Defining Characteristics of Slow People

1. Slow people always walk side by side, even if they don’t know each other.

2. They drive side by side, too. If they can’t find another slow driver to pair up with, they drive in the fast lane.

3. Slow walkers never look back. When they drive, they never look in their rear view mirrors, either.

4. Slow people drift sideways so they’ll block the path of anyone trying to pass them. If two people or vehicles are trying to get around them at the same time, they drift into the path of the one that is moving at the highest speed.

5. Follow behind a slow person in the grocery store and you’ll wind up with soggy ice cream every time.

The British are Licking their Wounds

(LPAC)—The British, smarting over their defeat at Copenhagen, are whining and wringing their hands. Ed Miliband, the UK’s climate change secretary, called the Summit the “most chaotic show on earth,” and said that arguments had “strangled” negotiations. He blamed China and India for rejecting legally binding targets, and Sudan and Venezuela for “almost overturning the accord”—meaning the non-accord worked out by Obama with the BASIC countries (Brazil, South Africa, India, China) but never accepted by the Conference as a whole.

Mr. Miliband said “sticking points” had led four or five countries to almost “dump the agreement completely” at 4 a.m. on Saturday morning, and that he had been in his hotel room, “in his underwear,” when he was called back for “hours of wrangling” to stop a deal from being blocked.

UK Liberal Democrat energy spokesman Simon Hughes said the declaration was “desperately disappointing,” and that “I can’t remember an occasion when more people of power and influence came together on a more important issue and went away with so little to show for it.”

Green Party leader Caroline Lucas said the outcome after years of waiting was “a complete disaster.” She said: “What have we got? An empty accord with no legally binding framework, no targets, and no money guaranteed to be over and above existing aid budgets. It’s deeply, deeply disappointing.”

Friends of the Earth campaigner Tom Picken said the UK government had said it would fight for a “strong and fair agreement,” but the accord was neither. “It is not even an agreement,” he said. “The parties rejected it as not being a consensus decision.”

The Sentencing of Mrs. Kate Richards

Kate Richards O’Hare (1877-1948) was a prominent American Socialist anti-war activist .

Speech Delivered in Court by Kate Richards O’Hare Before Being Sentenced by Judge Wade

First published in Social Revolution (Feb, 1918)

I was taught in High School that law is pure logic. Abstract law may be pure logic, but the application of the law to testimony in this case seems to have gone far afield from logic.

We must still consider the question of prejudices that still exist, and that do exist, and we must take into consideration the effect that the verdict is going to have on the people. And, Your Honor, I want to call this thing to your mind, that the man or nation whose cause is just is thrice armed; and if the cause of this nation is just in this great war, then is it necessary un order to impress the people of the righteousness and justice of the cause, to convict and sentence a woman on the charge of having an intent but never committing a crime? This you must consider. And you must consider also the danger of arousing hatreds and prejudice and suspicion. Your Honor, there are 100,000 people, and more, in the United States, who know me personally. They have listened to my voice, looked in my face, and they have worked side by side with me in every great reform movement of the last twenty years. My life has been an open book to them. They know what it has been. They know that from my earliest girlhood down to this time I have given all that I am, all that I have- my girlhood, my young womanhood, my wifehood, even my motherhood, for I have carried my unborn children out into this struggle for better conditions for the working class. And, Your Honor, at this time, no judge on earth, and no jury on earth, and no ten thousand judges, or ten thousand juries, can ever convince these hundred thousand people who know me and have worked with me, and these millions who have read my writings, that I am a criminal, or that I have ever given anything to my country except my most unselfish devotion and service. You cannot convince the mass of people who know me that I am dangerous to the United States government. AH! They are willing to admit I am dangerous to some things in the United States, and I thank God that I am. I am dangerous to the invisible government of the United States; I am dangerous to the special privileges of the Unites States; I am dangerous to the white slaver and to the saloonkeeper, and I thank God that at this hour I am dangerous to the war profiteers of this country who rob the people on the one hand, and rob and debase the government on the other; and then with their pockets and wallets stuffed with the filthy, bloodstained profits of wear, wrap the sacred folds of the Stars and Stripes about them and shout their blatant hypocrisy to the world. You can convince the people that I am dangerous to these men; but no jury and no judge can convince them that I am a dangerous woman to the best interests of the United States; and at this hour will my conviction, will my incarceration behind the bars of a prison have the tendency to cement and hold together the great mass of people in this nation, or will it have the tendency to create hatred and bitterness, and arouse suspicion, and make these people who know me, and who cannot be brought to doubt me, feel that this whole case is nothing but an attempt of the part of the war profiteers to eliminate and get out of the way a woman that is dangerous to them? Your Honor, I do not believe that this is true. I do not believe at this point that you are the tool of the war profiteers. I do not believe it is true of the District Attorney. I do not believe at this time that this case is anything but one of those weary, grotesque, fantastic things that has grown out of the war hysteria. But I say that the great mass of the people of the United States are going to have that thing burned into their souls if I go to prison. And you have learned in North Dakota what happens when the working classes have these things burned into their souls.

