for the rogue Myanmar military government -- precisely to set up Suu Kyi for additional charges and continued imprisonment.

Unfortunately, Myanmar has nothing to offer economically, politically, or diplomatically to U.S. politicians at this time. Thus, this deafening silence in Washington about the plight of this pro-democracy, Nobel Peace prize winner....

Haiku 051509

moonless spring sky
in inky darkness --
my eyes closed

***************

Washington Post: "Priestly Celibacy: A Self-Inflicted Wound" (by Susan Jacoby)

“Should the Catholic priesthood be restricted to single, celibate men? Do clergy restrictions based on gender, marital status or sexual orientation make sense these days?

“… Palestinians and Israelis are going to embrace one another in a joint ceremony at the Wailing Wall and the Dome of the Rock before the rigid old men who run the Vatican open up the doors of the priesthood to people who want to serve their god and enter into the full experience of loving and being loved by another human being….

“The vast majority of American Catholics see no need for priestly celibacy and support the ordination of women…. Pope Benedict XVI will not change his position on female priests or on priestly celibacy. One of the most ridiculous rationales for priestly celibacy used by the church has always been the notion that the celibacy requirement is not just about sex but about the need for a priest to be fully free to devote himself to the spiritual needs of his parishioners…

“This church, with no room in its priesthood for women or for men who simply wanted to love and live with another adult, then proceeded to turn a blind eye to the pedophile predators whose evil deeds were covered up by the hierarchy for decades….

“In the U.S., an astonishing 25 percent of those raised as Catholics have left the church. Priestly celibacy, like the church's position on birth control and female priests, is part of the mix that has led so many once-loyal Catholics out of the church….”

***************

….Ditto. It just seems that the Vatican has stubbornly been turning a blind eye to a reality that an increasingly greater number of its flock finds compelling. More and more are seeing that the times need a revisiting of “dogmas” that appear to be so illogical, silly, and no longer in touch with its flock and its needs. Perhaps the times are ripe for a Third Vatican Council. Not under this pope though....

Haiku 051309

emerging
from the reedy pond …
wet squirrel

***************

Huffington Post: “Cheney Has 'No Regrets' Over Interrogation Policies, War On Terror”

“Former Vice President Dick Cheney said on Sunday, that he had no regrets about the course of actions he and the Bush administration pursued when it came to interrogating suspected terrorists or, more broadly, waging the war on terror….

“The interview was another in a wave of post-White House remarks from the controversial former vice president. On Sunday, Cheney insisted that he was speaking out because ‘the issues are so important.’ President Obama, he added, had ‘moved to take down a lot of those policies we put in place to keep the nation safe for eight years.’…

" ‘Remember what happened here,’ he said. ‘We had captured these people. We had pursued interrogation in a normal way. We decided that we needed some enhanced techniques….’

“Perhaps the most remarkable moment of the interview, however, came when Cheney was asked if President Bush himself had signed off on the interrogation program. His response left the impression that Bush was brought into the loop only as a legal or political formality….”

***************

….Former Vice President Cheney could insist on calling the Obamas’ dog a “cat”. It will still be a dog. He could keep on calling torture “enhanced interrogation techniques” – it will still be torture. We’ve all read Animal Farm.

Cheney shows admirable conviction in saying he has “no regrets” about the actions he took in waging the war on terror. He should then be willing to account for his actions – if charges emerge that he may have violated the laws he was sworn to uphold….

Haiku 051109

earthworm
in the robin's beak
setting sun

***************

Washington Post: "Sweet, salty and fatty foods -- A new form of mind control?" (by Lyndsay Layton)

"Former FDA commissioner David Kessler warns in a new book that those substances can change brain chemistry enough to make people overeat.

"He went in the middle of the night, long after the last employee had locked up the Chili's Grill & Bar. He'd steer his car around back, check to make sure no one was around and then quietly approach the dumpster...

"The high-octane career path of David Kessler, the Harvard-trained doctor, lawyer, medical school dean and former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had come to this: nocturnal dumpster diving. It took many of these forays until Kessler emerged with his prize: ingredient labels affixed to empty cardboard boxes that spelled out the fats, salt and sugar used to make the Southwestern Eggrolls, Boneless Shanghai Wings and other dishes served by the nation's second-largest restaurant chain.

"Kessler was on a mission to understand a problem that has vexed him since childhood: why he can't resist certain foods….

"His resulting theory, described in his new book, "The End of Overeating," is startling: Foods high in fat, salt and sugar alter the brain's chemistry in ways that compel people to overeat. "Much of the scientific research around overeating has been physiology -- what's going on in our body," he said. 'The real question is what's going on in our brain.'….

