Category Archives: News to use

Useful news for all to advance knowledge of the world and how it works

Parashat VaEra, and No Words

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

     This week’s Torah portion, “Parashat Vaera / פָּרָשַׁתוָאֵרָא, is the 14th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading.   The entire Torah Portion is:Exodus 6:2-9:35

Parashat Vaera tells of the first seven Plagues of Egypt.”

     Dare I mention that there are some who make an interesting argument that many of these phenomena could be explained as part of the aftermath of the explosion of Santorini (or what became Santorini, after half of the initial island of Thera was blown away)?

   In any case, I’m with the One doing the rebuking: How can the angels rejoice at the deaths of their fellow creations?   Or am I getting a bit ahead of myself?

  How can we make the future more certain and safe for all of us?

   What do you think,   Thoughtful Readers?

 

Action Prompts:

1.

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Thoughtful Thursdays, Watch Night services, and Public Transportation — Inspiring Critical Thinking and Community via Books, Lessons, and Story

Originally posted on Inspiring Critical Thinking and Community via Books, Lessons, and Story: This is just a quick post to say that I wish folks still remembered and celebrated the old Watch Night services, to watch for the telegram announcing emancipation in those slave states still at war, and to pray for freedom for all,…

Thoughtful Thursdays, Watch Night services, and Public Transportation — Inspiring Critical Thinking and Community via Books, Lessons, and Story

Original Pistachio Party Ball

snapshotsincursive

Eating My Way Through the Holidays. Festive Food Gifts: Original Pistachio Party Ball! Nothing says par-tay like a holiday cheese ball. Instead of picking one up at the grocery store this year, why not surprise the family and make something a little different. Pistachios tend to be shoved aside in favor of walnuts and pecans, mostly due to their cost. But I guarantee you, people will sit up and take notice of them embedded in this party cheese ball. A little goes a long way, especially when rolled on the outside of the cheese ball. For those who enjoy the experience of cracking the shell to pluck out the pistachio, you not only get to nibble as you crack, you also justify the savings involved over the cost of pistachios without shells. Now there’s a thought worth considering.

ORIGINAL PISTACHIO PARTY BALL

Ingredients:

8 ounces Neufchâtel cheese, room temperature

4…

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Clarice Lispector

Pensamentos.me/VEM comigo!

[…]

Perco a consciência, mas não importa, encontro a maior serenidade na alucinação. “

Clarice Lispector. TUDO É UM…

Clarice Lispector. Para amar Clarice co descobrir e apreciar os aspectos mais inovadores de sua obra. Emília Amaral. 1 Ed. Barueri, São Paulo: Editorial, 2021

Marii Freire Pereira

https://Pensamentos.me/VEM comigo!

Imagem: pinterest/ Cafonice intrínseca

Santarém, Pa 31 de dezembro de 2021

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¡Adios 2021, Bienvenida 2022!

Filosofa's Word

With less than 24 hours left in 2021, perhaps it’s time for a few personal reflections.  I’ve had more than plenty of time to just sit and think during the past four months, and often my thoughts have revealed more about my own inner workings than anything. One thing I learned about myself is that I’m really good at ‘talking the talk’, but when it comes to ‘walking the walk’, I fail miserably.  I consoled myself with … “not everyone is able to attend protest marches or donate large sums of money … we all give according to our abilities.”  All of which sounds very nice, but … with a bit more effort, might I have been able to attend a BlackLivesMatter protest near my home?  Probably.  Might I have donated money to the cause?  Absolutely.  Instead, I used my voice to write blog posts criticizing racism, racists, misogynists and…

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A Call for Quakers to Embrace Mutual Aid

LANDBACK Friends

I am writing to make the case for the adoption of Mutual Aid as a framework for Quaker justice work.

This comes from my perspective of a White, Quaker, male (he/him), settler on Ioway land, in the country called the United States. When I refer to Quakers here, I mean White Quakers. Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) Friends have completely different experiences related to white privilege and racism, for example.

My credentials include friendships with Native people here in the Midwest. And to have been part of a Mutual Aid community for the past two years. The following is from these lived experiences, which have excited me, shown me a different way to work for peace and justice.

There are three key elements of Mutual Aid.

  1. Mutual aid projects work to meet survival needs and build shared understanding about why people do not have what they need.

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Affordable Connectivity Program | Federal Communications Commission

Who Is Eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Program?

A household is eligible if a member of the household meets at least one of the criteria below:

  • Has an income that is at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines; or
  • Participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, Federal Public Housing Assistance, SSI, WIC, or Lifeline;
  • Participates in Tribal specific programs, such as Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Tribal TANF, or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations;
  • Is approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision in the 2019-2020, 2020-2021, or 2021-2022 school year;
  • Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year; or
  • Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider’s existing low-income program.

Source: Affordable Connectivity Program | Federal Communications Commission

Thoughtful Thursdays, Watch Night services, and Public Transportation

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

This is just a quick post to say that I wish folks still remembered and celebrated the old Watch Night services, to watch for the telegram announcing emancipation in those slave states still at war, and to pray for freedom for all, as they did on that last night of 1862, and as my great grandmother Marie Johnson (in this blog’s background image, shown with her husband, my adoptive step-great grandfather Adolphus Johnson, both of Blessed Memory) used to do every year, at Booth and Johnson family church, Mt Zion United Methodist Church, in Georgetown.

They took the Metro bus there, or the street car, before they were all paved over around 1963, if I recall reading correctly.  Bus service to Georgetown was never very easy to use, as I recall.  As a small child, I spent summers with my Grandma Marie, and we’d always go to…

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