Some apparently wise statements reminds me of lite beer: all the taste and less filling. These statements sound nice but are not reality based. Consider this for a moment this:
We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. — Native American Proverb
It is supposed to appeal to our sense of conservation, of course. Since it is our children’s possession, we have to take care of it. Rather flimsy reasoning. It is not our property, says the proverb, and implies that this realization …

Just a quick note prompted by the bombings in London.
A moment of silence for the dead.
Brought to mind the poem “Before I start this peom” by Emmanuel Ortiz which I had first come across in Suhail Kassim’s blog post. Here are the last lines of that poem, for the record.
You want a moment of silence
Then take it
Now,
Before this poem begins.
Here, in the echo of my voice,
In the pause between goosesteps of the
second hand
In the space
between bodies in embrace,
Here is your silence.
Take it.
But take it all
Don’t cut in line.
Let …

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Let us mourn in silence with this simply awesome gut-wrenching rendition by an American, Emmanuel Ortiz …
“Before I start this poem“
Before I start this poem,I’d like to ask you to join me ina moment of silencein honour of those who diedin the World Trade Centreand the Pentagonlast September 11th.
I would also like to ask youa moment of silencefor all of those who have beenharassed, imprisoned, disappeared,tortured, raped, or killedin retaliation for those strikes,for the victims in bothAfghanistan and the U.S.
And if I could just add one more thing …A full …