"Instead of satisfying hunger, the salt-fat-sugar combination will stimulate that diner's brain to crave more, he said. And the food industry manipulates this neurological response, designing foods to induce people to eat more than they should or even want, Kessler found."

***************

....Mind control through highly palatable foods? Perhaps, fast food chains and restaurants are perpetrating “conditioned overeating”, but shouldn’t we be looking at ourselves in the mirror?

Kessler suggests that “the key to stopping the cycle [of overeating] is to rewire the brain’s response to food.” This suggestion, however, makes it seem like every one of us behaves completely out of habit and conditioning. On the contrary, Kessler himself noted that about 15 percent of the population appears unaffected by the syndrome of “conditioned overeating” and that “more research is needed to understand what makes them immune.”

Would such research go into free will and self-control? Or the role of family upbringing in nurturing good (or bad) eating habits (indeed, a form of brain-wiring itself)? We certainly can’t discount these variables.

Meanwhile, we could increase the amount and frequency of information available to people about healthy and unhealthy foods to enable them to make informed choices. Similar to the efforts to curb cigarette smoking….

Haiku 050909

goslings
paddling behind mom ...
spring training

***************

New York Times: “Priest Known as Padre Oprah Strays in South Florida” (by Damien Cave)

“They called the Rev. Alberto Cutié 'Padre Oprah' for his insightful advice about relationships. Now his parishioners, his television and radio audience, and readers of his best-selling book, 'Real Life, Real Love,' know he speaks from experience.

“On Tuesday, photographs in a Spanish-language tabloid showed the 40-year-old priest with deep blue eyes lying shirtless beside, and cuddling with, a dark-haired woman on a North Florida beach. Within hours, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami removed him from his post as pastor of a Miami Beach church, and now all of South Florida seems to be abuzz with discussions of celibacy, celebrity and temptation….

“Father Cutié, born in Puerto Rico to Cuban parents, grew up in Miami. He developed an international following of millions with his television show, ‘Padre Alberto,’ which was first broadcast on Telemundo in 1999….

“Father Cutié’s parish sits in the heart of South Beach, where even the mannequins have extra-large breasts, and many here have also questioned whether this was the time or place for Catholic priests to stay celibate….”

***************

….Is it outmoded -- requiring priests to be celibate? There are fewer and fewer entrants to the priesthood. There is a relatively smaller number of priests to go around to minister to the faithful, especially the growing numbers of alienated and distressed "faithful". How should the church address this reality?

A number of married men have been given special dispensation by the Vatican to become priests. Maybe it’s time the church seriously debated whether to allow priests to test the waters of marriage or not. "Married" priest sounds better than "fornicating" priest; indeed, much better than "pedophiliac" priest….

Haiku 050709

breakfast call
a rabbit sniffing
the spring air

***************

NPR: “Rights Lawyers In China Face Growing Threats” by Louisa Lim

“A new report by Amnesty International says China has intensified its crackdown on activists and particularly lawyers. It says there has been a disregard of national laws, noting at least four cases this year in which lawyers were threatened with violence by the authorities.

“Lawyer Yan Yiming was called to his law firm's conference room in Shanghai to give advice to three men. When he turned around to write on a whiteboard, he was suddenly assaulted. The three men beat him with iron bars and a hammer….

“So far, Yan doesn't know who ordered the attack or why. He has made many enemies over the years, through his work in environmental protection, defending shareholders and pushing for government transparency. He knew the risks.

" ‘China is changing from a society ruled by men to one ruled by laws, but we're not even halfway yet. Rule of man is much stronger. Eight of the top 10 whistleblowers have been arrested. Those who fight corruption get caught,’ he says.

" ‘If China's legal system is a skyscraper, it should be 100 stories. But it's not finished, we've only built 30 or 40 stories. If we're standing high up in the building, and I get knocked to the ground and killed by corrupt officials and their friends, at least the 30 or 40 stories we've built will still exist,’ he says….”

***************

.... After reading about the difficulties they have been made to endure for “doing their duty”, how can one not be in awe of these lawyers in China? In spite of harassment, beatings, and kidnappings, they still remain so optimistic that things in their society will improve down the road.

These “rights” lawyers themselves point out that China has made inroads into becoming a society ruled by laws from a society ruled by men. They acknowledge that the legal skyscraper may only be about 30 or 40 stories, out of 100, completed -- certainly still a long way to go. But, as these men of the law see it, change is in the air. And that's a long way from where they started ....