Wisdom Quotes

“Live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about his religion. Respect others in their views and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and of service to your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.

Always give a word or sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, or even a stranger, if in a lonely place. Show respect to all people, but grovel to none. When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.

Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision. When your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home.” by: Tecumseh -(1768-1813) Shawnee Chief

Wisdom Quotes

People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes.
Abigail Van Buren

Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.
Jimi Hendrix

Anyone who proposes to do good must not expect people to roll stones out of his way, but must accept his lot calmly if they even roll a few more upon it.
Albert Schweitzer

He that gives good advice, builds with one hand; he that gives good counsel and example, builds with both; but he that gives good admonition and bad example, builds with one hand and pulls down with the other.
Francis Bacon, sr.

We should be careful and discriminating in all the advice we give. We should be especially careful in giving advice that we would not think of following ourselves. Most of all, we ought to avoid giving counsel which we don’t follow when it damages those who take us at our word.
Adlai Stevenson

It is easy when we are in prosperity to give advice to the afflicted.
Aeschylus

I shall tell you a great secret my friend. Do not wait for the last judgement, it takes place every day.
Albert Camus

Pillow Primer for Perfect Sleep

Ease aches overnight with the right bonus bedding.
By the Editors of Prevention

Sleeping in the right position is key to waking up well rested and free of aches and pains, says Dawn Underwood, D.P.T., O.C.S., a physical therapist at the Mayo Clinic. Her advice: Place pillows (or rolled towels) in crucial spots to keep your neck, back, hips, and legs properly aligned.

“The pillows take pressure off your spine and allow the disks to recuperate overnight,” says Underwood.

If you sleep on your side

Place a pillow: Between your knees
Put a rolled towel (optional): Under your waist
This will: Relieve pressure on lumbar joints and adjust alignment, says Underwood (especially ideal for people with osteoarthritis of the spine)
If you sleep on your back

Place a pillow: Under your knees
Put a rolled towel (optional): Under your lower back
This will: Cause knees to bend slightly and keep your spine naturally curved, according to Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource
If you sleep on your stomach

Place a pillow: Under your hips
Put a rolled towel (optional): Under your shins or ankles
This will: Help those who are suffering from painful bulging disks in the lumbar region of the spine
If you sleep on all of the above

Place a pillow: In proper place for starting position; adjust upon waking
Put a rolled towel (optional): Skip it
This will: Allow a “flopper” to maintain healthy spine alignment as much as possible
Final pillow rule: Use only one pillow under your head, suggests Underwood: Multiple ones tend to be too thick and cause painful misalignment. Make sure it’s supporting only your head and neck and isn’t under your shoulders. Consider going pillow free if you sleep on your stomach to minimize stress on the spine.

81: The percentage of Americans who have had morning neck, back, or shoulder pain in the last year.

Nature’s Medicine Chest

Your body can throw you for a loop at any time. You wake up with a sore throat on the day of your office Christmas party, a seafood-salad sandwich leaves you with grumbling indigestion, or you overdo it at the gym and arrive home with a stiff neck. Wouldn’t it be great to have a live-in doctor/therapist/trainer to tend to your everyday aches and pains?
Here’s the next best thing: all-natural, expert-recommended ways to treat ailments quickly, safely, and effectively at home. So clear some space in your bathroom cabinet, refrigerator, and kitchen cupboard for these surprisingly effective (and inexpensive) remedies. They’re like having a doctor on call 24 hours a day.
To quell nausea
Try frozen ginger chips. Add pieces of fresh ginger to hot water. Strain, then freeze the infusion in ice cube trays. Crush the cubes and suck the icy chips throughout the day to provide your tummy with a steady soothing treatment. Ginger’s anti-nausea properties are particularly effective during pregnancy or after surgery.
Expert: Eric Yarnell, N.D.

Perspective on Torture

Torture is an atrocity that concerns the world community. It is the purposeful and systematic annihilation of a human being’s physical and psychological well-being. The negative repercussions of torture not only hinder the victim’s quality of life in general, but are designed to shake the very foundation and dignity of entire communities. It is an abomination that, although strictly prohibited by international human rights and humanitarian law under any circumstances, is nevertheless practiced in more than half of the world’s countries.

Treatmentand Rehabilitation Center For Victims Of Torture

“Torture is banned but in two-thirds of the world’s countries it is still being committed in secret. Too many governments still allow wrongful imprisonment, murder or “disappearance” to be carried out by their officials with impunity.”

Peter Benenson – (1921-2005) – Founder of Amnesty International

“Modern man likes to pretend that his thinking is wide-awake. But this wide-awake thinking has led us into the mazes of a nightmare in which the torture chambers are endlessly repeated in the mirrors of reason.”:

Octavio Paz (Mexican poet, writer, and diplomat, 1914-1998)

“The aim of torture is to destroy a person as a human being, to destroy their identity and soul. It is more evil than murder… ”

Inge Genefke – (1938-) Danish Doctor & Human Rights Activist

The civilized have created the wretched, quite coldly and deliberately, and do not intend to change the status quo; are responsible for their slaughter and enslavement; rain down bombs on defenseless children whenever and wherever they decide that their ‘vital interests’ are menaced, and think nothing of torturing a man to death: these people are not to be taken seriously when they speak of the ’sanctity’ of human life, or the ‘conscience’ of the civilized world.”

