India’s ‘draconian’ IT laws draw ire from civil society – DW – 05/17/2023

Indian journalists and human rights activists have regularly voiced concern and protested against arbitrary arrests and cases filed against them, as well as the banning and removal of content that is critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

Source: India’s ‘draconian’ IT laws draw ire from civil society – DW – 05/17/2023

DeSantis War On Education

In Saner Thought

The mini dictator of Florida has been attacking education at every turn….and his newest attack goes a bit far….well most of the attacks go too far in my opinion….

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis continued his campaign on Monday against what he views as “woke” ideology in the education system. The governor and presumptive 2024 presidential candidate signed into law a measure that prohibits the state’s public colleges and universities from spending money on what are known as DEI initiatives, or diversity, equity, and inclusion, reports the Washington Post. “DEI is better viewed as standing for discrimination, exclusion, and indoctrination,” said DeSantis Monday at New College of Florida in Sarasota.

He also banned courses that, in the law’s language, “distort significant historical events,” teach “identity politics,” or are “based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, or privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created…

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Out of Nowhere

Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

A poem in Vietnamese by Phương Anh
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

Out of Nowhere

Tự Dưng

Suddenly there, out of the sky fell

The tender woven verses through the alleyway

Her footsteps, approaching dewdrops

Poetry embracing a gorgeous far away moon…

Suddenly there, out of him fell the poem

Making her shy, the bashful word

Her footsteps, rising spirit

Fatefully whisked away by the sad verse…

Suddenly there, from its very origin

The pounding verse reverberating through the city

Her footsteps, across the sky resounding

Poetry set forth upon the four seasons…

Suddenly there, the frolicking verses

Through hair locks upon the flesh

Her footsteps proud, her head held high

Poetry’s humorous whisper in a dream…

_____

FEBRUARY 2022

_____

Tự dưng, thơ rớt từ trời

Rơi vòng quanh lối vạn lời thiết tha

Em đi, nhấp dáng sương sa

Thơ ôm vào mộng trăng…

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Writing Process Wednesdays, And More Novel Journal Results  

Context, Thought, and Learning: ShiraDest Offers Project Do Better

        I noticed that I felt rushed, back when I first began drafting this novel, partly because I’d been outlining and researching for months, and was getting tired of it, partly because people wanted to know why I’d not begun writing words after so long, and partly because it was November, and I wanted to join in again with NaNoWriMo.

   All three reasons were mistakes.

    So the lesson I have learned in looking back at this page of my Who By Fire novel journal is that cooperation is good, but cooperative writing of a novel, or even cooperative listening while writing one, is not so good, at least for me.

  whobyfireiwilltmpcover

    Also, sequencing and ‘causing’ out ideas, aka plotting (what happens in what order for what reasons…) before beginning to draft is crucial for me, and also, word counts for scenes are…

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Liberdade

Pensamentos.me/VEM comigo!

“Liberdade consiste em fazer o que não sequer. Se o homem faz o que quer, este é, certamente escravo de seus vícios. Agora, persistir no que é adverso, sem dúvida nenhuma, além de ser um ato de coragem, é também a maior prova de liberdade que muitos têm e não compreendem que, assim como os pássaros, vivem soltos. “

Marii Freire. Liberdade

https://Pensamentos.me/VEM comigo!

Imagem: pinterest/carrie allen

Santarém, Pá 17 de maio de 2023

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Breaking news: UN group is meeting to end plastic pollution

Darcy Hitchcock

Horrified by the prevalence of plastic pollution, the United Nations Environment Program has been working on a roadmap and legally binding treaty to end it. The negotiators’ second meeting starts May 29, 2023 in Paris. If nothing is done, production of plastic could triple by 2060.

UNEP’s report aims to offer a roadmap to governments and businesses to dramatically cut levels of plastic pollution. It focuses on three main strategies: reuse, recycling and alternative materials.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/16/world/plastic-pollution-unep-climate-intl/index.html

While the language of the treaty is not yet finalized, it’s likely that the provisions will include:

  • Eliminating single use plastics
  • Adding deposits on plastic bottles, giving them value, making it more likely that they’ll be recycled
  • Creating new materials, like truly biodegradable materials
  • Eliminating fossil fuel subsidies that help make plastic cheap

They are expressly focusing on creating a Circular Economy.

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♫ Ebony and Ivory ♫ (Redux)

Filosofa's Word

Tonight is one of those nights when the only thing that’s going to do for me is some Stevie Wonder.  Yes, I know I just played this one last June, but folks … I want you to listen, really listen to the words and tell me we couldn’t use a whole lot more of this today!  Now, I just love seeing Stevie, and throwing in Paul McCartney is an added bonus, but when I listened to this one tonight, it brought me to tears — literally.  We have lawmakers being threatened with violence, a 12-year-old child shot and killed a man with an AR-15, an 18-year-old went on a neighborhood shooting rampage and killed three, injured nine more, members of Congress are playing Russian roulette with our lives, and states are robbing women of their rights while robbing children of an education.  And that’s only some of what weighs heavily…

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Good People Doing Good Things — Youth

Filosofa's Word

I had several ‘good people’ on my radar for today’s post, but what I didn’t have was the energy to pull them all together in a new post!  Some days are like that, y’know?  This post is one that I did five years ago, in 2018, and I think these young people are well worth seeing again, not to mention that many of you weren’t even aware of Filosofa’s Word in 2018, so probably missed this one the first time ’round! 


jordan-jenningsRemember when you were ten years old?  Nah, me neither.  But I do know this much … at age ten, I likely did not know what an architect was. Ten-year-old Jordan Jennings, of Huntsville, Alabama, has two passions and architecture is one of them.  The other one is helping people.  And Jordan has combined his two passions into something that will blow your mind!

Jordan designs emergency shelter and…

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