Haiku 050509

dad's flannel shirt
the plaid glass façade
of blue sky

***************

NPR: “The Island Where People Live Longer”

“Making it to 90 years old is awe-inspiring in much of the world. But on a tiny Greek island in the North Aegean Sea, nonagenarians barely merit a second glance. The island of Icaria could be the newest of the world's so-called blue zones — places where residents have unusually long life spans.

“Dan Buettner has crossed the globe many times over the years in search of blue zones, and he recently teamed up with AARP and National Geographic to study Icaria….They found Icaria had the highest percentage of 90-year-olds anywhere on the planet — nearly 1 out of 3 people make it to their 90s. Plus, Buettner says, ‘they have about 20 percent lower rates of cancer, 50 percent lower rates of heart disease and almost no dementia.’

“Our life spans are about 20 percent dictated by our genes, Buettner says. The rest is lifestyle…. ‘They … have a diet that's very interesting,’ Buettner continues. ‘It's very high in olive oil; it's very high in fruits and vegetables.’ It's also very high in greens; about 150 kinds of veggies grow wild on the island….

“Particularly unusual to this new blue zone are the villagers' drinking habits. Tea drinking, that is. Icarians drink herbal teas every day, morning and night….This seems to be one of their secrets to longer living.… ‘That's something we haven't seen in Okinawa or Costa Rica or Sardinia or any of the other blue zones,’ Buettner says.”

***************

…. For those of us whose lifestyles haven’t really been particularly healthy over the years, hope it isn’t too late to make some changes. That is, if our plan is to remain active well into our 90s so that we can continue enjoying family and friends and avocations.

What would the point be of a longer life if you can’t be actively “up and about” anyway? Who would want to vegetate and waste away on a bed in a nursing home and be a burden to family and friends who have their own lives to live? Besides, is leading a healthy and active lifestyle even an assurance of long life in many parts of the world? What does one do about violent crime, pollution, pandemics, regional strife, and weapons of mass destruction?

Makes one wonder whether or not blue zones are indeed viable outside of Icaria, Okinawa, and similar places. It looks like places like these have taken generations to evolve -- and in relative isolation from the rest of this crazy world at that. So many variables....

Critical praxis*

1.
There’s the sun
between heaven and earth.

“Between freedom and the people
there’s the light of working class praxis.”

2.
Some presumed to define and refine
and shine the light.
Worse, some pretended – fervently.
They were not unlike the enemy
the candidates were warned about.

Some old candidates still have their eyes
on the end game aspired after.
They will sum up their lessons.
Their children or their children’s children
will distill their own sun in praxis --
elsewhen.

3.
Nature's law.

Meanwhile
the critical mass is still asleep.
It is still,
objectively, night.



*Chapter 3, Fractured Memories

Haiku 050109

wind chimes
an empty porch --
spring breeze

***************

Washington Post: "Europeans rally on May Day amid economic worries" (by Jenny Barchfield)

"Hundreds of thousands of European workers feeling the pinch of the economic crisis rallied at May Day protests Friday from Moscow to Berlin to Istanbul….

"But overall participation fell short of what many countries' unions had hoped for on May Day, a public holiday in many countries that has long celebrated the social and economic achievements of labor movements. Many of the protesters complained about rising unemployment and lost benefits, but few specifics appeared to emerge from the demonstrations about what governments should be doing to fight the global crisis….

"In Italy, union leaders shifted May Day rallies from major cities to the earthquake-stricken town of L'Aquila as a sign of solidarity with thousands who lost their jobs when businesses crumbled in last month's quake.

"Spain — which has gone from being one of Europe's strongest economies to having its highest unemployment rate — saw tens of thousands of people demonstrate….

"In Turkey, which only last week declared the international labor day a public holiday, unionists rallied at a previously banned site where dozens died during a May Day demonstration three decades ago….

"A protest in the German capital turned violent as leftists hurled bottles and burning objects at police….

"In neighboring Austria, officials said five people were arrested and more than 20 injured in clashes between protesters and police at a rally in the northern city of Linz, organized by the local branch of the Communist Party.

"Greek officers used flash grenades to disperse violent protesters in Athens after attacks on banks and traffic cameras….

"It was the first May Day since the advent of the global financial crisis, and Russia police were out in force as Communists and liberals gathered to criticize the government…"

***************

…. Many porches were empty today, International Labor Day. The boulevards and plazas of protest were the day’s porches. Around the world today, along with the European workers, millions more gathered to voice their aspirations for a fairer deal, a better life, and ultimately -- in spite of some violent confrontations with the authorities -- a peaceful world.

In fact, the Labor Day rallyists were sending a common message to the rest of the world: “…never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee….”