James Baldwin

“Congress’s definition of torture in those laws – the infliction of severe mental or physical pain – leaves room for interrogation methods that go beyond polite conversation.”:

John Yoo

Father tried to sell ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ girl

LONDON (AFP) – The father of “Slumdog Millionaire” child actress Rubina Ali tried to sell his nine-year-old daughter for adoption in a bid to escape the Mumbai slums, a British newspaper said Sunday.

News of the World alleged that Rafiq Qureshi wanted 20 million rupees (400,000 dollars, 310,000 euros) for the girl, who played the young Latika in the British hit film set in India.

“Slumdog Millionaire”, a rags-to-riches tale of children from the slums of Mumbai, won eight Oscars in February, including the best picture Academy Award.

News of the World said its reporters posed as a wealthy family from Dubai, employing its regular “fake sheikh” sting tactic.

The weekly tabloid said a Mumbai informant told them that Qureshi was touting for the highest offer, having already been approached by a Middle Eastern family.

The newspaper published pictures of the actress, her father and uncle posing with their undercover reporter, plus video clips of Qureshi and his brother-in-law during their meeting last week.

“Yes, we are considering Rubina’s future,” Qureshi was quoted as saying.

He put the reporter in touch with his brother-in-law Rajan More.

“We are interested in securing our girl’s future,” the star’s uncle was quoted as saying.

“If you wanted to adopt we could discuss this, but her parents would also expect some proper compensation in return.

“Whatever money is agreed by Rajan, I will accept.

“We can discuss everything about this deal when we meet. There’s a lot of interest in Rubina.”

Qureshi, Ali, More and some other relatives met the British reporters in a Mumbai hotel, the newspaper said.

“We need two or three months,” Qureshi allegedly said. More added: “Until then we can negotiate the amount. We’ll come to Dubai, the girl will come and go.”

“It’s 20 million rupees,” the uncle was quoted as saying.

“This discussion will not go beyond the three of us.”

Qureshi proudly carried Ali through the Mumbai slums in February after she returned from the Oscar glory of Hollywood

Iran jails U.S. journalist for spying

TEHRAN, Iran – An American journalist jailed in Iran has been convicted of spying and sentenced to eight years in prison, her lawyer said Saturday, dashing any hopes for her quick release.

The verdict was the first time Iran has found an American journalist guilty of spying, and it was unclear how the conviction would affect recent overtures by the Obama administration for better relations and engagement with Washington’s longtime adversary.

Roxana Saberi, a 31-year-old dual American-Iranian citizen, was arrested in late January and initially accused of working without press credentials. But earlier this month, an Iranian judge leveled a far more serious allegation, charging her with spying for the United States.

She appeared before an Iranian court behind closed doors on Monday in an unusually swift one-day trial. The Fargo, North Dakota, native had been living in Iran for six years and had worked as a freelance reporter for several news organizations including National Public Radio and the British Broadcasting Corp.

“Saberi has been sentenced to eight years in jail. I’ll definitely appeal the verdict,” lawyer Abdolsamad Khorramshahi told The Associated Press. It was not immediately known when she was convicted.

The United States has called the charges against Saberi baseless and has demanded her release, and the conviction and prison sentence could put strains on efforts to improve ties.

President Barack Obama has said it wants to engage Iran in talks on its nuclear program and other issues — a departure from the tough talk of the Bush administration.

Iran has been mostly lukewarm to the idea, but on Thursday Iran’s hard-line president gave the clearest signal yet that the Islamic Republic was also willing to start a new relationship with Washington.

U.S.: Jailing not helpful
In a speech Wednesday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran was preparing new proposals aimed at breaking an impasse with the West over its nuclear program.

But it was uncertain how Washington would react to Saberi’s conviction. On Thursday, the State Department said Saberi’s jailing was not helpful and that Iran would gain U.S. good will if it “responded in a positive way” to the case.

The United States severed diplomatic relations with Iran after its 1979 Islamic revolution and takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

Human rights groups have repeatedly criticized Iran for arresting journalists and suppressing freedom of speech. The government has arrested several Iranian-Americans in the past few years, citing alleged attempts to overthrow its Islamic government through what it calls a “soft revolution.” But they were never put on trial and were eventually released from prison.

Iran has released few details about the charges against Saberi. Iranian officials initially said she had been arrested for working in the Islamic Republic without press credentials and she had told her father in a phone conversation that she was arrested after buying a bottle of wine.

An Iranian investigative judge involved in the case charged that Saberi was passing classified information to U.S. intelligence services.

Her parents, who traveled to Iran from their home in Fargo in a bid to help win their daughter’s release, could not immediately be reached for comment on Saturday.